MCC Parent Code of Conduct

As most of you are aware, every now and then this article is used as the opportunity to remind parents about matters that enable optimal partnership with teachers. This is intended to keep our school community as a pleasant place where everyone feels they belong.

In this editorial, let me remind parents about the MCC document called ‘Parent Code of Conduct’.

There are a handful of policies that all enrolling families sign to say they will support, endorse and abide by. Agreeing to these documents is a condition of enrolment. In other words, by accepting a place at MCC, parents indicate that they will supportively abide by these documents. The Parent Code of Conduct is one in this suite of documents where supportive agreement is conditional for enrolment.

So, that means that if your child is enrolled at MCC, you have signed to agree that you will fit in with the requirements of this ‘Code’.

I am so thankful to be working at our school, among our staff and our parents. We all hear horror-stories about parents in some Sydney suburbs, or in other places, speaking rudely and/or behaving badly at schools. Thank goodness that our parents agree to the MCC Parent Code of Conduct because this Code clearly describes what is, and what is not acceptable behaviour in the MCC school community.

The strength of the Code is you.

The strength of our school’s Parent Code of Conduct is you, parents. That is shown to be true because you yourselves also have these expectations of one another. You want to see these behaviours among yourselves, in fact it is a big part of why you applied to join this school.

Let me explain by showing you some excerpts from the Code. The Code talks about:

• speaking with courtesy and respect
• contributing to a positive and friendly culture within the College community
• supporting and encouraging the values, activities and ethos of the College
• respecting the privacy of others
• communicating in a clear, friendly and open manner
• behaving in ways that respect the ethos, doctrines and practices of Christian education as espoused by the College

Wow, those are literally the very reasons that you chose this school for your child! You really want those things for yourself, we all want to be treated with courtesy and respect etc. The great thing about our school community is that these behaviours are the fundamental, required expectation. If someone doesn’t do these things, that’s ok… but they are in the wrong school community.

A great advantage in following the Code of Conduct is the reputation you will gain among the teachers. The teachers will see you as a lovely parent in partnership. We treat our parents all with equal value, and it is also true that our most positive, partner-minded parents are shinning examples of what working in seamless partnership looks like. So, it is a smart move for you and your family to abide by the Code and get that great reputation that makes teaching your children so much simpler for staff.

The other really wonderful aspect of parents abiding by the Code is that your children learn great citizenship. True Aussies are courteous, respectful, positive, friendly and all the other elements prescribed by the Code. In the same way that our bad habits will be imitated by our children, our good habits will be imitated too. There’s a saying that ‘Habits are caught more often than taught’ meaning that whatever you tell your children might stick, but whatever your children see you doing will definitely stick.

So, look for ways to be a great example to your children, and reap the benefits of smooth partnership with your child’s teachers by following closely the requirements of the Parent Code of Conduct.

david gleeson, principal