Bulletin #23 | February 12th, 2019

I wish to share with you today some thoughts on a problem that appears to be increasing in the school. Theft.
Firstly, I would like to point out that every day children from all grade levels and their teachers hand in lost items, often of great value. This in itself is a sign of great honesty and something that we should celebrate: the vast majority of our students, staff, and parents are honest on campus and prefer to hand lost items rather than steal them.

The fact that we should be celebrating so many unattended and forgotten items that are handed sadly also shows how many items left unattended in the first place. In this we should remember that responsibility for our possessions is a learned habit and children everywhere have a tendency to forget their belongings. This is a habit we all need to help our children develop.

Theft in schools really comes of two types: aggressive theft in which items are taken and the owner threatened. Sometimes the owner may not be directly threatened or attacked, it might be through a locker being forced open, a bag snatched from a shoulder, a classroom door or window broken etc. Thankfully, such behavior never occurs at JFK and this really does reflect on the great community that we all share.
The other type of theft is opportunistic theft in which items are left unattended somewhere which creates the opportunity for someone to steal them.

Both of these are completely wrong and unacceptable, I would never make excuses for any theft.

Whatever the reason for taking things and keeping them, we must all recognize that it is wrong. Theft is antisocial and unacceptable, and is also an unpleasant fact of life. Throughout history and throughout every culture theft has proved remarkably difficult to control and in a school setting this is especially so.

Last year at JFK we passed a Board Policy to state clearly how we feel about theft. This semester we have established a task force with parents and staff in Elementary to build a campaign and increase awareness among students, staff and parents, which will become school-wide. In the Middle and High schools, our principals are also increasing awareness of this theme.

Please also note that we do respond when a thief is caught. There have been instances of both students and staff leaving our school because of theft. When caught, we will have no hesitation to deal appropriately with thieves.

Here are some tips that are important for us to note, as the responsibility to reduce this problem lays with every one of us.

1.- Please talk with your children about the importance of taking care of their things and not leaving them unattended.
2.-Label as many items with your name as possible. We return found items if they have a name on them, and thieves are less likely to steal if it has a label.
3.-Check with your child any items of value that they are taking to school and check when they come home that they still have it with them.
4.-Question your child as to why they need to take something expensive or of personal value to school, and discourage them from doing so.
5.-Question your child about any items you do not recognize, and return them to the school.
6.-If an item is left at school, even if it is recovered later, provide them with a logical consequence before replacing it. (Wash the dishes for a week to help pay for it, replace it but only as a birthday present, etc. If a child feels the burden of their action, they are less likely to repeat it).
7.-For those in Middle and High Schools: use your locker!
8.-If a valuable item is taken to school, at least keep a photograph of it, or its registration number etc. so that it can be identified later.
9.-Use ‘Say Something’ to report thieves, or tell your principal, or teacher. If you know someone who takes things they do not deserve your confidence as they will steal from you when given the chance.
10.-Finally, please remember that it is a joint responsibility between family and the school to help teach our children to look after their belongings and to respect those of others. Our children do need to understand that theft is wrong and unacceptable and will lead to consequences. Together we can help reduce this problem. The school can only help to a certain degree. We cannot be ultimately responsible for lost or stolen items.

We must all be more careful not to leave our things unattended. Most items reported as stolen are reported as being left unattended, sometimes for many hours, in areas where many people pass by. The school, and my team in each section, will continue to help educate children that stealing is wrong, and dealing with those caught doing so.
In addition, we should all continue to applaud the great number of students who do hand in lost items and show their own moral value and maturity.

Thank you.