School discipline is important and for it to succeed it is imperative that we all work together to make concerted and cooperative efforts to achieve a fair and even handed discipline policy.

• For a rule to be successfully enforced, EVERY teacher must enforce it.

• For a student to be expected to follow a rule, EVERY student must be subject to the same rule.

• We must FOLLOW UP each incident.

We must work together as one team within the one school and must enforce, equitably, the rules and guidelines laid down in the behavioral code.

School discipline is important and for it to succeed it is imperative that we all work together to make concerted and cooperative efforts to achieve a fair and even handed discipline policy.

• For a rule to be successfully enforced, EVERY teacher must enforce it.

• For a student to be expected to follow a rule, EVERY student must be subject to the same rule.

• We must FOLLOW UP each incident.

We must work together as one team within the school and must enforce, equitably, the rules and guidelines laid down in the behavioral code.

  
  General Statement

Niva International School expects all students to work to the best of their ability and to cooperate with fellow students and school staff in maintaining a safe, healthy and orderly learning environment. A proper learning environment must be free from disruptive, threatening and dangerous behaviours that interfere with the excitement and challenges of teaching and learning. These rules are intended to promote good citizenship, self-respect, respect for others, property and environment..

  
  Behavioral Policies

In order to maintain Niva values and for the school to run smoothly, students are expected to honor the following policies:

  
  A. Attendance/Absence

Students of Niva are expected to attend all classes. This is a must if they expect to achieve the level of academic and intellectual skills necessary for higher level learning. In cases where students have missed classes, the following rules apply:

1. Excused Absences
Whatever the reasons for excused absences, they cannot exceed five (5) days per semester.

A formal record will be kept by the school office. When returning after an absence, a student is required to bring a letter signed by a parent/guardian or a medical certificate stating reasons of absence. A copy will be given to the homeroom teacher and one will be kept in the student’s file.

2. Unexcused Absences
To maintain a record of student attendance at school, the student should bring a letter explaining their absence on the first day back at school on their return. If a letter is not received the school will contact the parents asking for a letter/medical certificate. Further unexcused absence could incur detention for that student.

Students will not be allowed to attend classes without completing the "Request for Leave/Reporting Leave Taken Form" which is green in color.

3. Skipping Classes
Attendance to all scheduled classes is mandatory to all NIVA students unless prior permission is granted by the Discipline Master, subject teacher, or school nurse. In case of illness, the school must have permission from the subject teacher in order to visit the school nurse.

All prior permission granted by the Discipline Master, subject teacher, or school nurse is counted as unexcused absence if the missed work isnot submitted according tot he time frame given by the subject teacher. 

Students will not be allowed to attend classes without completing the "Excuse Slip" which is pink in color.

 

4. Tardiness
All students are expected to be punctual to every class.

Tardy limits:
a. Elementary school five (5) per semester. When the limit is reached, parents will be sent a letter informing them of their child’s tardiness. If this trend continues the parents will be asked to attend a conference with the Student Affairs Coordinator.

b. High School three (3) per semester


Students over this limit will face disciplinary action. Only under extenuating circumstances (agreed by the school) will any exceptions apply.


Note: The schedule allows five minutes between each class, if, for some reason a teacher needs to delay a student, then the student must have a note from that teacher to hand to the next teacher.

All students needing to leave school during school hours for personal reasons must complete the "Leaving School Early Form" which is blue in color. Permission to leave must be given in writing or by telephone to the Administrator by the student's parents or guardian.

  
  B. Social Behaviour

1. Violence/Fighting
Any acts of violence, whether verbal, emotional, psychological or physical will not be tolerated. Students committing any acts of violence will be dealt with in a manner appropriate to the severity of the action.

2. Respect
Everyone at Niva is expected to respect each other and also visitors to the school. They are required to speak in a manner that is not offensive or threatening to anyone. Disrespectful behaviour towards teachers and/or staff and defiance of authority will not be allowed.

3. Honesty
Honesty is one of the highest values in life. Under no circumstances are students to lie, steal or cheat. A student who is caught lying, stealing or cheating will be dealt with in a manner appropriate to the severity of the offence.

