Page 16 - SS HAndbook 2020

RITE OF PASSAGE
During the first term in Grade 8, parents will be invited to attend the Rite of Passage ceremony, which takes place after half-term.
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person’s transition from one status to another. Rites of passage explore and describe various notable milestones in an individual’s life, or any marked transitional stage, when one’s social status is altered.
From Junior School to Senior School is one such change in social status. We are leaving childish ways behind and embracing a more mature thinking, and taking responsibility in one’s life. For Grade 8s, we do this Rite of Passage in the form of bestowing blessings on each girl.
Rev. Diane Pickford
DISCIPLINE
We are fortunate at St John’s D.S.G. that discipline is not a major problem at school. For the most part, our girls exercise admirable self-discipline.
Where there are minor breaches of school rules, the offenders are dealt with promptly and sanctions vary according to the severity of the transgressions.
The school rules are clearly laid out in the Senior Pupils’, Code of Conduct and Handbook and Boarders’ Handbook. Pupils are expected to be familiar with these rules, which apply when girls are under the jurisdiction of the school, at school functions – on or off the school property, in transit to and from holidays or weekends and on school outings.
Searches
Your daughter and her personal effects may be searched if there is a reasonable suspicion of theft or harbouring of goods which are not permitted in terms of the school rules, as stipulated in the Agreement of Enrolment.
Detention
A pupil may be placed straight into detention, or once she has acquired 8 de-merits. Detention takes place on a Friday evening, from 15h00 – 17h00. This is not held at the pupil’s or parents’ convenience.
Disciplinary Hearings
In the event of a major offence, a disciplinary hearing will be held. The ISASA guidelines for disciplinary hearings are followed.
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