Geneva’s Rhetoric School students operate under an Honor Code system. The Honor Code is printed below:
To My School I Hereby Pledge:
Out of the threefold desire to honor God, respect my school, and value my classmates, I pledge, as a student at the Geneva School of Boerne, to strive to do my best in all things. As a student leader, I promise to abide by all school policies. I will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate these behaviors by my classmates. In confirmation of my pledge to you and my accountability before the Lord Jesus Christ, I profess that in all of my schoolwork, my name affirms my honor; in all of my dealings, my word is my bond.
All students pledge to each other and the entire school community to do their best. The motivation for such a pledge is to honor God and respect both the school and fellow students. All Rhetoric School students are leaders in that younger students look to them as examples, so as a minimum, Rhetoric students should abide by school policies and not do things (like lying or cheating) that would undermine the academic endeavor or reputation of the school. Additionally, students should not put up with things like cheating from classmates and should confront them about such behaviors. To remind themselves of this pledge, students should remember that putting their name on their schoolwork is like saying, “This is my signature that affirms my honor and the school may depend on this being my own work done to the best of my abilities.” Likewise, students should be dependable when they give their word—Geneva should not be a place that has to depend on notarized contracts in order to take someone at his or her word.
To formalize the fact that we operate under an Honor Code, students sign the Honor Code Pledge at the beginning of the school year and this signed pledge is displayed in the administration building. By signing the code, students are not declaring that they are perfect; rather, they are declaring that, despite knowing what sinners they are, they count the school and what we do here important enough to be held to these standards. It is like wedding vows: despite the fact that everyone at a wedding knows that neither partner can perfectly fulfill the vows, the participants count their partner and the institution of marriage as important enough to make vows to which they wish to be held accountable. Students also recite the Honor Code each Monday during assembly.
Students who are members of the National Honor Society will be formally removed from membership for significant violations of the Honor Code.