The Country Day School Guanacaste

Boarding Residence Guide

The mission of Country Day School Guanacaste is to provide its students with a traditional college preparatory education committed to high academic standards and achievement through a balanced program structured primarily on United States curricula. Country Day School Guanacaste is a private, non-sectarian, English-language school serving students from early childhood through high school.

Welcome	Off-Campus Privileges	Telephone	2nd Tier Offenses
Expectations	Facilities	House Rules	Damage
Staff	Laundry Facilities	General Procedures/Rules	Travel Arrangements
Daily Schedule, Weekdays	Common Room	Disciplinary Offenses	Phone List
Weekend Schedule	Kitchen Area	First Tier Offenses	Campus Map

Welcome

The purpose of the CDSG Boarding Program is to provide an environment where each CDSG boarder prospers in the pursuit of his/her academic, extra-curricular, and personal goals.

To assist in this endeavor, a common set of rules and guidelines, contained in this book, are necessary to protect the health and well being of all campus residents. To further assist you are your Dorm Parents and Boarding Program Manager, who together manage the boarding program.

Expectations

Each member of CDSG is expected to:

Act with integrity and be accountable for his/her actions.
Treat others with respect and follow the “Golden Rule.”
Accept and support the basic values of the community, follow and respect boarding program rules, and obey instructions from Dorm Staff.
Be an active member of the school community.

Staff

The CDSG Boarding Program is run by the Dorm Staff, which is composed of three Dorm Parents, and the Boarding Program Manager. The Dorm Staff play an active role in boarding life, ensuring students are progressing in their studies and providing help when necessary, supervising study halls and day-to-day activities and schedules, and supervising off-campus trips and activities.

Daily Schedule, Weekdays

6:30am:	Wake-up.
7:00am:	Breakfast at school dining hall.
7:30am – 2:30pm:	Classes. Classes are 55 minutes in length. There is a 15 minute morning break and a 50 minute lunch period.
2:45pm – 6:00pm:	Extra-curricular activities are held on and off campus. Boarders are expected to participate in these activities at least 2X per week.
6:00pm-7:00pm:	Dinner at school dining hall.
7:00pm – 9:00pm:	Study Time in Common Room.
9:00pm – 10:00pm:	Free time.
10:00pm:	All students except Seniors retire to their own rooms. Seniors retire at 10:30pm.
10:45pm:	Lights out.

Weekend Schedule

Boarding students who stay through the weekend participate in weekend trips and activities. Participation is mandatory for freshmen and sophomores. Juniors and Seniors may be allowed to sign out with a Host Family under certain conditions (see Off-Campus Privileges) and on certain weekends.

Usually, every other weekend is reserved for an off-campus trip where you will spend one or two nights off campus. These trips are fun and exciting and will allow you to explore and enjoy many incredible parts of Costa Rica.

The intermediate weekends are spent on campus. Activities are planned in or close to campus with the purpose of allowing students to “catch” up from the more intense off campus trips, and to pursue more personal pursuits, while still offering fun things to do between studies.

All students are also expected to participate in community-outreach activities about once per month. These may include help coaching at a local school, participating in beach-cleanup days, or volunteering some time at an orphanage.

Off-Campus Privileges

Boarders participate in off-campus activities with the supervision of the Dorm Staff during the week and on weekends. Boarding students are not allowed off campus without being accompanied by members of the Dorm Staff, except for Juniors and Seniors who meet all the following requirements:

Academic average standing of 85% or better with no failing grades in any class.
Zero behavioral demerits.
Signed release form from parents covering the dates involved received no less than a week before.
Signed consent form from Hosting Family covering the dates involved received no less than a week before.

Not all weekends may be available for off-campus sign-out. Please check with a member of the Dorm Staff in advance.

Facilities

Laundry Facilities

There is a laundry room located just outside the dorm building, and there will be a new laundry room to be located within the dorm building by mid September 2008. Please be considerate of others and remove your clothes as soon as possible to free the machine for others. You must follow all Laundry Facility Rules as posted inside the Laundry Room.

Common Room

The Common Room is available to socialize, relax, and study. A TV area, ping-pong table, and pool table are available for all boarders to use and enjoy. During study time, the TV is turned off, no phone calls are allowed, and the room is turned into a study hall. A DVD is available for use. Movies must be approved by Dorm Staff. No R-rated movies are allowed, and Dorm Staff has the right to remove any movie deemed inappropriate.

Kitchen Area

Meals are taken at the CDSG dining hall Monday - Friday. There is also a small kitchenette within the Common Room and a bar-be-que just outside the Common Room. Both are used for meals not served in the dining hall, and are used on some weekends or bar-be-que night during the week.

