Dress Code

DRESS CODE FOR THE 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR

Serra Catholic’s philosophy of dress code is that a student’s appearance should reflect his/her attitude and professionalism. Therefore, even on “dress down days,” students are expected to dress neatly and in good taste. Furthermore, excessively baggy/oversized clothing, "gothic" style dress/accessories are never appropriate, subject to administrative discretion.

Pants:

Khaki or Navy Docker style or dress pants, purchased at a store of your choice. For new students, black pants are no longer part of the dress code. Please note all pants must have back pockets, with a recommendation of no patch pockets, and belt loops. Skinny pants, jeggings, yoga pants, joggers and cargo pants are not approved uniform pants.

Shirts:

Must be the approved red, white or blue Serra polo with the SC on the left chest. There is both the short sleeve and long sleeve option for the polos. NO OTHER SERRA POLO MAY BE WORN. A plain white t-shirt may be worn under the polo. No other t-shirt will be acceptable, including camisoles and long-sleeve shirts. During colder weather, a student may wear the approved Serra men’s sweater (black, V-neck), women’s sweater (black, button-down), or women’s cardigan (black, button down). In addition, students may wear the maroon Serra sweatshirt with “SC” on the left chest. Polos must be worn under both sweater and cardigan styles with the polo collar showing. Polos are not required under the sweatshirt. If your child is wearing any other sweatshirt, hooded sweatshirt, fleece sweater, scarf, any other sweaters, etc., that article of clothing will be confiscated and students will be charged a $1 charity fee in order to pick it up. We highly recommend the purchase of a sweatshirt because the temperature of each classroom can vary. You may order polos/sweaters/sweatshirts through Serra during the school year. Order forms may be found on our website under the Campus Life tab then clicking the Forms option

Belts:

The uniform polo must be tucked in at all times and a solid brown or black belt must be worn. The only acceptable style of belt are those that buckle, therefore no students should have a belt that ties. When ordering polos through Serra, a tall size may be ordered to ensure students can tuck in their shirts at all times.

Shoes:

Students are permitted to wear solid brown, black, white, grey, or navy blue dress shoes only. No tennis shoes or high top shoes are permitted (ex. Nike, Reebok, Under Armor, Puma, Adidas, Lacoste, Kswiss, Converse, etc). If you have purchased Sperry shoes they must be a solid color with no leopard, cheetah print, plaid, or sparkles as they are not acceptable. Shoes must also cover a student’s entire foot, they must have backs on them, and they must be completely tied if they contain laces. At no time (including dress down days) are students permitted to wear slippers, sandals, flip-flops or clogs to school. For the winter months, students may wear Ugg or Timberland-style boots as long as they are solid black or brown with uniform pants not tucked into them. Finally, shoes should not have inappropriate markings or logos on them.

Appearance:

• Piercings: Only ear piercings are permitted – not to exceed three per ear. Flesh tunnels, barbells and gauges are prohibited. Visible piercings, other than the ear, are strictly forbidden. If a student comes to school with any piercing that violates the dress code, they will be asked to remove it.
• Tattoos: Visible tattoos are not permitted. Students who have visible tattoos will be required to have them covered during school hours.
• Makeup: If girls opt to wear makeup it must be natural looking.

Hair:

Hair may not be dyed unnatural colors and extreme hairstyles, such as Mohawks, fauxhawks, and cut-in logos, are not permitted. Hairstyles of male students must be cut above the collar, eyebrows and ears. Pony tails, or other hair accessories, for any male student are prohibited including man buns. Additionally, students are NOT permitted to have facial hair, mustaches, or mutton chops. Male students should be cleanly shaven every day and sideburns can be no longer than the ear. Lastly, students must take off hats and put down hoods once they enter the building. Students are NEVER permitted to wear hats or have their hoods up, even on dress down days. Female students are able to wear plain headbands but bandanas and overly decorative headbands are not permitted to be worn by any student.

