Student Code of Conduct

1Preamble: Wisdom and Action

HIS is a sandbox, not a school. It is a protected environment where students attempt real things — experiments, ventures, performances, projects, work — safe enough to try and fail, real enough for the attempt to matter. Here we develop people of Wisdom and Action: students who acquire knowledge and apply it to solve real problems, who become doers in the fields they love, and who carry timeless character into everything they attempt.

This Code is what keeps the sandbox safe, real, and open for everyone. It is not a list of prohibitions. It is a description of how a member of the HIS community behaves — in a classroom, a laboratory, a kitchen, a studio, a sports hall, a workplace, in their house, and online. We hold ourselves to a high standard not because rules demand it, but because our motto does: wisdom without good conduct is incomplete, and action without character is dangerous.

The Code is anchored in the IB Learner Profile and the HIS Character Education Framework. Where this Code is silent, students are expected to act as the Learner Profile describes: principled, caring, open-minded, balanced, and reflective.

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2Scope

This Code applies to every enrolled student:

• on campus, at any time;
• at any school-organized or school-sanctioned activity off campus, including trips, expeditions, competitions, performances, house events, and service activities;
• during internships and placements at the school, at sister companies, and at external companies, where students additionally follow the host workplace's rules;
• online and on social media, whenever conduct affects a member of the school community or the school's reputation;
• when wearing the HIS uniform or otherwise identifiable as an HIS student in public, including when presenting their work publicly.

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3The HIS Standard: Five Commitments

Every HIS student makes five commitments. All specific rules in this Code flow from them.

1. I act with integrity. I am honest in my words, my work, and my dealings. I do my own work and give credit to others' work, including sources and AI tools, as the Academic Integrity Policy requires. I keep my promises.

2. I respect every person. I treat students, coaches, staff, expert mentors, workplace colleagues, visitors, and opponents with courtesy and dignity, regardless of age, role, nationality, culture, religion, gender, appearance, or ability. I never bully, harass, humiliate, or exclude.

3. I take care of people, property, and place. I protect the physical and emotional safety of others and myself. I care for school facilities, equipment, materials, and the environment as a craftsperson cares for tools.

4. I do the work. I arrive on time, prepared, in correct uniform, and ready to contribute. I meet deadlines, participate fully — in academics, in my art, in my sport, in my house, and in my program commitments — and I finish what I start.

5. I represent HIS. Wherever I am, my conduct reflects on my school, my house, my family, and myself. I behave in workplaces, competitions, and public spaces in a way that makes the community proud.

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4Expectations by Division

The five commitments are the same for every student; the way we express and apply them grows with the student.

4.1Primary Years (K – Grade 5)

Younger students learn the Code through Essential Agreements built with their coaches each year, in child-friendly language:

• We are kind. We include everyone and use gentle words and hands.
• We are honest. We tell the truth and say sorry when we make mistakes.
• We are safe. We follow directions, walk indoors, and use materials the way we are shown.
• We take care of our school. We clean up, look after our things, and respect others' belongings.
• We try. We do our best work, listen when others speak, and don't give up.

Coaches respond to poor choices primarily through guidance, restoration ("How can we make this right?"), and partnership with parents. Serious incidents are referred to the Primary Principal.

4.2Middle Years (Grades 6 – 10)

Middle Years students are expected to know this Code, apply it with growing independence, and take ownership of their choices:

• full personal responsibility for punctuality, preparedness, uniform, and deadlines;
• honest, cited work in every subject, project, and the Personal Project, including transparent use of AI tools;
• active respect: intervening or reporting when they witness unkindness, bullying, or unsafe behavior — bystander silence falls short of the HIS standard;
• responsible digital conduct on all platforms, in and out of school;
• disciplined care of laboratories, workshops, studios, kitchens, and sports facilities, using equipment only with the certification or permission required;
• sportsmanship and stage discipline in every competition, match, and performance, win or lose;
• growing contribution to house life, including looking out for younger housemates.

