Briar Hill Safety Plan & Procedures

Code of Behaviour:
•The Briar Hill Code of Behaviour is published in both our school agendas and handbook.

Briar Hill Golden Rule:
•The Briar Hill “Golden Rule” “At Briar Hill we keep our hands, feet and hurtful words to ourselves” is well known to most senior students and should be familiar to all junior students.

Dress Code:
•The Briar Hill Dress Code is also published in both our school agenda and handbook.

Character Education:
•Character Education is taught on a weekly basis at Briar Hill. The staff has developed a curriculum to guide the weekly lessons.
•The Future Aces Program and Philosophy is actively promoted and pracitised at Briar Hill. Students are rewarded with Future Aces Mini-Alerts after displaying Future Aces behaviour and they are recognized at our monthly assemblies.
•The Briar Hill School Song is also sung at our monthly assembly to help instill pride in being a student at our school. The lyrics in the song promote good character behaviour. The song is also published in the agenda and handbook.

Partnerships with Charitable and Community Organizations:
Partnerships include:
Terry Fox Foundation
UNICEF
Jump Rope For Heart
Food Banks
Senior’s Group Entertainment
Remembrance Day and The Memory Project
Student Volunteer Programs: Eco Club, Milk Program, Fun and Fitness Ambassadors, Special Education Helpers, Library Helpers, Peer Tutoring

Centrally Assigned School Support Staff:
•Constantly being utilized to give support to “At Risk” students

Agendas:
•Many staff members use the agendas to communicate with parents about concerning situations in the classroom or at school

Phone Calls and Parent/Teacher Conferences:
•Ongoing for “At Risk” students

School Support Team Meetings:
•Monthly meetings to discuss students experiencing academic or emotional concerns

Staff Meetings:
•Staff meetings are held at least once a month to disseminate up-to-date information from the Board of Education or others on health and safety matters.

Physical School Safety:
•School Doors are locked on a daily basis at 9:15 a.m. Doors are unlocked by a buzzer system and visitors to the school are viewed on a video monitor before entrance is granted. Communication is by an intercom system.
•A Health and Safety Committee of different staff members is in place and meets to discuss school safety issues.
•Fire Drills and School Lockdowns are practiced six times a year to help students become familiar with school safety routines.

Student’s Emotional Well-Being:
•Except in extreme situations, progressive discipline is used at Briar Hill. Infractions of our Code of Behaviour are consequenced progressively e.g. warning, lost recesses, call to parents, in-school suspension, etc. Out of school suspensions are used rarely and usually only when other measures of discipline have not been successful.
•The Briar Hill Community is very diversified. Equity for all students and staff is an expectation at our school. An Equity Committee is in place and receives on-going professional development throughout the school year.
•To promote positive self-esteem, Briar Hill seeks out opportunities to highlight such events as individual birthdays, exceptional behaviour, academic successes, etc.

Transitions:
•To ensure smooth transitions for students who are moving to other schools, both students and their parents are invited to attend an information session and take advantage of an arranged school visit to the new school (for Grade 5 students, if it is the middle school that is in our area). This is also encouraged for Special Education students and their parents who are moving on to a new academic setting.

At-Risk Students:
•Students who are identified as “at-risk” academically receive individual support in either our self-contained classes, Home School Program or receive Resource Support from our school Special Education Staff
•Centrally assigned support staff are also available to support the above students, students with special needs (e.g. hard of hearing, blind, intellectual disabilities, students experiencing emotional difficulties, concerned parents, etc.)