Student Handbook
Regular school attendance is essential for a student to experience success in school. When a student is absent, a parent or guardian must telephone the school before 9 a.m. on the day of absence.
On returning to school, the student must present to the office a note signed and dated by his parent. When he is absent, the student is responsible for contacting his classmate(s) about tests and class work missed.
A student who is absent from school is not eligible to participate in any school activity that day unless approved by the principal and/or athletic director.
He is also responsible for all tests and/or assignments on the day of return. Students who are absent 15 or more days are subject to possible loss of academic credit and/or dismissal from St. Peter’s.
STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ENTER SCHOOL PROPERLY IN FULL, PROPER DRESS CODE. ARRIVING AND CHANGING AT LOCKERS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
WINTER DRESS CODE
1. **New Nike quarter zip pullover.**
2. **Solid white dress shirt with school tie in place.**
3. **Khaki, clean and neatly pressed pants (No jeans, patch pocket, cargo, jogger or athletic pants.)** Acceptable pants are docker style pants or those which would normally be worn with a suit jacket.
4. Belts (solid brown or black dress belt) are required to be visible and worn properly. No visible labels or designer buckles.
5. All students are required to wear school shoes purchased at Flynn & O’Hara Uniforms.
6. Hair professional and neatly groomed and should not extend over the collar. No dyeing, bleaching of hair and/or cut designs of hair. Messy, unkempt hair will not be permitted. Height and length of hair styles will be left to the discretion of the dean.
7. Faces must be clean shaven with sideburns trimmed (mustaches are not permitted).
8. No piercings, including earrings, are acceptable at any time before, during or at any after school St. Peter’s function.
SUMMER DRESS CODE
Authorized school shirt in lieu of school sweater, dress shirt and tie.
– Must be tucked in at all times and belt displayed properly.
– If worn, undershirts must be plain white only!
– Undershirts with lettering, etc., that can be seen through summer dress code shirts will not be permitted at any time.
– Numbers 3-8 above remain in effect for the summer dress code.
Note: Dress Code is required for school exams, Regents and detention.
The faculty and administration feel very strongly about the need for enforcing the dress code. Students will be issued detention and/or suspended at the discretion of the Dean of Discipline for violations of it. Students requesting an excused dress code must present a note signed by their parent. Medical excuses (allowing sneakers for foot injuries, etc.) must be requested in writing by a physician.
We are asking for the support and cooperation of students and parents in adhering to these regulations. Please remember, students in non compliance of the dress code will be issued detention and/or sent home.
Colors: Blue with logo (Seniors – white with logo)
Sizes: Men’s small, medium, large, x-large, xx-large, xxx-large
Cost: $30.00 each
Freshmen Only: New Nike golf shirt $40 each
1. Tuition/fees are due on the first of each month and/or according to the printed payment schedule.
2. Any student whose tuition/fees are two months in arrears will not be admitted to classes.
3. All tuition/fees for a student who transfers or is dismissed before the end of the academic year are due up to and including the month in which he transfers or is dismissed. Refunds are not issued for students who transfer mid-month.
4. If a student transfers before the first day of school, the only tuition required will be the August payment in full.
5. No student will be permitted to take midterm or final examinations unless all tuition/fees are paid in full up to and including January/May, respectively. Failure to take an examination will result in loss of credit and summer school.
School closings due to inclement weather will be announced beginning at 6 a.m. on the school’s website, the school’s mass notification system, and/or by WCBS-880AM. Failure to properly activate student/parent portal accounts or to enter contact information into the portal may result in not receiving mass communication messages.
To ensure the safety of every child, any day in which school is in session and a parent deems it necessary for a student to be released, due to inclement weather, the following procedure must be followed: (a) A parent must personally come to school to pick up the student; or (b) A parent must send a signed note with the name of the adult to whom the student can be released on said day.
NO STUDENT WILL BE RELEASED BASED ON A TELEPHONE MESSAGE!