4. Relationships
Students at Niva must conduct themselves in an acceptable and appropriate manner expected within a school environment. Being caught in any compromising situation (physical relationships that are unacceptable due to age, indiscretion or respect) will not be allowed.

5. Vandalism/Theft
Everyone at Niva is required to respect both public and private property. Any form of vandalism and/or damage will not be tolerated. Defacement of school property will not be tolerated (e.g. writing on desks with any substance). The school will not be held responsible for any theft, damage or loss of personal property.

6. Eating in Class / Basketball Courts
Students are allowed to bring water only into classrooms. Food and any other beverages should be consumed in the school canteen, not in other areas of the building, in the classrooms or on the basketball courts.

7. Littering
It is the responsibility of every student to keep the school environment, classrooms and all other facilities clean and free from litter.

8. Polite Language
Polite language should be used at all times. The use of foul language will not be accepted.

9. Plagiarism and Cheating
All work must be the student’s own if they are to learn successfully and be given the due credit for their work. Plagiarism is copying, whether it be directly from books, internet or from another student. This is a serious offence and will not be allowed at Niva. Webster’s collegiate dictionary defines plagiarism as “the art of stealing….and passing off as one’s own, the ideas, words, writings etc. of another.” You must acknowledge all ideas that you quote, paraphrase, and summarize from another author through a reference list and references. Failing to do so will result in consequences.

Cheating on tests and homework or forging signatures are also serious offences that will be dealt with accordingly.

10. Self-Organization
Students are required to come to school fully prepared and with all the necessary equipment necessary for their studies, such as textbooks, notebooks, pencils, dictionaries, calculators, art materials, completed homework’s, assignments and projects etc. Failing to do so could incur consequences.

11. Equality of treatment
It is expected that students should treat everyone equally. Niva is an equal opportunity educational institution and therefore, equal privilege is given to all students regardless of their race, religious, social or economic standing.

  
  C. Dress Code

The Niva uniform will be worn properly and with pride. Niva students are expected to be appropriately groomed and dressed at all times. The school expects students to be neat and tidy in their appearance and to present a good image of the school within the community and during official school functions.

1.  Appearance
Excessive jewelry worn by girls or boys is unsuitable in the school setting. Boys are not allowed to wear earings. Excessive makeup on girls is considered inappropriate. Any hairstyle or colour, which in the opinion of the administration, disrupts the educational atmosphere and/or detracts from the learning process is unacceptable.

2.  Uniform  
Except for “No–Uniform Days” the specified school uniform is to be worn.

Students must wear school uniform whilst on school and field trips unless the Student Affairs Coordinator gives clearance. Students should remember that when they wear the school uniform they will be seen as representing Niva.

3.  No – uniform Day
Students are required to dress neatly and politely during these occasions. Strapless or spaghetti strap tops, revealing attire, shirts with impolite or improper messages and flip flop type shoes are not allowed on the Niva campus.

This dress code should also be adhered to during school camp and any other school activities unless otherwise advised by the school.

  
  D. Prohibited Items

1.   Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco
The use, possession, or buying and selling of illegal and prohibited substances at school, or while participating in a school-sponsored activity, is a serious violation of school policy.

Illegal and prohibited substances include narcotics, stimulants, barbiturates, hallucinogenic drugs, marijuana, medication not prescribed by a registered medical practitioner, tobacco and alcohol.

All students requiring the ingestion of medicine should place these medicines under the custody of the school nurse.

2.  Weapons
Any dangerous device, weapon or explosive brought into school will be confiscated by a member of staff and will be reported to the administration immediately.

3.  Electronic Gadgets
Electronic gadgets such as walkmans, pagers, mobile phones, PCTs etc are not allowed to be used in classrooms. The school will also not take responsibility for the loss of any such item.

4.  Toys, Expensive Jewellery, and Excessive Cash
Students are not expected to bring toys, expensive jewellery or excessive cash to school. .

  
  E. Acceptable Use of Technology Policy

Students who violate the following terms and conditions may lose access to the Internet, the school network and the school’s computers.

