SRA Rules

1. Make eye contact.  When someone is speaking, keep your eyes on him/her.
2. During discussions, respect other students’ comments, opinions and ideas.  When possible, make statements like, “I agree with John, and I also feel that…” or “I disagree with Sara.  She made a good point, but I feel that…” or “I think Victor made an excellent observation, and it made me realize…”
3. If you win or do well at something, do not brag.  If you lose, do not show anger.  Instead, say something like, “I really enjoyed the competition, and I look forward to playing you again,” or “Good game,” or don’t say anything at all.  To show anger or sarcasm, such as “I wasn’t playing hard anyway.  You really aren’t that good,” shows weakness.
4. Do not smack your lips, tsk, roll your eyes, or show disrespect with gestures.  If an adult corrects your behavior, say “Yes, Ma’am” or “No, Ma’am” or “Yes, Sir” or “No, Sir”.  Never reply with “What did I do?” or become argumentative.  If something unfair happened, talk to the adult correcting you or your principal at a later time.
5. Always say thank you when someone gives you something.  If you do not say thank you, it may be taken back.  There is no excuse for not showing appreciation.
6. While you are with a substitute teacher, you will obey the same rules that you follow when your teacher or principal is present.  Substitute teachers are respected as guests in our building.
7. If a principal, teacher or staff member in the school is speaking to or disciplining a student, do not look at that student.  You wouldn’t want others looking at you if you were in trouble or being reprimanded, so don’t look at others in that situation.  If you are the student receiving the reprimand or being spoken to, do not get angry or fuss at students if they are looking at you.  After the incident is over, tell the principal, teacher or staff member who was talking to you and allow them to handle the incident.
8. If someone bumps into you, even if it was not your fault, say, “Excuse me.”
9. Accept that you are going to make mistakes.  Learn from them and move on.
10. No matter what the circumstances, always be honest.  Even if you have done something wrong, it is best to admit it.  Honesty is respected at SRA and builds a foundation of trust.  Sometimes honesty results in no disciplinary action or a less severe disciplinary action being taken.

Adapted from The Essential 55 by Ron Clark.