School Rules

ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (JUNIOR)

ACS(J) is committed to providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all. The goal of school discipline is to help students develop self-discipline, through making good choices that will enable them to experience success in life. Through a positive learning environment based on school and good moral values, positive character traits are learned and practised. Everyone is responsible for their actions and the consequences of their actions. Parents, students, and school staff work together to give essential support to the learning process.

 Our aim is to develop young gentlemen of character who will make good choices.

 Our core beliefs for discipline are as follows:
 1.  All students are capable of behaving appropriately. 
 2.  Misbehaviour is a matter of choice.
 3.  A student will accept responsibility for his actions.
 4.  Teachers have a right to teach without disruption.
 5.  Students have a right and responsibility to learn and feel safe at school.
 6.  Respect must be shown to everyone at all times.

CODE OF CONDUCT AND SCHOOL RULES
PERSONAL CONDUCT

Attendance
It is compulsory for every student to attend school. Students must not leave the school during curriculum hours, including supplementary and remedial classes, without authorisation.

Absence From School
A student who is absent from School is required to submit a Medical Certificate (MC) or a letter of excuse from parents/guardians.

Late-coming 
Students should be punctual for all school activities. Students who reach school after 7.30am are considered late. Their parents will be informed after three incidents of late-coming. From the fourth incidence of late-coming onwards, their names will be recorded in the school system, which will be reflected in the student's report book.  

Leaving School During Curriculum Hours
School hours are from 7.30am to 1.30pm. A student who leaves the school during curriculum hours must first obtain a permission slip duly signed by the subject teacher at that point of time. The permission slip will then be signed by the parent/guardian who is picking the student up and handed in to the receptionist before the student is allowed to leave the school. No student is allowed to leave the school during curriculum hours without being accompanied by a parent/guardian.

ATTIRE & GROOMING
Proper attire and grooming have a positive impact on the image of the school and the students. Every student must project an appropriate and well-groomed appearance and wear his school uniform with pride and propriety.

Pupils are to wear the prescribed school uniform.

Modification to the uniform is not allowed.

Formal uniform consists of:

• White short-sleeved shirt complete with the letters ACS embroidered on the pocket tucked into the navy-blue shorts with the ACS label sewn at the back. The name tag of the student should be above the pocket.

• The uniform is to be worn with white shoes and socks. If track shoes are worn, they should be predominately white (including white shoelaces). Only plain white socks or socks with the ACS(J) label are to be worn. Socks worn must not be below the ankle. Only Primary 1 and 2 students are allowed to wear shoes with Velcro straps.

• Students are to be always in formal uniform in school and at all school functions unless otherwise stated.

Informal uniform consists of:

• The Corporate T-shirt should be worn for school excursions and other special occasions.

• The Corporate T-shirt may be worn on Fridays. Students should wear their corporate T-shirt with their black corporate shorts or the navy-blue school shorts.

• School CCA attires should be worn only during the CCA. This includes footwear.

• Jackets may be worn with the uniform in school. Jackets must not have offensive words or pictures on them.

• On days with PAL lessons, P1 and P2 students are to wear the school uniform with their PE tank top worn inside. The students will be told to remove their white shirt for PAL when necessary.

• Informal uniform can be worn in school during holidays and weekends. No other T-shirts may be worn on campus.

• Slippers and sandals are not allowed unless on valid medical grounds. A medical certificate stating that the student is unable to wear shoes is required.

Pupils in uniform must not wear the following:

• Tinted lenses for spectacles/tinted contact lenses unless on medical grounds.

• Personal/religious adornments, jewellery, accessories.

• The school discourages the bringing and using of expensive items by the students and we expect parents to support us in inculcating the right values in our children.

Physical Education attire for pupils as follows:

• The official school PE or House tank tops which must be worn during PE lessons.

