Dress Code

Standard Dress Code Requirements

We request that families partner with Maranatha to help nurture and develop a heart of honoring God in all ways, including our dress. The following are general appearance guidelines. Staff and administration reserve the right to determine if a student is within dress code standards. If a student’s dress is determined to be out of compliance, the student may be sent home and required to change.

Students must be in compliance with the Standard of Dress described below from when the school day begins to the end of the school day unless the administration approves special dress or out of dress code days.

Modesty Requirements: 

Modesty is expected at all times at any school event or function, including retreats, co/extra-curricular activities, and dress theme days, as follows:

  • All clothing must be properly sized, modest, and unrevealing in cut, fit, and texture.
  • Clothing should completely cover undergarments and necessary parts of the body at all times, including while sitting, standing, and bending over.
  • Clothing and appearance should not draw undue attention or be worn too tight.
  • No spaghetti strap tank tops, camisoles, shirts that reveal midriff or allow cleavage to show, or tops with lace, scallops, or ruffled edges.
  • No short shorts, mini-skirts, jumpers, dresses that are shorter than 4” from the knee or ill-fitting skirts or dresses.
  • No leggings, yoga pants, or pajama pants are acceptable.

Please review the following sections or refer to this downloadable visual dress code guide.

Branding Wearhouse website

General Grooming/Appearance

Tattoos:

  • Visible tattoos are not allowed for students under 18 (this includes temporary tattoos).
  • In accordance with Minnesota state law, students 18 and older may have visible tattoos that must be tasteful and reflect Maranatha’s mission, values, and honor code. Tattoos that are in violation or that show blood, weaponry, or violence must be covered.

Piercings:

  • Pierced ears are permitted for girls of any age.
  • High school girls may wear a single, modest nose stud.
  • High school boys may wear a single, solid-colored stud in each ear. No spikes, hoops, or designs are permitted.
  • No other body piercings are allowed.

Hair:

  • No unnaturally colored hair (e.g., blue, pink, purple, etc.) or extreme hairstyles.
  • Girls: no distracting hair accessories (e.g., animal ears, pom poms, etc.).
  • Boys: Hair must be neatly kept; hair accessories are not acceptable.
  • Boys: Neatly trimmed facial hair is allowed.

Make-up:

  • Girls in lower school are not permitted to wear make-up at school or on field trips. This includes tinted lip balm or lip balm with glitter.
  • Boys may not wear make-up.
  • No face paint is allowed.

Nail Polish:

  • Boys may not wear nail polish.
M-Th Dress Code Tops

Dress Code Approved Apparel (M-Th):

All tops must comply with the modesty guidelines and can include:

MCA Branded Tops, T-shirts, and Sweatshirts:

  • MCA branded clothing, which can be found on the Dress Code tab of the Branding Wearhouse website. Additional MCA Branded clothing can be found on the Mustangs Athletic website (Please note, not all apparel on the athletic site is approved for M-Th Dress Code).
    • Non-MCA branded club, athletic, and co-op apparel are restricted to Spirit Wear Friday as indicated on the  Branding Wearhouse website. 

 

Non-MCA Tops:

  • Non-MCA branded dress code shirts must be collared polos or dress shirts in a solid color.
  • Sport coats, blazers, sweaters, cardigans, and sweatshirts in a solid color are permitted, and must have a dress-code approved top underneath according to modesty guidelines. Tops may not be altered, have spaghetti straps, show midriff, or cleavage. 
  • Non-MCA branded dress code tops containing brand logos (e.g. Nike) are limited to logos that are smaller than 2".

   

 

M-Th Dress Code Bottoms (Pants, Dresses, Skirts)

Dress code Approved Styles (M-Th):

  • Pants/shorts: solid navy blue, black, khaki/tan, maroon, forest green, or grey.
  • Skirts/dresses: all solid colors (except neon)
  • Solid-colored cotton, twill, chino, corduroy, cargo, or dress pants. No yoga pants, leggings, jeggings, "skinny pants," or form-fitting joggers of any style or material may be worn. 
  • Denim material in approved colors above only (no blue jean denim M-Th).
  • Solid-colored full, A-line, straight, or pleated skirt, T-shirt dress, sweater dress, polo dress are allowed in solid colors. Solid-colored biker shorts or leggings must be worn under for recess modesty. Biker shorts or leggings alone may not be worn.

 

Spirit Wear Fridays

Students are allowed (not required) to participate in Spirit Wear Fridays. If students choose not to participate, they are expected to be in M-Th Dress Code.

