Privacy policy

This policy explains what personal information MyCS holds, why, who can see it, and your choices. Christ Church Cathedral School (“CCCS”, “the school”, “we”) is responsible for the personal information in MyCS. As an independent school in British Columbia, we follow BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

The short version

• We only collect what we need to run school life online.
• No ads, no selling or renting information, and no tracking or analytics services.
• Families only see their own children. Teachers see the classes they teach.
• Learners’ photos are only shared as far as their media consent allows.
• You can ask to see or correct your information at any time.

What we collect

• Identity and contact: names, preferred name and pronouns, email address (adults only; learners have no email in MyCS), date of birth, home language, and a profile photo if you add one.
• School records: student number, grade, classes, family and guardian links, pickup and custody arrangements the school has been told about, media consent, and, where the school holds them, medical, allergy or learning-support notes.
• Learning: assignments, handed-in work and files, marks and feedback, portfolio items (photos, voice notes, videos, links), class posts, comments, journal posts and messages.
• Sign-in and security: when you sign in and from which internet address and browser, failed attempts, and a secure log of important actions (such as changing a mark or someone’s access).

Why we use it

To teach and assess learners, keep families informed about their own children, run classes, keep everyone safe, keep MyCS secure, and meet the school’s legal duties. We don’t use it for anything else without asking.

Who can see it

• Families see their own children’s information only, subject to any custody restrictions the school has on file.
• Teachers see the learners in their own classes. Classmates see each other by first name and last initial.
• Office and administrators see what their role needs to run the school. Medical and support notes are limited to staff who need them.
• These rules are enforced by the database itself, not just by what the screens show.
• We only share information outside the school when the law requires it, when someone’s safety is at risk, or with your consent.

Where it is kept, and how it is protected

• MyCS runs on a server managed for the school in British Columbia, Canada.
• Every connection is encrypted (HTTPS). The MyCS web address that ends in ts.net is provided through Tailscale, a network service based in the United States, which passes on only encrypted traffic that it cannot read.
• If MyCS uses the school’s own web address, visitors either connect straight to the MyCS server, or through a small relay server the school manages in a Canadian data centre (Oracle Cloud). A relay decrypts the connection only to pass it straight on, over an encrypted private link, to the MyCS server, and does not store what passes through it.
• Passwords are stored only in scrambled form (Argon2), and staff accounts need two-step verification.
• Uploaded files are checked for viruses, and photos and videos have hidden details such as location removed.
• The security log is tamper-evident, so changes to it can be detected.

Cookies

MyCS uses one cookie, which keeps you signed in. It is needed for MyCS to work. There are no advertising or tracking cookies.

How long we keep it

We keep information while a person is part of the school community, then according to the school’s records policy and the law. When an account is closed it can be deleted, or, where records must be kept (such as marked work or the security log), the account is anonymised instead.

Your choices and rights

• You can ask to see the personal information we hold about you or your child, and ask us to correct it.
• You can change a learner’s media consent, or withdraw other consent, by contacting the office.
• If you have a concern, please contact us first. You can also contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.

Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, the date at the top changes too, and we’ll tell you in MyCS about anything important.

Contact

Privacy questions and requests go to the school’s privacy officer through the office: Christ Church Cathedral School, 912 Vancouver Street, Victoria, BC V8V 3V7 · 250-383-5125 · reception@cathedralschool.ca. See also our Terms of use.