“I pledge to never cheat, commit fraud, plagiarize, or steal.”

“As a trusted and responsible citizen of the CVHS Community, I, [student name] , pledge to uphold all the rules and regulations of the Centreville High School Honor Code, and I commit to achieve academic success with honor and integrity.  I pledge to do the following:
- Independently complete assignments and tests unless otherwise instructed by a teacher
- Be trustworthy by never lying or falsifying paperwork
- Write assignments in my own words as well as give credit to others for  their ideas and written work
- Submit work that is solely mine and not take ownership of work or property that belongs to someone else
- Report those who cheat, lie, or steal, rather than condoning misconduct that is not representative of our school standards.”

 

The Honor Code prohibits the following behaviors:
Cheating - Defined as receiving or giving unauthorized academic assistance, including, but not limited to:
- Copying answers from another student’s quiz/test or allowing another student to copy from yours; this includes verbal and non-verbal exchange of information.
- Copying another student’s homework/project, either in part or its entirety, or providing answers to a fellow student.
- Providing or using unauthorized notes, data, or other aids, such as dictionaries, calculators, cell phones, or other electronic devices, during quizzes or tests.
- Discussing content of quizzes or tests before all students have taken the assessments.
- Pressuring someone to provide his or her homework or assignment for the express purpose of copying.
- Enlisting the assistance of another person with a project or assignment unless specifically approved by the teacher (i.e., study partner or group).
- Not contributing work to a group project, but taking credit for the final project.

Committing Fraud - a deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain. (The American Heritage Dictionary, page 699)  Examples of fraud may include but are not limited to:
- Signing a parent’s/guardian’s signature or anyone else’s other than one’s own on any document including FCPS or Centreville High School documents.
- Hiring or paying another student/person/website to complete school assignments for you and submitting the work as your own.
- Misrepresenting experience and/or participation in a club or organization on a resume.
- Presenting community service hours for course credit or honorary requirements when no service was performed.
- Submitting a project or assignment, without making substantial changes, more than once for credit (without teacher permission).

Stealing -Defined as taking the property of another without right or permission.  
 (The American Heritage Dictionary, page 1696.)  Examples of intellectual theft may include but are not limited to:
- Taking another’s piece of writing/work and submitting it as your own.
- Taking teacher copies of quizzes and/or tests from a classroom/workroom.

Plagiarizing - to use and pass off the ideas or writings of another as one’s own.  (The American Heritage Dictionary, page 1340)  Examples of fraud may include but are not limited to:
- Copying material directly from published material or a website without providing documentation and a bibliography.
- Turning in an assignment or project as your work when it was written in part or entirely by someone else (even if permission is given by the original writer of the work).
- Altering, restating, or paraphrasing another person’s words, ideas, or work without giving credit or acknowledging your sources.  This would include but not be limited to text, music and video clips, photos, graphics, and artwork.
- Making up sources or including references in your works cited page that you did not use to write the paper.

 

Consequences for Violating the Honor Code
If a student is found to have violated the Honor Code, the following are progressive consequences which begin accumulating from date of entry into CVHS until student graduates.  Consequences are not per class but per offense.  Administrators may impose:
1st Offense:
- Parental notification.
- Student will redo the assignment/assessment with the maximum grade of 50%.
- Student will write a letter of apology to the teacher.
- Student will receive a discipline referral.
2nd Offense:
- Parental notification.
- Student will receive a 0% on the assignment/assessment on which he/she cheated.
- Student will write a letter of apology to the teacher.
- Student will meet with an administrator and sign a behavioral contract, effective for the remainder of the school year, which outlines the next level of consequences should the student violate the Honor Code a third time.
- Student will be removed from any honor societies and/or class office for the remainder of the school year. (Honor Society Constitution guidelines for sanctions will supersede the Centreville High School Honor Code.)
- Student will receive a discipline referral for Saturday School and a minimum of four hours of community service to be performed in the school.
3rd Offense
- Parental notification.
- Student will receive a 0% on the assignment/assessment on which he/she cheated.
- Student will write a letter of apology to the teacher.
- Student will be removed from any honor societies and/or class office for the remainder of the school year. (Honor Society Constitution guidelines for sanctions will supersede the Centreville High School Honor Code.) 
- School personnel will not write or prepare any letters of recommendation for the student (i.e. for TJHSST or college admissions, for employment, etc.).
- Student will receive a discipline referral, serve a one day suspension for cheating and for failing to comply with the behavioral contract, and complete ten hours of community service in the school.

 

Responsibility for adherence to the Honor Code is jointly held by students, parents, teachers, and administrators.

Print this page