Conduct and Discipline

General Principles

As Christians we are called to love and honor one another (Romans 12:10). The Middle School faculty and staff seek to live out this call by modeling Christ's love to their students in all that they do. Similarly, Middle School students are expected to serve the Lord by treating their classmates and others with kindness, honor, and respect as fellow children of God (Galatians 3:26). The Middle School is striving to be a community that relies on God's grace (Ephesians 2:8) and forgives each other as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:14).

Truthfulness is a virtue that is essential to the honor of God, the well-being of the self, and the life of the community. The command to tell the truth is included in the Decalogue (Exodus 20:1-17), and Jesus reiterated this precept in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-37), making it clear that God’s concern was not merely with the letter of the law but with truthfulness at the heart of a person.

A school must establish and maintain trust among and between its different groups. Of particular importance is the trust that must abide among students and between students and faculty. We all have a responsibility to maintain our own honesty and also the honesty of the community, without which we cannot live as a morally healthy school.

Lying, cheating, and stealing are three specific behaviors that will not be tolerated at Trinity School. A community cannot successfully exist and flourish when its members practice these three behaviors, and we take seriously the importance of instilling in our students the habit of truthfulness. The following are examples of violations in these three areas:

Lying…        

●  Telling an untruth.

●  Deliberately deceiving.

●  Not telling the whole truth.

●  Denying responsibility for acts for which one is responsible.

●  Changing a grade on a paper, quiz, test, or report card.

●  Forging a parent’s signature and offering that forgery as a legitimate signature.

Cheating…

     ●  Copying another person’s work (tests, quizzes, homework, etc.) or allowing someone
          to copy one’s own work.

     ●  Asking for or giving questions or answers to tests or quizzes. (Students working
          together on homework or other assignments may do so according to the teacher’s
          instructions or with permission.)

     ●  Viewing or getting information from someone else’s work in class or allowing someone
          to look at one’s own work.

     ●  Turning in another person’s work as one’s own; plagiarizing another person’s work,
          ideas, or words.[1]

     ●  Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., Grammarly, ChatGTP, or Google Translate) to
          complete work without the permission of a faculty member. 

Stealing…

●  Taking or using another person’s or the school’s possession(s) without permission (e.g., library books, sports equipment, textbooks).

●  Not turning in “found” items to the lost and found.

Disciplinary Actions

The Middle School faculty and staff consider each misbehavior individually and strive to use disciplinary consequences to help students learn from their mistakes, make amends for their errors, and restore relationships.

Factors that the Middle School faculty and Head of Middle School take into consideration include these: precedent; grade level; the seriousness of the offense; and previous violations. Most instances of misbehavior are handled by the faculty in their classrooms and do not require the attention of the Head of Middle School or the parents.

When infractions require the involvement of the Head of Middle School, the disciplinary consequences taken may include but are not limited to the following (from least to most severe):

●  Warning

●  Recess or lunch detention

●  Letter of apology

●  Detention before or after school

●  In-school suspension

●  Out-of-school suspension

●  Final warning

●  Expulsion

A student may be referred to the Head of Middle School for any behavior that is deemed to be serious. Trinity reserves the right to exercise discretion in assigning consequences in light of exceptional or extenuating circumstances. The spirit of the law, rather than the letter, guides Trinity’s decisions.

Consequences for Serious Conduct Infractions

First Offense:

While a serious first offense could result in suspension or expulsion, Middle School discipline emphasizes responsibility, growth, restoration, and changed behavior patterns.

The first instance of a serious conduct infraction will typically result in a conference with the student and the Head of Middle School. A teacher may be included in this conversation if necessary. The parents will typically be notified and a follow-up conversation may be required with the teacher or Head of Middle School. No credit is given for any work involved in a serious conduct infraction (e.g., a case of plagiarism or the unauthorized use of AI tools).

Second Offense:

Second offenses result in a conference with the student, his or her parents, the Head of Middle School, and often the teacher. Consequences typically include a suspension from school and a warning that further violations may result in expulsion. If the consequence involves a suspension (in-school or out-of-school), a follow-up meeting with the student, his or her parents, and the Head of Middle School will likely be required before the student can return to school.

Third Offense:

A student’s third conduct infraction results in a conference with the student, his or her parents, the Head of Middle School, and the Associate Head of School or Head of School, and, while mitigating factors may be considered, expulsion from school is likely.

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[1] Plagiarism, according to the MLA Handbook, is the use of another person’s ideas, words, or work without proper acknowledgment of that person. It occurs, for instance, when a student passes off as his or her own—i.e., without proper credit to the actual author—someone else’s words in written or spoken form. It also occurs when a student paraphrases such words or uses someone else’s interpretations or creations without proper acknowledgement. It is each student’s responsibility to fully understand the rules regarding plagiarism and proper citation. To avoid plagiarizing, students should always use proper citation with any form of Trinity schoolwork—not just essays, but also assignments such as group projects, poster board or slide presentations, speeches, and skits.