1.  Acceptable Use
Access to the school’s technology resources will be allowed only for students currently registered at this school and it is to be used solely as part of the educational objectives of the school.

When using the school’s network or computing resources, students must follow the rules for that particular location.

When in doubt, a student must ask his/her teacher before going ahead. If students use their internet access for anything other than acceptable use, they may lose their access to the school’s technology resources.

2.  Unacceptable Use
Students may not send or receive anything that violates the Niva International School Technology Code of Conduct, school rules or the laws of Thailand.

This includes but is not limited to:

a.  Violations of copyrighted material.

b.  Threatening material or messages.

c.  Harassing material or messages.

d.  Material or messages containing personal information such as      
     names, phone numbers, or addresses.

e.  Obscene, pornographic, or violent material or messages.

f.   Sexist, racist, or inflammatory material or messages.

g.  Advertising items for sale (or any commercial use).


When in doubt, a student must ask his/her teacher before going ahead. Any student who demonstrates such “ unacceptable use” may lose privileges to the school’s technology resources.

Access to the Niva technology resources is a privilege, not a right.

3.  Niva Technology Code of Conduct
All computer users agree to:

a.  Be ethical and courteous and not send hateful, harassing, obscene,      discriminatory, or other inappropriate messages.

b.  Respect the files and data of other users and not change or copy      files/data of others without their permission.

c.  Treat anything created by others (information, graphics, music,      sounds, projects, etc) as their private property and respect      copyrights.

d.  Use the school network in a way that does not disrupt its use for      others.

e.  Not develop or distribute programs that invade other computer      systems, or networks and not hack the system.

f.   Not destroy, change, or misuse the hardware or software in any
     way.

g.  Use the Internet for educational purposes.

h.  Respect and protect the privacy of all users. Do not use anyone      else’s user name password.

  
  F. Disciplinary Action

1. Time Outs / Detention
Time outs are for the Elementary students. These take place during break or lunch time.

Detentions are for the High school students. These take place during lunch or after school. If an after school detention is given, a letter will be sent to the parents giving the date and time of the detention. Parents are responsible for transportation of their child if an after school detention is given.

2. Suspensions
Students can receive suspensions from any school activity for committing serious offences or failing to respond to requests and actions seeking a change of behaviour.

Students may be given an in-school suspension where they remain on campus, but will not go to classroom. However they will work in the reception area of the school office. Also the student may be asked to stay home for one or more days depending on the severity of the offence. It is then the responsibility of the student to catch up on any work they have missed.

If a student is suspended, the parents will be informed and may also be required to attend a parent conference.

3. Expulsions
School administrators can recommend complete withdrawal from Niva for the most serious offenses, or in the case of students failing to respond to suspensions or academic probationary measures.

Before expulsion, in certain cases the student could be put on a probation period to see if they improve their behaviour. If there is no effort from the student to improve, the parents will be called to a conference so that full details of the situation can be given.

4. Choices and Consequences
There are times when students make the wrong decisions and choices with regard to their behaviour. At Niva they are expected to take responsibility for those decisions and actions. Disciplinary measures are listed on the following pages as a series of consequences for improper student conduct.

CHOICES AND CONSEQUENCES

  
  SCHOOL SLIPS / FORMS

1.  White
In the beginning of every school year it is mandatory that every student update their personal and medical information within ten days of enrollment. This is for reasons of reliability.

2.  Green Form (Request for Leave/Reporting Leave Taken)
This form is used to enter class when a student has been absent from school.

3.  Pink Form (Excuse Slip)
This form is to be submitted to the subject teacher for skipping classes. All prior permission granted by the subject teacher, school nurse, or Discipline Master is counted as unexcused absence if the missed work is not submitted according to the time frame given by the subject teacher.

4. Yellow Slip (Late Slip)
This is used to enter class when a student is late in any class, tardy to school, or to re-enter when called out of class by the office.

5. Blue Form (Leaving School Early)
This pass is presented to the guard when leaving school during the schooling hours.

6. Student Documentation Request Form

7. School Leaving Clearance

8. Homework Club

9. Duplicate Locker Key