RABAT AMERICAN SCHOOL
SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT & PARENT HANDBOOK SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2021
FATH 1, AVE AL MOHIT AL HADI AL MANZEH - CYM, RABAT 10052
WWW.RAS.MA [email protected]
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WELCOME! 5
Section 1 - RAS BELIEFS AND GOVERNANCE 6 Vision 6 Mission 6 Beliefs 6 Profile of Graduates 6 Non-Discrimination Policy 6 Learning and Inspiration 7 Governance and History 10
Section 2 - ORGANISATION 11 Contact Information: 11 Staffing 11 Business Office 12 Secondary School Leadership Structures 13 Educational Leadership Team (ELT) 13 Curriculum Leadership Team (CLT) 13 Secondary Leadership Team (SLT) 13 Student Support Services Team 14 Communications 14 Email 14 Hotline 14 Open House 14 Information Nights 15 Change of Address, Email Address or Phone Number 15
Section 3 – TEACHING & LEARNING 16 Goals 16 Schedule 16 Home Learning 17 Communicating about Home Learning 17 Assignment Completion 17 Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) 17 Field Work 17 Library Learning Commons 18 High School 18 Assessment and Reporting 19 Assessment Calendar 19 Assessment Handbook 20 Reporting Procedures and Student, Teacher and Parent Conferences 20 Reporting 20 Progress Reports 20 Report Cards 21 Grading 21 Grade Point Average (GPA) 21 Online Grades 21 Academic Warning 21 Academic Probation 21 Academic Recognition 22 Positive Recognition 22 Secondary School Achievement Awards 22 Academic Excellence Award 22 Academic Achievement Award 22 Community Service Award 22 Richard Brunt ‘Makes a Difference’ Award 23 Honor Societies 23 Standardized Testing 23 English as an Additional Languages (EAL) 23 Learning Support 24 Assessment Calendar 24 Final Exams 24
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Exemptions from Final Exams 25 Exam Preparation Weeks 25 Final Examinations for students departing early 25 Schedule Changes 25 Graduation Requirements 25 Transfer Student Credits 27 Credit Recovery 27 Grade Placement 27 Week Without Walls 28
Section 4 – STUDENT CONDUCT 30 Common Agreements on Behavior Expectations 30 Student Expectations 30 Teacher Actions 30 Administration Actions 30 Investigations 30 Consequences 31 Academic Honesty 31 Expectations 31 Definitions 31 Investigations 32 Consequences 32 Mobile Phones 33 How We Dress 33 Campus After Hours 34 Attendance and Punctuality 34 Types of Absence 34 Limit on Absences 34 Sickness During the Day 34 Arrival at school 35 Late to Class 35 Planned Absence 35 Sickness Absence 35 Leaving Campus During the Day 35 Off-Campus Privileges 36 Parents Absent from Rabat and Home 36 Student ID Cards 37 Food Services 37 Guests of Students 37
Section 5 - PERSONAL, SOCIAL, & HEALTH EDUCATION 38 Student Support 38 Counseling philosophy 38 Counseling Services 38 PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) Program 38 Homeroom and PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) 38 Homeroom Groups 38 The Homeroom Teacher 38 Grade Level Meetings 38 Student Support Team 38
Section 6 - COLLEGE COUNSELING 39 Introduction 39 Universities and College Requirements 39
Section 7 - TECHNOLOGY 41 Responsible Use Guidelines 41 Expectations of Students 41 Respect Yourself 41 Protect Yourself 41 Respect Others 41 Protect Others 41 Balance 41 Ethical and Respectful Use 42
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Protecting your identity 42 RAS Email guidelines 42 Wi-Fi Access 43 Being a member of the community 43
Section 8 - CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMS 44 General 44 Athletics 44 Goals of RAS Athletics 44 Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) Levels 45 Affiliations 45 Student Athlete Expectations 45 Important Forms 46 Activities 46 Social Events and Service Projects 47 Posting Notices and Promotion of Events 47 STUCO - Student Council 47
Section 9 – ADDITIONAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION 48 Campus facilities 48 Cafeteria 48 Fire and Emergency Drills 49 Personal music 49 Language Use 49 Lockers 50 Lost and Found 50 Posting of Signs 50 Procedures for Withdrawal 51 Social events 51 Student Health 52 Health Records 52 When to Keep Your Child at Home 53 School Medical Insurance 53 Textbooks 54 Bags Unattended 54
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W ELCOME!
August 2020
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to the 2020-2021 Academic Year Edition of the Rabat American School Secondary School Student & Parent Handbook. The goal of the handbook is to provide both students and parents with a practical guide to life at RAS.
Reading through the handbook and having it on hand for reference is important. Parents and students, please read the sections on Behavior Expectations and Attendance particularly carefully. Being in school for the requisite time and making the best use of that time are two cornerstones of effective learning, and we work to ensure that all students are aware of these expectations.
The philosophy of the Secondary School has its foundations in the liberal arts approach to education, which offers students the opportunity to learn in a variety of ways. We offer a broad selection of challenging academic courses, leading to three learner-centered pathways through a four-year high school diploma and two-year college preparatory experience based upon courses within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme framework. We encourage participation in a wide variety of co-curricular activities such as team and individual sports and the visual and performing arts. Our students learn responsible citizenship by actively participating in the governance of the school as members of the student councils and by engaging in purposeful community service.
This handbook contains information about the philosophy, goals, policies and operating procedures of the Secondary School. It has been prepared as an informative guide for students and parents. Familiarize yourself with its contents. If you have concerns that are not addressed in the handbook, I encourage you to contact Julie Milligan, our Secondary Assistant Principal, one of our faculty members or me directly.
I believe you will find RAS to be a caring educational community where we aspire to the Aristotelian ideal articulated by the philosopher Will Durant that “we are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
I wish you all a successful and rewarding year. We are glad you are here!
Kind Regards,
Dr. Ted Fuller, Ed.D.
Secondary School Principal
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S ection 1 - RAS BELIEFS AND GOVERNANCE
Vision
Learning in a world community:
Pursuing excellence in an environment of unity, mutual respect, and understanding.
Mission
The Rabat American School is a world learning community, preparing its students for higher education by inspiring academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, effective communication, service, and integrity.
Beliefs
Each RAS student: ● has dignity and worth ● strives for personal and academic excellence ● is civically, socially, and environmentally responsible ● learns in partnership with students, staff, and parents ● recognizes similarities and respects diversity ● thinks critically and in depth ● makes healthy, wise, and respectful decisions ● communicates skillfully in a variety of languages and media ● grows intellectually, physically, socially, ethically, and emotionally ● values learning and becomes a lifelong learner
Profile of Graduates
RAS Graduates are:
1. Knowledgeable, Inquisitive and Thoughtful
● cultivate the skills to explore new ideas, concepts, and issues ● acquire a depth of knowledge and understanding in a wide range of disciplines ● develop curiosity and a habit of lifelong learning ● recognize and practice critical thinking skills to solve problems and reflect on their own learning and decision making.
2. Effective Communicators ● understand and express ideas clearly and confidently when writing, listening, and speaking ● communicate in multiple languages and modalities ● willingly collaborate and communicate to problem-solve
3. Open-Minded, Principled, Reflective and Caring
● value their own and others’ cultural backgrounds ● actively seek new perspectives and viewpoints ● respect and seek justice for all members of the learning community
Non-Discrimination Policy
The Rabat American School celebrates the diversity in our community. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
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L earning and Inspiration
We believe that effective learners:
Ask meaningful questions
• questions which connect their experience to the world
• questions which further/extend their own learning
This presumes a constructivist view of human understanding, where new information is assimilated into an existing cognitive scheme based upon a human being’s prior experience.
Developing sophistication in asking meaningful questions allows a learner to construct further knowledge independently.
We believe that as effective teachers:
• We value who our students are (now) - we get to know them and what makes them tick
• We guide their inquiry and support their efforts in that direction
• We model those things we want from them and demonstrate the merit of those things
This is a prescription for inquiry-based learning and pastoral care as a core element of our curriculum
We believe that effective learners:
Are metacognitive about themselves as learners
• They examine their own learning
• They reflect on their learning
• They adjust their learning based upon their reflections
Metacognition occurs when someone’s learning processes and attitudes themselves become the objects of their consideration. In this condition of heightened self-awareness, a student understands his or her individual learning styles (their strengths and weaknesses) and adapts them in order to assimilate new information or to develop new skills.
We believe that as effective teachers:
• We make the processes and products of learning visible to all
• We help students to understand the merits of self-awareness about their own learning
• We help them identify the stages of a learning process, to analyze their own performance with respect to each stage of the process and to formulate goals for improvement on the basis of that analysis
• We help them to understand perspectives and paradigms
• We help them to understand bias and situatedness
This is a prescription for self-assessment and reflection
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We believe that effective learners:
Transfer learning to new contexts
• Recognize patterns
• Analyze, synthesize and evaluate
• Make learning connections
• Create and innovate
Contexts can be of all varieties -- physical, social, intellectual, etc. Authentic learning is not bound to the place in which it first occurs, but extends itself in novel ways, applying itself in disciplines and situations where it has not been exercised before. Indeed, simply moving to a new context is innovation (even if it is not innovative, in the colloquial sense of the word)
We believe that as effective teachers:
• We help students to understand the abstract, fluid and multi-varied nature of contexts
• We offer stimuli that invite comparison
• We model the creation of dimensions of comparison (common terms of reference)
• We help students to understand the relationship between parts and wholes
• We help them to understand the nature and use of value judgements
• We help them to understand the arbitrary nature of traditional disciplinary boundaries and to transcend them
This is a prescription for interdisciplinarity and critical thinking
We believe that effective learners:
Take risks
• Do not fear mistakes
• Exhibit resilience
• Engage with challenges independently
• Make decisions on their own
• Show initiative
Taking risks involves a willingness to venture into new contexts while knowing that they hold the possibility of failure. Learners calculate the risks that accompany uncertainty and view new contexts as opportunities rather than threats.
We believe that as effective teachers:
• We help students to see error as a desirable feature in the learning process
• We help them to appreciate their responsibility for their own learning
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• We provide learning environments that encourage experimentation and exploration
• We value and celebrate the results of learning
• We must help students to understand that education is a process and not a product
This is a prescription for assessment which enhances learning (assessment for learning) more than it categorizes or reports it (assessment of learning)
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We believe that effective learners:
Demonstrate their learning (to themselves—metacognitively—and others)
• Explain, exhibit and show
• Apply their learning to transform an environment/context
This demonstration is a deliberate presentation of one’s understanding. Learners may reveal their learning through any medium which may be used to communicate.
We believe that as effective teachers:
• We help our students to see communication about learning as a part of the learning process
• We make the processes and products of learning visible to all
• We recognize that learning may demonstrate itself in many different ways
• We value and celebrate the results of learning
• We use education to empower action
• We help students to understand the importance of action
• We help students to identify opportunities to act
• We help students apply their learning to act in a variety of contexts and media
This is a prescription for integrated service learning as a core element of our curriculum
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G overnance and History
The Rabat American School is a private, nonprofit institution operated by the Rabat American School Association. Its purpose is to provide for the education of dependents of US government personnel and also, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees, for educating the students of other nations and Moroccan citizens who wish to educate their students in accordance with American and international school standards of education. All parents who send their students to RAS are members of the Association.
The Rabat American School was founded in 1962 as a K-8 school and functioned in a villa located near the U.S. Embassy. In 1969 the growing school moved to its present 5.8-acre site in the suburb of Agdal. By 1978 grades 9 through 12 had been added, and in 1985 the school was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) in the United States, and continues to be reaccredited to this day. Today, the Rabat American School offers a complete university preparatory program, including the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (in grades 11 and 12), from Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. A well-trained and committed professional staff joins our Board of Trustees and the broader school community to provide the best education possible for its students, and to make the Rabat American School a high-quality institution.
