Dress Code

Early Childhood

Clothes need to be the appropriate size, neither too big nor too small.
Clothes can be made of natural fibres like cotton and wool. These fibres prevent sweating and provide warmth in winter.
Please choose clothes without pictures, logos or words; black is inappropriate for this age. Tank tops and spaghetti straps are not appropriate for school.
Avoid nail polish, hair dye, make-up and tattoos. These products can be toxic and are a form of adornment better suited to a later age.
For fall and spring provide a sun hat, rain pants, coat and hat and rubber boots (on colder days, with woollen socks). A long-sleeved shirt with a short-sleeved shirt underneath is essential on those cool fall and spring mornings.

In winter, children need:

long underwear;
a woollen sweater or vest;
a snow suit – (check for length when child bends over);
winter boots – (removable liners for easy drying);
a hat;
mittens or gloves;
a scarf or neck warmer; and
two pair of socks when it is very cold

A rule of thumb is two layers below the belt and three layers above. Layering allows us to take some clothing off as needed. Check that boots allow your child to move freely.

Avoid watches and jewellery.
Indoor shoes should have an enclosed heel and a waterproof sole. Avoid shoes with gimmicks like wheels, flashing lights etc. In kindergarten, shoes that lace up rather than fasten with Velcro are preferred.

Lower School

The TWS lower school dress code encourages clothing choices that create a focused, safe and supportive learning environment while at the same time respecting each family’s freedom to choose clothing according to their unique tastes, cultures and values. Exceptions to the dress code can be made for health, cultural or religious reasons by speaking directly with your child(ren)’s class teacher.

We ask:

1. That all children have safe freedom of movement

● Children must be dressed in a way that allows them to move and play with ease and comfort

● Excessively baggy, tight, long-hemmed or short-hemmed clothing should be avoided to allow for safety, freedom and comfort even when climbing, running and jumping rope

● Jewelry and accessories are reasonably simple and light to allow for safety, even while climbing, running and jumping rope

● Outdoor and indoor shoes should be safe, supportive and suitable for the weather (no flip flops)

2. That all children are dressed so that they are safe and healthy in every kind of weather

● Spring/Summer Requirements and Restrictions

– Sunhats

– Layers are encouraged so that children may remove and put on clothing according to outside temperatures

– Shoes are supportive and weather appropriate

– In warmer weather sandals that are secured around the ankle are permissible

– Avoid Tube tops, crop tops & spaghetti straps (see freedom of movement)

● Autumn/Winter Requirements and Restrictions

– Warm winter hats that cover the ears

– Warm gloves, socks, neck warmers/scarves and warm layers

– Snowsuit and snowboots

– Rainsuit including rainpants, rainhat, raincoat and rainboots

3. That each child’s clothing choices support a simple and focused learning environment

● Avoid clothing, accessories and scents that are overly distracting to the eye or senses

● Avoid logos, animated characters, pictures and “day glow” (neon) colours

● Avoid ripped, torn or frayed clothing

● Hair should be worn off of the face to allow clear vision

● Subtle/natural makeup and nail polish is permissible only from grade 7 onwards

Class teachers are the only members of faculty who are to speak to the children in their specific class about the dress code. All teachers will help in the monitoring of adherence to the dress code.

If a class teacher finds that a child in their class is not dressed in alignment with the above dress code, that teacher will take the following actions:

· In Grades 5 – 8 students not adhering to the dress code will be required to wear their own or a supplied gym shirt or a compliant shirt from their extra clothing bag.

· In Grades 1-4 children will be required to wear a dress code compliant shirt from their extra clothing bag and the parents will be notified by the class teacher.

It is expected that the student will wear appropriate clothing the next day.

Please Note:

Class or Specialty teachers may ask that children wear specific clothing for field trips, festivals, recitals, assemblies and/or class plays.

High School

Proper school attire promotes self-respect and a positive school attitude. Students should wear clothing that is clean, neat, modest and suitable for the activity and the season. Because clothing is part of the school environment, we expect our dress code to contribute to an ambience conducive to learning.

The following conditions are essential clothing requirements at Toronto Waldorf in the High School:

In the interest of students’ safety shoes must be worn at all times, flip-flops are not allowed. Some activities require specific foot-wear that will be determined by the teacher.
Hats and other head-coverings, including girl’s head-scarves, may not be worn in class except for religious reasons.
Sun-glasses may not be worn indoors.
Shirts must fully cover the cleavage, kidneys and midriff area; T-shirts with spaghetti straps and bare shoulders must be covered; underwear should not be visible
Shorts and skirts must be no shorter than mid-thigh length. No inappropriate slogans or images may be worn on clothes at school. Ripped, torn or dirty clothing may not be worn at school
On some occasions in the school calendar, such as performance evenings and festivals, students may be required to wear more formal clothing such as dark pants or skirts an black shirts (often referred to as “dress blacks”).
Students are required to change into a gym uniform for physical education classes, for hygienic reasons and to allow safe and full movement in all activities. The uniform consists of the TWS school shirt, TWS school shorts or appropriate athletic pants (no zippers, pockets or belts that can be caught in equipment) and athletic shoes with non-marking soles.

In addition to these essential requirements, the faculty reserves the right to decide whether dress or appearance support the high school dress code. Students may be asked to change into their gym uniform if dress attire is deemed inappropriate, or parents may be called to supply other clothes.

Please refer to our current Highschool Handbook for more on the dresscode.