Eligibility for Student Positions

The eligibility policy shall affect the following groups of students:

Cabinet/Senate Members
Class Officers
Homecoming Court
Spiritleaders & Members of the Dance/Drill Team
Student Body Officers
 

In order to be considered for the office of Student Body President or Vice-President, candidates must be seniors. All other Student Body officers may be juniors or seniors.

a) A student must be enrolled at Saint Mary’s one full semester before being considered for one of the above positions. Freshmen are excepted.

b) In order to be considered for the office of Student Body President, the candidate must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

c) All students who are being considered for one of the following: Student Body office, Cabinet or Senate, Campus Ministry, Homecoming Court, Spiritleaders, and Dance/Drill Team members must have a 2.0 GPA in the quarter/or semester prior to the time they are being considered for election or appointment.

d) In the event that report cards are issued before the election or appointment is conducted and the student does not attain the required GPA, that student is ineligible.

e) Students must have the permission of the Vice Principal and meet the requirements stated in the Student Constitution.

f) Students must have the permission of the Dean of Students. Permission may be denied for the following reasons:

1) Eleven or more unexcused tardies for the year.

2) Twelve absences during the year in any one quarter. *Unscheduled vacations are included in this number. Students in excess of 11 absences must have on file in the atttendance office, a doctor's note verifying that the student has been under a doctor's care for an extended period of time. Failure to have verification on file by the end of the filing date will result in disqualification.

3) Four or more detentions for any reason.

4) Unauthorized leaving of campus.

5) Disciplinary Contract.

6) One referral based on inappropriate behavior.

7) Cutting school or class.

8) Suspension from school.

9) Failure to meet the filing deadline.

The following will be the procedure for consideration for a student office:

a) The Student Activities Director will establish a filing date each year. Before this date, all students who wish to be considered for any position must submit their name to the Director of Student Activities.

b) Once the student is cleared by the Dean of Students and by the Vice Principal, then the Student Activities Director will issue to the student an application as well as the necessary information and dates for completing the process.

c) Spiritleaders and members of the Dance/Drill Team must be cleared by the Dean of Students and by the Vice Principal in order to participate in the tryouts.

Dance Regulations

a) All dances must be scheduled with the Director of Student Activities.

b) Each dance is to be chaperoned by teachers and parents, if needed as well as moderators of the class or club sponsoring the dance.

c) The Dean (or a person delegated and approved by the Principal) must be present at all dances.

d) There is to be a minimum of two security guards at all dances.

e) Any student on social suspension may not attend dances or any St. Mary’s athletic or social activity. If a student has been asked to leave St. Mary’s, that student may not attend any of the previously mentioned activities without the permission of the Dean of Students. In some cases, permission may be denied.

f) When a D.J. plays for a dance, the D.J. will not be allowed to bring guests with them. This fact will be noted in the contract and will be enforced by the moderator of the class or club sponsoring the dance.

g) Entrance to dances is allowed within one-half hour of opening of the dance.

h) If a student leaves a dance prior to one-half hour before the dance ends, they must sign out.

i) Students shall not be able to return to the dance after they have left, and must leave the parking lot area immediately.

j) Advance ticket sales for dances will be $3.00 with a Student Body Card and $5.00 without. The cost of "at-the-door" tickets will increase to $5.00 with a Student Body Card and $6.00 without. Cost for admission to major dances i.e., Prom, Semi-formal, will be higher.

k) The Junior/Senior Prom is open ONLY to Juniors or Seniors. Before a bid may be purchased, the Student Activity Director must verify that the students are juniors or seniors or a graduate. No sophomore or freshman from St. Mary's or any other high school may attend the

Prom. Anyone attending the prom, who is not a current St. Mary's student, must present proper identification at the door. The prom is a formal event and requires formal attire.

l) Students who attend athletic events and choose not to attend a dance that follows must leave the campus one-half hour after the athletic event ends.

m) Saint Mary's reserves the right to deny entrance to, or dismiss anyone from the dances. Any dance of a suggestive or inappropriate nature will not be tolerated.

