Conduct

RESPECT

As part of maintaining a Christ-like atmosphere on our campus, we insist that members of the Mt. Carmel community treat one another with respect. As creatures made in the image of God, everyone is worthy of respect. Faculty and staff will treat students with respect, and students are responsible for treating faculty and staff as well as fellow students with respect. Insulting each other, making hurtful comments, picking on others and similar types of behavior create an environment that is contrary to Christian love. Students are to show respect to those in authority over them through obedience in a respectful manner.

GENERAL CAMPUS AND DORM RULES

1. There should be no running or rowdiness in the buildings.
2. Avoid anything that creates a sanitary/janitorial problem.
3. In the event of breakage or defacement of school property, a charge will be made in accordance with the damage done.
4. Christian music should draw your heart and your spirit toward God in an attitude of worship and devotion. All music should lift your spirit. Music that has obscene, vulgar, swearing, or otherwise immoral words or insinuations is never appropriate, as well as posters or symbols of the artists that perform such music. Music without the words must not sound like rock. Burned CD’s are not permitted. All music that is brought to MCHS must be approved by the designated staff member. Any violation of this rule will result in the confiscation of your music. Music should not be played after lights out or before breakfast. The use of headphones is to be limited to your dorm room.
5. The chapel piano and organ are not to be played without permission.
6. Any reading material that is damaging to your spiritual wellbeing is prohibited. If you are in doubt about the books that you have with you, ask your dorm monitor or the librarian. Unacceptable books or reading material will be confiscated.
7. School vehicles are an extension of the campus. Students are not to drive school vehicles.
8. Snack and pop machines are provided in the boys’ dorm, the Ad Building, and the gym. Change for these machines can be obtained in the office.
9. Never ask another faculty member for the same permission denied you by any faculty or staff member.
10. Unlawful possession of a weapon on school property in Kentucky is a felony punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
11. During the school day, all visitors to the school must check in at the office before being allowed to contact students. School personnel will then retrieve the student from the class to meet with the visitor. After school hours, visitors must report to the dorm supervisor before being allowed to contact students. Students who wish to bring visitors to class must have prior permission from the administration and the classroom teacher. All visitors are under the same behavioral expectations as our students.
12. All dorm and day students must turn in all medications (including over-the-counter medications) to the school nurse or dorm supervisors to be dispensed to the student in daily doses.
13. Day students are allowed to bring cell phones to use to and from school in case of an emergency. During the school day, cell phones are to be stored out of sight and are not to be used without permission. Dorm students are not allowed to bring cell phones or any other type of electronic communication device to campus.
14. Guidelines for activities in the gym:
    1. Do not sit on the wall or the barrier.
    2. No playing on platform during the games. Students are not to watch the games from the balcony.
    3. Good, appropriate cheering is allowed. No beating on chairs.
    4. Girls and boys are to enter and leave the gym by their respective doors.
    5. All students are to have permission to leave the gym from the adult supervisor(s) of the games.
    6. Roller blades and skateboards are not allowed in the gym except for gym class or a special activity with a faculty/staff member present.
    7. The gym closes at 8:45 p.m. on school nights and 10:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The gym is closed all day on Sunday.
    8. The gym/ball courts are not to be used during services, during night study hall, or all day Sunday. This includes dorm, day, and campus students.
    9. All students must leave the gym/outdoor courts by 6:45 p.m. Mon.-Fri. to prepare for study hall.

CLASSROOM RULES

1. There should be no running or rowdiness in the buildings.
2. No gum is allowed in class.
3. Students may bring water to class as long as it is in a clear water container.
4. No pocket knives are permitted in class.

SOCIAL LIFE

Because of our boarding situation, students are together twenty-four hours a day for seven days each week. This produces an artificial environment in which students tend to form romantic relationships that develop too quickly and become too serious. Our purpose in adopting a social policy is to allow boys and girls to interact in normal ways while preventing immoral behavior and serious dating relationships. We want a social policy that encourages boys and girls to form natural relationships with a large number of their peers.

Our social policy follows these guidelines:

1. Boys and girls are allowed to talk and interact with one another during school hours (7:55am-3:00pm) and during organized social events that have adult chaperones. Outside of school hours students are to stay on their own side of the campus.
2. Boys and girls are to interact as part of a larger group. The term “group” refers primarily to the type of interaction, rather than to the number of people present. In a group, each person is interacting with every other person in the group. Deliberately arranging to meet privately with a member of the opposite sex is considered a very serious offense and may result in expulsion.
3. Boys and girls are to interact with each other in public settings. A boy and a girl are not to separate themselves from the group by moving off to a private corner of the room. Mixed groups of students are to stay with the chaperone at organized social events. They are not to go off by themselves, even though they are in a group.
4. Boys and girls are to interact with a variety of students rather than always interacting with the same group.
5. Interaction between one boy and one girl is permissible as long as it occurs naturally as part of a larger activity or routine. For example, a boy and a girl may talk together while moving between classes or while waiting for class to begin. There may be times during a group activity during which one boy and one girl are talking together. These interactions are permissible as long as they are brief (less than five minutes) and are not planned in advance.
6. Physical contact is not allowed between boys and girls. This includes all forms of contact, not just those occurring as a romantic gesture. Physical contact is allowed as part of a classroom assignment or other supervised activity, at the discretion of the adult chaperone.
7. Boys and girls are not to make disrespectful, vulgar, or other inappropriate comments about the opposite sex.

