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Mobile Central High School P.O. Box 60 |
The Mobile |
October 2004 |
Safe And Peaceful Schools
Mobile Harassment Policy
Parents/Guardians Are Asked To Discuss this Policy At Home With Their Son(s)/Daughter(s)
| Overview This policy is intended to protect students of Mobile High School and provide a fair and equitable process to deal with harassment issues. The aim of this policy is to prevent harassment within the school, the school ground, during bus transportation and in the community thus providing a safe and positive learning environment. General Definitions Under this policy, harassment is defined as conduct, exhibited once or repeatedly, that is offensive, insulting, malicious, intimidating and/or degrading to another person or group. Further, the person exhibiting the conduct should have known or ought reasonably to have known that the conduct would be offensive or unwelcome. Harassment can occur within the school or outside. Types of Harassment Harassment can take many forms, including, but not limited to abuse of authority, sexual harassment, discrimination and hazing. The following or analogous conduct may constitute harassment: Written or spoken abuse or threats. Inappropriate notes, email or online chat room discussions about others Unwelcome remarks, jokes, comments, innuendo or taunting about a persons physical appearance, dress, age, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Practical jokes, which are humiliating or endanger a person’s physical safety. Coerced participation in initiation rites such as hazing ceremonies or activities involving drinking of alcoholic beverages or drug use. Sarcastic , condescending, or patronizing behaviour which undermines self esteem and/or diminishes performance. The targeting of an individual or group for repeated harsh treatment or assignment of unpleasant tasks or duties. The poisoning of attitudes towards an individual or group within the school as evidenced by intentional attempts to exclude others from group activites. The display of visual or written material that is offensive or which one ought to have known would be offensive. The use of threatening or obscene gestures. |
Unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances, requests, invitations or demands. Implementation
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On School and School Athletics |
Students Leaving School Grounds |
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Read OxyContin: A Lethal Killer below. |
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| On School and School Athletics Mobile High School has an outstanding athletic program which is comparable, despite our size, to some of the largest schools in the Atlantic Region. Our student athletes are highly motivated with a strong competitive spirit that brings much credit to our school. Our parents are extremely supportive of our teams and players as demonstrated by their frequent attendance at games and their tireless efforts in supporting fund raising initiatives. Mobile High School also has a highly efficient and effective Sports Committee comprised of volunteer parents who spend countless hours at team functions, tournaments and fundraising drives. Through their leadership Mobile High School is able to field competitive teams that participate in games and tournaments throughout the province. Mobile High School also has the benefit of a large group of volunteer coaches who are highly qualified, competent individuals willing to devout weeknights and weekends to advancing the skill levels of all of our student athletes. The school also enjoys the benefit of an outstanding Athletic Director who coordinates the activities of numerous teams and hundreds of players despite the fact that he is assigned a full teaching assignment. Mobile High School also has a Sportsmanship First Policy the mission of which is to promote the physical, mental, social and moral development of all student athletes through a high quality athlete program. Our policy states that we are committed to the essential elements of sportsmanship and ethics in sports through the core principles of respect, responsibility, fairness, honesty, integrity and good citizenship. Under this educational model of sports, coaches and other volunteers are first and foremost considered to be teachers. Their success is measured not by victories and records, but by the extent to which they help all their athletes improve their skills and become better people. Further, the stated purpose of our policy is to assist all student athletes to reach their full physical, educational and social potential through participation and sportsmanship in interscholastic sports. This fair play model requires that no matter what the level of competition that all players be given the opportunity to participate. While no specific time share policy is in effect every coach is responsible for ensuring that all players on a team have a fair opportunity to participate regardless of the activities of a competing team. All of these elements combine to make the Mobile High School Athletic Program a major success. Our school and our communities are well known throughout the province for our organization of tournaments and games, our hospitality in hosting players, coaches and parents, and our commitment to sportsmanship among players, coaches, parents, students and other spectators. Not all schools or districts are as fortunate as Mobile High School. In some schools the Athletic Program is plagued by a multitude of problems that often brings discredit to the school, school teams and the communities in general. Games and tournaments are often characterized by loud, abusive parents, teachers, students, and other spectators who berate home and visiting players, coaches and other game officials under the assumption that they could do better if handed the ball. These programs are also characterized by coaches who undermine other coaches both in the change rooms and in the community. They berate struggling players, compete for star players and openly demonstrate by word and deed that winning at all cost is the primary goal. The newspapers are filled with stories of aggressive