• Pupils are strongly encouraged to have their water bottles to hydrate themselves during and after the PE lessons

From left to right: (A) Formal Uniform, (B) Corporate T-Shirt Tucked-In with School Shorts, (C) Corporate T-Shirt with School Shorts, (D) PE Attire Tucked-In with School Shorts (E) PE Attire with School Shorts

Grooming

• Students must be neat in appearance and clean-shaven with no facial hair i.e. Sideburns, moustache and beard are not allowed

• Students must be always neat in appearance

• Students must practise good hygiene habits i.e., trimmed nails and washing of hands before eating

• Students must have a short and neat hairstyle. Their hair must not touch their ears or the collar of their uniform.

  • Outlandish hairstyles are not allowed

  • No dyeing, tinting or highlighting of hair. Pupils with such hair will be required to dye their hair back to its original colour

  • The fringe must not touch the eyebrows when combed down.

  • No shaved head unless on medical grounds.

BEHAVIOUR
All pupils are expected to demonstrate exemplary behaviour by observing the school values

• Respecting school staff and peers

• Persevering and pursuing excellence in all that they do

• Demonstrating integrity

• Demonstrating generosity in spirit

• Co-operating with the pupil leaders in their duties

• Demonstrating the school motto that the “The Best is Yet To Be”

Misbehaviour will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly. For serious offences, disciplinary action will include, but not be restricted to, caning, probation, suspension, expulsion and/or any other action deemed appropriate by the school. Where necessary, the assistance of students’ parents/guardians will be sought to obtain home support for remedial action.

The following types of behaviour will not be tolerated and will be considered a serious offence: 

• open defiance and rudeness (in behaviour or speech) e.g. refusing to follow instructions or speaking back to a staff member or student leader.

• vandalism e.g. deliberately damaging or misuse of school or another’s property

• fighting

• extortion and theft

• harassment and bullying

• possession of weapons or dangerous items

• offensive language or behaviour

• cheating

• truancy 

Students are not allowed to have in their possession any weapon. They are also not allowed to bring any weapon-like item which can be used or intended to be used to cause harm to others.

Respect for authority and members of the school community

• No foul language (both verbal and body language)

• Using language or behaving in a manner detrimental to the moral tone of the school will not be condoned

• No cheating

• Cheating in examinations and tests, plagiarism and making unauthorised alterations in official documents are acts of dishonesty and are viewed as a serious offence

• No recording in any form (audio or video)

• Recording is allowed only if the explicit consent of the school administration and the persons involved is obtained.

• No gambling of any form is allowed in the school.

• No trading games of any items are allowed in the school.

• No hand-held electronic games are allowed in the school.

Use of smartphones and/or smartwatches

While we discourage students from bringing smartphones/smartwatches, we understand that some parents prefer to have their children carry these devices for the convenience of communication and safety, especially children who are travelling alone on public transport or commuting long distances to school. Kindly refer to the points below which are designed to provide students and parents with guidelines and instructions for the appropriate use of these devices during school hours.

• Students are not to use smartphones and/or smartwatches during school hours including recess, CCA and after-school programmes (e.g. supplementary / enrichment / remedial lessons)

• Students who bring such devices are to put them in their school bags before the start of school. They can retrieve their devices after school ends. Students should bear responsibility for safekeeping of devices. The school will not be responsible for the loss or damage of these devices. 

• Students are allowed to wear the POSB Smart Buddy watch for payment purposes. The straps may also be changed to make identification easier. GPS Trackers and Fitness Trackers that only have tracking functionalities are also allowed. These trackers must not have any communication or recording functionalities. All other smartwatches (i.e. a wearable computing device capable of communicating and transmitting information) are not allowed in our school.

• Students will use these devices solely for communication (e.g. Whatsapp messaging and calling) and not for playing games, taking photos or videos, or watching videos… etc

• Students who fail to abide by the rules will have their devices confiscated. Confiscated devices can only be collected by student’s parents. 

• No mobile phones will be allowed in examination rooms. Pupils are to surrender their mobile phones (in the event they bring it to school on any examination day) to the teacher in the classroom. The mobile phones will be returned to the pupils after all the examinations for that day.

• Pupils who fail to abide by the rules will have their mobile phones (including SIM card) confiscated. Confiscated mobile phones can only be collected by pupil’s parents.

• Repeat offenders will be barred from bringing any mobile phone to school.