DINING ROOM GUIDELINES

• Be considerate at all times of all people. Do not call attention to the mistake of others or laugh at their mistakes.
• Please do not play “jokes” with the food. It is both uncouth and wasteful.
• When you leave the table, replace your chair under the table.
• Always wash your hands before coming to the table. If necessary, change out of work clothes.
• Do not tilt your chair back from the table.
• Consult your host(ess) when in doubt about table manners.
• Keep conversation wholesome – not cutting down others or discussing topics that are unacceptable.
• Each student is supplied with one carton of milk at breakfast and lunch. If you choose to not drink your milk, you cannot give the milk to another student.

FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM: Any person alleging discrimination in service by the food service program based on race, color, national origin, sex or disability has a right to file a complaint within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory action. Under special circumstances this time may be extended. Such person must request a “Civil Rights Grievance Report Form” from the food service director.

OFF-CAMPUS PERMISSIONS

No student should leave the school grounds during the school day without the consent of the principal or one of the office personnel. The student must sign out on the clipboard in the office. Also, no student will be dismissed at an irregular time, except by written or personal request of a parent or guardian. No student will be permitted to leave school with a stranger.

TOWN TRIPS: If you want to go to town, you may get permission from your dorm monitor, not the office, to go on Saturday afternoons. For Saturday town trips, pay the driver before leaving campus. For doctor trips, pay the nurse. Failure to pay for the trip, improper conduct or improper dress will cancel future permission to go to town. Times for town trips will be announced at Saturday brunch. Students wishing to go to town should be on their respective porch at the announced time. Dorm students are required to sign out of the dorm before leaving for town trips.

Transportation Fees:

• Jackson $ 1.00
• Lexington $ 70.00 (can be divided between the passengers, minimum $10 each)
• Louisville $ 140.00 (can be divided between the passengers, minimum $10 each)

For any other town trips through the week, the student will be charged $ 5.00.

HOME TRIPS: Where feasible, students may go to their own homes for weekends. Permission must be obtained from the dorm monitor, not the office, to leave the campus. Those going home for the weekend may leave after school on Friday, and must return by 9:00 p.m. Sunday, unless permission is granted otherwise. Arrangements must be made with all concerned for any duties, such as work or class program practices, etc. On revival weekends students must return for the Sunday 6:30 p.m. service. When students are scheduled for practices, performances, etc. they should not plan to be gone on that weekend. Students are not given permission to spend weekends or vacations with other students without clearance from the office and written consent from both sets of parents. Written permission from the parent/guardian to the office is required for a student to be approved to travel home for a vacation/weekend in any car other than that of his/her parents or guardians.

WALKS: Students taking walks off the campus must have permission from their dorm monitor. Girls must be accompanied by a faculty or staff member.

DISCIPLINE

Mt. Carmel was established to help students grow academically, physically, socially, and most of all spiritually. To accomplish this, we have established guidelines for student behavior. You are required to sign a discipline contract at the beginning of each school year.

As the student, you are responsible for monitoring and adjusting your own behavior. To assist you in this, we have established a system of consequences that will result when these guidelines are not followed.

Monitoring of student behavior and the issuing of consequences will be done by faculty and staff in three levels of enforcement. On the primary level, teachers and staff will implement consequences for not following guidelines in class, the dorm, or work call. Failure to comply with these consequences will be considered a serious offense and will be dealt with by the principal. Students who fail to monitor and adjust their behavior after being dealt with by a faculty or staff member will be referred to the principal. The principal will also implement a series of consequences for misbehavior. Students who do not manage their behavior after being dealt with by the principal will be referred to the Discipline Committee. The Discipline Committee will deal with major offenses or with students who continually refuse to modify their behavior. The purpose of the Discipline Committee is to assess whether it is profitable for a student to remain at Mt. Carmel. The Discipline Committee will assign demerits as well as consequences for students who are brought before them. Two demerits will result in the student being placed on behavioral probation. Three or more demerits may result in expulsion. Certain offenses are severe enough to result in immediate expulsion by the Discipline Committee.

Consequences will range in severity from warnings to suspension or expulsion. Possible consequences may include writing assignments, morning detention, extra work details, Saturday detention, in-school suspension, or loss of privileges such as attending recreational activities, Saturday town trips, phone privileges, etc.

Students are responsible for monitoring and modifying their own behavior. These consequences are not designed to force you to obey the rules. They are designed to assist you in modifying your behavior. The decision to modify your behavior is one that you will have to make. However, if you do not choose to modify your behavior, it will not be profitable to you or to Mt. Carmel for you to remain a student here.

Serious Offenses:

• Fighting
• Swearing
• Dancing
• Possession or use of tobacco products
• Vulgar talking or joking
• Playing unapproved music
• Stealing
• Defying authority
• Cheating
• Dishonesty/deliberate lying
• Deliberate disobedience
• Physical contact with the opposite sex
• Cruelty to animals
• Encouraging/assisting others in breaking of rules

Offenses likely to result in expulsion:

• Possession/Use of alcohol or drugs
• Immoral behavior
• Intentionally arranging a private meeting with a member of the opposite sex