The Board of Education has instituted changes to HCS Dress Code and Extracurricular Participation policies. The revisions are linked below.

Each student and their parents or guardian should be familiar with these changes.

DRESS CODE FOR 2004

The current Dress Code for the district has undergone examination by staff, students and Board of Education members. The Code has not had major revisions however; examples have been added to assist students and families in determining what is meant by acceptable school dress. The new Code also addresses the concern that the expectations should be consistent across the district. Administration would like to emphasize that common sense will prevail in making determinations as to the enforcement of the Code. Any questions or need for clarification may be directed to building administrators.

High School- Mrs. Mahoney 564-7910

Kenney Middle School- Ms. Milcetic 564-7955

Fairley Elementary- Mrs. Schoonmaker 564-7945

DRESS

The general guide to acceptable school dress is neatness, cleanliness and appropriateness. There is a connection between the way a student is dressed and his/her behavior in school. While the school cannot and does not dictate styles, it is expected that students will dress as though this were their daily place of business. Health regulations require shoes to be worn in school. In addition, people may not wear any clothing and/or accessories in school buildings that are:

hazardous, damaging, or presenting danger to school property or persons including but not limited to: choke chains, dog collars, wallet chains or any type of spiked apparel or jewelry;
depicting and/or promoting and/or endorsing illegal or violent activities, illegal drugs, tobacco or alcohol;
vulgar, obscene, indecent, libelous, or degrading of others on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or disability; and/ or
distracting so as to interfere with the teaching or learning process such as extremely revealing garments including but not limited to: short shorts, short skirts, short dresses, tube tops, net tops, halter tops, muscle shirts, plunging front or back necklines, transparent and see-through garments; (midsections must be covered and undergarments shall be completely covered with outer clothing).

Hats or other head coverings and coats are to be stored in lockers and should not be worn during the school day.

Common sense and appropriateness shall always prevail.

If proper attire is not available, students will make a phone call to a parent/guardian to retrieve appropriate attire. People failing to follow these guidelines will be directed to the principal and might be treated as insubordinate.

PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS

The Board of Education recently passed a policy that governs students’ participation in extra-curricular activities at the Middle School and the High School. Please see the excerpts below:

PHILOSOPHY

Extracurricular programs are available to augment the total education a student receives while attending school. The Board of Education wishes to promote students’ participation and attendance in extracurricular activities while emphasizing the need for good daily attendance, academic effort, and appropriate behavior.

ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION

This procedure pertains to all extracurricular activities such as athletics, student council, clubs, etc. If a teacher believes that a student should be ineligible because of poor attendance, lack of effort or inappropriate behavior he/she will inform the parents of the concern and the possibility that unless improvement is seen, a review could occur that might result in ineligibility. If the concerns continue the teacher should notify the appropriate advisor/coach, who will discuss the concern and possible remediation with the student and the referring teacher. The student will be on two-week probation. If no improvement is forthcoming by the end of the two-week period, the student appears before a Board of Review that may or may not make him/her ineligible. The Board of Review will consist of a building administrator or designee, the teacher making the complaint, and the advisor/coach. The Review Board will decide if the student will be ineligible and for how long. If consensus is not achieved, the building administrator will make the final decision. The intent is not to punish students but to identify the problem behaviors and assist students in making the necessary improvements so participation can continue.

ELIGIBILITY FOR ATTENDANCE AT AN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY AS A SPECTATOR

Extracurricular events include but are not limited to dances, concerts, plays, and athletic contests.

Ø Students, who are not in attendance at school on the day of an extracurricular event, are not allowed to participate in or attend that event.

Ø Students, who have been referred for attendance concerns will be notified through a letter to their parents that they are barred from attendance at extracurricular activities until their attendance patterns improve to a satisfactory level.

Ø Students who have been assigned one or more Out-Of-School Suspensions and/or three or more In-School-Suspensions will not attend extracurricular activities for the five-week period following the offenses.

In the case of gross misconduct, principals may make a student ineligible at their discretion.

A building administrator may allow exceptions if extenuating circumstances exist.