The management of RAS is vested in a Board of Trustees of nine voting members, which by statute will consist of a majority of American citizens and a minimum of three non-Americans, of whom one must be a Moroccan citizen and one must be non-American, non-Moroccan. Six members are elected by the General Assembly and three members are appointed by the Board. Board members are elected for a term of three-years. In addition to the nine voting members, the Director, a representative of the Ambassador of the United States, a Moroccan Special Designate, a representative of Rabat American School Teachers’ Association (RASTA), and a representative of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) serve as ex-officio members without voting rights. The primary function of the Board is to develop policies under which the Director and staff of the school shall operate: a copy of all policies is available in the RAS library.
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Section 2 - ORGANISATION
Contact Information:
Physical Address: Fath 1, Ave Al Mohit Al Hadi Almanzeh-Yacoub Al Mansour Rabat, Morocco, 10052.
Telephone: +212 (0) 5 37 75 8590 +001 202 536 4442 (USA)
Fax: +212 (0) 5 37 67 09 63
Website: http://www.ras.ma
Email: [email protected]
Staffing
Whole School Administration
Mr. Mr Sean Goudie Director: Ms. B. Touijer Admissions: Mr. Mourad Youssfi Chief Financial Officer Ms. Elizabeth Skiredj Business Manager
Secondary School Administration
Ted Fuller Principal Assistant Principal / Julie Milligan Secondary Counselor Rachael Gerbic
Athletics Director Merrill Ross IB Diploma Program Coordinator Fabienne Gerard
CAS Coordinator Sonalee Abeyawardene
Secondary School Secretary Nabila Semlali
Secondary School Faculty
Naomi Poquette Learning Support Albina Tahri (Instructional assistant)
English
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Brennan Williams
Becky Oliver
Sonalee Abeyawardene
Donny Powers
English as an Additional Language Bozena Maher
Elizabeth Butterfield
Fine Arts Deana Zuber-Hero
Stephanie Cole
Kymberley Bottomley
Christina Bristow Mich
Kawtar Messat (Instructional assistant)
STEM /Technology Integration Michael Joshua
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Library Carson LeMaster
Debbie El Kasri (Instructional assistant)
Mathematics Laurie Stuchlik Liz Vooris
Naseem Poshtkouhi
Melissa George
Sandy Netzel
Physical Education Merrill Ross
Deborah Jones
Francine Pros
Social Studies Amy Haggstrom
Brennan Williams
Corey Jones
Derek O’Malley
Donny Powers
Science Frank Maher
Carly Thomas
Melissa George
Sandy Netzel
Habiba Khatouri (Technician and Instructional assistant)
World Languages Taoufiq Cherkaoui Zineb Bensalah
Fabienne Gerard
Nadia Fuzier Pascal Fuzier
Moha Kenni
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Narjess Zriba Bouchra Bennani Sumaia Saif Sirelkhatim Business Office
The Business Office handles all class and club accounts, as well as tuition and other fees. It is open for transactions between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on school days. Moroccan students needing a dollar check for the purpose of test fees or college applications may arrange for a check to be prepared by contacting the business office one day in advance.
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S econdary School Leadership Structures
In order to support the day-to-day routines of the school, we have developed a distributed leadership model of administrative teams, each carrying a specific set of responsibilities. These teams will aim to provide student, parent and teacher support across the full range of curricular and co-curricular programs.
Educational Leadership Team (ELT)
This team is responsible for the leadership and management of the whole school in collaboration with other whole and divisional leadership teams:
• Director – Sean Goudie
• Elementary School Principal – Katie Koenig
• Secondary School Principal – Ted Fuller
Teaching and Learning Team (TLT)
This team is responsible for the leadership and management of the whole school curriculum:
• Curriculum Director – Jen Kang
• Elementary School Principal - Katie Koenig
• Secondary School Principal – Ted Fuller
• Secondary School Assistant Principal - Julie Milligan
Secondary Leadership Team (SLT)
This team provides the focus for leadership in the Secondary School, developing strategic direction in line with the RAS guiding statements and planning the overall operations of all curricular and co-curricular programs within the Secondary School.
Core SLT (Meets weekly):
• Ted Fuller – Principal • Julie Milligan - Secondary Assistant Principal • Rachael Gerbic - Secondary Counselor • Jason Faulkenberry – Director of Educational Technology • Fabienne Gerard – IB Diploma/Pathways Coordinator • Sandy Netzel - MS Coordinator • Merrill Ross - Athletics Director
Extended SLT (Includes Core SLT members. Meets every two weeks): • Jen Kang: Curriculum Director • Amy Haggstrom: Social Studies Department Team Leader (DTL) • Naseem Poshtkouhi: Mathematics DTL • Frank Maher: Sciences DTL • Sonalee Abeyawardene: English Language Arts DTL • Kim Bottomley: Fine Arts (Visual Art, Drama, Music) DTL • Merrill Ross: Health & Physical Education DTL • Taoufiq Cherkaoui: World Languages DTL • Bozena Maher: Student Support Team (Learning Support, EAL) DTL
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S tudent Support Services Team
This team leads the special support services to ensure that all students’ special educational needs are addressed within and across the mainstream curricular programs:
• Ted Fuller – Principal • Julie Milligan - Assistant Principal • Rachael Gerbic - Secondary Counselor • Naomi Poquette - Academic Resource Coordinator • Beth Butterfield & Bozena Maher – EAL
Communications
Communication is arguably the greatest challenge any organization faces in ensuring a successful and progressive working environment. With this in mind we aim to focus on establishing and maintaining an open and inviting environment to encourage effective communication within our community. We suggest the following steps in communication whenever you have a question, or need to clarify information:
1. Step 1 - Contact the teacher responsible for the particular subject or social development concern. This is best done via an email; however, in situations where time is limited you may want to telephone instead.
2. Step 2 - contact either the Grade Level Leader or Counselor (in the case of a concern related to social/health issues) OR the Head of Department (in the case of a subject-area concern).
3. Step 3 - contact the most appropriate member of the Secondary Leadership Team (SLT).
4. Step 4 - please contact the Secondary Principal.
Sometimes it might not be possible to take these steps for various reasons so please understand that you are welcome to contact any member of staff directly. However, we do believe that if we all follow these lines of communication your concerns will be addressed in the most efficient manner, resulting in the best learning outcome for our students. The most efficient ways to contact the school are through email or by phone to the Secondary School Office.
We look forward to working with both our parents and students as a team to ensure the very greatest learning experience for everyone here at RAS.
The school uses email extensively to communicate with parents. It is essential that parents provide the school with a working email address that is checked frequently.
Hotline
The Hotline is published electronically every Friday to keep parents informed on current events, class activities, the calendar, important messages, and announcements. These newsletters are vital to maintain parent-school communication.
Open House
To encourage and facilitate parental understanding of school programs, an evening is set aside in September for parents to visit their children’s classes. This is an opportunity for teachers to explain the year’s program and content along with curricular goals and objectives for the classes. Parents are strongly urged to attend at all grade levels.
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I nformation Nights
At various times throughout the year the Counselors, IBDP Coordinator and departments will host information nights for parents and students regarding topics such as the IB Diploma Program, the college application process and course registration. Information on these meetings will be sent through the Hotline and via email to all parents.
Change of Address, Email Address or Phone Number
Parents should immediately report any change of address, email address or telephone number to the Secondary School Office.
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S ection 3 – TEACHING & LEARNING
Goals
At RAS, our goal is to recognize and respond to the unique needs of secondary students. We seek to do this by:
• Cultivating the spirit of discovery through inquiry-based instruction that encourages deep understanding across a broad and balanced academic and activities program.
• Providing a learning environment in which students explore, question, evaluate, and analyze information and ideas through active participation and collaboration.
• Presenting a challenging program of instruction leading to an American High School Diploma, with the additional option of earning the International Baccalaureate Diploma.
• Recognizing how the student’s developmental phase – early, mid- and late adolescence – impacts their learning.
• Promoting the desire to learn, the awareness that learning is a lifelong process, and the recognition that there is a wide variety of resources for learning.
• Encouraging a spirit of community among students, parents and faculty that fosters commitment to service, concern and respect for the environment and the celebration of cultural diversity.
• Encouraging students to develop an awareness and understanding of both local and global issues and prepare for their roles as responsible citizens both in Morocco and beyond.
• Helping students develop the capacity to live as independent, self-motivated adults by encouraging self-discipline and independent work habits and providing opportunities for increasing responsibility.
• Ensuring that the school environment provides for the emotional, social, aesthetic and physical development of our students.
Schedule
Our timetable is a 8 block rotating schedule;
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H ome Learning
Home learning has two distinct but connected purposes:
1. The development of positive self-management habits such as taking responsibility and self-organization, and 2. Increasing student achievement.
Following is a guideline of anticipated average amounts of time per day students will need to complete school tasks at home:
○ Grade 6-8 1.0-1.5 hours ○ Grade 9-10 1.5-2 hours ○ Grades 11 and 12 2-3 hours
Home learning should normally be set so that the student can complete it either independently or with a minimum of support.
Communicating about Home Learning
● Teachers will ensure that expectations for home learning are explained clearly and discuss the completed learning with the student, either individually, or as part of the class, as appropriate.
● Tasks set will be introduced and explained by the teacher and followed up with students at the completion of the task. ● Where method is important, an example will be provided for students when appropriate. ● All home learning tasks will be available online via Schoology: information should include when it is assigned, and when the completed task is due.
● Teachers will ensure that all resources required are available to students to complete home learning tasks.
Assignment Completion
Students are expected to complete all assignments in their courses, and to the best of their abilities. Deadlines for all assignments will be published well in advance and students given sufficient time to check in with their teachers before the assignment submission deadline. Where students fail to complete assignments within a short extension of the original deadline (up to a maximum of two instructional days), the teacher will e-mail parents. Should any student persistently fail to meet deadlines without good academic or other reason, a mark of zero may be entered in gradebook, and the behavior will result in a behavioral referral to the administration for disciplinary action.
Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)
Field Work
The local environment is considered a key platform for learning. It provides opportunities for real life investigations and experiences that cannot be replicated in the classroom.
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Field work and in-school visit opportunities are planned to be developmentally appropriate and also to be responsive to the needs identified through students’ inquiries.
When students participate in RAS field work parents should receive written communication about the field work which outlines the date, mode of transport, student’s needs, e.g. lunch, drinks etc., description and reason for field work, along with a slip for parents to sign that acknowledges awareness of the excursion. All Secondary School students are expected to participate in field work as it is an integral part of the curriculum.
Library Learning Commons
The Library Learning Commons empowers students to excel in their academic pursuits and fosters a love for both learning and reading for pleasure, in support of the school’s mission, philosophy and profile of graduates. The objective of the LLC is to inspire curiosity and a passion for reading, learning, and information. In a welcoming environment, students hone their critical thinking and research skills, develop their curiosity through exploring a diverse collection of materials, engage in collaborative learning activities, and practice becoming creators rather than just consumers.
A wide variety of fiction, non-fiction, audiobooks, magazines and browsing materials are offered, with special sections of French and Arabic books, as well as a section of books on Morocco. Professional Level materials are available for teachers. Subscription online databases provide resources to align with curricular and IB assignments.
Operating hours for the LLC are: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Check-out period: Two weeks (students may have five items checked out for this time). Students may renew books if they have not finished within this time. Students may check out an additional five items for use in class projects.
Returns can be dropped in the book drop box at the top of the stairs leading down to the LLC or be given to a library staff member at the circulation desk.
Replacement costs for lost books are paid at the Business Office. Ask at the circulation desk for the amount due.
High School
The RAS Grades 9-12 program is based in part on quite traditional US High School Diploma courses (grades 9 and 10) and in part on courses from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (Grades 11 and 12): through this mixed approach, students are prepared both to graduate RAS with our own accredited High School Diploma and to complete the full IB Diploma or achieve IB Course Certificates.
