Cell phone use including text messaging is not permitted during regular school hours and during detention. Students may not carry cell phones during the school day. They must be put in the student’s backpack. If a cell phone is visible during the school day, the phone is placed in the office for the remainder of the day, and the parent/guardian is notified. If this happens a second time, a student receives a detention.

Firecrackers and any other explosive devices are illegal and are prohibited in school.  Violation will result in the appropriate penalty being assigned.

Morse Pond School is responsible for providing each student an individual, functioning locker.  Students are responsible for the condition of their original locker beginning with the first day of school. Locker problems should be reported in writing to the office. Students are not permitted to share lockers. Personal lockers are school property loaned to students for the purpose of temporarily storing books, school materials, and clothing. The school may have any or all lockers searched, including by canines, if there is reasonable suspicion that one might contain illegal material. The school does not assume any financial responsibility for property lost or stolen from lockers. Students are urged to keep lockers properly locked by rotating dials at least one full turn after closing. No private locks are permitted.

The school supplies materials needed for instruction and classroom projects. Students should not be in possession nor have in lockers paint, markers, or other materials that may be used in defacing or vandalizing school property. If such materials are discovered, the appropriate penalty will be assigned up to and including out of school suspension.

An administrator may search a student, of their personal property and belongings, and/or of their school-issued locker, if a school administrator considers that there is reasonable cause based on school rules dealing with theft, weapons, drugs, other illegal substances and/or activities. Families are hereby on notice that students have no expectation of privacy. Searches shall be conducted by at least one school administrator, and whenever possible, should be carried out in the presence of a second adult in a setting which protects the privacy of the student to the greatest degree possible. Searches should be only as complete as reasonable to find the specific materials under suspicion. Student property may be confiscated and need not be returned where its possession or use violates school regulations. Searches made pursuant to this section do not require prior notification of parents/guardians. Searches can include students’ outer clothing, handbags, backpacks, sports bags, lockers, notebooks and other forms of school work, desks, and automobiles when the automobiles are parked on school grounds or in the parking lot of a facility where a school event is taking place. Searches are justified whenever there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a search will uncover evidence that the student has violated a school rule or a state or federal law.

All books and materials, academic or athletic, are loaned by the school and must be returned in good condition or paid for.  Students are responsible for respectful care of school equipment and facilities. Intentional damage (vandalism) requires replacement or repair and appropriate penalties will be enforced.  Cost of accidental damage must be met by payment.  Lost and Found items should be brought to a secretary in the main office.

Sports and recreational equipment are not to be carried around the building. Skateboards and inline skates are not to be used on school property. They will be confiscated. The student will serve a detention. The item(s) will be returned to the student’s parent/guardian.

The responsibility for the dress and appearance of the students will rest with individual students and parents/guardians.

They have the right to determine how the student will dress providing that attire is not destructive to school property, complies with requirements for health and safety, and does not cause disorder or disruption. The administration is authorized to take action in instances where individual dress does not meet the stated requirements.

This does not mean that student, faculty, or parent groups may not recommend appropriate dress for school or special occasions.  It means that students will not be prevented from attending school or a school function, or otherwise be discriminated against, so long as their dress and appearance meet the requirements set forth above.

Taking any personal property from another person or from that person’s locker is not permitted. Such theft or damage is not covered by school insurance policies but may be covered by homeowner’s insurance.  Students are encouraged to leave valuable personal property, including large sums of money, at home.

The possession of a dangerous weapon, including but not limited to firearms, knives of any size, laser pens, mace or pepper spray, or any object that may be considered a weapon is forbidden. Canes or other similar devices are not to be used or carried unless the school nurse has on file a physician’s recommendation that a student use them. Violation will result in the appropriate penalty being assigned.