Handbook Section 4
A Head Start
Holidays at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Spring Break are great to anticipate, but you shouldn't anticipate them so much that you try to start the holiday with a trip prior to the actual beginning date of the holiday. That would constitute and unexcused absence (see the gory details above) and you'd have to pay for it with plenty o' make-up time! The practice of leaving early is officially viewed as a self-indulgent refusal to abide by the rules, which apply to all. And that is bad.
Lockers
You will be assigned a locker for storage of books, clothing, etc. You are responsible for keeping your locker in order and locked at all times. Don't give your locker combination to another student. Items which can turn your locker into an ecological disaster area, e.g., wet towels, damp PE equipment, and food, should not be stored for long in your locker. Don't give in to the urge to "decorate" your locker by attaching stickers to the inside. If you do give in, you may have to carry your books around in a cardboard box after losing your locker privilege. Avoid the temptation to "rig" your locker. Leaving the combination just a touch from its last number does make getting into the locker a bit faster, but it also makes it easier for those who are wise to this trick to get into your locker and remove anything they judge valuable. If you abuse your locker, you will lose the right to use it. If you overload it and force the door when it resists closing, you'll damage hinges and the lock itself. Then you've put yourself in the position of having to pay for its repair. Frequent visits to your locker indicate you're not planning very well. Being tardy for class often results. If you get all the books you'll need for morning classes before school starts, you won't have to make another stop until it's time for lunch. Your after-lunch stop can provide you with all you need for the afternoon. Use your locker as a safe deposit box when you go to PE. Store your wallet and other valuables there before you head for the gym.
Graduation Requirements
Requirements are: 4 units (years) of English, 3 units of social studies, 6 units of math and science (3 of each), 1 unit of Survey of Art, 1 unit of health and PE, 1/2 unit of computer science, 1/2 unit of communication, and 4 units of electives. That's 20 units, if you're counting.
Studying
The question is, "How much?" The answer, proven over decades, and by people who deserve to be known as "students," is two to three hours per night. Doing homework is not all that's involved. If it were, you'd be known as "homeworkers" rather than "students." There is also the matter of studying what has been covered in class and previewing what's to come. The most successful students have been using this method all along. We thought we'd let you in on their secret.
Phone Calls
You can be notified of a telephone message for you only if it is thought to be an emergency. If you need to use the telephone, there's one in the gym lobby. Still only 35 cents.
Dress Code--Le Style C'est l'Homme
A little bit of French to dress up a discussion of how to dress. "The Catholic High look" is older than you are. Guys who complained about it when they were students here would be incensed if they thought today's students didn't dress as they did. That doesn't mean your tie has to be four inches wide or that you'll be wearing bell-bottoms. But what it does mean is that we wear shirts with collars, ties, and dress trousers. Socks? Always! Belts? You bet! Jeans are cool - but not in school. Searching for one's identity by means of bizarre clothing has never been viewed here to be an avenue to self-discovery. A dose of common sense about the prevailing customs will go a long way to helping you to deal with "the look." During those frosty months, you can keep your timbers from shivering by wearing a sport coat or a sweater in class for extra insulation, but coats and jackets intended for outside wear are not for classroom use. Sweatshirts which feature C.H.S. or college insignia are okay, too, but out-of-bounds is clothing which features advertising, whether for movies, designers, auto-parts, or any other commercial enterprise. (Why you'd pay for clothes which advertise for a business you don't own or have a financial interest in is hard to figure anyway.) Did somebody say "hair"? C.H.S. has been moderate on the subject for decades. When the prevailing style was super-long, we were moderate. When people wanted to scalp themselves, or have lines carved, or try a mohawk, we've been moderate. So the "sling-head" and the dreadlocks and the prison look are all prohibitively lumped together for the same reason: they're immoderate. Just think "moderate." Nothing to it. "Body jewelry" is out. Necklaces and bracelets and other ornaments are for your recreational self, not your "I'm serious about my education" self. When in doubt, ask a teacher before you don your latest purchase.
Chow
Food and drinks are to be confined to the cafeteria and the corridor next to the study hall. Prove to everybody how grown up you are by picking up and depositing in the trash containers your own debris. Cleaning up after yourself is one of those rites of passage, which shows conclusively that junior high has been left behind. The same holds true for being able to eat in a civilized manner and doing the right thing when it comes to matters like lining up to buy lunch, milk, or using the sandwich machines or microwaves. Those who try to gain unfair advantage are revealing character deficiency. Don't, take any food or drink into the classroom wing of the school. That's off-limits. It's bring or buy your lunch here. No delivery, whether from a fast-food operation or from a devoted "admirer," is allowed.
Tobacco
Nope. Not in these parts. Not during class or exam time, dances, b-ball games, or anything in this building or on these grounds or that the school sponsors elsewhere. So holster your tobacco, no matter what form it's in, and stow that gum or candy. We're trying to keep this community clean and healthy. Violators of the law will be prosecuted (no, that's not "persecuted"). Oh, yes, cigarette lighters are also off-limits and will be confiscated. The penalty for smoking is stiff. Just having smoking materials on your person is a D-Hall offense. Actually using the stuff in the building or on the grounds or at an event sponsored by the school results in suspension. (You remember how suspension goes: you're excluded from class for the day, followed the next morning by a meeting with the principal and one of your parents. Don't forget that the time you're out of school has to be made up on Saturdays - and double time at that!) For a third offense, it's termination. Expulsion. Exclusion. Sayonara.