The IBDP-based approach at RAS means that all students in Grades 11 and 12 will:
1. Study within IBDP courses only (including the option of studying up to one course online with Pamoja);
2. Take courses in all six DP subject groups;
3. Take the ‘Core’ element of Theory of Knowledge (ToK);
4. Complete the IBDP Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) or the RAS Community Service (CS) requirements; 5. IBDP students will undertake the full Extended Essay (EE);
6. Continue a program of study that enables them to earn the credits required to be awarded the RAS High School Diploma.
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A ssessment and Reporting
Teachers assess students by designing methods of assessment appropriate to the learning outcomes they intend to deliver. Teachers also take into account the diverse, complex and sophisticated ways that individual students use to develop and demonstrate their understanding.
Continuous formative assessment provides insights into students’ understanding, knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is also a means of exploring the learning styles and individual differences of the students in order to differentiate instruction. Feedback from assessment also allows for the improvement of the overall program because it informs instruction; teachers adapt their teaching strategies in light of information gained from practicing continuous assessment.
Formative assessment is interwoven with daily learning and helps teachers and students find out what the students already know in order to plan for the next stage of learning. Formative assessment and teaching are directly linked; neither can function effectively or purposefully without the other.
Summative assessment takes place at the end of the teaching and learning processes, and gives the students opportunities to demonstrate what has been learned. Summative assessments may cover a range of skills and knowledge outlined in the IB Learner Profile and the RAS Profile of Graduates and department assessment statements.
Teachers employ a range of assessment strategies and tools when they are assessing students. Some strategies include observations, performance tasks, and open-ended tasks. When they are employing these strategies, they use anecdotal records, rubrics, checklists and continuums to record their findings. These tools may be used during formative and summative assessments, self-assessments, and peer assessments.
These tools support different learning abilities and styles, reward and encourage learning, and as a result, help to stimulate and guide learning.
Students demonstrate their understanding of how and what they have learned in a variety of ways and the tools used to support this demonstration can include but are not limited to:
● Written explanations e.g. projects, summaries, pictures, flow charts etc. ● Oral discussions and explanations of specific concepts ● Diagrams ● Models ● Tables ● Tests ● Recording and presentation of data ● Use of communication technologies for research and presentation ● Critical discussion of reports, presentations and articles ● Use of appropriate subject specific terminology in various languages and English ● Interpretation and analysis of data, observations and findings
● Use of rubrics: criteria based and levels identified before the assessment commences: verbal, group, individual, written work. ● Self, Peer and Teacher Evaluation/Assessment ● Student-Led Conference (student/parents) ● Self-Reflection ● Portfolios ● Student/Teacher/Parent Conferences
Assessment Calendar
Major course dates – assignments, assessments, etc. – will be visible online in Schoology. Parents can follow assessment plans by viewing this calendar and are encouraged to follow-up with discussions at home about how those assessments progress. If at any time the parent or student has questions
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about the assessment plan, they are most welcome to contact the subject teacher directly; the best way to do this is via email.
Assessment Handbook
An Assessment Handbook for secondary school students and parents is published to students and parents each year.
Reporting Procedures and Student, Teacher and Parent Conferences
Reporting on student progress takes place continually as part of the teaching and learning process. Teachers carry out assessments as an integrated part of their teaching and work with students to evaluate learning and plan new goals.
In addition to providing regular, valuable feedback to students, parents can learn about student progress and achievement through reports and conferences. Teachers also contact parents by email or phone to report on student achievement, or to inform parents of concerns or changes in student progress.
Successful students earn good grades when they maintain consistently high standards in the following areas:
• Development and use of thinking skills.
• Application of facts and principles to new and unfamiliar situations.
• Initiative and originality in independent work.
• Contributions to class discussions and group participation.
• Organization and presentation of material in written and oral form.
• Regular and punctual attendance.
Reporting
The school year is divided into two semesters, and each semester into two quarters.
RAS Secondary School holds conferences to allow parents and students to meet with teachers to discuss interim progress in their subject areas. These conferences usually take place mid-way through both semesters, and are calendared each year and communicated via the H otline.
Parents may also request an appointment at any time throughout the year to meet the homeroom or subject teacher to discuss their child’s progress.
Progress Reports
Shortly after the mid-point of each semester, progress reports are made available online. If a student’s performance falls below a satisfactory level, the teacher will include written comments with the grade.
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences are held twice a year, shortly after Progress Reports have been sent home. These conferences are intended to give the student and his or her parents the opportunity to discuss the student’s progress with the teacher.
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Additional conferences during the year may be scheduled as needed and may be initiated by either parents or teachers. A conference may be arranged by calling the school office for an appointment with the teacher and/or the vice principal / secondary counselor or principal. Parents who are unable to attend scheduled appointments to discuss their children’s work are asked to rescheduled appointments to discuss their children’s work are urged to reschedule those appointments at a more suitable time.
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R eport Cards
Report cards are sent home with students at the end of each semester. These reports are also available online. Teachers prepare written comments for all students indicating strengths, weaknesses and/or general progress. Final report cards are emailed to parents and students one week after the close of the academic school year.
Grading
RAS bases its Secondary School grading system on the 1-7 grading scale of the International Baccalaureate, with grades as follows:
GRADE DESCRIPTION 7 Excellent 6 Very Good
5 Good 4 Satisfactory 3 Mediocre 2 Weak 1 Very Weak
Grade Point Average (GPA)
RAS no longer computes a GPA: with their understanding of both the IB 1-7 scale and the challenge of IB Diploma courses, each college or university does this on its own basis as part of their admissions process.
Online Grades
A student’s academic progress and attendance can be monitored through the online grade feature on the school website at http://eduprize.ras.ma. While teachers’ assessment systems may vary, all teachers are required to make certain that student grades are up-to-date at regular intervals.
Student Success Alert
A student can be sent an Academic Warning at any point in the school year if he or she receives grades that put their academic progress in jeopardy. A letter of warning will be given to the student and parent, and a copy placed in the student’s file.
Academic Probation
A student can be placed on Academic Probation at any point in the school year for the equivalent of a quarter if the student has not addressed the terms of a Student Success Alert.
The consequences for students on Academic Probation will include the following:
• The student and his or her parents will meet with the Principal and/Assistant Principal/ Secondary Counselor to review the student’s academic performance.
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• The student may not be allowed to miss classes for extracurricular activities. This includes athletic tournaments and other non-curricular trips.
• A grade 11 or 12 student will lose any privileges and will be assigned to a study period.
To assist a student on Academic Probation reach a satisfactory level of learning, the student will meet with the Secondary Counselor to develop a learning plan that will outline specific requirements that the student must meet while on probation. Attending monitoring meetings with the Secondary Counselor
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or being assigned to a supervised area for study purposes during the student’s free period are two examples of such requirements.
The learning plan will be discussed at a joint meeting with the student, a parent, the Assistant Principal/Secondary Counselor, and/or the Principal. The learning plan may be altered or amended by the school to best meet the needs of the student.
Academic Recognition
Positive Recognition
The purpose of a positive recognition focus is to create a positive environment for learning and personal development and to acknowledge students who display attributes of the Learner Profile.
Wherever possible staff will look for opportunities to congratulate students for excellent work and recognize exceptional achievements and attitudes. Promoting a positive attitude is our first priority.
There are several ways in which this can be done at RAS. This list is not exhaustive:
● Positive feedback and comments ● Commendations within the class setting ● Acknowledgements in assembly ● Forwarding the excellent work to a Coordinator or Principal for commendation ● Communication with parents re. good work.
Secondary School Achievement Awards
The secondary school faculty presents a range of awards at the end of each school year:
Academic Excellence Award
This award is presented to students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement.
Students are selected for this award based on:
• demonstrated knowledge of the subject
• ability to communicate that knowledge in an effective manner
• enthusiasm for learning
• consistent contributions to a positive learning environment in our w hole learning community
Academic Achievement Award
This award recognizes students who show outstanding improvement in their academic performance during the school year. Students who earn this award have demonstrated:
• commitment to learning
• improved achievement
• determination to give their best efforts in school
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• consistent contributions to a positive learning environment in our w hole learning community
Community Service Award
This award recognizes students who have demonstrated outstanding service within or beyond the
RAS community. Students who earn this award have demonstrated:
• a sense of responsibility and integrity for themselves and the larger community
• civic, social and environmental responsibility
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• the ability to inspire service by others
• consistent contributions to a positive learning environment in our w hole learning community
Richard Brunt ‘Makes a Difference’ Award
This award recognizes students who have made a difference to the lives of others in some less tangible way than might be required in community service. For example, they might simply consistently show kindness to all members of the school community, or have undertaken a single act that makes us all say “Wow!”
Honor Societies
The school does not recognize students via an Honors Board but encourages students in grades 7-12 seeking such recognition to apply to join the RAS-based Maghreb Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society and the National Honor Society.
Standardized Testing
All students in Grades 6-10 sit the M easures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. MAP is designed to measure student achievement in the moment, and growth over time, regardless of grade level. MAP gives quick feedback to teachers, administrators, students and parents: teachers receive immediate results with MAP that show what students know and what they are ready to learn.
The Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Tests (PSAT) sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) is available to all 10th and 11th graders in October. The PSATs are often a predictor of performance on the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT), which are required for college entrance at most US colleges and are taken in the Junior or Senior (11th or 12th grade) year.
English as an Additional Languages (EAL)
The EAL program provides for the development of communication skills in listening, comprehension, speaking, reading and writing for students whose native tongue is not English. EAL instruction is a systematic approach to language and content-based instruction that includes an orderly and stimulating presentation of language materials. The EAL department offers English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes, inclusion support, or both for English Language Learners (ELLs). All EAP classes are designed to teach academic English by using the curriculum of content classes.
EAL Admissions Procedures
In order to ensure their success in a demanding academic environment, EAL students are accepted in grades 6 through 10 depending on their level of academic English and their academic school records. The student may be mandated EAL learning support classes in lieu of a second language class until their proficiency level is adequate to access grade level curriculum.
The school will take into consideration a range of criteria to determine whether an applicant in
Grades 6 to 10 has reached the minimum proficiency level, including the following:
• the application;
• school records (transcripts and/or report cards); 40
• letters of recommendation;
• personal interview with parents/students;
• English language proficiency test.
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L earning Support
Secondary School Learning Support (LS) offers small-group pull-out and push-in instruction to help students meet grade-level expectations in the secondary school. Specifically designed to target students with mild learning difficulties, the LS provides both strategy training and content-based instruction. Independence and responsibility are essential to academic success. Therefore, the LS is not only charged with the tasks of teaching discrete academic skills, but also with implementing thinking strategies and promoting self-initiative. This approach enables students to take personal responsibility for maximizing their learning potential. Promoting a student’s self-image as a capable learner is key to this task.
LS teachers and regular classroom teachers are collaborators in developing and implementing educational programs for LS students. The collaborative process entails diagnosing strengths and needs, and teaching to and through these strengths while working to support general education course work. In cases where weaknesses are serious impediments to learning, accommodations may be implemented in the regular academic program. However, neither the curriculum nor the assessments will be modified.
Students will be placed in the program based on recommendations from the Student Support Team.
Special testing will be administered if it is deemed necessary by the LS teacher or the administration.
Parents will be notified and kept informed of placement and testing procedures.
Assessment Calendar
It is the responsibility of the faculty to post ALL major assessments (tests, essays, research papers, graded presentations, performances or projects) with the teacher's name, grade level, subject and the assessment name on the online assessment calendar in Schoology. Students are expected to have no more than two major assessments in any one day. If a teacher sees that two major assessments have alreadybeen listed for a particular grade on a certain day, s/he should find another day to give the assessment.