ACSJ Classification of Offences & Follow-up Action
ACS (Junior) groups offences into 3 levels; Level 1 offences are characterised as minor misdemeanours while Level 3 is for very serious offences. The school will take one or more of the following actions when students misbehave.

School Transport
Students will:

• sit properly on a seat (in an allocated seat if directed by the driver) throughout the journey

• treat bus drivers and other people and their possessions with respect

• obey bus driver’s instructions without argument

• treat all bus property, equipment and signs with respect

• wear the seat belt at all times if available

• speak quietly and not create unnecessary noise

• wait until the bus stops before getting up from their seat to get off

• board and alight the bus in a quiet and orderly fashion

It is not appropriate or acceptable for pupils to:

• bully or harass other pupils or the driver

• walk or run along the aisle

• put their feet on the seats

• fight, spit or use offensive language

• throw any items within or out of the bus

• consume food or drink, or play music without permission of the driver

• stick their hands or any other part of their bodies out of the bus windows

• use a mobile phone to send threatening messages, or photograph others without consent, distract drivers through use of mobile phones or other objects

Respect for School Property

• No littering; keep the school a clean and conducive place to learn in

• No vandalism

• Students are expected to use school facilities and equipment with care. Acts of vandalism include:

  • Damaging furniture/equipment (chairs, books, sports equipment, etc);

  • Damaging buildings/fittings (wash-basins, drinking fountains, cabinets, lockers, fire alarm, etc); and

  • Defacing walls, notices, etc.

• No wasting of water and electricity. Pupils must take care not to waste water or electricity. The practice of strict economy in the use of both utilities is encouraged

• No stealing or misuse of school property / equipment or property belonging to others

Expected conduct in/during ...
Flag Raising Ceremony

• Students who are Singapore citizens must sing the National Anthem and take the Pledge at each Assembly. Studentss should take the Pledge with the right fist placed over the heart.

• Students in the school campus are to stand at attention and face the flag poles once the National Anthem is played

• These ceremonies are to be taken seriously by all students, with due respect given to the nation’s flag, anthem and pledge.

Classroom

• When a teacher enters the classroom, all boys should stand and greet the teacher.

• No food or flavoured drinks to be consumed in the classroom.

• No students are allowed in the classroom during recess without the presence of a teacher.

• Permission must be sought when going to the toilet.

• At the end of each day, chairs must be pushed in and tables arranged in an orderly manner and all litter should be cleared from the tables and floor. 

Computer Lab

• Follow instructions of the teachers or instructors at all times

• Only visit approved internet sites and only when you have permission to do so

• Do not download anything unless told to do so

• Never give out or share personal information e.g. passwords

• Improper, unlawful, or incorrect use of information technology and communications e.g. computer, mobile phone, all social networking sites (Facebook), etc. will be considered as abuse of technology  

Science Lab / Art Room

• No playing in the Science Labs

• Do not touch any of the equipment / apparatus until permission is given

• Listen to instructions from the teacher carefully 

Canteen

• Pupils must queue up in an orderly manner for their food and drinks. They are expected to return the crockery and cutlery to the receptacles in the canteen after their meal.

Library

• Follow instructions of the librarian / parent volunteers at all times

• Return borrowed books on time

• No playing, eating and drinking in the library

Bookstore

• Pupils must queue up in an orderly manner to make payment.

Staff Rooms

• Staff rooms are strictly out-of-bounds to all pupils unless accompanied by a teacher.

Play areas

• Table Tennis Tables:
  - respect each other; queue to play
  - be inclusive; allowing others to play
  - play fair; play safe
  - play by the rules

• Playground
  - No playing when the playground is wet or it is raining
  - Play safe; take turns; no rough play
  

• The following areas are non-play areas:
  - Around the Administration Block
  - Corridors around the Performing Arts Hall (PAH) and Computer Labs
  - Parade square / carpark
  - Around the teaching blocks / along corridors / staircases
  - Slopes at playground & around Block E
  - Soccer field, tennis courts, basketball court, fitness area, Multi-purpose Hall (MPH)

Conduct Grade