Students and parents, please note the following school policies. All of these policies are present in the VMMS Student Handbook.
All students must wear their lanyard and ID at all times, every day on campus. Teachers may instruct you to take off the lanyard at specific times for safety or physical activities.
All students must wear a collared shirt, or a Vista Magnet spirit shirt, or a college/university shirt on WAVE Pact Wednesdays, or an appropriate dress. Please see p.19 of our student handbook for our full dress code.
All cell phones and mobile devices must be OFF and in the student's backpack at all times while on campus. Students are not allowed to use their devices, and can always come to the front office to use our phone if they need to make a call for an important reason.
Students should leave all the following items at home: Gum, toys, or any other item not directly needed for class activities.
If students ride a bicycle, scooter, or skateboard to school they MUST wear a helmet and have a lock.
Classroom interruptions result in lost instructional minutes, please note students will no longer be released within 20 minutes of school dismissal.
Please watch the following video regarding our school's bikes and skateboards policy.
1. Be respectful. While it is easier to say hurtful or disrespectful things without standing face-to-face with someone, it is important to remember that your classmates and teachers are real people who are affected by the words you say and write. It is essential to keep in mind the feelings and opinions of others, even if they differ from your own. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t say it online either!
2. Be aware of strong language, all caps, and exclamation points. It is easy for written text to be misread and misunderstood. Have you ever sent a text message with good intent but your recipient thought you were being rude? If so, then you’ve experienced this firsthand. By being cognizant of strong language, you can identify potential confusions before sending messages. Tip: Read everything out loud before you send it.
3. Be careful with humor and sarcasm. Certainly you shouldn’t avoid being funny. We love to see your personality shine through in online classes. Many of our teachers are exceptionally funny too. But like mentioned in Rule #2, make sure that it is clear you are being funny and not being rude. Emoticons and smileys can be helpful when conveying humor or sarcasm so that it is read correctly. Just remember to keep the smiley faces away from academic papers.
4. Yes, grammar and spelling matter. While texting, textspeak can b gr8 4 ur friends. In an educational setting (even online) however, keep it formal. Your written communication should be professional and reflect proper writing style. Save written shortcuts and less than stellar grammar for Snapchat if you must, but follow grammar rules for school.
5. Cite your sources. Whenever you are sharing an idea that originated from someone else (even if it is not word for word), it is good practice to cite that source. This applies to discussion forums too. If you read a great thought in your text, share it, but be sure you let your audience know where you saw it first.
6. Don’t post or share (even privately) inappropriate material. Enough said there. Nothing is truly private online.
7. Be forgiving. Remember that not everyone will know these rules before posting. Try to be understanding of others when they struggle with written communication. It is very different than simply talking to a person face-to-face.
VMMS has a wonderful librarian, Ms. Versaci. She is our library GODDESS!
Ms. Versaci is a great source of information. She can recommend and help you find incredible books.