However, it should be noted that there are exceptions based on the individual student's timetable. For example, an elective course may have only one or two junior students, and the teacher may be obliged to set a test on a day on which the juniors already have two tests, but the great majority of the class has one or no tests. In any situation where a student has a concern about the scheduling of tests, the student has the responsibility of discussing the problem with the teacher well in advance of the test date.
Final Exams
Final exams are held towards the end of the school year to provide summative assessments of the students’ learning over the previous year. For high school students, the exam period extends over a number of days with one or two exams scheduled each day. High school students will be informed of the attendance requirements – all day in school or attendance during exam times only - a week ahead of their exams. Students should arrive at least 10 minutes prior to the commencement of their first exam.
An examination schedule will be posted approximately 3 weeks in advance of the exam week. All exams must be taken on the designated exam days. Students will not be allowed to take examinations before the scheduled exam time but will be allowed to make up exams where they have missed one or more with good reason.
Middle school students will not be required to take full final exams, although they may be required to sit final papers that assess parts of the year’s work: they will be informed of which parts well in advance.
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E xemptions from Final Exams
Students who take an IB exam in a subject may opt to have their IB mock exam result substitute for the RAS final exam in that subject based on a grade minimum of 5 on their IB mock exam. Students in an IB course who do not take the IB exam must take the internal RAS examination regardless of their current grade in the class. Juniors enrolled in the first year of a two-year IB course must take an internal RAS final exam at the end of their first year of this two-year course.
Exam Preparation Weeks
The intent of the weeks before final exams is to review material in preparation for the exams.
Final Examinations for Students Departing Early
RAS discourages student departures from school prior to the completion of final examinations and the end of the school year. Should an early departure be necessary by virtue of circumstances beyond the family’s control, e.g. employer requirement, full credit for the year’s work can be awarded upon completion of an early final exam and with the approval of the vice principal or principal. A fee shall be levied for each early exam.
Schedule Changes
For instruction and learning to be meaningful, both teachers and students need to settle quickly into their classes. For this reason, it is important that students select courses thoughtfully and that teachers assist students carefully in the process. Waiting too late to make necessary changes can adversely affect the learning situation and a student’s transcript.
All schedule changes must be done using the form available at the Counselor’s office, and completed by the end of the first full schedule cycle.
Graduation Requirements
The RAS graduation requirements are established by Board policy and are as follows:
Board Policy 4.050 - Graduation Credit Requirements
All high school students are required to pursue the RAS diploma, which is typically earned at the end of Grade 12. The purpose in establishing these graduation requirements is to ensure that RAS students are well prepared for post-secondary education.
In order to receive a high school diploma from Rabat American School, each student must earn a total of 25 (twenty-five) credits. Students earn one credit for each year-long course that is successfully completed. To earn the high school diploma, these credits must be distributed among the subject areas as follows:
English 4
Social Studies 3
Math 3
Science 3
PE/Health 2
World Languages 2 in the same language
Fine Arts 2
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Theory of Knowledge 1
Elective courses 5
The courses listed above are the minimum requirements for graduation. Students wishing to pursue a post-secondary school education will be encouraged to take additional courses. All students will be enrolled in a minimum of six courses per semester, plus Theory of Knowledge in grades 11 and 12.
***In addition to the RAS high school diploma, students may earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Course Certificates by meeting the requirements established by the International Baccalaureate.
Non-credit requirements
All graduating students must have met the school’s requirements for Community Service (CS) as set out in the Secondary School’s operational and procedural documents.
International Baccalaureate Diploma
In addition to the RAS high school diploma, students may earn an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Course Certificates by meeting the requirements established by the International Baccalaureate.
Honors Diploma
Students may earn an RAS honors diploma by completing a minimum of 27 credits, graduating with a minimum Grade 11 and 12 IBDP course grade average of 5.5/7 and having four credits in each of the following academic subjects - English, World Languages, Science, Maths and a subject from Group 3 (Individuals and Societies) of the IB Diploma.
Maximum Age at Graduation
A student must complete the requirements for graduation before his or her 21st birthday.
Residence
Students who intend to graduate from RAS must be in attendance for the entire final year.
Good standing
Students must have a minimum Grade 11 and 12 IBDP course grade average of 3.0/7, be in good disciplinary standing and have paid all amounts due to the school in order to graduate and receive a high school diploma.
Exceptions
The Administration may at its sole discretion waive a particular graduation requirement in case of exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances may include but are not limited to the following:
• physical disabilities
• documented learning difficulties
• a required class not being offered during the student’s year(s) of enrollment
• master scheduling conflicts
• difficulty in meeting the requirements for graduation due to differences in the student's previous school program.
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Certificate of Program Completion
Students enrolled in a modified curriculum program may be awarded a Certificate of Program Completion (CPC) instead of a high school diploma. The CPC transcript will document modified courses. Students must be in good disciplinary standing and have paid all amounts due to the school in order to receive a CPC.
Certificate of Attendance
On occasion, a student may not meet all the credit requirements for the RAS diploma. In such cases, the student may be awarded a Certificate of Attendance instead of a high school diploma. The Certificate of
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A ttendance will record the period of attendance at RAS and be attested to by the Secondary Principal and the Director. Students must be in good disciplinary standing and have paid all amounts due to the school in order to receive a Certificate of Attendance.
Graduation Students will be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony if they have met the requirements for an RAS high school diploma or are expected to meet the RAS graduation requirements with a diploma being withheld until they are confirmed to have meet the requirements. A student who earns a CPC or a Certificate of Attendance may be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony at the discretion of the Secondary School Principal.
Transfer Student Credits
Many students do not attend RAS for all four years of high school. RAS graduation requirements are not intended to penalize students who transfer from high schools with different requirements and are certainly not meant to place unreasonable demands on any student.
Students entering RAS as bona fide sophomores, juniors or seniors will be given prorated requirements based on the graduation standards of RAS and on courses taken in previous schools.
Credit Recovery Students who do not earn course credit may be eligible to recover the credit in circumstances in which course credit is necessary for graduation purposes.
Credit recovery is not an option when a student fails to earn credit due to attendance concerns.
The Principal and Vice Principal will consider the student’s academic performance in the course to determine if credit recovery is an applicable course of action.
The credit recovery plan may include but is not limited to the following possible actions:
● Completing a semester project, exam, or other assessment to demonstrate proficiency in the course content. The student must have met course attendance requirements, or have extenuating medical circumstances that prohibits the student from attending for the full academic year.
● Re-writing a year end summative assessment if the student has successfully passed the year’s course work.
● Completing a Virtual High School online course equivalent with a proctored written final examination and/or completed under RAS supervisory conditions. The Assistant Principal and/or School Counselor will consider acceptance of VHS transcript credit in the consideration of whether a student has successfully met the RAS graduation requirements. This option must be pre-approved by the Assistant Principal and/or Secondary Counselor with a VHS credit recovery agreement signed by both the Assistant Principal and the student’s parents. This option is limited to certain courses and any associated costs of enrollment fees / invigilation fees are the sole responsibility of the parent.
Circumstances in which a student does not earn credits in courses that exceed the credit recovery options, the student may be required to repeat their academic year.
Grade Placement
Students who enter RAS from another school will be placed in classes on the basis of official records from the previous school and placement assessments that may be given prior to admission at RAS. The following guidelines will apply:
• A student will be placed in the 10th grade if s/he has completed one year of high school at an accredited institution and has earned a minimum of one credit each in English, social studies, science and mathematics.
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• A student will be placed in the 11th grade if s/he has completed two years of high school at an accredited institution and has earned a minimum of two credits each in English, social studies, science and mathematics and one credit each in physical education and fine arts.
• A student will be placed in the 12th grade if s/he has completed three years of high school at an accredited institution and has earned a minimum of three credits in English, two credits each in social studies, science and mathematics and one credit each in world language, physical education and fine arts.
Final decisions on grade placement and class standing will be made by the Secondary School Principal, in consultation with the Secondary School Counselor.
Week Without Walls
Each year students in the Middle School take part in the Middle School Week Without Walls. The goal of these trips is to provide students with unique experiences at various locations throughout Morocco. From these experiences we hope that the students will deepen their appreciation of Moroccan culture and geography, develop friendships with their fellow students and teachers and learn more about themselves as individuals.
Participation in Week Without Walls is a Middle School requirement. Successful completion of this requirement includes attainment of the learning outcomes developed by the students and faculty. There is no additional charge for WWW; the costs are included in the annual tuition.
While having fun is one of the major goals of the WWW, there is a serious side as well. All middle school students are required to participate in WWW in each year of attendance at RAS. Learning outcomes are developed for each trip and these are used to assess whether the students have met the goals of the program. Students are awarded a pass/fail grade based upon this assessment. The goals of the Week Without Walls program are to
• provide academic and direct exposure to Morocco with the hopes of nurturing a better understanding and appreciation of Moroccan culture, history, geography, and people;
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• increase respect for the environment through exposure to unique habitats, unique topographical features, and the visible impact of human populations on the land;
• strengthen acquaintances among students and faculty;
• provide opportunities for personal reflection, self-awareness, and self-reliance;
• provide opportunities to develop new interests and aspirations.
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S ection 4 – STUDENT CONDUCT
Common Agreements on Behavior Expectations
Student Expectations
1. Students will arrive to all their classes, activities and appointments with all necessary materials, prerequisite work completed, and take responsibility for their learning.
a. Students will be on time to homeroom and to their classes.
b. Students will attend school regularly.
c. Students will complete the assigned work for classes, arrive with all necessary materials and strive to achieve their academic potential.
d. Students will complete all assignments punctually, to the best of their ability and with total academic integrity.
e. Students will check Schoology, school email, etc. regularly.
2. Students will treat all school employees and peers with respect.
a. Students will seek to address issues/challenges in a positive, proactive manner.
b. Students will recognize and appreciate the diversity of the RAS community and interact with integrity and compassion.
3. Students will be effective communicators.
a. Students will be attentive in class and refrain from impeding the learning of other students.
b. Students will speak in the language of the class instruction.
c. Students will be proactive in communicating with teachers/staff to ensure understandings, and to address concerns /conflicts.
4. Students will respect the school environment, both indoors and outdoors.
a. Students will demonstrate responsibility to keep our community clean by disposing of personal waste / trash in provided bins.
b. Students will strive for environmental sustainability by recycling whenever possible.
Teacher Actions
Teachers will:
• Always treat students with positive regard and engage with positive language;
• Communicate and model student expectations;
• Take attendance every class, and monitor, support and reinforce punctuality;
• Support and reinforce assignment completion;
• Differentiate tasks to support student learning;
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• Communicate areas that need improvement to student, HR teacher, parent/s, Assistant Principal.
Administration Actions
Investigations
School staff will investigate all reported allegations of inappropriate behaviors using standard disciplinary investigation techniques, including, but not limited to, interviewing students, asking for written statements, asking to examine electronic devices, investigating school e-mail accounts, etc. Parents will not necessarily be informed if their child is involved in a standard investigation.
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C onsequences
Possible consequences for not meeting these expectations will include, but not be limited to:
• Office referral;
• Parent meeting;
• Behavior/probationary contract;
• Loss of school and athletic privileges;
• Class suspension / In-school suspension/ Out-of-school suspension;
• Recommendation for expulsion.
Where any form of suspension is involved, parents will be required to attend a reinstatement meeting and sign a reinstatement agreement before the student is readmitted to classes and school.
Consequences for negative behavior will be based on the following criteria:
• The student’s intentions;
• The circumstances surrounding the event;
• What actually happened;
• The damage or hurt caused by the event;
• The impact on teaching and learning;
• The impact on the community.
Repeat offences or repeated negative behaviors by the same student will lead to increasingly severe consequences.
Academic Honesty
We recognize that honesty, integrity, and trust are vital parts of our lives. We value truthfulness, respect for the property of others, and respect for the work of others as their own. We expect everyone within the RAS community to uphold these standards in order to foster a positive, honest, and safe environment. We will attempt to keep our actions, attitudes, and judgments in accordance with these principles at all times.
