Bella's school has gone insane over uniforms. They have flip-flopped multiple times over logos and styles and some parents who went ahead and ordered based on the initial requirements are ticked. Below are the notices we have received, just regarding sweatshirts (which are fairly inconsequential around here, since they wear them for about two months):
Notice: Regular or zippered sweatshirts are allowed but they cannot have a hood and must have the embroidered school logo.
Notice: Sweatshirts can have a hood but they must not have a zipper and must have the embroidered school logo.
Notice: Only plain sweatshirts without hoods or zippers will be permitted and must have the embroidered school logo.
Notice: Any sweatshirt style will be allowed but it must have the embroidered school logo.
And finally, coming in AFTER the uniform session at the school where many people purchased an official sweatshirt bearing the embroidered school logo:
Notice: The embroidered logo sweatshirts will only be allowed for 09/10 school year. After that all sweatshirts must have the silk-screened school logo. Anyone not wearing this style after the 09/10 school year will be considered out of uniform.
I'm not kidding! I am thinking about starting a polite stink about the uniform situation. You are only allowed to purchase uniforms from one source, and they do not have a store in town. You have to drive an hour into Alabama to purchase uniforms (it's 47 miles away from my house - I just checked), or pay a shipping rate that starts at $12 and goes up from there. And the real kick in the teeth comes when you realize that the jumper you are driving an hour to buy (or paying $12 to ship) costs $34.95 at the shop the school uses, but you can buy it on frenchtoast.com for $14.95. Seriously. But you are not allowed to purchase it from french toast - all over the uniform page it is specified that uniforms MUST be purchased at the specific retailer. I wonder if they go around checking tags during the school year, to make certain. Surely not.
I understand the logo issue, make me buy anything with a logo from the 'local' store, but jumpers and shorts and pants? Let me get them for more than half off somewhere else. At least give us one other option. It's hard enough to come up with tuition, much less driving for an hour to buy overpriced uniform pieces. I understand the point of uniforms is to be, well, uniform, but adding one more option that is more affordable and is selling the exact same items...I don't see what the problem is.
However, I am not good at starting a stink. I am too afraid of offending, and the parish priest and the sisters running the school have too much to worry about without me getting up in their business about uniforms. I don't want to start an offensive stink, understand, but I would like for them to honestly consider the idea. I think I'm going to check out the other Catholic schools in the area and see what they do, and then talk to a few parents to see if they agree with me, and then come up with some facts and a thoughtfully worded presentation. It might all come to nothing, but it's worth a try. Look out - woman on a mission!
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3 comments:
Val's gonna poke the meatloaf!
Those uniform notices are nuts!
And is your uniform store in Foley? I think they might be the same company where we get our uniforms.
As far as our uniforms go, we have to get the jumper and pants from the uniform store, but anything else can come from another source as long as it looks the same (like peter pan collars) or has the embroidered logo.
We do have to get our gym uniforms from the uniform store, but that's because we can't find them anywhere else.
I def. would say something, but I don't think that could be considered "raising a stink" -- not yet. Just calmly take in all the notices, explain how this is creating confusion, and how parents are losing money because of what looks like pure disorganization.
Do you have a Home/School Assn, or a PTA, or a school board? Maybe you can bring it up there and just tell them you'd like clarification so that you can save time and money. There's nothing unreasonable about that.
If that doesn't work, and they can't make a clear decision, then it's time to raise a stink ;)
Happy weekend!
I am on the other end.
I am not good at checking uniforms or noticing infractions.
You could have a mohawk and black nail polish on in my class, and I would need a few minutes to notice it.
But if you didn't do your homework?
You're toast.
(Kidding)
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