parents, coaches, teachers, students and other spectators who have lost sight of the core principles of respect, responsibility and good citizenship. To protect the integrity of all school sports programs it is necessary for those directly and indirectly involved to be held to a higher standard of conduct when involved with children. Those who continually use inappropriate abusive language, and demonstrate no propensity to change their habits, must be barred from the school venue permanently. Coaches who defy fair play policies must be required to step aside in favor of those willing to advance the skills of all players and willing to advance the concepts of respect, responsibility, fairness and good citizenship. Finally, those in attendance must be willing to report infractions so that they can be dealt with in an open and honest way. Rumors, innuendo and hearsay will not advance any cause. When all of the above corrective measures are taken in a forceful manner all schools can enjoy the same outstanding athletic program enjoyed by the students of Mobile High School. Table of Contents From The Guidance Office Students in level III who are planning to attend the College of the North Atlantic are encouraged to send in their applications as soon as possible. Some courses have lengthy waiting lists and this would ensure their names are on the list sooner. Applications are available at the Guidance Office. Senior Peer Leaders held their first meeting last week. Thirteen students attended the meeting. Many activities were planned for the coming year. The first activity outside the school will take place on November 10th. The Senior Peer Leaders from Mobile will meet on this date with similar groups from Queen Elizabeth and Booth College. The purpose of the meeting is to provide leadership training for the students. Students involved with the Tutoring for Tuition program for the first time this year are scheduled to have their initial training on October 19th. After this they will be set up with their learners and tutoring will begin. Fifteen students expressed an interest in becoming tutors. All will receive the training. Ten will become tutors and five will be alternates. The total number of learners who have expressed an interest in availing of the services of a tutor is currently 16. This program provides the tutors with an excellent opportunity to earn vouchers towards their tuition at any post secondary institution in North America. Table of Contents Science Department Extra help for Science 1206, Science 2200 , Physics 2204, Biology 3201 and Math 1204 is available Tuesday - Friday from 2:45 - 3:30 in homeroom 128 or any morning before homeroom. Canadian Medical Hall of Fame - Kayla Colbert, Michele Kennedy, David Dunphy & Abby Jackman will be attending Discovery Days in Health Science at Memorial School of Medicine on October 29. This day is designed to motivate students interested in pursuing careers in Medicine & the Health Sciences. Aventis Biotech Challenge Students in Level I - III interested in the Aventis Biotech Challenge can see Ms.Walsh in room 128. Table of Contents Language Arts Department The Language Arts Department would like to extend a warm welcome back to the students of Mobile Central High for the 2004-2005 school year. We would especially like to welcome the grade 7 students who are new to our school and we wish them the best of luck as they join the Mobile High family! In order to ensure that our students achieve as highly as they can and receive any extra help they need, the Language Arts Department will make a teacher available in both the junior and senior wing every Tuesday after school as we did last year. Students are encouraged to make use of this opportunity if they are having any difficulties. Students are also asked to talk to their Language Arts teacher if they wish to avail of this service as a courtesy prior to the Tuesday afternoon they wish to receive extra help. In accordance with this, Language Arts teachers wish to encourage parents to be active in their son or daughter’s education. Please monitor your child’s homework and progress as the school year proceeds and feel free to contact the school if you have any questions. And be assured that despite what your son or daughter may tell you, one certainly can and should study for Language Arts! There are many terms to know at each level, sample answers to practice and analyze, activities and homework to do, things to read etc. Finally, I (Mrs. L. Kennedy, Language Arts Department Head) am looking for donations of Scrabble games primarily for the Junior Wing. These games are quite expensive and I only have been able to rustle up a few so far. If you have a game sitting around on a dusty shelf somewhere, could you please send it in to me as soon as possible as it would be most appreciated? Who knows, we may have a budding Scrabble champion in our midst! Table of Contents Sports News The fall athletic sports teams are up and running. The boys senior soccer are the regional champions and will be taking part in the provincial championships on Oct. 16th in Burin. The girls senior soccer team is competing in the regional play downs on Oct 4th, we wish them the best of luck. Jr. Boys and Girls soccer teams are playing in the zone round robin competition, good luck to both teams. The Boys and Girls Sr. Softball teams were unsuccessful in there zone play but represented our school very well. Table of Contents The Mobile SADD Chapter Hey everyone, well a new year has started which means we will be Starting our new SADD chapter soon. This year I, Briana Cahill, am the Provincial President for SADD for Newfoundland and Labrador. This year is going to be a great year, we have so much planned which I hope to dig into as soon as possible. I am going to be looking for as much help from my fellow students, parents and teachers as possible. To kick off the year we will be celebrating NSAID day on October 26, 2004 so put it on your calendar. In early December we hope to travel to St. Bernard's Primary and St. Patrick's Elementary to once again have them decorate the Liquor bags which this year I promise will be posted at Foodland in Bay Bulls. This year we would like to once again show our support of our local Kinsmen Club