Acceptable tops: 

  • Any specific MCA club, activity, or athletic team tops (co-op sports included).
  • MCA top, with graphics, must be visible throughout the school day.
  • Spirit wear must not be altered from the original design (ex., neckline, sleeves cut, or homemade). 
  • Students in the Bethel Associate of Arts degree program can wear unaltered Bethel wear on Spirit Wear Fridays. 

Acceptable bottoms:

  • Blue jeans (no holes or frayed edges).
  • Solid colored sweatpants or athletics pants.
  • Shorts (must be 4" above the knee or longer).
  • No out-of-dress code pants without a visible MCA top.

 

College Wear (Grades 5-12)

The first Wednesday of each month, students in grades 5-12 are encouraged to wear spirit wear tops from their potential, committed, or current college.

Guidelines include:

  • Students in the Associate of Arts degree program may wear Bethel spirit-wear tops on this first Wednesday of each month or Spirit Wear Fridays. 
  • Seniors may wear their committed college’s spirit wear tops on the first Wednesday of each month and Spirit-wear Friday’s only.
  • Standard dress code bottoms must be worn on college wear days. 
  • Tops must be unaltered from the original purchased state.

 

Dress Code Restrictions

Tops:

  • No tops with prints, patterns, neon, stripes, slogans, graphics, patches, embellishments.
  • No spaghetti strap tank tops, camisoles, shirts that reveal midriff or allow cleavage to show, or tops with lace, scallops, or ruffled edges.
  • Hoods may not be worn during the school day.
  • No athletic jerseys allowed to be worn during the school day per the athletic department.

Bottoms:

  • No pajama pants, loungewear, athletic shorts/pants/warmups, yoga pants, leggings, sweatpants, or biker shorts (unless worn under a skirt or dress).
  • No short shorts, mini-skirts, jumpers, dresses that are shorter than 4” from the knee or ill-fitting skirts or dresses.
  • No blue-jean denim on M-Th.
  • No velvet, velour, or spandex fabrics.
  • No clothing with tears, rips, holes, freys, or unsewn hemlines.

Coats:

  • No overcoats, windbreakers, or any other winter jackets are to be worn during the school day unless it is a MCA branded windbreaker.

Shoe:

  • No HEELYs with the wheel still attached.
  • No shoelace holes without laces in them.
  • No heels or platforms over 2".
  • No slippers, athletic slides, or flip-flop sandals.
  • No winter boots worn during the school day (Ugg style boots are acceptable).
  • PK - Grade 3: sneakers only for safety.
Accessories: 
  • No hats, caps, durags, wave caps, hair coverings, scarves, sunglasses, gloves, or athletic sleeves worn during the school day.
  • Ties (boys only), belts, and socks may be worn in any color and pattern (as long as not distracting or inappropriate).
  • Girls: no distracting hair accessories (e.g., animal ears, pom poms, etc.).
  • No face paint.
  • Socks, clothing, and accessories must not contain expressions, sayings, or slogans that do not align with a Biblical Worldview.
Branding Guidelines for Club Apparel

Club apparel (ex. robotics, black history month, student council, NHS etc.) and special theme shirts (ex. Spring splash, homecoming etc.) may be designed by student-run groups. All designs must be approved by the Advancement Department.

The following guidelines apply:

  • Apparel that follows MCA branding guidelines may be worn Monday-Friday.
  • Apparel that does not follow MCA branding guidelines is allowed but will be limited to Spirit wear Fridays only.

MCA Branding Guidelines for M-Th approved Dress Code

Colors: Shirt/Sweatshirt colors (must be solid colors)

Logos may be included in our standard colors (contact the marketing department for official logo files). Designs that do not include an official logo mark should include our school name.

All other club designs that would like to follow a color scheme that is not part of our branding guidelines above are acceptable but are limited to Spirit Wear Fridays.

 

Out-of-Dress Code Days

When the dress code is suspended or adjusted for field trips or special school theme days, the school expects students to dress modestly and within the parameters of the aforementioned school's personal appearance guidelines. 

  • Leggings and yoga pants cannot be worn even with a tunic-length top
  • Pajama pants are not part of out-of-dress code days unless specified as a specific pajama dress-up day
  • Hats and hoods from sweatshirts are not permitted unless specifically announced by the administration. The only exception to this is on special dress theme days, a hat that is part of the themed outfit is allowed (ex. if the theme day is pink, a student may wear a pink hat)