Attendance  

Students are expected to be in all scheduled classes, on time, all day, and every day.  Attendance is recorded every period. Students will be marked late if they are not in class by the final bell.  

Students, who are absent from a class for any reason, must complete an Absence Notice and submit it to the Main office within one week of their return (or in advance), signed by a parent/guardian and all teachers involved.  Parents are not required to call the school for such absences. Absence Notice is available for downloading on the school website.  

If an early dismissal is required, students need to present a note from a parent/guardian to the Main office when they sign out.   

Students have the responsibility for all work missed during excused absences. Students are encouraged to show initiative in finding out what work was missed and how it might be made up. Teachers will provide reasonable assistance to students absent for acceptable reasons. When exams are missed, due to an excused absence, students need to make arrangements with their teacher to write the test or take alternative measures. Students may not have the opportunity to make-up or hand in work missed because of an unexcused absence.

The following table represents the continuum of procedures and consequences for unexcused absences.

Extended Vacations: Extended vacations and/or vacations during school time are a parental decision.  Although teachers may choose to do so, they are not expected to provide work or give extra time for assignments due to vacation absences.  Examinations and in-class assignments missed due to vacation may result in a mark of “0”.  These absences can seriously impact a student’s achievement.  Marks lost due to vacation can affect the final letter grade as evaluation of student learning is based on the work of the whole year.  Whenever possible, vacation time should be taken when school is not in session.

On occasion families may request that their child be absent from school for an extended period of time due to a family emergency, a family death, an opportunity to travel, temporary work out of the city, etc.

It is practice within Vancouver Schools that be held up to 30 school days at the written request of a parent/guardian.  Families requesting an absence of more than 30 school days should be informed, in writing that space at the school or program cannot be held but that of course should space be available upon their return their child would be re-enrolled.

Learning Honesty Policy

David Thompson aspires to develop honest, ethical, and accomplished students capable of being responsible citizens in Canadian society.

Any form of cheating or school learning dishonesty will not be tolerated at David Thompson. Some examples of academic dishonesty include:

• plagiarizing/ copying material from any source (e.g. students, the Internet including on-line translations,) without proper acknowledgement. This includes essays, assignments, lab reports, drawings, sketches, designs, and video or audio recordings and all other assigned work. Only original work may submitted;
• supplying information or work of any kind to another student with the knowledge that it may be used for marks;
• copying information from another person’s test paper;
• bringing or using unauthorized notes or equipment (electronic devices of any kind, programmable calculators, computers, etc.) for a test;
• making any attempt to alter marks and grades.

Consequences for Academic Dishonesty

When a student engages in academic dishonesty, the Grade Administrator after consultation with the supervising teacher, will apply some or all of the following consequences:

• the student will receive a mark of zero on the assignment;
• the incident may be recorded on the student’s discipline file;
• the parents/guardians will be informed;
• the student will demonstrate understanding of the fraudulent work in an alternative assignment determined by the teacher;
• the student may not be eligible to receive any awards including honour roll status, athletic awards, or year-end grade awards for the current year;
• the student may be asked to reflect in writing the reasons for the dishonesty and what he/she has learned from the incident;
• teachers may not provide letters of reference for external use.

Course Change Policy

Students considering a course change must consult with their counsellor and follow the established procedure. Parent/guardian approval is required for course changes.

Evaluation and Reporting
The learning process is continuous and teachers' evaluation of students' progress is daily and cumulative. Formal reports to parents are issued three times a year.

Whenever there is additional information which must be communicated between reports, subject teachers send home interim reports. Your teacher will inform you at the beginning of the course on how you will be evaluated.

We strive to maintain close contact with the student’s home. Parents are encouraged to contact subject teachers, counsellors, or administrators at any time and/or to set up appointments. Specific questions related to student instruction and evaluation in any course must first be brought to the subject teacher’s attention.

Dress Code  

Students must dress with due regard for health and safety in the classroom, laboratory, shops, and gymnasium. Special clothing may be required. For safety and health reasons, footwear must be worn at all times.  

Visiting Other Schools

Students are not to visit other schools during the school day or on professional days. This is considered trespassing on other school’s property. If students need to visit another school, they must report directly to the school office and ask to speak to an administrator to obtain a permission and receive a visitor’s pass.

Smoking

In accordance with the Vancouver City By-law prohibiting smoking in public places, smoking of any kind is not permitted anywhere on the school premises or at school functions. Smoking refers to any action that includes items such as cigarettes, vapes, e-cigarettes, which involves the inhaling and exhaling of a vapour or smoke-like substance.

Neighbours

Students are reminded to respect the property of our neighbours and our larger community. This includes no trespassing on neighbours' property and no littering in the community. We must all be responsible for the appearance of our school and neighbouring community.

Reporting to the Office

Students must report to the office if they become ill during the day, require an early dismissal from school with an appropriate parent/guardian note (see attendance section), and/or are dismissed or sent out of a class for any reason other than an early dismissal.

Skateboards

Skateboards must be dismounted once a student reaches school property. They are to be placed in your locker for the duration of the school day. Riding a skateboard is prohibited on school property and the item may be confiscated for the day.

Snowballs

For safety reasons, throwing snowballs is not permitted on or near school property.

School Dances

A school dance is a school-sanctioned event. Students must present a dance ticket and their current student Go Card to gain entry to the school dance. If you have lost your Go Card you must see your grade level administrator prior to the dance for an orange administrative slip.