J-Term

Dean of Students have the right to determine a case is not heard by the entire Honor Council due to an incident’s sensitive nature or the timing of the incident.

Step 3: The student appears before the Honor Council with a faculty/staff advocate of his or her choice in attendance. The faculty/staff advocate prepares the student for the hearing, supports the student during the hearing, and may remain to address the council after the student leaves the hearing in order to give a character witness and share his/her perception of how the student is responding to the situation. The student should be prepared to explain what happened, why it happened, and identify a plan of action to avoid future violations. Parents are not invited to attend the Honor Council hearing. All meetings and hearings of the Honor Council must be held with at least one Honor Council Advisor present. Step 4: The Honor Council will recommend the disciplinary and restorative consequences by majority vote to the Upper School administration. The administration will make the final determination of the discipline assigned. The Dean of Students will meet with the student to inform him or her of the consequence and steps towards restoration. The student has a chance to make any comments that are appropriate to the situation. The Dean of Students will also communicate the consequences and steps towards restoration with the student’s parents. Disciplinary consequences or actions will be assigned by the Dean of Students and Principal are on a caseby-case basis. The Honor Council’s recommendation is strongly considered in the ultimate determination of consequences. Please note, students must understand how Honor Code violations impact their obligation to report and update information in a student’s college application pursuant to the college’s or university’s reporting guidelines (see “Reporting of Infractions to Colleges/Universities and Schools”).

The student’s violation will be recorded by the Honor Council and Dean of Students and will be cumulative for the duration of time that the student is enrolled in the Upper School. The student is expected to complete the assigned discipline within the time-frame allotted by the Dean of Students. A student involved in a case will follow these simple guidelines: 1. Discuss the matter immediately and completely with parents. 2. Do not discuss the case with other students, especially those who may be involved. 3. Be completely honest when speaking with the Dean of Students, Honor Council Advisors, and

Honor Council members. Remember that the Honor Council is made up of students. They run the meetings, and their recommendations for consequences to the Dean of Students and Upper School

Principal hold considerable weight as a final decision is made. 4. Bring a faculty/staff member advocate of their choice to accompany them during the Honor

Council hearing.

J-Term

J-Term is an opportunity for Upper School students to live out Whitefield’s mission by immersing themselves in topics of their choosing and engage with faculty and peers in a deep exploration that expands upon the traditional classroom structure. International travel, domestic missions, local service, internships, on-campus intensives, exploration of the Atlanta area, and off-campus learning intensives are just a few of the available opportunities. All Upper School students are required to participate in J-Term. Students who successfully complete their J-Term course during spring semester will earn a P (pass) and .25 elective credit on their transcript. Students who do not successfully complete their J-Term course during spring semester will earn an F (fail) on their transcript, and they will not earn the .25 elective credit. Successful completion is based on attendance, engagement, and completion of the final project for the particular J-Term course. Pass/fail grades for J-Term courses do not factor into cumulative GPA.