WELLNESS

WELLNESS

po8510Adopted November 2, 2009Revised January 22, 2018

8510 - WELLNESS

The Shiocton School District promotes healthy schools by supporting wellness, good nutrition, and regular physical activity as a part of the total learning environment. The District supports a healthy environment where children learn and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices. By facilitating learning through the support and promotion of good nutrition and physical activity, schools contribute to the basic health status of children. Improved health optimizes student performance and supports the premise of the No Child Left Behind legislation. The School District will strive to:

  1. Provide a comprehensive learning environment for developing and practicing lifelong wellness behaviors. The entire school environment, not just the classroom, shall be aligned with healthy school goals to positively influence a student's understanding, beliefs, and habits as they relate to good nutrition and regular physical activity.  A healthy school environment should not be dependent on revenue from high-fat, low nutrient foods to support school programs.

  2. Support and promote proper dietary habits contributing to student's health status and academic performance. All foods available on school grounds and as school-sponsored activities during the instructional day should meet or exceed the District Nutrition Standards. Emphasis should be placed on foods that are nutrient dense per calorie. Foods should be served with consideration toward variety, appeal, taste, safety, and packaging to ensure high quality meals.

  3. Increase the amount of time students are engaged in physical activity. A quality physical education program is an essential component for all students to learn about and participate in physical activity. Physical activity should be included in a school's daily education program in all grades and include physical education instruction, co-curricular activities, and recess. Depending on the grade level of the child, substituting one (1) of these components for the others is not recommended.

  4. The Shiocton School District is committed to improving academic performance with special needs and high-risk students so that no child is left behind. Educators, administrators, parents, health practitioners and communities must all acknowledge the critical role student health plays in academic stamina and performance and adapt the school environment to ensure students' basic nourishment and activity needs are met. Research highlighting the positive relationship between good nutrition, physical activity, and the capacity of students to develop and learn should be recognized to ensure widespread understanding of the benefits to healthy school environments for all students.

NUTRITION STANDARDS

The Shiocton School District strongly encourages the sale and distribution of nutrient dense foods for all school functions and activities. Nutrient dense foods are those foods that provide students with calories rich in the nutrient content needed to be healthy. In an effort to support the consumption of nutrient dense foods in the school setting, the District has adopted the following Nutrition Standards governing the sale of food, beverages, and candy on school grounds:

  1. Food: Any given food item for sale prior to the start of the school day and throughout the instructional day will have no more than thirty percent (30%) of its total calories derived from fat. Any given food item for sale prior to the start of the school day and throughout the instructional day will have no more that ten percent (10%) of its total calories derived from saturated fat.

    Nuts and seeds are exempt from these standards because they are nutrient dense and contain high levels of monounsaturated fat. Foods high in monounsaturated fat help lower "bad cholesterol and maintain "good" HDL cholesterol. It is recognized that there may be rare special occasions when the school principal may allow a school group to deviate from these guidelines. Encourage the consumption of nutrient dense foods, i.e., whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

  2. Beverages: Vending sales of soda or artificially sweetened drinks (excluding hot chocolate, cappuccino, etc.) will not be permitted on school grounds prior to and during the instructional day. The non-vending sale of soda or artificially sweetened drinks will not be permitted on school grounds both prior to the start of the school day and throughout the instructional day, but will be permitted at those special school events that begin after the conclusion of the instructional day. The vending sale of beverages, other than soda, with less than ten percent (10%) fruit juice may begin at the conclusion of the instructional day. Milk, water, and 100% fruit juices may be sold on school grounds both prior to and throughout the instructional day.

  3. Candy: Vending and non-vending sales of candy will not be permitted on school grounds during the instructional day. Candy is defined as any item that has sugar (including brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, fructose, glucose, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and table sugar.

NUTRITION PROCEDURES

The Shiocton School District promotes healthy schools by supporting wellness, good nutrition, and regular physical activity as a part of the total learning environment. The District supports a healthy environment where children learn and participate in positive dietary and lifestyle practices. By facilitating learning through the support and promotion of good nutrition and physical activity schools contribute to the basic health status of children. Improved health optimizes student performance potential and supports the premise inherent in the No Child Left Behind legislation.

  1. Hot Lunch/Breakfast Program:

    1. The full meal program will continue to follow the U.S. Government's Nutrition Standards.

    2. The Hot Lunch/ Breakfast provider will be expected to make every effort to follow the District Nutrition Standards when determining the items in a la carte sales.

      1. A la carte items that do not meet the District Standards may be acceptable for student consumption within moderation, (i.e., limit quantity sold to an individual student).

      2. A la carte items that do not meet the District Nutrition Standards may be acceptable when offered on an intermittent basis.

