College Rules & Expectations

Holy Spirit College seeks to develop a culture that holds, contains and supports our adolescent students through these vital transition years, whilst also facilitating them to remain affiliated and contributing positively.

Holy Spirit College holds a strong expectation that all our students will work to fulfill their responsibilities as effective learners whilst attending HSC. That is, whilst we do not expect every student to get A’s, we certainly do expect that every student will respect the genuine rights of others in the College community. The College Rules and Expectations that have been established and adopted at HSC are centred, to some significant extent, around our strong belief that people have the right to live, to learn and to work harmoniously with others at all times. By clear implication, there are consequences that flow from not following these expectations and rules.

Responsible Thinking Process

Students have the right to learn and teachers have the right to teach in safety. No one has the right to disrupt, to prevent other students from learning, or to violate the rights of others.

The intent of this behaviour management process is to teach students, who are acting as a disturbance within the school environment, how to think of ways of reaching their goals without violating the rights of others. This is done by teaching students how to search within themselves and decide the way they want to be. A behaviour management process, to be effective, must treat students the same way as those having difficulty in an academic subject: in a positive atmosphere with understanding, respect and patience.

We consider the Responsible Thinking Process (RTP) to be an effective way of increasing productive learning time and reducing disruptions. It also enables staff and students to build respectful relationships while enhancing the student’s ability to resolve problems through the creation of effective plans. The RTP at Holy Spirit College is consistent with the Mission Statement of the College, in that it provides a framework for the development of several key Gospel values. We believe the Responsible Thinking Process supports our College’s behavioural expectations. We ask all members of our community to ensure their behaviours and attitudes:

• allow other students to learn,
• allow teachers to teach, and
• allow students to reach their academic potential.

ICT Code of Practice

The purpose of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at Holy Spirit College is to:

• enhance student learning opportunities,
• promote student achievement, and
• enhance the management information and business administration systems.

The use of ICT within the College should be responsible, legal, appropriate and for educational purposes and should follow the guidelines outlined in the Code of Practice. The Code of Practice applies to the use of all College-related ICT whether provided by the College, employees of the College or the student.