High school students in Guelph, Ont., staged a protest on Friday after their principal said "skanky" over the P.A. system while describing non-appropriate styles of dress.

Scot Bishop, the principal at Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, used the word last week during an address to the school.

He said to "dress cool and not skanky," recalls student and protest organizer Brittany Harlick. She says she was offended by the word because it feeds into a slut-shaming culture.

"I think that sets a platform for students to think that's an OK language to use in a class setting and it’s completely disrespectful to use," she said.

Bishop has since publicly apologized for his comment, but some students say the mea culpa was not enough.

"'To the people who are offended, I'm sorry' -- that's not an apology," student Attscus Edwards said. "He's apologizing for people who are offended, not because he said something that was wrong."

Edwards was among a group of students who attended Friday's protest. As part of the rally, students wore clothing that broke the school's dress code.

Every school in the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) enforces its own rules, and students at Centennial are not allowed to wear clothing items such as spaghetti-strapped tops, muscle shirts, and anything that features inappropriate language.

Edwards wore a muscle tee with the word "SKANKY" scribbled on the front, and the message, "My education is more important than what I wear," on the back.

Bishop did not comment to CTV Kitchener about his message last week to students.

The school board says the principal's choice of words was inappropriate, and a focus group composed of students and parents to explore possibility changing the dress code will be created.

"I think the kids need to have their say," UGDSB spokesperson Maggie McFadzen said. "As long as it's safe, we'll let them have their say."

With a report from CTV Kitchener's Alexandra Pinto