Expectations
Students are expected to:
• Work with academic integrity at all times (in the classroom, at home and on the internet) and refrain from any acts of academic dishonesty;
• Encourage others to act honestly and discourage others from acting dishonestly;
• Refuse to aid others in acts of academic dishonesty;
• Work to assignment drafting timelines and processes;
• Be given a certain degree of clemency should they, of their own accord, come forward to indicate involvement in an act of academic dishonesty.
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Definitions
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following:
• Changing, altering or fabricating a grade, score, or any other academic record;
• Theft of or gaining unauthorized access to any form of assessment;
• Plagiarism (presenting another person's work, ideas, words, computer programs, or academic or creative work as one’s own without giving proper credit);
• Paying another person to do all or any parts of the work and submitting it as your own;
• Submission of falsified data, written or oral;
• Presentation of or use of unauthorized materials or equipment, including electronic devices, during an assessment;
• Use of a substitute or agreeing to be a substitute during an assessment;
• Unauthorized communication with any person during a testing situation;
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• Stealing or destroying work of another student including work presented electronically;
• Copying another student's work or allowing one’s own work to be copied;
• Taking credit for group work without actively contributing to the group;
• Deliberately choosing to miss classes through unexcused absences, lateness to school, or early dismissal in order to avoid taking a test or handing in an assignment;
• Missing assignment deadlines to gain an advantage of extra time on an assignment that has not been approved by the teacher;
• Falsifying a signature on a school-related documents;
• Deliberate and/or persistent loading of ‘un-openable’ PDFs or other assignments to avoid ‘late’ sanctions and to gain extra time that has not been approved by the teacher.
Investigations
School staff will investigate all reported allegations of academic malpractice using standard disciplinary investigation techniques, including, but not limited to, interviewing students, asking for written statements, conducting viva voce – oral - examinations of the student’s understanding of the content and/or processes of creating the work, examining electronic devices, investigating school e-mail accounts, etc.
Failure to turn in work – as stages in the process or as final work - as required/directed by a teacher, in order for them to authenticate the work, will be considered to be supportive of a conclusion of academic dishonesty when found in conjunction with work the student cannot adequately explain as their own.
Consequences
In instances where academic malpractice and/or dishonesty is proven to the extent required by the school, the administration will notify the parents, place a record on the school’s student information system and in the student’s hard copy file, and may assign disciplinary consequences such as in-school or out-of-school suspension of the student and - in cases of very serious, repeat or multiple offences - may recommend the expulsion of the student to the Board of Trustees.
Additional consequences for academic dishonesty may include but are not limited to the following:
• No credit will be given for the work in question, but the work must still be completed under supervised conditions and be assessed;
• The student will re-write under supervised conditions in the office;
• The student will have to demonstrate their work process and revisions;
• The student may have supervision restrictions placed on them in school;
• The student will be removed from elective office;
• The student will be excluded from participation in extracurricular activities;
• A record of severe or repeated incidents will be noted and reported to universities, especially if the incident occurs in 11th or 12th Grade.
The Use of External Tutors
Recognizing that a significant source of academic malpractice is where ‘tutors’ step over the line between assisting student learning and doing the work for them, all students in High School who use external tutors, 55 on a regular or ad hoc basis, are required to complete a Tutor Declaration Form. This form must be completed annually and returned promptly to the Vice Principal or Principal: whenever a tutor changes, the form must be updated and a new copy lodged in the Secondary Office, with this being the responsibility of the student and their family. Where concerns regarding academic integrity are raised and a student has been using an ‘undeclared’ tutor, the assumption will be that the student has to prove the work is his or hers in order to avoid a consequence. Tutors will be required to sign a document stating that they have read the Common Agreements on Behavior Expectations and Academic Honesty sections of this handbook.
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M obile Phones
Students are allowed to bring mobile phones to school but they must remain in students’ daybags during all class periods. They can only be used as follows:
• Before school starts;
• During passing periods;
• During morning break;
• During lunch;
• After the final scheduled block of the day;
• If permitted by a teacher as part of a learning activity.
They can never be used on the stairs or in stairwells, restrooms or PE change rooms and should not be kept in pockets.
Students are not permitted to use phones to take video or still images or make sound recordings on campus or during school activities without the express permission of a member of the teaching staff. Nor should any of these actions take place between RAS community members outside of school activities without express and recorded two-party consent.
Students in violation of the above will be asked to hand their phone over to a member of staff and must do so at the first time of asking. Teachers will hand the phones to the Principal. For first offences, the phones can be collected at the end of the school day: for repeat offences the school reserves the right to keep the phone for a longer period before return.
Should any student’s phone go missing while in the custody of the school as a result of misuse by the student, the school will not be held financially liable. Should any student need to use a phone during the school day, they can come to the Secondary School Office and ask the Secondary School Secretary for permission to use a phone there.
How We Dress
We are a learning community that values and respects diversity. As such we also recognize the complexity of attempting to articulate a code of dress that will be understood and interpreted in a way that is wholly aligned with every member of our community.
We recognize that dress is a part of how we express ourselves as individuals and our beliefs about how we ought to engage with our community.
We have therefore constructed a statement that will operate as a guideline for our community and we ask our community to consider this when making decisions about their practice of personal choice related to dress when engaging on our campus.
We also ask that our community entrust the Faculty and School Leadership to ensure that the spirit of these guidelines and our commitment to the values and mission of RAS is supported.
Guidelines related to dress that should be considered by all members of our community are:
● The way we choose to dress can be an expression of our beliefs and ideas.
● When expressing our beliefs and ideas we should take care to be inclusive of our peers and at the same time exhibit respect to other members of our community.
● Our expressions should avoid language and communication (often included on dress) that is likely to be deemed offensive to the general learning community as a whole.
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● We recognize and wholly support the importance of gender equality and identity.
● We will avoid the promotion of behaviors that can be harmful to the health and well-being of ourselves and other members of our learning community.
● We come to engage on the RAS campus for the purpose of intellectual curiosity and positive social interaction - the way we dress should support that purpose rather than deter from it.
Whenever there is concern about the nature of someone’s self-expression through mode of dress on campus that concern should be directed to any member of faculty. Faculty will then engage the School L eadership to consider that concern and take appropriate action aligned with their understanding and commitment to the mission and values of RAS. In the case of any disagreement about dress the position of the School Leadership will be the deciding factor in enforcement of code of behavior and dress.
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Campus After Hours
Students can independently use the Library after school hours for homework, research and study purposes until 4.30 pm on school days.
Other than if studying in the Library or working directly with a teacher, students should not be on campus after 15:35 on school days or anytime on other days unless participating in a supervised activity or granted special consideration from the Principal or Assistant Principal.
Students who miss the buses may study in the Library.
Attendance and Punctuality
Classroom learning activities are essential to the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and attitudes identified in the school curriculum and to the preparation of our students for success in their lives beyond school. For this reason, we encourage regular attendance for all students. When absences exceed a reasonable limit the academic integrity of an RAS education is compromised and, therefore, the school will take appropriate action to mitigate the impact of non-attendance: such action might include disciplinary action for unexcused absences or the loss of credit for excessive absences.
Types of Absence
1. Excused Absence – Students absent for a day due to sickness or other emergency must bring a note or medical certificate to school to explain the reason why they could not attend school. Parents/Guardians must telephone the school office on the morning of absence to alert the school as to the absence. Failure to do so makes it difficult to account for all of the students and may compromise the student’s safety.. Both excused absences and unexcused absences are considered an ‘absence’s as it applies to a student absence count and the attendance requirements to receive course credit.
2. Unexcused Absence - any absence for which no written account is provided by parents. 3. School Sponsored Activity – This is an absence that happens because of school related events, examples of this can be field trips and co-curricular programs and events. These will not be counted within a student’s absence count.
Limit on Absences
If a student is absent for 15% or more of the periods in a given class in any semester (excused or unexcused), he or she may not receive a passing grade.
If a student misses more than 15% of the periods in a given class during the school year (excused or unexcused), s/he will not receive credit for the class.
Students may be held back and required to repeat a year if their level of absence so warrants it.
Sickness During the Day
Any student who is feeling too ill to continue classes should report to the School Nurse. Students must have a signed note from the class that they are leaving. The School Nurse is not allowed to treat students who have not first gained permission from their Classroom Teacher. Permission to return home may be granted by the School Nurse in consultation with a member of the SLT. In such cases, a student will not be sent home until the school has permission from the parent or guardian to do so.
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A rrival at school
● A student who arrives at school after the end of homeroom must report to the Secondary School Office and sign in late. This is a campus safety requirement. ● Parents or guardians will be informed by phone or email. ● A student who is not present at the start of homeroom – as the bell rings - will be marked as late. ● When a student is consistently late, communication will occur to the parent as well as possible disciplinary procedures. ● Escalating consequences will apply for continued lateness.
Late to Class
1. At the start of each lesson, teachers will register their students.
2. If students are repeatedly late to class – i.e. arrive after the bell - they may be required to go to the secondary school office to sign in. If a student is late because they were with a teacher/counselor, they will be excused only if the student has a note from that person.
3. More serious consequences will apply for continued lateness as outlined above.
Planned Absence
Whenever a student knows that they will miss regular scheduled classes for a period of three school days or more they are required to complete a Planned Absence form. In all cases of planned absence this form should be completed a minimum of one week prior to the planned absence. Special exemptions can be made by parents contacting either the Vice Principal or the Principal.
This form can be collected from the secondary office.
The purpose of completing this form is to encourage students to plan with their teachers to avoid falling behind on important learning in their classes. It is the student’s responsibility to complete the form and to meet with each of their teachers to have them sign the form. When teachers sign the form they are indicating that the student has exhibited their understanding of what they need to do to maintain their good standing in the class and the student has agreed to fulfill these responsibilities.
Whenever students will be absent from classes because of a co-curricular program the leader of those programs will first publish a list of student participants to faculty at which time teachers will have an opportunity to express any concerns about those students being away from class. If there are concerns, the leader of that program will confer with the Assistant Principal or Principal regarding if they have academic clearance to attend the event. If the student does not receive academic clearance, communication to the students/parents will be provided as to the concerns. In addition, any serious academic / behavioral concerns that occur after approval for the related program, in which the student is no longer in good academic or behavioral standing can result in that student being withdrawn from participating and any expenses incurred will be the responsibility of the student.
Sickness Absence
If a student is going to absent from school due to sickness, a parent or guardian should e-mail the Secondary School secretary at [email protected], with the subject line “Sickness Absence -
Leaving Campus During the Day
In order to ensure that safety and security protocols can be effectively followed, whenever a student needs to leave campus for personal reasons during school hours they must first collect a pass to leave the campus from the secondary office. Students will not be authorized to leave the campus without this pass even if
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O ff-Campus Privileges
Recognizing that our older students will very soon be wholly responsible for the use of their time when they graduate from school we aim to present students with increased levels of responsibility to prepare them for this eventuality.
Senior students may be presented with an exception to the above mentioned process for leaving campus subject to the demonstration of a level of responsibility that warrants such a privilege. Such students are granted the privilege of being able to leave campus during their lunch breaks. They are expected to register on time at all homeroom classes and assemblies. In order to access this privilege the approved students must collect a Permission Form from the secondary office and return it signed by a parent: their names will then be added to the photo-list held at the gates.
When off-campus, students must abide by all RAS rules and regulations and are prohibited from using any form of vehicular transport. Students are not to buy items, including food, for other students nor bring any other food back to campus.
This privilege will be revoked if it has been determined that a student is not managing their time effectively or students are abusing the privilege. The Assistant Principal will maintain an updated list of students with this privilege.
Students with this privilege must sign out and sign in on the provided form at the front gate.
At the discretion of the Assistant Principal or the Principal this privilege might be extended to Junior students.