All boarding hall members are expected to clean up after themselves in the Kitchen, Bar-be-que, and all other boarding areas.

Telephone

A telephone is located in the Common Room.

Students may not make or receive calls during Study Time or Quiet Hours.
Only Dorm Staff may answer phone during Study Time.
Residents must use a calling card (available at the school business office) for making international calls.
If you must use the phone during Quiet Hours, get permission from a member of the Dorm Staff.
If you receive a call for someone and you cannot find him/her (check the sign-out sheet), take a message and put it in the person’s mailbox.
The boarding facilities have wireless high speed internet. VoIP calls through services such as Skype are allowed except during Study Time and Quiet Hours.
Calls must be limited to 20 minutes except phone calls to parents.
Cell phones may not be used during Study Time or Quiet Hours.

House Rules

General Procedures/Rules

Students are expected to follow the rules and guidelines contained in this document as well as those contained in the CDSG General Student Handbook.

Students must be ON TIME! To meals, Study Time, activities, classes, trips!

Students must clean up after themselves after using any parts of the Residence Hall. Participation in House Cleanup is required.

Sign In/ Sign Out is required of all students when leaving or returning to the Residence Hall, with the destination printed clearly (gym, cafeteria, athletic field, etc). On weekends, 5-day boarders must also sign-in/out and clearly communicate how they will leave campus each weekend and with whom.

Students are expected to inform Dorm Staff if they are feeling physically ill, or if during school hours, report to the Director’s Office. The student will be sent back to the dorm rooms under Dorm Staff supervision, or taken to the local clinic depending on the seriousness of their condition.

CDSG maintains a closed-campus policy. Only Juniors and Seniors, under special circumstances and following proper protocol, may check out of campus without the supervision of Dorm Staff (see Off-Campus Privileges).

Returning to the residence hall during school hours is not allowed. You should take everything you will need during the school day with you to class, including your PE uniform. If you forgot something, go to the Director’s office and get a permission slip to return to the dorms. You will receive demerits for this whether you go to the Director’s office or not (but more if you don’t!).

Passports, and large sums of money must be turned into Dorm Staff. The school provides a safe, where these items can be deposited and retrieved as needed.

All students are required to bring with them a lap top computer equipped with wireless access, a valid and up-to-date anti-virus program, and a word processing program.

At no time may a student be in their room with the door locked. Doors may only (and must be) be locked when the room is left unoccupied, such as during class hours and weekend trips.

Five-day boarders may have a vehicle on campus if they have parental permission to do so, have a valid driver’s license and insurance. Keys must be turned into Dorm Staff upon arrival and checked out when returning home, usually on weekends.

Residents must not enter another resident’s room without their permission. Students are not allowed to enter the hall section or rooms of students of the opposite sex. Public Displays of Affection (PDA) are not allowed.

Each student is responsible for their personal hygiene and must take at least one shower per day and use regular hygiene products.

No electrical appliances are allowed in rooms except for computers, radios, stereos, and a small fridge.

No matches, candles, lighters are allowed anywhere in the Residence Hall.

Radios and small CD players are allowed as long as they do not interfere with the right of others to study and sleep. They are not allowed during Study Time or Quiet Hours/Lights Out.

Pets are not allowed in the Boarding Hall and students are not allowed to have pets of any kind.

Students must be in acceptable attire within the Residence Hall. A shirt, shorts or pants, or skirts are required at all times outside individual rooms. When returning from the beach or pool, students are expected to change into appropriate clothing upon re-entering the Residence Hall.

The school provides basic room cleaning services to rooms and bathrooms 2X per week. Students are expected to keep their beds made, floors clear of clutter and/or clothes, and to keep bathrooms in reasonable order. Unannounced room inspections may occur at the discretion of the Dorm Staff. Failure to keep one’s room in acceptable condition may result in suspension of school cleaning services.

Students must TURN OFF their air conditioners when not in their rooms, especially when leaving for class or off campus trips.

The use of alcoholic or drug references to decorate rooms is not allowed.

The use of internet access for purposes other than school studies, obtaining news, booking or making travel arrangements, or communicating with parents (through VoIP or email) is not allowed. Downloading music, video, or games, or downloading or viewing illegal material is expressly prohibited. Using email or VoIP to communicate with friends is allowed, but Dorm Staff may limit use if deemed excessive. No computer use of any kind is allowed after Lights Out.

Discourteous behavior to other students or Dorm Staff is not allowed. Also, throwing objects indoors, running indoors, loud music, or other unsafe or impolite behavior is not allowed.

