Dear MS/HS Parents and Students,
Now that we are almost a month into the school year, I wanted to remind you about dress code on Chapel days and offer clarification/encourage patience on areas that seem to be most problematic in the dress code.
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RCS MS/HS will require different dress on Chapel days than the rest of the week. Nice pants free from holes or dress shorts (dress shorts having buttons, zippers, pockets and appropriate length). Polo shirts, button down collared shirts and Henley’s may be worn by either boys or girls. Additionally, girls may wear skirts or dresses of appropriate length and appropriate blouses/tops. Jeans (and other Denim items like skirts, dresses and such). camouflage clothing, t-shirts, athletic wear, casual shorts, and other very casual dress items are not permitted on Chapel days. Everything, of course, needs to be of appropriate length and cut.
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With the institution of chapel dress code, it is important that we revisit some areas of dispute and difficulty with the school dress code. Let’s clarify how I (Mr. Fry) will be addressing these areas. This is only addressing the areas of the dress code that seem to be most problematic
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Bare midriff: When standing normally the top must overlap pants or other bottoms by at least 1 inch in order to be in compliance with dress code rules relating to no bare midriff
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Sweats –vs- athletic pants: Tailored athletic pants are permitted on non-chapel days. They have pockets, usually have some decorative tailoring and are “nicer” than sweats. “Sweats” differ in that they are usually gathered with elastic at the ankle, generally made of a fleece-like material, have a drawstring and elastic waist. Sweats are not to be worn except on special dress days. There may be some items that are hard to distinguish which category they fall into. Mr. Fry can approve/disapprove if you come by for a review.
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What are “athletic shorts”? Athletic shorts are not permitted due to several factors. Some of these athletic shorts are easy to identify- Track and basketball shorts are very distinctive. Some non-athletic shorts are obviously meant for casual wear and have functional pockets. There are other shorts that are hard to classify, especially for boys. If you are wearing shorts that are, or could be, part of a RCS sports uniform, you should consider those athletic shorts and refrain from wearing them. If your boxer briefs are hanging/visible below the legs of your shorts, they will likely be considered athletic shorts and subject to discipline.
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Shorts length issues for girls: The 5 inch inseam rule for shorts is rarely an issue with boys, but seems to be perplexing for girls. Compliance with this rule is complicated by different body types, tailoring used in women’s fashion and even the diverse types of materials. As a result, it seems this is one of the most difficult areas to enforce fairly and consistently. In an effort to smooth this out:
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I’d ask parents to be aware of which of the shorts their daughters plan on wearing to school.
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On my part, I’ll try to create consistency by having all HS dress code referrals run by me (Mr. Fry) and work to problem solve each situation fairly. I know getting a dress code referral is frustrating for all students and girls in particular, but if we work together these things can be addressed positively and have reasonable outcomes.
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MS Dress referrals will use the existing system with monitoring from Mr. Fry (which is what I did last year)
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Form fitting leggings/spandex shorts/yoga pants: While these dress items are accepted in more and more community settings these days, they are not permissible at RCS.
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In Christ,
Kevin Fry, Principal