Parents and students must be aware that attending St. Peter’s Boys High School includes the parents’ and students’ agreement and consent to be photographed. They consent to the taking of photographs, movies, videos and images capable of reproduction in any medium by the school, its agents, the Department of Education or the Archdiocese of New York.
Parents and students grant the School the right to edit, reproduce, use and reuse the images for any and all purposes including, but not limited to, advertising, promotion and display in any and all media, including, but not limited to, video, print, television, internet and podcasts.
Parents and students transfer the School any right, interest, and they have in any image taken of the students or parents. They also release, indemnify, and hold harmless the School in any and all claims, demands, or causes of action, loss, liability, damage or cost arising from this authorization.
The school has an Internet Acceptable Use Policy which each student, along with a parent or guardian, must sign before a student can access the internet at school.
The Internet Acceptable Use Policy governs the conduct and responsibilities of each student while they are at school and/or utilizing school computer facilities, codes or sites. It is the expectation of the school, however, that student behavior when using the Internet will be exemplary both on and off school grounds.
A Catholic school student always represents his school and the school community. Accordingly, students will be subject to disciplinary action by the school for acts such as, but not limited to, harassment or any other type of threatening, sexual or otherwise inappropriate communication that is conveyed via the Internet (or other technological method or device) regardless of the time of day or the student’s location.
Such misconduct could result in any number of punishments, including the possibility of suspension or expulsion. Additionally, any student who is found to have authored or contributed to a website/blog/wiki/etc. that is of a nature which is threatening, profane, obscene, sexual, illegal or contrary to the Catholic mission of the school, will be subject to disciplinary action by the school.
Upon entering the building, phones are to be locked in lockers. They will remain there for the duration of the school day and be retrieved by the student at dismissal.
For those who purchase lunch, cash or a physical credit card will be used.
Disciplinary Action Involving Cell Phones
First offense: Failure to abide by this policy will result in detention and confiscation of the student’s phone for the duration of the day, to be returned to the student upon dismissal.
Subsequent offenses: Indefinite detention and confiscation of the student’s phone, which will then have to be picked up at school by the student’s parent or guardian by 3:10 p.m. The student’s parents/guardian will be notified by the dean if this occurs.
If it is not possible for a parent/guardian to pick up the phone, it will be locked in the dean’s office overnight until a parent/guardian is able to retrieve their student’s phone.
At St. Peter’s, a student is expected to behave in a way that respects the persons and property of the school community. The purpose of school discipline is to guarantee every student and teacher an opportunity to experience a satisfying and productive life.
Procedural Steps
1. Immediate conference with the Dean of Discipline.
2. Written note to parents.
3. Immediate student suspension and interview with parents.
4. Indefinite detention (2 weeks or longer).
5. Prohibition to participate in any interscholastic competition for an indefinite period.
6. Any offense occurring after the signing of two disciplinary contracts with the Dean of Discipline automatically subjects a student to expulsion.
Misconduct in any of the following will mean automatic detention:
1. Lateness for homeroom.
2. Lateness for school after homeroom.
3. Dress code violation.
4. Smoking violations/smoking/vaping is not permitted on school grounds.
5. Noisy or disruptive behavior in corridors or between periods.
6. Littering or failure to keep cafeteria area clean or eating above the first-floor cafeteria.
7. Use of cellphones during the school day.
8. Use of foul language.
9. Gum chewing/gum is not permitted in the school.
The following behavior is of a more serious nature. The number of procedural steps utilized in dealing with these offenses will depend on the seriousness of the matter and the discretion of the administration:
1. Disrespect – Failure to comply with a reasonable teacher request/Failure to report to a teacher after school.
2. Behavioral problem or expulsion from a classroom or library.
3. Truancy from a school/a class/assembly or detention.
4. Intimidation or fighting with fellow students.
5. Frequent detentions for minor offenses.
6. Complaint from bus company/neighbors about conduct.
7. Possession or use of drugs/alcohol in or out of school.
8. Possession of a book not personally assigned.
9. Vandalism or marking up of desks, lockers, walls, textbooks, etc.
10. Leaving school grounds without permission.
11. Excessive lateness for school (normal lateness number should not exceed five (5) per year).
12. Theft is grounds for immediate expulsion.
13. Chewing gum will result in a $25 fine and indefinite detention.
Disciplinary Action Involving Student Grades
1. Cheating in any form may result in failure in a course.
2. Absence from a final exam deserves a failure in that course unless verified by sickness and a telephone call from a parent on the same day.
3. Removal from a course by an administrator will result in a failure in that course.
We would like to clarify and state a firm administrative position regarding detention. Although we greatly encourage our students to assume a sense of responsibility and maturity regarding after-school employment, detention will never be excused or postponed due to this factor. Detentions, hopefully few, must be served on the day assigned.
A. Discovery of drug/alcohol involvement
A student may be involved with drugs/alcohol in several ways:
Being under the influence of drugs/alcohol during school functions;
Having drug/alcohol in his possession in the school environs;
Using drugs/alcohol in the school environs;
Supplying drugs/alcohol to others in the school environs.
In the event, a student is discovered to be involved with drug/alcohol in any way in the school environs, St Peter’s Boys High School follows these specific procedures:
The student will be suspended until his parents make an appointment with the administration.
1. After a meeting of the administration with the student and his parents, the student is required to work cooperatively with the counselor from the Archdiocese Drug Abuse Prevention Program (ADAPP).
2. The ADAPP counselor will evaluate the student by interviewing and, if deemed helpful, by psychological testing.
3. The ADAPP counselor will meet with the administration to discuss the evaluation and a plan of action.
4. The administration will meet with the student and his parents to explain the details of the plan of action.
5. The plan of action will consider the individual student, his particular needs, the particular circumstances of the incident, and the good of the St. Peter’s Boys High School community.
6. The plan of action may include one of several of the following options:
– Immediate expulsion from the school;
– Referral to a day program at Daytop Village or similar resource center;
– Mandatory after-school counseling at Daytop Village YMCA Counseling Service, or private therapy;
– Mandatory in-school counseling in an individual and group setting.
7. Failure to cooperate with the plan of action will result in expulsion.
8. A student discovered selling drugs in the school environs will be expelled and may be subject to criminal prosecution.
B. Self-revelation of a student involved with drugs/alcohol
A self-revelation case is one in which the student voluntarily reveals to a member of faculty, guidance department, administration, supplementary service, or to another student that he is using drugs/alcohol in or out of school. The confidentiality of the student’s problem must be kept. The student is telling that person to trust, and trust must therefore be honored.
Procedure
1. Parents (or anybody else) should not be informed of the student’s drug/alcohol problem without permission from the student himself unless the school representative deems it essential to the student’s well-being. In fact, it is usually a goal of counseling to bring the student to the point where he can deal with his parents and inform them himself.
2. The helper, through individual sessions with the student, attempts to move the student toward seeking whatever help is necessary.
– To join the school drug/alcohol program;
– To join an outside drug/alcohol program, such as Daytop Village, or YMCA Counseling Service;
– To inform his parents.
The helper would be a faculty member or possibly a fellow student.
3. If a student is not responsible for his behavior in such a way that he has placed his life (or will soon place his life) in jeopardy through his actions, it is incumbent upon the helper to assume responsibility for that student and to report the situation to the principal.
The non-smoking policy was revised to emphasize the health risks associated with smoking and to ensure a healthy, smoke-free environment for all our students, faculty and staff.
Students who are found smoking will be encouraged to quit, and we will help them in that process by requiring them to read a small book from the American Cancer Society called, “Kicking Butts.” Effective Sept. 5, 2006, the following policy regarding smoking was enacted at St. Peter’s Boys High School:
1) Students found smoking in the neighborhood or on school grounds will be subject to (a) Indefinite detention, (b) $25 fine, (c) Read and be tested on the book, “Kicking Butts.”
