Cell Phone Communication  / Policy Updated Sept 2024

Cell Phone Communication  / Policy Updated Sept 2024

As of September 2024, Thomas Haney students will only be permitted to access cell phones during Teacher Advisory and scheduled class time if directed by teachers for educational purposes. Students in Great Halls and Learning Spaces are permitted to use cell phones if it is for educational purposes, such as accessing TEAMS assignments or viewing a Math Department instructional video.

Students can freely access their phones before school, at lunch, class transition, and after school. If there is an emergency and parents need to connect to their student during school hours, please contact the front office. The only exceptions to this rule will be students who need their devices to monitor their health. Examples include blood glucose level or other medical purposes. Please inform the school if a student has a medical reason to use an electronic device.

The implementation of this systemic change was directed by the Premier of British Columbia in order to ensure student attention is focused on social connection, academic achievement, and building interpersonal skills. Teachers have always had the individual discretion to institute their own technology policy and many teachers already have cell phone bans / policy in place.

Students, inevitably, will use computers and cell phones as part of their learning because teachers recognize the power of these tools.

We have been working with our Staff on these changes and sought input from students as we have had feedback sessions on both Teacher Advisory (TA) and Great Halls during the past few months. These cell phone policy changes have also been shared with our school Parent Advisory Council (PAC) as well.

We hope that all parents and caregivers will support our staff’s efforts to create a positive and productive learning environment.

I appreciate your support as we implement significant changes that are intended to benefit our students and their learning. It will be a significant change for Thomas Haney students as Microsoft Teams is a significant tool that we use for our self-directed learning model. These changes are intended to benefit students by focussing their technology use for educational purposes.

If you have any questions or concerns about these changes to our school cell phone policy for students, please contact our school admin team.

Sincerely,
Darren Rowell
Principal, Thomas Haney Secondary