of Witless Bay by participating in their annual Santa Claus Parade. Also I would like to have a joint meeting between our school and Baltimore. MADD Canada is presenting another Multimedia School Assembly Program at the Reid Centre in Mt. Pearl on October 19, 2004. Our school attended one such production at Baltimore High School a couple of years ago; this is a new production. This was quite an eye opener and we all know of the problems associated with drinking and driving. These are but a few of the highlights of activities I would like to see happen during this school year. Any other suggestions/ideas would be welcome. I can be contacted through e-mail at Briana_soccer7@hotmail.com. We hope to arrange a provincial conference for late Spring 2004. Always remember, Friends Don't Let Friends Drink and Drive. Briana Cahill Provincial President SADD Table of Contents Environmental Center Our Grade Eight students will be attending a three day environmental training seminar from 18-20 October at the Brother Brennen Environmental Center. This is an excellent program which all students will certainly enjoy. Table of Contents School Dances Already this year we have had two dances at Mobile High School. It is our belief that Mobile dances are one of the safest places for children to be. Each of these dances is properly supervised by both teachers and parents. Whenever a school dance is scheduled we always invite parents to participate. All parents are asked to contact the school and have their name added to the list of parents willing to supervise school dances. With the cooperation of parents we can continue to ensure that all of our dances are safe and enjoyable for both students and parent supervisors. Table of Contents Students Leaving School Grounds District Policy permits students from grade 7 to grade 12 to leave the school grounds at lunch period. Many students leave just for the break away from school This school however has continuing concerns about those students who leave the grounds at lunch time and walk in large groups sometimes in the middle of the highway. Should this practice continue it is only a matter of time before a student is injured or killed. Last week, a large vehicle which was allegedly stolen by two juveniles from the St. John’s area, slammed into a parked truck at the top of Mobile Hill. The driver appeared to lose control on the turn. Had this vehicle passed through at recess or lunch time the possibility exists that several of our students could have been hit. Parents are asked to discuss this matter with their children and reinforce the condition that all students must behave appropriately and must observe all the rules of the road concerning pedestrians by walking on the shoulder of the road not the paved portion. A main highway passes alongside our school and drivers in larger vehicles may not be able to stop in time when children are walking in the center of the road. This is equally true of students who elect to walk along the pathway. In the past students have been disciplined for being found on the water flume or climbing the chain link fence along the Mobile pool. Students who decide to leave the school grounds must do so in an appropriate manner. Parents must continually highlight this concern to ensure every student understands the dangers associated with inappropriate behavior. If you do not wish to allow your child to leave the school grounds please indicate so to your child and put it in writing to the school. We will continue to raise this issue in each newsletter in order to ensure that parents and students are aware of this inherent danger. It is recommended that parents make a point of driving along the roadway periodically at lunch time to check that their child is abiding by the rules of the road and not walking in the center of the road. Table of Contents Scholarships Both parents and students are reminded of the large number of scholarships available to students. Scholarship information is available through our Guidance Office for anyone who is interested. Some of these community scholarships are never presented because no applications are received. Students are encouraged to seek out scholarship information and make the appropriate applications. Scholarships can certainly ease the burden of post secondary tuition. Table of Contents Technology Focus One of the primary goals of the current school year is to enhance the technology available to our students. The computers presently in our lab are generally Pentium I’s or lower and cannot keep pace with software demands. We need to replace these computers with 26 new or refurbished computers that are Pentium III’s or above. As you are probably aware, Mobile High School currently has an ongoing Chocolate Bar Fundraiser. Proceeds from this event will be used to commence the replacement process. All of our fundraisers this year will support this project. We would also like to appeal to our parents and to the business community and solicit their support of our efforts. Any individual or corporate donations can be made payable to the Mobile High School Technology Fund. All donations can be officially receipted for tax purposes as our School Council has charitable status. Refurbished computers can be purchased in the $500.00 range while new computers will cost approximately $1000.00. Any assistance that can be provided in helping us reach our goal would be greatly appreciated. Table of Contents Visitors To Our School All parents, guests, visitors to our school are asked to check in at the office before visiting/talking to students. Visitors to the school should park at the flag pole entrance. Visitors are not permitted to drive cars onto the parking near the Senior Wing entrance. On a number of occasions, former students of the school have returned in their cars and mingled among students. This practice is not permissible unless guests first check in at the office. We will not allow former students, students attending other schools, or any guest on our school grounds unless they first check in at the office. This is a safety precaution which will be strictly enforced for the protection of all of our students. Table of Contents Congratulations Congratulations to Briana Cahill on being