4.3Diploma & Human Career Program (Grades 11 – 12)

Senior students are held to a near-adult standard. In addition to all of the above:

• they model the Code for younger students and accept that leadership positions — house captaincy, prefectship, team captaincy, enterprise leadership — carry higher, not lower, expectations;
• they meet workplace standards during internships, placements, and professional mentorships: confidentiality, punctuality, appropriate dress, professional communication, and the host organization's rules;
• they comply fully with IB and HCP assessment regulations; malpractice in formal assessment carries consequences from the IB and external bodies that the school cannot reverse;
• they exercise senior privileges (where granted) as a trust that is earned by conduct and can be withdrawn;
• they take responsibility for their conduct at school-related social events and while traveling to represent HIS.

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5Conduct in HIS Signature Contexts

Because HIS students learn by doing, the Code applies with particular force where real work happens.

Laboratories, workshops, makerspaces, and kitchens. Students follow all posted safety rules and staff instructions without exception, wear required protective equipment, use tools and machines only at their certified level, and report accidents, breakages, and near-misses immediately and honestly. Unsafe behavior in these spaces is treated as a serious offense regardless of intent.

Internships and workplaces. A student on placement is both a learner and a guest. Students follow the host's rules, protect confidential information, treat all colleagues professionally, never accept or offer improper gifts or payments, and raise any concern about their treatment or safety immediately with their school internship supervisor. Misconduct at a placement is misconduct under this Code.

Competitions, performances, and exhibitions. Students compete and perform with full effort, respect officials' and judges' decisions, honor opponents and fellow performers, and represent HIS with composure in victory and defeat.

Public work. When a student's passion or impact project, publication, performance, or venture reaches a public audience, the student speaks and publishes as a representative of HIS. Students meet the quality and conduct standards of the Public Reach & Launch Policy (D.58), are honest about their work and its limits, credit collaborators, and refer media questions about the school to the school.

Student enterprises. Students running ventures under the Entrepreneurship Program act honestly with customers and partners, handle money exactly as the Student Enterprise Policy requires, and understand that commercial activity never excuses a lapse in conduct.

Sport and the arts. Training spaces, rehearsal rooms, instruments, and equipment are shared professional resources. Students attend their mastery and squad commitments as seriously as academic classes; unexcused absence from a scheduled training, rehearsal, or performance is an attendance matter under this Code.

House life. A student's house — Buhu, Tsen, Khavt, Maza, Irve, Khant, Tsa, or Yang — is a lifelong membership and a shared responsibility. Students compete for their house with full effort and fair play, treat rival houses as housemates-in-spirit rather than enemies, and honor the vertical bond: older students mentor and protect younger housemates, never exploit or haze them (F.5). House pride is expressed by contribution, never by exclusion.

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6Prohibited Conduct

The following are always violations of this Code. Detailed definitions, procedures, and consequences appear in the referenced policies.

1. Dishonesty — lying, cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized AI use, forgery of documents or signatures, misrepresentation (C.3)
2. Bullying and harassment in any form, including cyberbullying, exclusion, intimidation, and sexual harassment (F.4)
3. Hazing or any initiation that humiliates or endangers, including within houses, teams, and clubs (F.5)
4. Violence or threats — fighting, physical aggression, threats of harm
5. Substances — possession, use, distribution, or being under the influence of tobacco, vaping products, alcohol, or drugs (F.6)
6. Weapons and dangerous items — possession of any weapon, replica, or item intended or adapted to cause harm (F.7)
7. Theft, vandalism, and misuse of property, including school, personal, and host-workplace property (F.8)
8. Technology misuse — violating the Acceptable Use Policy, unauthorized recording of others, accessing others' accounts, or attempting to bypass school systems (K.1–K.8)
9. Discrimination — conduct or expression that demeans any person or group on the basis of identity
10. Endangerment — conduct that recklessly puts any person's safety at risk, including in labs, kitchens, workshops, sports facilities, vehicles, and workplaces
11. Leaving campus or a supervised activity without authorization
12. Bringing the school into disrepute through serious misconduct off campus or online (F.11)