2) Students found smoking in the school building will be subject to:
(a) First Offense (i) Suspended from school, (ii) Meeting of student and parents with the Dean for Discipline, (iv) Indefinite detention, (v) $25 fine, (vi) Read and be tested on the book, “Kicking Butts.”
(b) Second Offense (i) Same as above, (ii) Fine doubles to $50.
(c) Third Offense – Student is now subject to expulsion.
Any money collected from smoking fines will be donated to charity. During the first semester the money will be donated to the school’s Toys for Tots program and during the second semester the money will be donated to the American Cancer Society. We realize that these measures may seem harsh, but we hope that this policy will help to make our students aware of the dangers of smoking, deter them from smoking and create a healthier and safer environment for all. We are sure you will support our efforts to make St. Peter’s a healthier environment for all.
Thank you for your cooperation in this regard.
Once students have made the necessary admission requirements and have been accepted into St Peter’s Boys High School, the school warmly welcomes these students for the coming school year and will strive to provide them with a solid Catholic spiritual and academic education in a supportive learning environment. Students and parents must always be mindful that attendance at St Peter’s is by invitation. It is not a “right” because this is a private school. Admission to and continued enrollment in this school include responsibilities regarding conduct, both inside and outside the classroom and school. Students are expected to conduct themselves in such a manner as to be a credit both to themselves and to their school.
In order to protect its standards of scholarship, discipline and character, the school reserves the right, and students and parents or guardians concede to the school the right, to require the withdrawal of any student at any time, for any reason deemed sufficient in the sole discretion of the school and its administrators. By the students’ attendance of the school, a student and his parents or guardians acknowledge the important obligations and restrictions contained in this handbook and agree to be bound by the terms of this handbook/calendar.
Students attending St. Peter’s Boys High School relinquish certain rights they might otherwise be entitled to if they were attending a public school. For example, a student’s freedom of speech is limited in many important respects here at our school. Speech, either written or oral, contrary to the Roman Catholic faith, the teachings of the church or the directives of the local Bishop or Ordinary is prohibited, as is any other speech which is contrary or disruptive to the philosophy and purposes of our school.
Another important right all students surrender involves searches and seizures. School administrators may search a student’s person and belongings if there is a reasonable belief, in the sole opinion of the school administrator, that contraband, illegal substances or inappropriate objects are being concealed. Any unauthorized items may be seized. Additionally, student desks and lockers, which are at all times under the joint control of the school and the student to whom the desk or locker has been assigned, may be searched by school administrators at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all. Students should have absolutely no expectation of privacy with regard to any item in their desk or lockers.
Another important right that a student and his parents or guardians give up when they decide to have a student attend this school is the right to sue the school, the parish or the Archdiocese of New York, and/or any individuals acting on behalf of the school, such as school administrators, teachers, staff or any of their agents for any matter relating to academic or disciplinary decisions or other matters covered within this handbook. Each student and his parents or guardians, by their acceptance of enrollment agree to and accept the school’s rule and policy that students, parents and guardians may not bring any civil action in any local, state or federal court in any administrative agency or body to challenge any school decision on academic or disciplinary matters, including any decision relating to the rules, regulations, procedures or programs covered within this handbook. Students and parents or guardians agree that any challenge to any school academic or disciplinary action or relating to the rules, regulations, procedures or programs covered in this handbook may only be challenged or appealed within the hierarchy of the school, subject to the limitations contained in this handbook. This includes any decision relating to a student’s enrollment at the school or termination of that enrollment.
While any student and his parents or guardians are of course free to consult with legal counsel regarding any school decision taken with respect to a student, the school emphasizes that students and parents or guardians are not permitted to have legal counsel present during any meetings with school administrators. School administrators are not obligated to meet with legal counsel at any time.
There are several grounds for disciplinary action or expulsion set forth in the “Discipline Codes” section of this handbook. It should be noted, however, that any listing of prohibited conduct as set forth by way of example only and to provide guidance to the student and his parents or guardians. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list of improper conduct or result in disciplinary action.
N.B. (The term “handbook” used above always refers to the official printed school calendar.)