Students who attend Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School must have a strong sense of self-discipline, self-respect, and realize that they have responsibilities to other members of the school community. Living up to these expectations will ensure that each student can derive the maximum benefit from the excellent program available at Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School.
Routines and appropriate student deportment are necessary if the activities of on-line students are to be productive. Thus the following expectations and fundamental principles of conduct are presented to guide students' behavior in the school:
1. Show respect for God, church, students, teachers, neighbors, country, and property.
2. Aim for excellence, neatness, and be conscientious and diligent in work.
3. Be truthful, display good sportsmanship, and use appropriate polite language.
Students should be mindful of the fact that they are accountable for their actions to the Principal at any time they are under the supervision of the school during the time working online in the school.
Catholic High School
Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School is a Catholic School which strives to emphasize Christian principles in its curricular and extra-curricular programs. Students who choose to register at Cyber School are expected to be receptive to these principles. They must approach their Christian Ethics courses as an integral part of their program and must participate in devotional and liturgical celebrations with due attention and reverence. Students who feel that in conscience, they cannot subscribe to these expectations, are urged to reconsider their decision to register at Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School and seek out a school which would not place these demands on them.
COMMUNICATION
Remember that you won't have all those non-verbal cues that you get in the physical classroom and neither will your instructor. Words on the screen help the instructor *see* you much more clearly.
Also, your instructor's role will be much less that of the distributor of information, and much more that of a guide or resource for you in exploring an area of knowledge. The teaching style used in online courses may be different from the traditional high school model. In fact, we encourage our online faculty to tailor their teaching styles to the more collaborative and interactive model of the web. What does this mean for you? Again, that taking a class online means you won't be sitting quietly in the classroom; participation is essential for everyone involved.
As always, effective communication is critical to success. It's even more important in the online environment because your instructor can't see your frown, or hear the question in your voice. Here, you'll be responsible for initiating more contact, for being persistent and vocal when you don't understand something. Your instructor wants to help–please write your question and send it along, express your confusion, your concern, and be direct! You will save a lot of time, and your instructor will have fewer sleepless nights. Be sure and ask about anything and everything that has to do with course content, course procedure and evaluation.
CODE OF CONDUCT
SCCS policy states that electronic communications conducted in the course of a class are "public" communications in the same way that classroom exchanges are public. Your instructor and other students are bound by the same principles of respect, professionalism, and concern, as you would find in any interaction in one of the High School classrooms or offices. If you feel that these principles have been compromised in some way, please discuss this directly with your instructor. If this does not result in a satisfactory resolution, please contact Cyber School Administration.
TIPS
What we know from research is that there is usually an adjustment period for most students as they learn the rhythm and patterns of online communication. Here are some tips for getting comfortable:
- Do take time to review all the help files available.
- Do spend some time just navigating your way through the class and making sure you can figure out what the buttons are for.
- Do manage your time. You'll find that your time management skills will be critical in an online class. Why? Because it's very easy to spend either far too little time, or far too much time on the class. Set designated blocks of time to work on the class. This will help you stay up with the assignments and with the interaction required in most online classes.
- Download or print out pages for reference and review away from the computer.
- Set priorities and pay close attention to what your instructor says about priorities.
- And ask right away for help if something isn't going right, whether it's a technical issue or something to do with the class environment. Don't waste time trying to solve a problem; send an email:
