General Conduct

A.       MJBHA seeks to develop students who reflect care, compassion, and respect for all people. Students are thus expected to display כבוד towards each other, in and out of class, in terms of speech, action, and attitude. Each student should be kind and courteous towards fellow students at all times. In addition, students are expected to be respectful of those who teach Torah and general studies to them and to others. The lessons of והדרת פני זקן and of הכרת הטוב should be part of the regular interaction between students and staff. To this end, students should refrain from using the faculty lounge and the faculty restrooms. The same general idea of respect holds true for the interactions between students and others such as cafeteria staff, office personnel, bus drivers, custodians, visitors to the school, etc.

B.       Every person at the MJBHA is entitled to expect a safe, comfortable atmosphere where feelings and sensitivities are taken into account and appreciated. Any intentional infringement upon that entitlement will be viewed as hurtful to the spirit of community that we seek to build and will be addressed by the administration.

C.       The expectations regarding conduct are applicable in school but also extend to each student’s life beyond our four walls. Our מידות define us no matter where we are, whether we are on the bus, on a sports field, in a restaurant, or at home.

D.       One of the ways in which man is distinguished from the rest of the animal kingdom is through his ability to speak. Use of derogatory, insulting, inflammatory, or needlessly argumentative language runs counter to this value and will not be tolerated.

E.        Respect for property stems from the Torah injunction to have כבוד for our fellow human beings, and in the case of wanton damage, from the idea of בל תשחית, namely that we should not destroy something worthwhile and useful. Students are therefore required to treat the possessions of their friends and of the school with the utmost respect. The administration will respond to students who deface or damage these properties with one or some of the consequences listed below (see Administrative Consequences).

F.        Students must respect the physical persons of other students and must maintain a dignified environment by desisting from initiating physical contact with one another.

G.       Students are expected to maintain a clean environment throughout the entire building, particularly those areas that receive our frequent use, such as the Upper School hallways, the classrooms, and the cafeteria. All members of the community are called upon to place refuse in the numerous garbage cans and recycling bins on the floor. Picking up debris is not the responsibility of the night crew or the administration, but devolves upon each person who uses this facility. The Administration will at times ask individual students to help keep things neat and clean.

H.       Students are expected to eat meals in the cafeteria or in the outdoor courtyard; neither the hallways nor the classrooms are to serve as ancillary eating spaces. Food is not allowed in the classrooms, and faculty and administrators have license to take away food brought into the rooms. There are limited exceptions, such as lunchtime meetings facilitated by instructors that take place in classrooms and the use of the senior lounge provided that the seniors clean the room after its use. Students who wish to have a water bottle in class for the purpose of drinking water during that class may do so but only with the express permission of that classroom instructor. There is to be no food or drink in any of the computer labs (Rooms 300, 307, 332) at any time, including during after-school activities.      

I.        In keeping with the concept of הכרת הטוב (gratitude), students are expected to say the appropriate ברכות both before and after the consumption of food and drink.

J.         The Upper School provides each student with a single locker to use for the school year. Lockers are to be kept neat and clean. Students are allowed to decorate the inside of their lockers with non-permanent, appropriate, halachically sanctioned, and tasteful materials. Food should not be stored in unsealed containers in the lockers. Students are also responsible for the cleanliness of the area surrounding their lockers. Students are advised to lock their belongings in their lockers; the school is not responsible for valuables left in an unlocked locker.

K.       MJBHA students are expected to be cognizant of and always within the bounds of the halachot of כשרות. Students may not bring non-kosher foods into the school. Students who have permission to leave campus during the school day and choose to eat in a restaurant are expected to eat in kosher establishments only. All food brought into the building by students must have kosher certification. The kosher symbols must be certified by a reliable rabbinic agency. The letter “K” with out any accompanying logo is NOT necessarily an acceptable certification. If you have a question about a particular product or about any other kosher symbol, please ask Rabbi Levitt.

OK, OU, Chaf-key, star K, KVH, star D and CRC are some of the acceptable kosher certifications we accept.