elected Provincial Present of the Newfoundland and Labrador Students Against Drinking and Driving Provincial Chapter. Congratulations to Deirdra Williams and Robin Walsh on being elected Co-Presidents of the Mobile Student Council for the 2004-05 school year. Table of Contents First Class This year, teachers at Mobile High School will be using First Class software for sharing data, emailing, and setting up conferences. Teachers will also have ready access to their own website from which they can share information with students and parents on projects, tests, or even homework assignments. Students should ask their teacher for the appropriate web addresses. The format for all teachers is the same and follows this pattern: Firstnamelastname@esdnl.ca Web pages follow the same general pattern as follows: Http://mail.esdnl.ca/firstname_lastname Table of Contents Math News Our math site is finally up and running. Parents and students are welcome to check our course descriptors, links to math teachers, and to check their homework. The address is home.thezone.net/~math Extra Help Extra help is available for all math students. Any student interested in extra help should speak to their math teacher. A more detailed tutoring schedule will be posted in the next newsletter. Math Competitions The Eastern Region Math Competition will start on 16 October at PWC. Any student interested in representing Mobile on our Math Team should see Mrs. Johnson as soon as possible. Table of Contents Give Someone A Hug Today It’s wondrous what a hug can do. A hug can cheer you when you’re blue. A hug can say, “I love you so”, or “I sure hate to see you go.” A hug is “welcome back again!” and, “Great to see you, where’ve you been?” A hug can soothe a small child’s pain, and brings a rainbow after rain. The hug. There’s no doubt about it. We scarcely could survive without it. A hug delights and warms and charms. It must be why God gave us arms. Hugs are great for fathers and mothers, sweet for sisters, swell for brothers. And chances are your favorite aunts, love them more than potted plants. Kittens crave them, puppies love them, heads of state are not above them. A hug can break the language barrier, make your travel so much merrier. No need to fret about your store of them. The more you give, the more there’s of them. So stretch those arms without delay, and give someone a hug today Author Unknown Table of Contents |
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| Over the past several months there has been a great deal of dissemination by the media about the drug OxyContin. There have been numerous reports of OxyContin diversion and abuse throughout Newfoundland. Some of these reported cases have been associated with serious consequences including death. In an effort to educate citizens in the Northeast Avalon region about these risks, the Conception Bay South / Paradise and Mount Pearl Community Policing Committees, together with the St. John's Citizens' Crime Prevention Committee and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary held information session which were open to the general public. Some of the following information is provided in a Oxy Fact sheet which is available on the web at http://www.gov.nf.ca/oxyinfo/factsheet.html. Also the report of the task force is available online at http://www.gov.nf.ca/publicat/. Parents/Students are encouraged to log onto this site and read about the scope of the problem and ways to deal with it. How many times has someone told you a “party” drug could lead to more serious problems — like addiction, brain damage, or even death? You’ve probably heard it so many times, it’s getting hard to believe. But all drugs have real potential for harm—even prescription pain relievers. When abused, alone or taken with other drugs, prescription pain medications can kill you. Prescription pain relievers, when used correctly and under a doctor’s supervision, are safe and effective. But abuse them, or mix them with illegal drugs or alcohol, and you could wind up in the morgue. Even using prescription pain relievers with other prescription drugs can lead to life-threatening respiratory failure. With some prescription pain relievers, all it takes is one pill. |
The most dangerous prescription pain relievers are those containing drugs known as opioids, such as morphine and
codeine. This includes OxyContin. Your friends probably call these drugs by their street names: o.c., oxy, oxycotton
and you can get them in powder form or in a syringe. Whatever you call them, or whatever form they are in, remember
one thing - they can be killers. If you, or any of your friends, have taken prescription pain relievers, here are
the danger signs to watch for: · Slow breathing (less than ten breaths a minute is really serious trouble) · Small, pinpoint pupils · Confusion · Being tired, nodding off, or passing out · Dizziness · Weakness · Apathy (they don’t care about anything) · Cold and clammy skin · Nausea · Vomiting · Seizures A lot of these symptoms can make people think your friend is drunk. And you may be tempted to let them sleep it off, or tell their parents they had too much to drink. But don’t. Your friend could go to sleep and never wake up. Prescription pain relievers can be addictive, the longer you take them, the more your body needs. If you, or someone you know, is abusing or is addicted, get professional help. You can also ask for help from parents, doctors, relatives, teachers, or school guidance counselors. Substance abuse ruins lives. Don’t let it happen to your friends—or you. Table of Contents |
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Please note: The print version of the newsletter also contains a copy of the Missed Exam Policy, available here. |
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If you are interested in taking part in "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families", a Mobile High School Family/Parenting workshop, please call the school at 334-2525 to register. The course will run each Tuesday night from 7:00 to 9:00 for an eight week period commencing on November 16 2004. Course fee is $10. Limited seating available. Deadline for registrations is November 5. |
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