Disciplinary Offenses

As stated at the beginning of the Handbook, the purpose of the CDSG Boarding Program is to provide an environment where each CDSG boarder prospers in the pursuit of his/her academic, extra-curricular, and personal goals.

Students who threaten the well being, ability or rights of others to pursue their goals will be subject to disciplinary consequences.

CDSG maintains a two-tiered discipline code. First-tier offenses pose a serious risk to those committing the offense and/or to those around them. These offenses, listed below, may result in expulsion or suspension, depending on the offense. In all cases, parents will be notified. Offenses that do not contain a specific consequence will be handled at the judgment of the Director or Director.

First Tier Offenses

CDSG has a zero-tolerance policy for the possession and/or use of illegal drugs and for the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Violation of this policy will result in immediate expulsion without exception.

Alcohol and tobacco products are strictly prohibited and will result in serious disciplinary action.

Possession or use of weapons of any kind (including camping knives), is not allowed. The School reserves the right to decide if an instrument is considered to pose a risk.

Symbols of hate, violence, and racial prejudice are not allowed.

Physical or verbal threats or posturing is not allowed.

Violence, physical aggression, sexual or physical harassment or force, or disruptive behavior is not allowed.

Dishonesty, lying, stealing, or cheating is not allowed.

All medications, whether over-the-counter or prescription, must be turned into and held by Dorm Staff. Dorm Staff will dispense medications as directed by doctor’s prescription or as needed for OTC drugs (with parental approval). Failure to turn in OTC or prescripttion drugs is a serious offense.

2nd Tier Offenses:

Second-tier offenses pose minor or no threat to those committing the offense or those around them, but are considered a disruption of the well being of the boarding program.

Students will receive demerits recorded by Dorm Staff. If a student reaches 20 demerits, he/she will go on Probation for one week.

During Probation, students a) lose the privilege of being able to check out of the residence hall except for classes and scheduled extra-curricular activities b) will have computer privileges revoked except in Common Room and for homework only c) will be assigned house chores d) will lose phone privileges except for communicating with parents and e) will lose TV and Common Room game privileges.

After receiving demerits for one offense, this is considered a “warning”. Committing the same offense a second time will result in double points.

After completing Probation Week, a student will start the next week off with a “clean slate” notwithstanding any demerits incurred during Probation Week.

Late to breakfast or dinner:	1 pt + washing dishes
Skipping meals:	3 pts + detention
Late to school:	3 pts + detention
Disrespectful to Dorm Staff:	10 pts + detention
Not signing out:	5 pts + detention
Returning to RH during school hours	3 pts
Returning to RH during school hours w/o
Director’s permission slip	5 pts
Study Time misbehavior	3 pts
Eating in room	3 pts
Late to bed	3 pts
Failing Room Inspection:	1-3 pts
Not following laundry procedures	1 pts
Excessive noise	3 pts
Horseplay	1-3 pts
Quiet Time/Lights out misbehavior	1-3 pts
PDA	3 pts
Late to meeting or trip	3 pts
Being in hallway of opposite gender	7 pts
Being in room of opposite gender	20 pts
Being in room with door locked	7 pts
Not locking door when leaving for class	3 pts
Not turning AC off	7 pts
Abusing internet privileges	3-10pts

Damage

Rooms are inspected upon arrival. Dorm Staff will make an inventory of school-provided items. Damage to school furniture or rooms, beyond normal wear and tear, will be charged to the occupants of the room. Damage to common areas, in the event that responsibility cannot be determined, will be charged to the house as a whole, with each student charged proportionally. Damaged or missing items not satisfactorily explained will be charged to the student’s account.

Travel Arrangements:

All travel arrangements MUST be communicated to Dorm Staff. The Boarding Facilities are CLOSED during the following periods:

Thanksgiving break
Christmas break
Easter week
Summer break

Please refer to the school calendar for the exact calendar-dates of the above listed breaks.

Students and their parents must make arrangements to be off campus during the dates scheduled. The official school calendar, posted on the website, contains all the specific dates. The School provides transportation to and from Liberia International Airport (airport code LIR) on the exact dates shown above (the first and last day of each period specified). Students who travel on other days or use other ports of entry/exit will have to pay for 3rd party shuttle service to get them to or from the airport.
With a participating Host Family, students and their parents may also arrange to spend break periods with a local family. Release forms are required for this and must be done well in advance of the break.

Phone List

School Phone:	2654-5042
School Fax:	2654-5044
Extensions
Receptionist	6100
Common Room	6113
Residence Manager	6115
Security	6169