The Honor Code
As a member of the St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School community, I pledge that I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.
The fundamental principle of the Honor Code is that all students must assume responsibility for their own actions, even those beyond the stated requirements of the Code. Therefore, it is expected that a sense of personal honor will direct a student's conduct in all aspects of school life.
Honor offenses are lying, cheating, and stealing. They are defined as follows:
- Lying is deliberately presenting a false impression or giving false information to another person. Evasiveness falls under the category of lying.
- Stealing is the taking of another person's property without right or prior acknowledgment. A student should never assume that it is acceptable to "borrow" any item from a community member without obtaining permission, even in the case of borrowing from a friend. Plagiarism falls under the category of stealing and is outlined in a subsequent section.
- Cheating is deliberately giving or receiving any unauthorized information on examinations or assigned work; in general, cheating is passing off another's work as one's own. Collaboration, which is not permitted on any assignment unless a teacher explicitly states otherwise, is a form of cheating.