Parents Absent from Rabat and Home
We understand that on occasion, parents may be required to be absent from Rabat and home. On these occasions, if no parent will be at home or in Rabat, the parents should appoint a ‘temporary guardian’ or ‘caregiver’ to take care of them, and advise school of the arrangement including emergency contact details and requirements in advance of their absence.
In the parent/s’ absence, the temporary guardian or caregiver may be required to make decisions about the educational, social or emotional needs of the student; support the school in dealing with any issues arising, take responsibility in case of an accident or injury e.g. take child to hospital; give permission for field trips or special events and attend required functions at school.
Parents must provide information to the Secondary School Office prior to their absence and also advise the Homeroom Teacher that they will be absent. This is essential in order for staff to ensure the safety and well-being of students.
Personal Property - Lost & Found
Students are encouraged to avoid bringing items of significant value to school. Students are provided with locks and lockers and if they bring such items with them to school they are expected to keep them locked in their provided locker. While the school and community take great care to ensure a secure environment the school cannot be held responsible for any items that go missing when not locked away.
Substance Abuse
RAS recognizes that students may encounter opportunities to engage in the use and abuse of substances such as illegal drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and other natural and synthetic toxic substances. As an educational institution it is incumbent upon RAS both to demand the highest standards and expectations for a healthy lifestyle as well as see our role as a learning institution. RAS Board Policy very clearly outlines the policy toward the abuse of all such substances. Students may not use drugs or alcohol at any time before, during or after the school day while they are enrolled at RAS. For the purpose of this policy, prohibited use of drugs while at school is defined as the possession, use,
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distribution, sale, attempt to sell, giving away, or being under the obvious influence of such substances as alcoholic beverages, marijuana, psycho-active non-prescription drugs, inhalants, anabolic steroids, etc. The Director may include in this definition other substances not specifically listed, including imitation substances. The carrying of common drugs’ use paraphernalia, e.g. rolling papers, will also be considered as falling within the “prohibited use” definition, and subject to disciplinary action.
Penalties for a first offense can include a suspension of more than five school days to permanent expulsion, shall occur for repeat violation, a positive result of a drug test following a first offense or for selling or distributing a prohibited substance.
The administration, faculty, counselors and Board encourage students who feel they may have a substance abuse problem to come forward, and support their efforts to seek help. Penalties for violation of this policy will generally not be applied in such cases when the student comes forward prior to an incident involving disciplinary action.
In addition, students found to be smoking on campus or during school hours, including whilst on school-related trips at any time, will face significant disciplinary action.
Student ID Cards
Student ID Cards are issued upon enrolment and are used to purchase food items and identify students entering and leaving campus. Parents and students may charge the student’s card by adding credit at the cashier in the cafeteria.
A minimum balance of 150 Dirhams is recommended, which represents approximately five days of meals for most students. Should a card reach a nil or 0 balance, the student will not be able to purchase from the cafeteria.
Students should report lost cards to RAS Technology helpdesk immediately and complete a request for a new card. A minor charge will be made for replacement of lost cards.
Food Services
RAS provides a comprehensive food program at the cafeteria on campus. Secondary School choices include a full hot meal with options and there is also a snack bar that provides sandwiches and other smaller meal options. The provider ensures that students are presented with healthy options.
The school does not permit food to be delivered to or via any school gate before, during or after school hours: students should bring packed lunches or purchase food from the cafeteria. Where students do not have food or money, they will be supplied with a food voucher to use at the cafeteria and the cost collected from the family: this will be done only on a very occasional basis.
Guests of Students
On occasion students might request that friends and former students be allowed to visit the campus during school hours. Unfortunately, the classroom environment does not often allow for extra visitors due to limited size of rooms and high levels of enrollment. Consequently, visitors are usually limited to lunch and after school hours. In addition, only visitors who have made prior arrangements to visit, giving at least 24 hours notice, will be allowed on campus. In order to make such plans students are directed to enquire with the Assistant Principal who will guide them in planning such a visit.
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Section 5 - PERSONAL, SOCIAL, & HEALTH EDUCATION
Student Support
Counseling philosophy
Our students are global citizens, living in increasingly diverse societies, with access to rapidly changing technologies, and expanding opportunities. To help ensure that they are well-equipped to be successful, and to become the next generation of leaders and good world citizens, every student needs support, guidance, and opportunities to learn and develop their individual capabilities.
Counseling Services
The school counselor offers both proactive and responsive services, designed to meet students’ immediate needs and concerns. These services may include counseling in individual or small-group settings or crisis response.
Students, parents and staff may access the school counselor either through direct self-referral, or through the Student Support referral process.
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) Program
The PSHE program will consist of structured lessons, delivered in a safe and positive learning environment. The PSHE program is designed to help students attain self-knowledge, attitudes and skills, such as interpersonal relationships and study habits, appropriate for their developmental level.
Homeroom and PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education)
Homeroom Groups
Homerooms allow students the opportunity to interact closely with a group of their peers, under the guidance and care of two homeroom teachers. Homerooms meet every morning, and during PSHE lessons, and are intended to build a sense of community among students and their peers.
The Homeroom Teacher
The role of the homeroom teacher is designed to offer the opportunity for students to develop close contact with at least one teacher at school, who will act as their advocate and advisor. Homeroom teachers will lead the developing of a sense of community in the Homeroom, and will monitor, advise and encourage students.
Homeroom teachers will also deliver PSHE lessons, during a dedicated PSHE class; the curriculum for PSHE will be developed with the guidance of the school counselor.
Grade Level Meetings
All teachers will meet regularly at Grade level to track student progress and bring any issues or concerns arising to the attention of the appropriate Student Support Team member.
Student Support Team
The Student Support Team incorporates the English as an Additional Language (EAL), Academic Resource Coordinator (ARC), and Counselling departments. The team meets regularly, and works 67 closely with teachers, students and parents, to ensure that appropriate services are provided proactively.
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S ection 6 - COLLEGE COUNSELING
Introduction
The college counseling program is a guidance based program that strives to educate students about their options for a post high school education. With thousands of institutions to choose from, any student contemplating applying to a university must begin the search and selection process almost a year and a half in advance of enrolling. The information in this section will be helpful in understanding the general process.
Students who intend to apply to universities are advised to begin to investigate admissions criteria while in Grade 10 or 11. Generally, students who graduate from RAS are able to gain admission in a variety of U.S. and non-U.S. universities. However, there may be other specific criteria (i.e. selected course work, exams, language requirements, and/or logistical procedures) that the students must learn about in advance.
The selection of an appropriate college requires serious consideration by the student and his or her parents. Interests, aptitudes, and abilities should be objectively and realistically evaluated. It is of paramount importance to settle on the type of college or university that will be the “best fit.” Factors that should be weighed include the size of the school, expense, curricular offerings, student body, atmosphere, rigor of the program, location, and entrance requirements. There are many sources of information to use in reaching a decision about the college you attend. Some of these are:
• Online resources such individual college or university websites or The College Board.
• Conferences with your college counselor.
• Attending College Information Meetings put on by the college counselor.
• Discussions with college representatives visiting RAS or online.
• Discussions with alumni of colleges that are under consideration.
• Visits to various colleges while on home leave or vacation.
• Discussions with teachers, parents and acquaintances.
Universities and College Requirements
RAS provides guidance and counseling that supports students to meet the entrance requirements for colleges and universities. However, the primary responsibility for meeting the prerequisites to apply to any post-secondary institution resides with the student and their families. Important criteria that are commonly expected include:
1. An academic record
This includes the courses and performance for each of the classes that a student takes from 9th to 12th grade. This information is most commonly communicated in a student’s transcript. The RAS transcript includes the title of the course and the final grade earned at the completion of the school year. Transcript requests must be made through the Vice Principal/Secondary counselor and sent to the receiving University or school via school email or Fedex. Please allow 3 business days for transcript requests. Official student transcripts are not given to students or their families as a matter of policy, except in exceptional circumstances determined by Assistant Principal and/orSchool Counselor.
2. Standardized Testing Data
The most common standardized test data used by international students is the SAT test. The SAT I test is a three section test that measures reading, math and writing skills. SAT II tests are shorter tests for specific subjects and may be required by certain programs within a university or college.
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Another standardized test is the ACT. The ACT measures the same reading, writing, and math skills as the SAT. These tests are created and controlled by an agency called the College Board. RAS has no control over registration, test dates or test scores. Students must work with the College Board for each of these aspects. However, RAS is used as a testing site that is open to everyone to take the SAT and the college counselor can help to communicate when the testing will take place.
Another important required standardized test looks at students’ English capabilities. If an international student is planning to attend a university where the language of instruction is English, the students should take the TOEFL or the IELTS. Again, each institution has its own requirements so
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the students will have to do this research. Like the SAT, these tests are administered by an outside agency. Unlike the SAT, RAS is not a testing site so the students and their families are responsible to sign up and take these tests at their convenience.
3. College Essays
The writing that students are asked to complete as part of their college application is often referred to as a “supplement” (US applications) or a “personal statement” (UK applications). Again, there are a wide variety of topics and approaches to writing these essays and the students must research each school’s expectations. Additionally, students are encouraged to make appointments to seek feedback about their writing from the college counselor or other teachers on campus.
4. Recommendation Letters
Students are encouraged to ask two teachers for letters of recommendation that speak to a quality of their character that strengthens their college application. It is wise for the student to meet with these referees to discuss what might be included in their letters of recommendation. These letters are confidential and are transmitted to universities through the college counseling office.
5. The College Application
The most commonly used applications are The Common Application in the US and the UCAS application in the UK. However, these are not the only avenues to apply and the students and families must educate themselves to what system each institution they are applying to uses to ensure they are considered for each of their schools. Within these applications this is the chance for students to communicate their success and involvement in activities outside of the classroom.
Parents and Seniors year must sign the RAS University Agreements Form prior to school transmission of application materials.
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Section 7 - TECHNOLOGY
Responsible Use Guidelines
The use of information technology at RAS is focused on educational purposes. However, as technology can also be used for personal and recreational purposes, it is important that students are aware of the expectation for the use of technology at school and between community members. In some cases, students’ behavior is guided by clearly articulated expectations. In other cases, they must make wise decisions about their own behavior dictated by a sense of good citizenship and as a responsible member of the RAS community. Students should be aware that these expectations apply to any device used at RAS, even those not provided by the school.
Expectations of Students
Respect Yourself
● I will show respect for myself through my actions. ● I will select online names that are appropriate. ● I will consider the information and images that I post online. ● I will consider what personal information about my life, experiences, experimentation or relationships I post. ● I will not be obscene.
Protect Yourself
● I will ensure that the information, images and materials I post online will not put me at risk. ● I will not publish my personal details, contact details or a schedule of my activities. ● I will report any attacks or inappropriate behavior directed at me and I will seek support from the school counselor.
● I will protect passwords, accounts and resources. ● I will not share my password with anyone.
Respect Others
● I will show respect to others. ● I will not use electronic mediums to bully, harass or stalk other people or indicate my approval when other people take part in these activities. ● I will show respect for other people in my choice of websites. ● I will not visit sites that are degrading, pornographic, racist or inappropriate. ● I will not abuse my rights of access and I will not enter other people's private spaces or areas.
Protect Others
● I will protect others by reporting abuse to the school Counselor, not forwarding inappropriate materials or communications; and not visiting sites that are degrading, pornographic, or any site that negatively portrays any group of people.
● I will moderate unacceptable materials and conversations, reporting conversations that are inappropriate or unacceptable.
(Source: Andrew Church, Educational Origami, http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Digital+Citizen+AUA)
Balance
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Technology at RAS is meant to be a positive, enriching resource to enhance learning and creativity. However, it is recognized that computers, mobile devices and other technologies can sometimes have a disruptive effect on a person’s behavior and well-being. Additionally, while technology can be an engaging way to spend time, it can take up time that could be better used for studying or working with friends.
