Uniform Expectations

Thank you for your support

We have noticed a huge improvement in uniform over the last few weeks and wanted to thank the community for their support. We do sometimes receive feedback about our focus on the uniform and want to reassure our families that our care for students is paramount and our care for their learning growth is our focus. We can and do hold that as a focus at the same time as upholding the high expectations for uniform that our community expects from us.

During term 1, members of our leadership team will be wearing full school uniform to demonstrate symbolic leadership and as an empathetic exercise to deepen our understanding of the student experience. We will be sharing some key reflections from these experiences over the next few newsletters.

Kerren Diamond- Assistant Principal

I haven’t worn full school uniform since I was a high school student in the 90s. I attended a Catholic girl's school and was required to wear a dress in summer with a green blazer and in winter a shirt, tie, and skirt. I would have liked more options, like shorts and pants, but unfortunately gender-neutral uniforms were not going to be on the radar for many years to come! 

Because of this, I was keen to try the school shirt and shorts on my first day. I feel proud that our school provides more options than I had experienced at my own school. My uniform choice opened lots of great discussions with students, we agreed that it was nice not to think about what to wear and I shared that both the uniform and my office clothes are not as comfortable as what I wore during remote learning! Some of the students commented that the summer dress was a bit itchy, so I tried this the next day. I did not find it itchy but it was warmer than I expected and I would want to wear the shirt and shorts or skirt on a very warm day. 

Allira Scott- Assistant Principal

I went to a school that didn’t have a uniform and though you might not believe me, I really wished it did! I personally found having to pick clothes out to wear each day a chore, and a time consuming one at that. Anything that cut time out of my morning routine and allowed me more time to stay warm and toasty in bed was welcomed. 

I like that at Northcote our uniform shows that we are a community and it's an equal opportunity for everyone. I wore the new school dress and found it quite comfortable, however it is thick and could get warm on a hot day. I spent a lot of time getting the stitches out of the bottom of the dress, so a big thank you to all the parents that put in those hard yards when first purchasing this item. One of my favourite things about the dress was that it had a pocket! 

I wore the sports uniform on another day, and it sure was cosy. It was a warm day and I appreciated being able to run around in some comfortable activewear. Had my all-black runners ready for the occasion. I did have a sports top at school we wore for PE, and the NHS one is much cooler and breathable for sports. 

I can also now officially confirm that wearing uniform does cut down the morning routine, though I do get up a bit earlier now!