Common Expectations

School breakfast is available from 7:50 a.m. to 8:10 a.m.  Students on free or reduced lunch get breakfast free. Students can choose to buy a school lunch or bring a sack lunch.  Free or reduced lunch information is available for pick up in the main office or on our website.  Parents can put money into their student’s lunch account (electronically or in person), and even track expenditures on Mealtime On-Line (on the NLMS website).  

What about food deliveries?

Unfortunately, food deliveries from outside companies aren't allowed. If you forgot your lunch, and a family member needs to bring it, no problem. Until then, save your Uber Eats and Door Dash money for after school or the weekends. 

Students will enter the cafeteria and be seated immediately. Adults will dismiss students by table groups to line up for school lunch. If a student has permission to eat in a different location, each student must have a signed pass to leave the cafeteria. Students have free seating but must stay seated at their tables for the first twenty minutes of lunch.  Making a trip to the bathroom or garbage can is permitted.  All food and drink must be eaten in the cafeteria.  Students must leave their lunch table and the area surrounding clean, and throw garbage into the trash even if someone else left it behind! ALL students are equally responsible for leaving a clean table.  Trays should be emptied of garbage and then stacked at the dishwashing window.   

During the last 10 minutes of lunch, students may use the library (with a pass), play games on the stage (when available), be outside in designated areas, or stay at tables in the cafeteria.   When students are outside, they should not go past the yellow lines marking the lunch boundaries.  Except for the library, students may not go into the other buildings during the lunch free time; students should only use the bathrooms near the cafeteria.

Clothing that constitutes a health hazard, is offensive, demeaning, harassing, or abusive to others, relays messages that are contrary to the educational mission of the school, or otherwise disrupts the educational process is not acceptable during the school day or for school-sponsored activities.  The guidelines below will assist you in determining whether or not your manner of dress is in conflict with the educational and developmental goals of the school.  

• Clothing, drawings, tattoos and accessories that display or promote negative messages are not permitted. These could include drug, gang, weapon, alcohol or tobacco-related information, obscenities, put-downs, stereotypes, sexual innuendo, offensive words or graphics.

• Clothing or other personal items that have been recognized by North Lake administration as implying a student’s gang affiliation or gang lifestyle. Additionally, students who identify themselves as gang-affiliated (or who are identified as such by law enforcement officials) may have additional clothing restrictions established by administration. 

• Students must wear clothing that includes both a shirt and pants or a skirt, or the equivalent (for example dresses, leggings, or shorts) and footwear. Tops and bottoms must be worn in a way that both items of clothing are visible at all times. 

  • Clothing will cover the majority of the front and the majority of the back of the torso. This means when the body is standing straight, tops must cover the chest, back and torso from armpit to belly button. Tops must have a strap. 

  • Clothing should not show undergarments (except for bra straps and waistbands).

  • Pants, shorts, dresses, skirts, and other bottoms must be worn in a manner that at no time (including sitting, walking, running, jumping) any part of a student’s buttocks is exposed. 

  • Clothing covering any part of the body from the armpit to below the buttocks  must be opaque (not see through) material.

• Shoes must be worn at all times.

• Sunglasses may not be worn in the buildings.

• Blankets, capes, and costumes are not permitted at school.

• Students may not wear any item that obscures the face (except as a religious observance or health-related masks).

• Hoods will not be worn inside the building due to security concerns in identifying people within our school.

These guidelines are not intended to be an exhaustive list. The North Lake administration retains the right to identify other factors that they deem to be a concern for student safety or an interruption of a positive learning environment.

Students whose appearance is not in line with the dress code will be asked to remedy the situation. Usually, there are three options that can easily address the concern:

• Student(s) will be asked to put on their own alternative clothing, if already available at school, to be dressed more to standard for the remainder of the day.

• Students will be provided with temporary school clothing to be dressed more to standard for the remainder of the day.

• If necessary, the student’s parent(s) may be called during the school day to bring alternative clothing for the student to wear for the remainder of the day.

Final determination of acceptable dress will be made by the school administration.  

[LSSD Policy 5530]