The Cathedral Grammar School .::. Rules

The School Rules are based on the set of values which members of the school seek to live by. These rules relate to all members of the school community — parents, pupils and staff.

Respect — for ourselves and others

Respect for yourself includes respecting your attire, conduct, work, the way you accept correction and the way you participate in the life of the school. This requires that:

You wear the correct uniform which is neat and clean, and which is worn correctly and completely
Your behaviour and language reflects

respect for others and their physical and emotional safety
respect for yourself as a person to be trusted and as an ambassador of the school
your desire for other people to feel comfortable in your presence

You accept correction with humility and good grace showing that you take responsibility for the consequence for others of your actions
You take an active and enthusiastic part in the broad range of activity that makes up the experience that is school
You are organised: all your equipment is at hand for any lesson or activity
You are prepared: you undertake appropriate preparation for each lesson or activity
You try hard: lessons and tasks are undertaken with diligence and effort to improve

Respect for others includes respecting their good name and feelings, their way of doing things, their property and ambitions. This requires that:

You address other by the appropriate name and avoid names that demean and/or offend them
You actively seek to be friendly to all others and avoid talking about other people in a way which would not be appropriate in their hearing
You encourage others in their endeavours and avoid belittling their efforts or achievements
You respect the rights of others to their property, caring for it in the same manner as if it were your own, and returning it to its owner if it is mislaid
You allow others to answer questions, to speak their truths and to hear the ideas of others by controlling the timing and frequency of your own speech

Honesty and Truthfulness — in thought, speech and actions

Honesty and truthfulness of thought includes:

accepting that your own ideas and knowledge may be incomplete or incorrect
being open to new ideas and opinions
attempting to be virtuous and high-minded in all your thinking
striving to understand and make sense of the world about you

Honesty and truthfulness of speech includes:

always telling the truth as you know it to be, even when it may be to your disadvantage, and not telling lies to avoid this
speaking up when something is happening which is wrong, even it means being standing out from your friends at the time
contributing your thoughts, however humble you may feel them to be, to a discussion

Honesty and truthfulness of action includes:

respecting the property of others including that of the school, and not stealing o respecting the property of the school that will be used by others, and not damaging it or writing graffiti
facing up with honesty and openness to the consequences of your actions and speech
taking action which is appropriate when something wrong is happening
showing appropriate deference to those who have leadership positions or are in authority

Care and Concern for others

Making an honest attempt to ensure that those about you are happy and safe

You show concern and take action when someone is upset or hurt, or when something wrong is happening
You apologise immediately and show real contrition if you have accidentally hurt or upset someone
You avoid actions or speech that may injure others or hurt their feelings

Helping others feel valued and part of the school community

You offer genuine words of praise when someone tries hard or achieves well, particularly those who are less able than you, and you avoid making comments that are derogatory or belittling
You treat all members of the community equally, and avoid any sense of racism, sexism or favouritism

Obedience

Obeying the rules of the school

You consciously attempt to follow all the requirements and rules that the school may impose, both those rules that are written and those that are told to you from time to time
You help others to follow the rules by your encouragement of them to follow your good example and by not joining with any others who are breaking a rule

Obeying the reasonable directions of those in authority

You do what those in authority ask you to do where it is reasonable and appropriate with a willing spirit and without argument or resentment

Responsibility and a Sense of Duty

Taking responsibility for yourself

You take responsibility for your thoughts, actions and words, and for any consequence that they may have by seeking only positive outcomes and by endeavouring to make amends where your thoughts, actions and words may have hurt or offended others
You are organised, tidy, efficent and focussed on the task at hand
You are positively assertive

Taking responsibility for others

You actively seek to help those you who are part of the school community, particularly where they are in need of assistance, are hurt or are unhappy
You seek to set an example in your actions and speech for others to follow o You opt to be involved in a positive manner when things are going wrong for others

Having a sense of duty to your community

You recognise and take up opportunities to help your school community even where this might impinge on your recreational time
You take seriously any leadership role or responsibility that you are given and endeavour to exceed its requirements
You seek to be a valued member of any team of which you are a member