The school expects students to maintain a neat and well-groomed appearance and to dress modestly and appropriately. The lines between recreational and school wear have blurred in recent years, and the faculty and staff believes that it may be helpful to parents and students to clarify what is meant by modest and appropriate school clothing.
As faculty members, we have observed that the way students dress affects their demeanor and attitude towards their work. In order to help provide a healthy sense of order and form for the students, while at the same time allowing for comfort and safety in active work and play, we have outlined the dress code below. The Waldorf School of Garden City expects parents to support the dress code and to see that students are dressed appropriately when they come to school.
Preschool children participate in an active play environment and should wear comfortable, warm and appropriately sized clothing without complicated fastenings. They may wear play clothes. Jeans and sweatshirts are acceptable, but clothing with media images or slogans should be avoided, as it can become a distraction. Shoes without Velcro fastenings are preferred. Preschool children should not wear jewelry to school.
- Shirts with collars are required and must be tucked in.
- Boys’ pants must be cinched at the waist.
- On all-school assembly days, boys must wear jackets and ties in accordance with the dress code.
- Tops should have collars or necklines that are not low cut. T-shirts, tank tops, spaghetti straps and tube tops are unacceptable. Shirts should be long enough to be tucked in. Those with tails must be tucked in.
- Skirts must be at or near the middle of the knee in length and may not be tight fitting.
- On all-school assembly days, girls must wear dresses or skirts in accordance with the dress code.
- Pants: Khakis, chinos, corduroys or dress slacks are recommended. They must fit at the waist and should not drag on the ground.
- Cargo pants, denim jeans of any shade of blue, sweat pants, pants that convert to shorts, leggings and lycra pants, torn or frayed slacks.
- Shirts with advertising, logos, writing or media-inspired characters.
- Athletic wear (except for gym class), sweatshirts, hooded sweatshirts or hooded jackets, clothing intended to be worn outdoors such as sunglasses, hats, and caps.
- Any shade blue denim attire (pants, skirts, jackets), camouflage or fatigue-style clothing.
- Jellies, flip-flops, platform sneakers, and high heels. Shoes must allow students to move and play safely. In grades 1-5, shoes should be comfortable and closed in the back. All gym sneakers must have laces.
- Make-up, nail polish, tattoos or hair color.
- Long dangling earrings or pierced body parts other than ears. Boys cannot wear earrings.
- Students in grades 1-3 may wear shorts, but not athletic shorts or ones which are torn or frayed.
- In warm weather, students in grades 4-8 may bring a pair of dress shorts with them to school. If the teachers feel that the temperature demands it, students may change after main lesson. Shorts should be dress shorts, not athletic wear (no nylon, spandex or shorts with sport stripes). The length of shorts must be near the knee. No denims or cut-offs.
Decisions regarding dress code will be made by the class teachers with a concerted effort to be consistent and fair. Inappropriately dressed students will not be allowed to participate in school activities until they have changed. Students prone to dress code infractions should keep an appropriate change of clothing at school. If this is not available, parents will be called to provide suitable clothing for the student. Three dress code infractions will result in a meeting with the student and parents to determine the consequences.
The school expects students to maintain a neat and well-groomed appearance and to dress modestly and appropriately. The lines between recreational and school wear have blurred in recent years and we feel it may be helpful to clarify what we mean by modest and appropriate school clothing. We have observed that the way students dress affects their demeanor and attitude toward their work. The aim of the dress code is to remove the focus on fashion and clothing and to redirect our students’ attention to their studies and activities in school. We expect parents to support the dress code and to see that students are dressed appropriately before leaving home. The faculty reserves the right to determine whether an article of clothing is appropriate or not.
In general, clothing must not:
- Be torn, cut, faded, patched or frayed.
- Have writing and/or pictures (no logos, slogans or advertisements). Clothing that carries a small logo may be worn if it can be covered by the student’s fist.
- Be see-through.
- Be over-sized.
- Midriff area of torso may never be exposed.
- Pants may not ride below the hip bone.
- No underwear may be visible under any circumstance.
- No rings or studs on any facial features (excluding ears).
- Head coverings may not be worn, except for religious reasons. No hair picks, sweat bands or hoods may be worn.
- Only H.S. students may use hair dye, but unnatural colors (green, blue, purple, etc.) are not acceptable.
- Athletic clothing (sweatpants, leggings, stretch pants, windbreaker pants, nylon pants, swimsuits, etc.) except in gym classes.
- Items intended to be worn outdoors, such as sunglasses, hats, caps, jackets, hooded jackets, and coats.
- Denim pants, skirts and jackets of any shade of blue.
- cargo pants and pants with excess laces and/or zippers.
- Camouflage-type clothing and army fatigues.
- High top athletic shoes.
- Rubber beach-style flip-flops.
- Shorts may not be worn unless express permission is given in writing by the High School Office. When temperatures over 90 degrees are predicted, students may bring a pair of dress shorts to school. Students may change into shorts once written permission is posted. Shorts should be dress shorts, not athletic wear (no nylon, spandex, or shorts with sport stripes). The length of shorts must be near the knee. No blue denim or cut-offs.
- All shirts with rounded tails must be tucked in. Squared-off shirt bottoms may be worn out.
- Short-sleeve and long-sleeve T-shirts are unacceptable.
- Hair that is long enough to be tied back must be so.
- Shirts and pants must be tailored to size of the individual. Excessively large, wide and long garments are unacceptable.
- Pants may not ride below the hip bone.
- Shirts with buttons must be buttoned.
- On all-school assembly days, boys must wear jackets and ties.
- Girls’ skirts must be no higher than three inches above the knee and all clothing must cover the navel as well.
- Skin-tight clothing may not be worn.
- Midriff area of torso may never be exposed.
- All sleeveless shirts and blouses must completely cover undergarments.
- Tank tops, spaghetti-straps and tube-tops may not be worn.
- On all-school assembly days, girls must wear dresses or skirts.
Students will have to correct infractions of the dress code immediately. If a student does not have an appropriate change of clothing, he or she will be provided with clothing from the high school wardrobe. Students will receive an infraction slip for each violation of the dress code. If a student receives three infraction slips, he or she must serve detention and his or her parents will be notified. Decisions regarding the dress code will be made by high school faculty members.