St. Matthew’s School believes that a student’s appearance has an impact on his or her attitude and behavior at school. Our Dress Code/Uniform policy has been established to help create a positive school climate. Students are to abide by this policy in an effort to emphasize standards of neatness in grooming, uniformity in our school’s image, and pride in our school. Parents are requested to cooperate and enforce the school uniform policy. Clothes must always conform to rules of modesty, good taste, and appropriateness.

Parental cooperation is necessary to maintain a uniform dress code. It is the parent’s responsibility to assure the uniform regulations are followed. Class time should not be used to remind and enforce adherence to the dress code.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

              Uniform

• Students are expected to be in UNIFORM at all times beginning the first day of school, unless a special-dress day has been designated (Catholic Schools Week, etc.)
• The uniform shall consist of: An approved shirt, of an approved color, with an approved school logo on upper left side.
• Parent notes WILL NOT excuse appearance/dress code violations.
• Shirts must be tucked in at all times on school premises.
• All clothing will be clean, and in good repair (no holes, tears, frayed edges, or stains).
• Clothing will not be excessively worn, faded or patched.
• Clothing should be appropriate size. While it may seem economical to buy clothes 3 sizes too large, it does not encourage pride in one’s appearance.
• Clothing will fully cover undergarments, and no bare midriffs allowed.
• Jackets are not allowed in the classroom.
• Please remember the school year includes winter, and there are several options for the cold months, including long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts without hoods, and turtlenecks.
• Hats, caps and scarves are only allowed outside school facilities.
• No jeans on Mass days.
• The administration of St. Matthew’s School is the final interpreter of the dress code and will determine violations of the code.

              Grooming

• All students are encouraged to take pride in how they dress by always being neat, clean, and well-groomed.
• Make-up of any kind is not allowed in grades K-5. A modest amount of make-up is permitted in grades 6 - 8. No eye make-up is allowed. Only ears may be pierced.
• No extreme hairstyles or colors are allowed.

ALL CLOTHING MUST BE SIZED PROPERLY TO THE STUDENT!

Students grow throughout the school year, so please check periodically that skirts and shorts are still no more than 3 inches above the knee, and that shirts are still long enough that they will stay tucked in.

Please label all articles of clothing with child’s name, and regularly check the lost and found boxes (upper and lower floors) for missing items. Unclaimed articles are periodically given to the poor.

UNIFORM POLICY GRADES K-8

Shirts:

• Polo Shirts, Turtlenecks, or Mock Turtlenecks with short or long-sleeves
• These solid colors only: red, white, gold, royal blue, or navy
• Must be embroidered or silk-screened on upper left side with a St. Matthew’s School official logo
• Logos may be ONLY one of the 5 shown above – Cross, Church, Basketball, Football, or Volleyball. These are our approved school uniform logos.
• Sweatshirts (without hoods), sweaters (cardigan or crewneck) and fleece vests may be worn over Uniform shirt – these items must have a St. Matthew’s logo, and must be one of the above colors.
• Shirts worn under sweatshirts, sweaters, or vests must be one of the approved uniform shirts.
• A shirt with an approved logo must be worn Monday – Thursday, unless a special dress day is declared.
• Fridays are NOT free dress days, they are Mass days, and students shall wear the uniform or NICER – see below for Mass and Holy day of Obligation dress code.
• Shirts must be tucked in at all times. Shirts need to be long enough to stay tucked in if arms are raised.

Jumpers:

• Jumpers may be worn over an approved shirt, as above.
• Navy or Hunter Plaid only
• Must be embroidered with St. Matthew’s logo.
• Skirt length should not be shorter than three inches above the knee

Pants:

• Pants must be worn around the waist.
• No sweat pants or athletic pants except during gym class.
• Jeans of any kind must not be worn on liturgy days.

Shorts:

• Shorts are allowed from April 1st to November 1st .
• Shorts must be walking shorts with pockets only.
• Hemmed – NO CUTOFFS.
• No shorter than three inches above the knee.
• No gym shorts may be worn except during gym class.

Dresses:

• Skirts and dresses may not be shorter than three inches above the knee.

Mass Days:

• Fridays are Mass days, and dress should be the usual school uniform, OR NICER.
• NO T-shirts, or shirts with graphics or words (such as advertising)
• NO JEANS
• Students will not be allowed to change out of mass clothes after mass, except during P.E. class.
• There are a few other days throughout the year when mass falls on other than a Friday- including: Ash Wednesday, All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and other Holy Days of Obligation. Notification will be given in the White Envelope letter.

Sports Jerseys:

• Students participating in St. Matthew’s team sports (Saints basketball, volleyball, or football) may wear their team jersey over their uniform on game days. A school uniform shirt MUST be worn under the jersey.

LOGOS:

• There are 5 Logos available: Cross, Church, Football, Basketball, and Volleyball (see above)
• Uniform shirts may be purchased anywhere, as long as they are an approved color and style (above)
• Shirts with Logos are available at Land’s End, when ordering from their school uniform catalog.
• Use Preferred School # 9000-9650-4
• Gold Rush in Kalispell has silkscreened shirts with logos, and Master Monograms in Kalispell will embroider logos on shirts purchased anywhere else.

UNIFORM/DRESS CODE VIOLATIONS:

All parts of the dress code/uniform policy are at the discretion of the teachers and principal. If the Dress Code policy is not followed, the following actions will be taken.

• 1ST Infraction: Student will be sent home with a “Uniform Slip” explaining the violation, which is to be signed by the parent and returned to the homeroom teacher the next day. If the slip is not returned, a phone call will be placed to the parent. If warranted, student will be provided with an appropriate school shirt for the day.
• 2ND Infraction: Student will call parent at home or work and ask parent to bring appropriate clothes to school. Student will receive an after school detention (4-8) or loss of recess (K-3)
• 3RD and 4th Infractions: At the discretion of the Principal

              When on field trips, students are representing St. Matthew’s School, and must be in uniform.

Q and A

Q. What Color/Kind of Shirts are allowed?

A. Short and Long-sleeved Polo Shirts, Turtlenecks, and Mock Turtlenecks,

in Red, White, Gold, Royal Blue, and Navy

Q. What are the available Logos?

A. There are Logos with a Cross, or Church, and Sports logos featuring Football, Basketball, and Volleyball

(see above)

Q. But My child plays Soccer/Baseball/Softball/LaCrosse/TiddlyWinks - can I have a logo made for that?

A. The only Sports Logos approved are for sports we offer at St. Matthew's School.

Approved Logos (one of the 5 below) must be worn Monday thru Thursday.

If a custom Logo was added to a polo shirt, it would only be wearable on Fridays.

Q. Fridays are "Free Dress Days, right?"

A. No. Fridays are Mass days - Dress should be school uniforms or NICER -

No T-shirts, no jeans.

Q. Where can I purchase uniforms?

A. You can order items from Land's End, and have them apply the logo, (Preferred School # 9000-9650-4) or you may purchase shirts of the appropriate type/color, and take them to Master Monograms to have the logo applied. Silk-screened logos are available at Gold Rush Shirts.