Dress Code:

General:

Both boys and girls must comply with basic requirements of cleanliness and appropriateness. Specifically, the following are not allowed:

• Holes or rips^*
• Ragged or deliberately frayed edges^*
• Pants that are frayed at the bottom^*
• Hats inside the school
• Bare feet
• Undergarments showing above or below clothing
• Items that look as if they do not belong in the school environment
• Slogans: Please pay special attention to items of clothing (e.g., T-shirts) that have slogans, advertising or other writing on them. Any writing should be appropriate for our church school setting. Additionally, any shirts, jackets or tops with things written on the back must be covered up for chapel.

Enforcement of the dress code will be done as early as possible in the morning and every attempt will be made to be discreet. If a student has repeated infractions, detention may be given and will be served that day if possible. In some cases an alternative garment may be provided to wear that day, or students may have to go home and change.

^* Any clothes with flaws should be mended or patched before being worn to school; no rips, tears, holes or frayed edges are permitted. This includes the bottom of pant legs that have a tendency to wear out. Any lose threads should be trimmed and frayed edges re-hemmed.

Boys:

• No sleeveless shirts: In addition to the above standards of cleanliness and appropriateness, boys may not wear sleeveless shirts to class. Any physical education exceptions to this will be handled by individual instructors. Shirts must be worn in the school at all times, including after physical education.
• No excessively baggy pants are allowed or any pants worn in such a way that the crotch of the pants hangs low. Boys should be able to move freely about in classes and physical education without having to hang on to trousers or be constantly hitching them up. Students should not have their underwear visible at any time.
• Shoes must be tied if they have laces.
• Pleated or dress shorts may be worn to school, provided they are knee length and do not resemble athletic shorts. (Athletic shorts may be worn for PE.)

Girls:

• No tight clothing of any sort, including tops, bottoms and jeans. This may mean that you need to have "school size" items. The biggest problems we have had in this area are pants that are too tight in the seat and/or thighs. Because of the return of the bell bottom styles, sometimes they are also too tight just above the knees on their way down to flare out at mid-calf. Please keep in mind that different figures might make tightness more problematic. We will do our best to be fair.
• No midriffs on display at any time. All tops must cover the midriff adequately so that no skin shows when standing, seated, bending over, reaching up or raising your hand, etc. Sometimes girls wear another layer underneath a shorter shirt so that this problem will not occur. This is fine, unless the shirt under the shirt hangs down and looks like underwear protruding. We reserve the right to decide what looks too much like underwear.
• No underwear showing at any time. No clothing that looks like underwear or is sheer enough to make underwear visible.
• No tights, leggings or stirrup pants unless a skirt, shorts or dress of the required length is worn layered on top.
• No dresses, skirts or shorts that are too short. Please remember that things get shorter when you sit, climb stairs, or bend over. Skirts and dresses must come to the bottom of the knee so that appropriate coverage can be maintained at all times. If you wear a skirt with a slit, the slit must not be higher than the permitted length of a skirt, which is to say not above the bottom of the knee. Shorts must be no less than four inches above the kneecap and they may not have side slits. NOTE: shorts for PE^* are an exception to this rule.
• No tank tops. Sleeveless tops may be worn as long as the shoulders are at least two inches wide and the neckline is modest.
• Please also avoid "slinky" fabrics that cling to one's contours such as jersey or spandex. Any garment that looks as if it belongs elsewhere will not be permitted. Examples of these might be the following: loungewear, work clothes, evening wear, theatrical costumes, and work-out items such as sweat pants or sweat skirts. Sweatshirts may be worn as long as they are within clothing guidelines. In other words, anything that does not look like school attire should be avoided. We reserve the right to make decisions regarding the appropriateness of an item of clothing.
• No flip flops (leather or plastic) or other footwear that make noticeably loud sounds going in and out of chapel or up and down the halls and/or may look like beachwear.
• Keep in mind that teen-agers have a way of growing out of clothes as they progress through the year and that clothes have a way of shrinking when washed repeatedly. What may pass inspection in the first semester, therefore, may not be acceptable in the second.
• Finally, there is often the problem of things being too tight because they were just washed. We ask that you stretch them out at home first or not wear them at all if they are tight.

^* PE attire: Girls may wear long or short pants for gym. PE shorts must come halfway to the knee and be loose enough to allow free movement. If the shorts have a side slit, it must come only halfway to the knee. This means that shorts with side slits have to be longer. Sleeveless tops as described just above may be worn.