n) The school is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

Eligibility for Extracurricular Activities

Participation in extracurricular activities is a privilege. It is presumed that students who are representing Saint Mary’s High School in various activities are maximizing the educational opportunities that are available to them. Continued eligibility for participation in extracurricular activities is contingent upon the student’s maintaining at least a 2.0 grade point average.

a) Any student member of a sports team, student government or class office, dance/drill team, cheerleading squad, band, chorus, speech and debate team, newspaper and yearbook staff, Senate or Cabinet, Campus Ministry and drama, must maintain a 2.0 grade point average or be excluded from participation in these activities until the student attains a 2.0 GPA at the next grading period.

b) A student must have a 2.0 GPA on the report card from the previous grading period (all subjects count toward the determination of the 2.0 GPA) in order to be eligible to participate in sports/activities for the next quarter. No student with two or more grades of "F" is eligible.

c) For the school year: the eligibility period (ability/inability to participate) begins when the Vice Principal publishes the list of ineligible students based on the marks received on the previous semester/quarter report card. Students are ineligible from one publication date to the next.

d) The same procedure will be used for the remaining quarters. The eligibility will always be determined by the previous quarter or semester grades.

e) In the event a student receives below a 2.0 GPA on the 2nd semester report card and hence would be ineligible in the Fall, but said student goes to summer school and in essence, raises his/her grade and the grade is acceptable to Saint Mary’s, it may be counted. If, in the recomputing of the GPA, it rises to 2.0 or above, the student would be eligible for participation in the Fall quarter. The student shall remain ineligible until the grades are received by the Registrar of Saint Mary’s High School. Such a student (summer school student) shall be permitted to practice but not participate in events until eligibility is determined after the receipt of the summer school grades. Note: Prior to attending summer school, students should consult with the St. Mary’s Vice Principal to ensure that credit will be given for courses taken.

f) Students who are identified for exclusion from participation may be permitted to remain as students in credit-awarding classes associated with activities from which they are excluded as participants and shall continue to be eligible to earn appropriate grades and/or credits for the in-class portion of their work. In performance classes, ineligible students may be asked to drop the class.

g) Students shall not be permitted or encouraged to drop classes, change teachers, or otherwise alter their schedules for the purpose of defeating the intent of this policy.

h) Some classes such as Teacher Aide only count as 2.5 credits when computing GPA. Such classes do not carry full credit when weighted against normal 5 credit classes.

i) No student entering St. Mary’s from the 8th grade shall be affected by this policy until after their first grading period at Saint Mary’s High School.

j) Any special case or extenuating circumstances surrounding disputed eligibility of a student shall be reviewed by the Vice Principal and/or the Principal.

k) When a student transfers to Saint Mary’s from another high school:

1. If that student’s previous quarter GPA is below 2.0, they will be ineligible.

2. Continued eligibility will be determined by the grades received in their 1st quarter/semester of attendance at Saint Mary’s.

3. In all transfer cases, it is presumed that the student is eligible to participate based upon the C.I.F. transfer rules.

l) C.I.F. rules require that semester grades be used to determine eligibility at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters. (thus, grading periods shall be 1^st quarter, 1st semester, 3rd quarter and 2nd semester)

Guest Passes

a) Guest passes will be limited to 100 per dance, one pass per student.

b) Guest passes must be paid for by the host when obtaining the pass. No refunds will be granted. Guest passes are $5.00.

c) No outside person will be admitted to any dance without a guest pass or special invitation from class or club moderators or student activities director.

d) All guests will be required to show the student body card of the school they are attending. If they do not have a student body card, an I.D. card or driver’s license will be required. Failure to produce the above required identification will render the guest pass null and void.

e) Social moderators will have the right to refuse to honor any guest pass at the door.

f) A guest pass not made out in the correct manner will be collected at the door and not honored.

g) The host student is to accompany their guest at the door and is to be responsible for acquainting the guest with the school dance rules. The guest must conform with these rules. The host will be held responsible for any damage their guest might cause.

h) Guest passes will be issued on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, during both lunches and ONLY during the week of the dance.

Additional information concerning student activities, eligibility to participate and other issues related to the conduct and participation in student activities is contained within the Parent/Student Handbook provided to all Saint Mary's Students and their families.

If you have any additional questions please contact Mr. Luigi Gherardi, the Activities Dean.