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7Responding to Breaches

7.1Philosophy

In a sandbox, failure and misconduct are different things. The honest attempt that fails — the experiment that breaks, the venture that loses, the performance that falls flat — is protected learning and never a conduct matter. Misconduct is what endangers people or corrupts the sandbox itself: dishonesty, disrespect, unsafe behavior, harm. HIS responds to misconduct the way it teaches everything else: as an opportunity to learn, take responsibility, repair harm, and grow in character. Our first instruments are conversation, reflection, and restorative practice (F.12). At the same time, the community's safety and standards come first, and consequences escalate predictably when behavior does not change or when a single act is serious. The full procedure, including consequence levels, is set out in the Progressive Discipline Policy (F.3).

Because each student's Head Coach owns the complete picture of that student's development (M.25), the Head Coach is informed of every recorded conduct matter, and significant patterns and behavior goals are reflected in the student's Individual Student Development Plan (E.17) — not as a punishment record, but as part of the character growth the plan exists to serve.

7.2Levels of response

Level 1 — Classroom & everyday matters (lateness, unpreparedness, uniform, minor disruption, minor unkindness): addressed by the coach or supervisor present — reminder, restorative conversation, brief reflection, parent note where useful. Recorded if repeated.

Level 2 — Referred matters (repeated Level 1 behavior, dishonesty in daily work, disrespect, minor property damage, technology misuse, unsafe behavior without harm): addressed by the Head Coach with the relevant Subject Coach, escalating to the Division Principal where needed — restorative meeting, detention or community restoration, parent conference, behavior agreement recorded in the ISDP, temporary loss of privileges (including senior privileges, enterprise participation, activity involvement, or house leadership roles).

Level 3 — Serious matters (violence, bullying, substances, weapons, serious dishonesty in formal assessment, endangerment, serious misconduct at a placement or while representing HIS, any repeated Level 2 pattern): addressed by the Division Principal and Head of School, with the Head Coach contributing the whole-student picture — suspension (internal or external), removal from placement, program, team, captaincy, or leadership role, disciplinary probation, and, for the gravest or unremedied cases, expulsion. House membership itself is never revoked — a student's house is for life — but the privilege of representing the house in competition can be suspended.

7.3Fair process

In every Level 2 and Level 3 matter, the student has the right to:

• be told clearly what they are alleged to have done;
• give their account before a decision is made;
• have parents informed and, in Level 3 matters, involved;
• proportionate consequences that consider age, intent, honesty during the process, and prior record;
• appeal a major decision through the Student Appeals & Grievance Procedure (F.13).

Honesty during an investigation is always counted in a student's favor; dishonesty compounds the original offense.

7.4Safeguarding always comes first

Nothing in this Code limits the school's safeguarding duties. Any disclosure or discovery suggesting a child's safety or welfare is at risk is handled under the Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy (J.1), not as a discipline matter.

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8Recognizing the Standard

HIS notices character as deliberately as it notices misconduct. Students who exemplify the five commitments — particularly in unseen, unglamorous moments — are recognized through the Character Recognition & Awards Policy (D.35), house points awarded for character (T.3), coach commendations, and reports to parents. The strongest recommendation letters HIS writes are earned as much in this Code as in the gradebook.

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9Acknowledgment

At the start of each school year (and upon enrollment), every student and their parents review this Code together. Students in Grade 6 and above sign the acknowledgment below; Primary students affirm their class Essential Agreements.

I have read and understood the HIS Student Code of Conduct. I commit to the five commitments and understand how the school will respond if I fall short of them.

Student: ______________________ Grade: ______ House: ______ Date: ______

Parent/Guardian: ______________________ Date: ______

This Code is reviewed annually by the Division Principals with input from the student council and house captains, and approved by the Head of School. The version published in the current Student Handbook (F.14) and Parent Handbook (R.1) is authoritative. Where a translation is provided, the English version prevails.

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