Student & Parent Handbook

REQUIRED: We (parent and student) uphold the mission of St. Mary's Ryken High School. We agree to abide by the policies, procedures, and regulations outlined in the current Parent/Student Handbook and in any policies and procedures made known to parents and students in regular publications, announcements, and emails normally communicated to parents and students.

The St. Mary’s Ryken computer system, which includes Internet access, as well as all online learning and other platforms used in instruction and school-related activities, has been established for educational purposes to include classroom sponsored activities and career development. It has not been established as a public access or public forum, and SMR has the right to place reasonable restrictions on the material accessed and to require training when needed before computers are made available. The system is not to be used for commercial purposes (to offer, provide, or purchase products or services), for political lobbying, or for recreational use.

Access to the Internet is only available through this school with the permission of parents and the permission of the principal or his/her designee.

The following specific regulations pertain to the use of the SMR system:

1. Students are expected to use the Internet safely and with proper Internet etiquette.

• No personal information or photos of oneself or anyone else shall be posted on the Internet through SMR’s system.
• No assignations shall be planned with anyone met on the Internet through the SMR system.
• No obscene, inflammatory, harassing, or disrespectful language will be used.

2. Students are forbidden to engage in any illegal activities.

• No unauthorized access to this or any other computer system will be attempted.
• No disruption of the computer system or destruction of data by the spreading of computer viruses or by any other means will be attempted.

3. Students are expected to respect SMR’s computer security system. Virus protection procedures will be followed at all times.

• No attempt will be made to change any settings or computer configurations.
• No attempt will be made to visit any unauthorized sites on the Internet.
• Immediate notification of a teacher or other appropriate person will be made if any inappropriate site becomes available.
• Immediate notification of a teacher or other appropriate person will be made if any breach of the computer’s security system is identified.

4. Students are expected to respect their resource limits on SMR’s computer system.

• The system will only be used for educational and career development activities.
• Downloading and saving files to the hard drive is not allowed without teacher approval.
• Accessing discussion groups is not allowed. Accessing personal e­mail accounts is not allowed.

5. Teachers will, from time to time, use platforms such as Zoom, Webex, and other similar electronic platforms as part of their instruction or for other school-related activities. 

• Any classes held or other activities performed using these platforms may be recorded.  Such recordings may consist of audio, video, or any combination thereof and students and faculty may be included in these recordings.  These recordings may be broadcast live during a class session or school-related activity and may be made available at a later date for students and teachers to review, or for other educational purposes.  Faculty or staff members may share any such recordings with other class sections or other classes. 
• Students may not share such recordings outside of the specific class or activity during or for which any such recording is created.  This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the sharing of any such recording, any portion thereof, or any still-shot of any recording on any social media platform or the sharing of any such recording, any portion thereof, or any still-shot of any recording in any private communications, such as through text messaging, email communications or any similar methods.  Any violation of this policy may result in significant disciplinary action.

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I pledge to uphold the Honor Code of St. Mary's Ryken High School.

• I will always tell the truth.
• I will always do my own work.
• I will respect others by never taking what is not mine.
• I will abide by the provisions of this Code and take measures to see that all provisions of this Code are enforced.

I will reaffirm my pledge to this Code on a regular basis by writing and signing this Pledge on each of the assignments that I complete.

• I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this work.

By adhering to this Honor Code, I understand that I am bringing about a community based on the Xaverian values of trust, compassion, humility, simplicity, and zeal.

We have read the school's mission, philosophy and values. We agree to respect these tenets as foundational to the curriculum of St. Mary’s Ryken and the mission of the Xaverian Brothers. We agree to not use social media outlets to defame St. Mary’s Ryken. We understand that engaging in negative conversations about St. Mary’s Ryken does more harm than good. We agree to provide our children with encouragement and support and to uphold and support the decisions of the school's teachers and administrators.

We understand that part of the St. Mary’s Ryken experience is our school uniform which consists of the formal and casual uniform. We have reviewed and understand the distinction between the formal and casual uniforms. We have also read and understand which articles of clothing are acceptable for each uniform. We understand that although SMR allows for dress down days (tag days) that our school is a professional environment and students should wear appropriate school clothing on these days. We agree to hold our children to the expectation set in the SMR uniform policy and support the decisions of the school’s teachers and administrators when consequences are earned for not following the uniform policy.