EES Digital Citizenship: Cell Phone Usage
The new school year is just around the corner. We would like to remind you that the Ontario Ministry of Education has made changes to our School Code of Conduct. This will affect all students in Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and throughout Ontario.
New guidelines have been added to reduce distractions to learning by restricting cell phone usage during instructional time. This is to support students' focus on learning by keeping personal mobile devices “out of sight, out of mind.”
EES strives to optimise the learning environment for our students. We understand that cell phones have great utility, but cell phone use has increasingly become a source of distraction, and at times, a source of harmful behaviour and/or a source of conflict at school and home.
Using the Ministry of Education directives as our foundation, all students at EES will be required to keep their cell phones out of view and powered off or set to silent mode from the beginning of the day until the end of the day (this will include all devices being away during instructional times as well as nutrition and fitness breaks), except when their use is explicitly permitted for the following circumstances:
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for educational purposes, as directed by an educator
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for health and medical purposes
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to support special education needs
If an educator sees a personal mobile device that is not stored out of view, they will:
- Require the device be handed in for the duration of the day and the device must be placed, by the student, in a locked storage area in a location in the classroom designated by the educator;
- Refusal to do the above: referral to administration
- School Based Consequences: In the management of any issues with the above, schools will continue to follow Progressive Discipline, which include a range of responses that may be supportive and/or disciplinary, including suspensions.
All students are responsible for their personal mobile device, how they use it and the consequences of not following the school board’s and EES’s procedure on personal mobile device use. Schools will not be responsible for lost or damaged devices.
How can you support these changes?
We are advising students and families to keep their personal mobile devices at home. All students are responsible for their personal mobile device, how they use it and the consequences of not following the Code of Conduct on personal mobile device use.
Communicating During the School Day: We also ask that families and students continue to use the main office when communicating messages from home or school. You can reach the EES main office at 613-962-4348.
Chromebooks and calculators are always on-hand for students to access to support programming. We believe this approach of “out of sight, out of mind” allows our students to be more engaged in classroom activities and assignments, have more opportunity for building community and have fewer distractions.
As we head back to school, take time to think about how these new changes will positively impact the learning environment. These changes will help restore academic focus, safety and personal responsibility in our schools. We encourage all families to have conversations about the importance of respecting school staff and the rules.
Thank you for your continued support in ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment for our students. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school directly. We look forward to a successful school year.