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Instead of watching videos and surfing the web, reading a good book or talking with friends and teachers may be a better choice. Students should find a comfort zone that strikes a healthy balance between their online and offline lives.
Ethical and Respectful Use
Responsible citizenship means practicing good ethical behavior, whether online or offline. Students are encouraged to model good digital citizenship by making sure their actions and choices do not disrupt the learning environment for themselves or others, just like in the classroom.
At a minimum, students are expected to:
● Ensure that conversations, actions or activities do not inflame, agitate, or offend others. ● Report abuse or other actions that may offend others. ● Cite any and all use of websites, books, media, etc. ● Abide by Fair Use, Copyright and Creative Commons guidelines. ● Avoid prohibited activities, as listed below.
For example, students should not:
● Engage in cyberbullying behavior or actions that may offend or harm others. ● “Like” or encourage anyone else who is engaging in cyberbullying. ● Bully, harass or stalk other people online. ● Enter other people’s private online spaces or areas. ● Attempt to access or modify files or accounts of others. ● Share or use other’s accounts or passwords. ● Use tools to bypass network restrictions. ● View or install inappropriate content. ● Copy or remove school-provided software.
Students who use technology inappropriately will face investigation and possible consequences as per the Behavior Expectations outlined above in Section 4.
Protecting your identity
Once your information is on the Internet, there is nothing to stop it from being replicated, shared and distributed widely without your control, both now and into the future. Therefore, safeguarding personal information is extremely important.
Personal information extends beyond names, phone numbers, and addresses, to things such as usernames, passwords, and physical location. As such, it is important that students treat their own and others’ personal details with great care. Students should never share user accounts or passwords even with their friends. Personal information should always be kept private.
RAS Email guidelines
All Secondary Students have an RAS email address. Email communications between students and teachers should use only this address.
The following guidelines should be followed: ● You can talk to a person directly, you don’t always have to use an email. ● Responsible use of email is expected of all students. Using email to bully, intimidate or harm other users are serious offenses.
● Consider the tone. Remember when you send an email that the recipient cannot see your facial expressions and cannot hear your voice. Does your email sound polite to the person receiving it? If you feel upset don’t hit send, wait a while!
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● The email subject should be brief and an accurate indication of the contents of the email. ● Only send email to the receipts who need to know the information in the email. For example, if you need to email another student you should not email all students. Email to large groups and “reply all” will rarely be used.
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● Forwarding emails to recipients who were not included in the original email (unless the original sender approves) is not polite.
● Check your email regularly. “I didn’t check my email” is not a valid excuse for missing an important message. ● When you create your password, make it a combination of numbers and letters. Make it something you WILL remember.
Wi-Fi Access
Students have access to RAS WiFi via the RAS Guest network. Once connected to the network students must enter Eduprize usernames and passwords. Please limit use of the network to school related activities.
Being a member of the community
All students are members of the greater RAS community and have a social obligation to protect shared resources and respect the people and the space around them.
As such, students are expected to:
● Be aware of other students or teachers working nearby. ● Listen to audio with headphones in public spaces. ● Be mindful of activities that consume excessive bandwidth. ● Take care of school equipment.
Students should keep in mind that individual teachers will have different protocols for classroom use of IT and it is the student’s responsibility to be aware of these and adhere to them.
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Section 8 - CO-CURRICULAR PROGRAMS
General
We believe that learning can happen at all times and in all places throughout and beyond the school day. We know that when students engage in projects and programs beyond the regular classroom their learning is enhanced and they develop skills that support both their social and academic development. We also believe that when our students are exposed to opportunities that they might not otherwise consider they are encouraged to be risk-takers and benefit from the experience. Consequently, RAS is working to develop a more diversified and balanced collection of co-curricular programs.
At RAS we identify co-curricular activities as any activity in which students participate outside of regular classroom hours. They can be identified as; Athletic, Academic, Creative, Social/Cultural, and Service orientated. In many cases a well organised co-curricular activity will provide learning opportunities across several of these categories. For purposes of logistics we place these grouping under two broad headings; Athletics & Activities.
We encourage our students to be involved in a broad range of co-curricular activities.
Any student participating with any group that represents RAS is expected to have developed and maintained a reputation as a positive and responsible member of our learning community across all aspects of the school. It is not enough for someone to be positively engaged in the program for which they are representing the school, they must also be recognized by all faculty as persons who model positive social behavior and exhibit consistently strong effort in all areas of their program of studies.
Athletics
The Rabat American School Athletic Program supports the mission and beliefs of RAS. The co-curricular program offers athletic opportunities for the students of RAS outside of regular curricular programs. However, the two programs are closely related and work to support each other.
Goals of RAS Athletics
● Encourage intercultural co-operation ● Develop a sense of fair play ● Understand principles of group participation and individual responsibility ● Develop a sense of self control and discipline ● Understand the importance of participation to the best of one’s abilities ● Broaden horizons through travel ● Encourage positive social interaction ● Define and demonstrate the highest levels of sportsmanship at all times
The RAS Athletic Program consists of:
● School team and individual practices and competitions for boys and girls of all ages within the Secondary School
● Genders will be presented with equal opportunity for participation.
● Typical programs on offer are Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, Track & Field, Badminton subject to necessary minimum enrollment numbers.
● Programs typically run in seasons of 8-10 weeks but may be shorter or longer as logistics demand.
● There will typically be two practices per week and teams will be offered as many game situations as logistics make possible - students should plan for the possibility of up to one game per week.
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● Tournaments will often happen as a culmination of the season and subject to logistics and student engagement teams might typically experience a tournament with host country schools as well as the possibility of an international schools’ tournament.
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Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) Levels
The Varsity sports program is derived of players that exhibit the highest level of skill, sportsmanship, and teamwork. These players are chosen by coaches from the Varsity and JV coaching staff for each sport.
The Junior Varsity sports program offers opportunities for younger or less experienced students to develop skills when not chosen for the varsity team.
Affiliations
RAS is affiliated with one international activities conference (AMAC) and an alliance of international schools within Morocco (MASAC).
Atlantic Mediterranean Activities Conference (AMAC)
AMAC is an activities conference that brings together American and International schools of similar sizes from southern Europe and Northern Africa. These schools are:
● American Cooperative School of Tunis (ACST) ● Carlucci American International School of Lisbon (CAISL) ● Rabat American School (RAS)
AMAC offers tournament competition for both boys and girls teams at the end of each varsity season.
Volleyball is played in the fall, basketball in the winter, and soccer in the spring.
Moroccan American Schools Athletic Conference (MASAC)
RAS maintains a relationship with several American and international schools throughout Morocco.
These schools are:
● Al-Akhawayn School of Ifrane (ASI) ● Casablanca American School (CAS) ● George Washington Academy (GWA)
● American Academy of Casablanca (AAC) ● American School of Marrakech (ASM) ● American School of Tangier (AST)
RAS teams travel to, and host, tournaments and competitions in all athletics programs whenever feasible.
Local Games. In addition to the AMAC and MASAC schools, RAS schedules competition with local schools and clubs. This local competition provides our teams with valuable practice games leading up to AMAC or MASAC tournaments.
Student Athlete Expectations
When students are chosen as team representatives to participate in games and tournaments the priority consideration will be that student’s record of behavior and attitude when engaging in all aspects of their academic studies and social interaction with the RAS learning community. Student athletes are expected to be ambassadors of RAS and as such it is vital that their conduct in all aspects reflects the mission and values of the school community. Only students who model such values will be chosen to represent the school.
The intent of these expectations is to encourage our student athletes to strive for excellence in all areas of their lives. With these expectations in mind our student athletes will be able to excel in all curricular and co-curricular activities.
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I mportant Forms
All participants in the co-curricular athletics program must complete the following forms:
● Physical Health Form – signed and dated by a physician within six months prior to the beginning of the school year, stating that the athlete is able to compete in all athletic contests.
● Athletic Contract for each sport. By signing this agreement, athletes and parents state that they are aware of and agree with the contents within the athletics handbook. ● Pre-arranged Absence Form if selected for a team that is travelling during school days.
All students must be aware of the requirements when participating in an activity that impinges upon regular classroom hours. Please refer to the section entitled “student conduct” about ‘planned absences’ for related information about when students need to make arrangements to be out of class for co-curricular events.
Activities
RAS is working to develop a more integrated and cohesive program of activities that will add balance and fullness to the co-curricular program. It is anticipated that most activities will be student led and developed under the guidance of the school leadership teams.
At RAS we want to encourage students and members of the community to be involved in projects which allow them to work alongside organizations and people within the community. We want our students to build empathy and friendships with all members of society. It is recognized that when students engage in activities structured as project they presented with deeper learning opportunities, the benefits of project-based learning for students presents value-added well beyond simply making a service contribution to others.
Community and service considers how a student engages with his or her immediate family, classmates and friends in the outside world as a member of these communities. Through effective planning and teaching, students can learn about their place within communities and be motivated to act in a new context.
Knowledge and awareness of issues affecting local communities can be embedded in interdisciplinary units and taught as part of the curriculum providing the foundation for taking well-informed action on issues.
It is expected students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the process and skills required to identify an issue and organize themselves and others to take sustainable action. In order to develop these skills structured systems will be developed to provide guidance by mentor teachers and other advisors.
As we further develop this approach we anticipate an increased range of opportunities for students to engage their local, regional and international communities with student leadership and action based projects that will result in a sustained program of service-learning project based activities.
Some examples of the project based activities already in existence are Model United Nations, Amnesty International, National Honor Society, and Dar Taliba focused projects.
These projects and others yet to be introduced will be incorporated into the Activities section of the co-curricular program and integrated into the overall afterschool co-curricular program schedule resulting in a broader and more well balanced combination of opportunities for student development.
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S ocial Events and Service Projects
Students are enthusiastically encouraged to consider how they might initiate special social events and service projects. RAS firmly supports the idea that events initiated, planned and directed by students provide for great learning opportunities and improve the atmosphere of the school community.
Whenever students have an idea that would improve the school climate they are encouraged to discuss these ideas with their teachers and school leaders who will aim to support their plans and provide appropriate guidance.
Posting Notices and Promotion of Events
Whenever students wish to place notices/posters around campus they must first request permission to do so from the Secondary School Principal. Once approved these notices/posters will be stamped and signed with the understanding that the students responsible will remove the signage immediately after the event. Notices/posters that are not signed will be removed without notice.
STUCO - Student Council
RAS encourages student voice in all matters related to our learning community. The existence of a formal student council at both the Middle School and High School levels is encouraged and guided through the efforts of appointed STUCO advisors at both levels, as well as priority meetings with the Secondary School Principal.
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S ection 9 – ADDITIONAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Campus facilities
All secondary students are encouraged to participate in the wide variety of after-school activities and sports offered. In order for an after-school activities program to be an effective and enjoyable experience, students are expected to make a commitment to an activity (which includes regularly attending and notifying the supervising adult for unavoidable absences) and to observe the school rules.
In general, RAS assumes responsibility for safety for all students during school hours and after school and on weekends for students participating in an adult-supervised after-school activity. Parents assume full responsibility for their children’s safety at school before 8:15am, after 3:35 pm and on weekends and school holidays.
Middle School students are not allowed to stay on campus beyond 3:30 unless under the direct supervision of an adult. High school students may remain on campus but are expected to abide by school rules regarding safety and demeanor and must remain in open public areas on campus. Once a student leaves the campus at the end of the school day, he or she may not return without express permission from the Principal or Vice Principal.
Secondary students using private transportation to and from school must be picked up within 15 minutes of the end of the school day or the after-school activity. After this time period elapses, RAS can no longer assume responsibility for the child. Students who remain after-school are to remain on campus until the late bus leaves at 4:30 pm.
RAS reserves the right to restrict participation in activities if a student or parent is not willing to observe the above regulation.
