Spirit Rock Guidelines

Steele Creek Elementary School Spirit Rock — Guidelines

The decorating of Steele Creek Elementary School’s Spirit Rock is subject to Board Policy S-SFRS – Student Free Speech.  Nothing in this school-based policy should be interpreted to contradict Board Policy in any way.

Content/Subject Matter for Spirit Rock Messages:  Tamara Looney

Spirit Rock messages may address only the following subjects: 

Congratulations or celebrations of student or staff school-based achievement

Birthdays of students and staff 

Reservation, Approval, & Access

Who may paint: Steele Creek Elementary students, their parents/guardians or other immediate family members, officially recognized Steele Creek Elementary School clubs or teams, and school staff.

How to reserve: Send an email to tamara1.lutz@cms.k12.nc.us to apply to paint the spirit rock. Please send your request at least 72 hours prior to the date. Your application must include the name of all participants painting the rock, including any third-party artists.Your application should include a proposal of what will be put on the rock. Spirit Rock Request must be written in the subject line. 

Approval: The Principal will review applications based on Policy S-SFRS and the standards below. Applications will be approved, and reservations granted, on a first come/ first served basis. No student proposal that is compliant with this policy and Board Policy S-SFRS  will be rejected based on viewpoint, including religious or political perspective. If an application is rejected for any reason, then the applicant may appeal using the procedures found in S-SCOM.

When: Reservations run from 5 p.m. on the selected day , through 4:59 p.m. on the following day.  Only the reserving party may paint during that window.  Messages may be displayed for more than one full school day only if there are no valid applications to paint the Spirit Rock on subsequent school days.  

Frequency: No more than one reservation may be made for any given school day.  To help ensure that all members of the school community have a fair opportunity to paint the Spirit Rock, each Steele Creek Elementary student, family, officially recognized student group or team, and staff member may paint it no more than once per month.

Paint & Safety Rules
Students must provide written permission from their parent/guardian, and the parent/guardian must sign an assumption of risk form. Only latex/water-based paint may be used. No spray paint near vehicles or sidewalks; protect grass with a drop cloth. Do not paint sidewalks, trees, buildings, or the ground around the rock. No ladders/scaffolding may be used without prior approval from the principal; paint only the rock surface you can reach safely. Bring your own supplies, clean the area when finished, and remove all materials the same day.

Restricted Speech:
As explained in Board Policy S-SFSR, depending on all the facts and circumstances, the school may deny student applications, paint over messages painted on the Spirit Rock, or otherwise restrict student expression on the Spirit Rock if the planned or actual message falls within one of the following categories of the speech as described in Board Policy  S-SFSR (1) Disruptive Speech, ( 2) Speech that Invades the Rights of Other Students, (3) Profane Speech, and (4) Promotion of Illegal Drug Use.  Please see Board Policy  S-SFSR for further description of each of these categories. 

Enforcement & Maintenance
The Spirit Rock may be painted over if this policy, Board Policy, or any other school system policy is violated. 
Violations of this policy and/or Board Policy may result in loss of reservation privileges and/or disciplinary consequences per the CMS Code of Student Conduct, provided that any such consequence will be administered fairly, objectively, and without regard to viewpoint.

Questions:

Tamara Looney, Principal
tamara1.lutz@cms.k12.nc.us