Dear Cowan Community,

One major goal of the staff at Cowan is to establish a safe and happy atmosphere throughout the school where all children are given a maximum opportunity to learn and develop.  A major component of this objective is to develop self-discipline in every student through a program of consistent, fair discipline while letting them enjoy their school experience.

This development is guided and enforced by teachers, aides, staff, and the administration of the school.

We are constantly working toward  “consistent” discipline in our school. The rules for the school, the classroom, the lunch area, and the playground are explained to our children.  By implementing our school behavior plan we all help students realize their behavior choices determine if they get into trouble or are rewarded with a Tiger Ticket. Consistent and fair implementation teaches children three important concepts.

1. Certain behaviors are undesirable and should not be exhibited.
2. Certain behaviors are desirable and should be exhibited.
3. The student chooses which behavior to exhibit but not the consequences for that behavior.

The question is, “What happens if the behavioral expectations are not followed?”

The inappropriate behavior is dealt with systemically at Cowan. The playground aide, teacher, or staff member who initially handles the situation ensures that the student(s) involved stop(s) the behavior, that those involved are safe, that as many details concerning the incident as possible are discovered, and that an appropriate response to the situation is made. For example, if two children are squabbling over a ball, the response is relatively simple and handled on the spot.  If the squabble ends up with someone getting hurt, they would most likely end with me.

Students who misbehave move through two levels of a progressive discipline plan involving warning(s), timeout, loss of recess, and call(s) to parents at the initial level and another level when they come to see me. Depending on the offense they can skip many of these steps and come directly to me. When a student comes to my office, we identify what mistake they made, how that affected others, what they should have done, what they need to do to rectify the situation including apologies or writing letters and most importantly a determination to not repeat the misbehavior again. We then discuss what will happen if they do repeat the offense. At my level, this includes losing recess and a call to parents, or an in or out of school suspension.   I have used each of these options. I do not like children to leave my office crying. I do not verbally berate or belittle them. I do make sure that they understand several things. What they did is unacceptable at Cowan Avenue, they are accountable for their behavior, their behavior was not a reflection of their value as a person (love the child, eliminate the behavior), and what will happen if they misbehave again. My approach to disciplining your children teaches them to make wise decisions take responsibility for their actions, and makes authority figures someone they can go to for help.  We take the safety and development of self-discipline of your child very seriously at this school. I will act on every report made to me concerning incidents. If your child relates an incident to you, let the teacher know or come to me if it rises to my level. We are proactively addressing issues of name calling, teasing, bullying, and the myriad of other potential issues through discipline assemblies, better supervision and professional development for our teachers and staff.  If you have any questions or concerns about the discipline at Cowan, “I’ll see you in the Principal’s office”.  I’m here to help.

In Your Service

Richard Da Sylveira

Principal