Discipline
MPS Discipline Approach and Philosophy
The school’s blended approach to discipline ensures that when students make mistakes, they have the opportunity, support and guidance from the school to change, while learning to take responsibility and be accountable for their actions.
The school uses a blend of behavourial change approaches and restorative practice to address mistake making by students. The ultimate aim to help the students develop self-discipline. The school wants to help students who make mistakes reflect upon their actions so that they will achieve lasting positive behaviour change, restore damaged relations and use the offending episode as a learning experience to ensure that responsible decision-making is developed and the offending behaviour is eventually extinguished.
The school aims to help students realise that it is important to live up to the school values. The school also works actively with parents and external agencies as partners to address students’ behaviour that requires improvement.
Offences and Interventions
While the school uses restorative practice to change student thinking through cognitive processing, the action-consequence nexus exists to complement this and provides balance in our applied character education and discipline efforts.
Prohibited items
Items that can be confiscated from students are those that are banned by the State, are prohibited for use in school, cause harm to self, other students or staff, and/ or cause nuisance or disruption. These items include:
• Weapons. Students are not allowed to have any weapons in their possession. They are also not allowed to bring any weapon-like items which can be used or intended to be used to cause harm to others. Any items that can be used as weapons or to vandalise property are strictly prohibited. e.g. knives (including penknives), comb with pointed ends etc.
• Electronic devices: Mobile phones, tablets, computers and music playing devices.
• All toy: Playing cards/ magic cards, electronic toys and soft toys.
• Hazardous and unhealthy substances: cigarettes/ e-cigarettes & vapourisers/ vape juice & e-cigarette cartridges / tobacco products and lighters.
• Immoral material: pornographic material, publications that depict violence or contain abusive language.
• Items that can be abused: chewing gum, spray paints, laser pointers and thinner.