Dress Down Days:

During Dress down days, students are still expected to dress neatly and appropriately. All shirts must be at a length in which they can be tucked in so midriffs are fully covered at all times. Crop tops, sleeveless shirts, tank tops, cold shoulder shirts, and rompers are prohibited. Shirts cannot be sheer, see through, skin tight, revealing, or contain any inappropriate graphics. For girls, shirts must have a neckline that should come no lower than the collarbone and cleavage must not be visible at any time. Students may wear jeans as long as they are not skin tight, ripped, or “skinny”. Yoga pants, jeggings, leggings, or shorts (under administrative approval) are not permitted. Pants should not contain any inappropriate graphics or logos (juicy, angel, or pink logos across back end). Dresses and skirts are prohibited except under Administration approval. If a skirt or dress is worn, under administrative approval, slits must not terminate any shorter than an inch above the knee. Any shoe is allowed as long as they adhere to the rules stated above under the shoe section.

Summer Dress Code:

Under the discretion of administration, students are able to wear Navy Blue or Khaki Bermuda length shorts. Boys are permitted to wear cargo shorts as long as they are the appropriate color. Short shorts, denim, athletic shorts, or yoga pants are NOT permitted. Polos must still be worn with an optional plain white t-shirt underneath. Students are able to wear “summer shoes” including tennis shoes as long as they cover a student’s entire foot, and have backs on them. At no time are students permitted to wear slippers, sandals, flip-flops, clogs, or open toed shoes to school. Shoes must also be tied if they contain laces and should not have inappropriate markings or logos on them. Students are not to start school in August wearing Summer Dress code, unless administration authorizes it.

Dress Up Days:

During Dress Up days (Picture day, Honor’s night, Homecoming/Prom court pictures...etc) students are still expected to dress neatly and appropriately. Students are encouraged to wear dress pants along with a nice shirt or blouse.

SHIRTS:

All shirts must be at a length in which they can be tucked in so midriffs are fully covered at all times. Shirts must also have sleeves. Spaghetti Straps, thin straps, cold shoulder shirts, or tank tops are prohibited. Shirts cannot be sheer, see through, skin tight, revealing, or contain any inappropriate graphics. For girls, shirts must have a neckline that should come no lower than the collarbone and cleavage must not be visible at any time. Boys are encouraged, but not required, to wear a tie.

PANTS:

Students may NOT wear jeans or other pants that are skin tight, ripped, or “skinny”. Yoga pants, jeggings, cargo pants, or leggings are NEVER permitted. Shorts are also prohibited, unless we are under summer dress code, or have administrative approval.

DRESSES/SKIRTS:

If girls opt to wear a dress, these should be no shorter than an inch above the knee. Dresses must not be skin tight, sheer, sleeveless, ripped, contain cut-outs, or are revealing in any way. The only permissible skirt that ladies can wear are maxi skirts as long as they are not form fitting. All other skirts are PROHIBITED! If a skirt or dress is worn, slits must not terminate any shorter than an inch above the knee.

Physical Education Attire

All students must dress in appropriate physical education attire:

1. T-shirt, sweatshirt, hooded sweatshirt, wind-suit jacket

2. Athletic shorts, sweat pants, windsuit pants

3. Athletic shoes, tennis shoes, basketball shoes, etc.

Violation of the Dress Code Procedure

Students in violation of the dress code will be subject to the following:

1. The office will provide clothing to the extent possible. Item must be clean and returned the next school day. After two school days $1.00 per day will be charged.

2. The parent/guardian will be contacted to provide clothing within the dress code.

3. If the office cannot provide clothing to the necessary extent, and the parent cannot be reached, the student will serve time after school in detention.

4. If students are in violation of the dress code during dress down days they may lose their privileges for future dress down days.

Demerits

This list serves as a general guideline, final determination of demerits will be at the discretion of the Administration:

1. First offense violation of the dress code will usually result in a warning.

2. Second and third offense violations will result in 1-3 demerits. The number of demerits will be based on the type of violation and the number of repeat offenses.

3. Once a student incurs three demerits, an hour of detention will be scheduled.

PARENTS/GUARDIANS are asked for their support of the dress code by checking to see that their son/daughter is properly

dressed for school.