Cafeteria
The school cafeteria is open throughout the school day. The cafeteria provides full meals and a la carte lunch options along with drinks and snacks. Food and drinks must be purchased using the student identification card, which has a bar code.
Students must use the Student Cafeteria responsibly. Specifically, students must:
• Pick up after themselves and not leave a mess.
• Use appropriate language at all times.
• Respect the school’s property and furnishings.
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F ire and Emergency Drills
RAS will have fire and bomb threat drills at regular intervals in order to familiarize students with the appropriate procedures for emergency evacuation. Evacuation maps are posted in each classroom. Secondary students should report to the class currently in session at the all-clear signal. A fire evacuation plan is posted in each classroom.
Personal music
Students may listen to music on personal electronic devices outside of class using earphones. Earphones must be used with all electronic equipment that uses sound. Students are responsible for their own possessions; RAS takes no responsibility for loss or damage, including when taken into school custody due to misuse.
Any use of electronic devices for listening to music in class is subject to the following guidelines:
• It must be with the explicit permission of the teacher in charge;
• The student must always be able to hear teacher instructions at the first time of them being given;
• Listening to music can only take place where it aids focus and learning, i.e. it is not appropriate for group tasks when the group may be involved in discussion;
• The student accepts that this is a privilege rather than a right, and can be removed at any time by the teacher without any requirement for justification.
Language Use
RAS values its cultural and linguistic diversity. As a school offering an American curriculum, English is the principal language of communication; it is the language of instruction in all subjects except French and Arabic and it is the one that is spoken in most other situations.
Teachers and staff are encouraged to find opportunities to publicly value students’ other languages, admire their knowledge of them, and recognize their importance in today’s world. Where possible, teachers and staff model the value of learning languages for academic development and world understanding, and make connections among languages. When English is not the mother tongue, it is important for students and their parents to acknowledge their responsibility to maintain mother tongue skills while students are simultaneously developing their English language skills.
Private conversations in the students' other languages are acceptable and valuable, as long as nobody present is left out because they don’t understand. “Language courtesy” is important in the international context and is practiced at RAS.
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L ockers
Each student in Grades 6 to 12 is provided with a locker and a combination lock for safekeeping of books, materials, and equipment. A second lock is available for PE lockers for safekeeping of clothes, shoes, swimsuits, or towels. All of these locks will be issued by the school, with no exceptions.
Use of a school locker is a privilege, not a right, and continuation of the privilege is conditional upon the student treating the lock and locker with care. Each student is to use the locker that was assigned to him/her and is responsible for its contents. Lockers in need of repair should be reported to the Secondary School Office. Students are strongly urged not to share their combinations with classmates. If a student has reason to believe that someone knows his or her combination, s/he should bring the lock to the Secondary School Principal’s office for an exchange. Items taken from an assigned locker are the responsibility of the student except in cases of forced entry.
All property, including items in school lockers or student bags, is subject to scrutiny at the discretion of the school administration. According to school board policy, locker inspections are permitted at the discretion of the administration. If the principal deems that it is necessary to open a student’s locker, every effort will be made to inform the student and have him or her present at the time the locker is opened. If this is not possible, a school employee, such as a teacher or the administrative assistant, will accompany the principal.
Lost and Found
All personal articles (clothing, notebooks, PE uniform, book covers, lunch boxes, calculators, etc.) should be labeled with the name of the student. All articles lost and then found by someone other than the owner should be given to the school secretary. Found articles will be stored in the school store at the front gate. Those articles that are not claimed at the conclusion of each marking period will be turned over to a local charitable organization.
Students and parents are advised that while many lost items do eventually make their way to the office, many items do not. This is especially true of money and small electronic devices, such as cell phones and personal music players. Be aware that theft can and does occur at RAS. Although the administration will do everything within its power to discourage theft, RAS cannot assume any financial responsibility for lost or stolen articles. Students should immediately report any loss to the Secondary School Office. Students are advised against bringing large amounts of money to school, or leaving particularly valuable items in their lockers. Book bags and books that are set down outside the lockers are particularly vulnerable to theft and damage.
Posting of Signs
Students may post signs for their clubs or organizations. Events that are not school-sponsored may not be advertised at the school without the permission of the principal. Students and faculty are requested to use masking tape (not cellophane tape or putty) when posting notices to avoid damage to the paint.
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P rocedures for Withdrawal
Parents should notify the Secondary School Office as far in advance as possible of the withdrawal date of their child from the school. A minimum of one week’s notification is required. This notification should be presented in writing, addressed to the Principal.
Students should request a withdrawal form from the secretary. Transcripts and other records will be provided upon completion of the withdrawal form. Transcripts and records cannot be released until all outstanding fees are paid.
In most cases, the school will send a student’s transcripts to his or her next school. Parents who wish to hand-carry their children’s’ records may do so. Hand carrying of transcripts at the end of the year may be delayed due to scoring of exams and preparation of reports. In that case, transcripts and/or records will be sent to the new school or to the parents at a forwarding address at the earliest possible date.
Social events
Student groups wishing to plan an event must submit a request to the Secondary School Principal. Major events are scheduled before the end of the preceding year. Additional events are scheduled at least two weeks before the event. Requests for the use of school facilities must be obtained by securing the necessary form and returning it to the Secondary School Office at least ten days before the event.
At all school-sponsored events, all school rules apply. Students who leave the premises or campus may not return to the event. Attendance at such events will be restricted to RAS students, unless special permission is received in advance from the Secondary School Principal.
In general, the hours for evening events will be from 7:00 – 11:00 pm for high school and secondary school functions and 7:00 – 9:30 pm for middle school-only functions. Social events will not be held during the week while school is in session. Social events require a minimum of three chaperones at all times for the duration of the event. Students of the sponsoring class are responsible for finding chaperones.
Students at evening events must stay within the boundaries of the auditorium and the immediately adjacent walkways, or by the swimming pool/cafeteria area for dances located there. For dances, the volume of the music should be set at an acceptable level which respects the rights of others, including tenants of nearby buildings, and the physical limitations of our equipment.
Where the principal gives permission as outlined above, students are each permitted to invite one guest of school age. A guest list should be prepared by the sponsoring class or organization and approved by the administration no later than Thursday afternoon for Friday or Saturday dances. Guests must enter the dance with their host who is responsible for their welfare and conduct. Guests must leave at the same time as their host, or earlier.
Students who enter the gate for a dance must remain on the campus grounds for the duration of the dance. If a student chooses to leave campus early, he/she may not re-enter the dance without specific permission of a chaperone. Parents are expected to pick up their students at or before the ending time.
Good taste is expected for dress and behavior. Questionable dress and behavior will not be allowed, and students or guests who violate standards of propriety or school rules will be required to leave the school grounds.
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S tudent Health
A registered nurse is on the campus every school day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The nurse’s office is located in the Upper Elementary School building (UE 10a, ext. 123). The nurse’s responsibility is to take care of illnesses and injuries that occur at school. Students who become ill or injured outside of school hours are not to be sent to school to be seen by the Nurse. This unnecessarily exposes other students to the illness, and the nurse will send the ill student home. The Nurse does not prescribe medication or give injections to students, although nonprescription medicines are available if needed.
Health Records
Student health records are reviewed by the nurses and kept in the Health Office. Records are confidential but certain information, such as a severe allergy, may be shared with teachers on a “need to know” basis.
RAS students are required to submit a report of physical examination (using forms provided by RAS or equivalent), including proof of vaccinations as indicated below, completed within six months prior to:
• Entering RAS
• Transitioning from grade 5 to 6
• Transitioning from grade 8 to 9.
For participation in any after-school athletic program, including intra-mural, club, junior varsity, and varsity sports each academic year, completion of the physical exam form is required yearly of all participating students who:
• Are in grades 6-12, except those who have already have a report of physical examination as outlined above.
• Are in grade 5 and are included as members in a traveling team (e.g. track).
For significant conditions such as severe asthma, severe allergies, diabetes, or seizures, you should inform the nurses immediately upon the first day of school and supply the Health Office with any emergency medicine indicated. If there is any change in the student’s health condition at any time, it is the parent’s responsibility to inform the Health Office.
The following are required in order to enter RAS:
• MMR (measles-mumps-rubella): 2 doses (generally, 1 is given at age 12-15 months, and a booster dose at age 4-6 years);
• TB skin test (PPD)* or chest X-ray for students who have either had a positive PPD skin test in the past, or who are unable to have a PPD skin test. The TB screen and/or chest X-ray is only required once, prior to school entry. A positive TB skin test will require follow-up chest X-ray and physician referral.
Parents or guardians who choose not to comply with the required immunization or screen, for religious or other reasons, must sign a waiver for each affected student, which will be kept in that student’s health record at RAS.
RAS also recommends the following immunizations, as appropriate, for all students:
• DT or DTP (tetanus-diptheria-pertussis), completed series plus booster if warranted; • Polio: completed series plus booster if warranted; • Varicella: completed series; • Hepatitis B: completed series.
Medications
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The Nurse’s Office has a limited supply of over-the-counter medications that can be given to the student without calling you first, if you have already signed the Health Form. This permission is good for one year. This permission can be extended by completing the appropriate section of each year’s
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Annual Health Form for Returning Students. Please check the Health Form for the list of medications or contact the Health Office for more information.
If you would like the nurse to administer medication to a student (such as antibiotics, Ritalin, cold medicine, inhalers, Epipens) you must provide the Nurse’s Office with the medication in its original container, a prescription or letter from the doctor for any prescription medicine, and a completed Medication Permission Form provided by the Health Office. If a student is responsible for taking a medication during school hours please notify the Health Office and also ensure that the student has complete understanding of this responsibility. The student must not leave the medication where other students may have access to it.
When to Keep Your Child at Home
To prevent spread of contagious disease and to enable a student to receive the rest needed for recovery, please do not send your child to school if he/she has any of the following:
• Fever
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Scabies or lice (the child may attend school after treatment and the nurse has checked.)
• Severe cough
• Severe sore throat
• Red eyes that are crusting or with discharge
• Body rash, unless you present a note from the doctor that the child may attend school.
• Severe “common cold” symptoms—stuffy nose, body aches, cough, thick nasal discharge, headache, itchy throat
• Whenever your child looks noticeably unwell
Students who come to school with any of the above symptoms will be sent home.
If a student is slightly unwell but able to come to school, please ensure that we can contact you during the by making sure that you leave us contact phone numbers.
School Medical Insurance
Please note that the school insurance reimburses medical expenses only partially and that it has a limit of 10,000 Dh. Parents are urged to have a family insurance plan. To obtain reimbursement by the school insurance the following procedures apply:
1. The parent or attending person of the individual injured should obtain a “certificat de constatation” from the examining doctor.
2. The parent or attending person should bring the “certificat de constatation” and paid bills to the RAS nurse’s office within 48 hours after the accident occurred, so that the health office can file a claim with the insurance company.
3. When the injured individual has recovered, the parent or attending person should request a “certificat de guérison” from the original examining doctor at the final appointment. The “certificat de guérison” should be brought to the RAS medical office, along with any other paid bills.
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4. Parents will be notified of medical reimbursement within 4 to 6 weeks of receipt of the “certificat de guérison” by our insurance carrier.
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T extbooks
Textbooks are loaned to students by teachers as required for individual courses. The teacher will note the number of the text and the condition of the book when it is loaned. Students must write their names in all books issued to them. It is recommended that books be covered to save on wear. Each textbook must be returned in good condition to the teacher at the end of the course. Students will be required to pay a fine covering damage to or loss of books. A replacement will be issued only when the student has a receipt for payment of a lost book. Report cards, transcripts and diplomas will not be released until all lost book charges are paid.
Bags Unattended
Students are expected to have their personal belongings/school bags with them, or in their locker / gym locker. Student bags and other personal belongings should not be left unattended for any reason on the campus. Any unattended bags may be brought to the Principal or Assistant Principal and searched.
This Handbook will be updated as items within are reviewed from time-time.
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