    3. In  accordance with Policy 8500, entitled Food Service, the food service program shall comply with Federal and State regulations pertaining to the selection, preparation, consumption, and disposal of food and beverages as well as to the fiscal management of the program.

    4. As set forth in Policy 8531, entitled Free and Reduced Price Meals, the guidelines for reimbursable school meals are not less restrictive than the guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

      All foods available on campus during the school day shall comply with the current USDA nutrition guidelines, including competitive foods that are available to students a la carte in the dining area and from vending machines except when offered on an intermittent basis.

  2. Lunchroom Climate:

    1. A lunchroom environment that provides students with a relaxed, enjoyable climate should be developed.

    2. It is encouraged that the lunchroom environment be a place where students have:

      1. Adequate space to eat and pleasant surroundings;

      2. Adequate time for meals (the American Food Service Association recommends at least twenty (20) minutes for lunch from the time they are seated); and

      3. Convenient access to hand washing facilities before meals.

  3. Fundraising:

    1. All fundraising projects are encouraged to follow the District Nutrition Standards.

    2. All fundraising projects for sale and consumption within and prior to the instructional day will be expected to make every effort to follow the District Nutrition Standards when determining the items being sold.

      1. Items being sold that do not meet the District Nutrition Standards may be acceptable for student consumption within moderation (i.e., limit quantity sold to an individual student.

      2. Items being sold that do not meet the District Nutrition Standards may be acceptable when offered on an intermittent basis.

  4. Teacher-to-Student Incentive:

    Strong consideration should be given to non-food items as part of any teacher-to-student incentive programs. Should teachers feel compelled to utilize food items as an incentive, they are encouraged to adhere to the District Nutritional Standards.

  5. Student Nutrition Education:

    The Shiocton School District has a comprehensive curriculum approach to nutrition education. All instructional staff will be encouraged to model good nutrition and integrate nutritional themes into daily lessons when appropriate. Nutrition education shall be incorporated into the Health curriculum and other aspects of the core curriculum as appropriate and applicable. The health benefits of good nutrition should be emphasized. These nutritional themes include, but are not limited to:

    Knowledge of food guide pyramid
    Healthy heart choices
    Sources and variety of foods
    Diet and disease
    Understanding calories
    Health snacks
    Healthy breakfast
    Guide to healthy diet
    Food labels
    Major nutrients
    Serving sizes
    Proper sanitation
    Identifying and limiting junk food
    Multicultural influences

  6. Parent Nutrition Education:

    Nutrition education information will be provided to parents beginning at the elementary level, with the objective to continue providing information as the child progresses through school. Nutrition education may be provided in the form of handouts, information in school newsletters and handbooks, School District wellness opportunities noted on the District Website, and/or presentations to staff and/or students that focus on nutritional value and healthy lifestyles.

  7. Shiocton School District Nutrition Committee:

    With the intent of monitoring the implementation of the District's policy, evaluating policy progress, serving as a resource to school program, and revising the policy as appropriate it is recommended that a District-wide nutrition committee be established. It is recommended that the committee meet a minimum of two (2) times annually with committee composition to consist of the following:

    District Food Service Coordinator
    District Nurse
    Parent representatives
    Staff representatives
    Administrative representative
    Board of Education representative
    Health Program Leader

Policy Leadership and Reporting Requirement

The District Administrator will oversee development, implementation, and evaluation of the wellness procedures and is authorized to designate a staff member or members with responsibility to assure that wellness initiatives are followed in the District's schools.

Before the end of each school year the wellness committee shall submit to the District Administrator and Board their report in which they describe the environment in each of the District’s schools and the implementation of the wellness policy in each school, and identify any revisions to the policy the committee deems necessary.

The District Administrator or a designee of the wellness committee shall report annually to the Board on the District’s wellness programs, including the assessment of the environment in the District, evaluation of wellness policy implementation District-wide, and the areas for improvement, if any, identified. The District Administrator or a designee of the wellness committee shall also report on the status of compliance by individual schools and progress made in attaining goals established in the policy.

Record Retention

The District Administrator shall require that the District retains documentation pertaining to the development, review, evaluation, and update of the policy, including:

  1. copy of the current policy;
     
  2. documentation pertaining to the most recent assessment of implementation of wellness initiatives identified in the policy;
     
  3. documentation of efforts to publicize the policy;
     
  4. documentation of efforts to review and update the policy, including identification of the participating and invited stakeholders.

Review of this policy shall occur every three (3) years, by a committee appointed by the Board, consisting of a representative(s) of the Board, the administration, the food service provider, the parents, the students, and the public. The committee shall provide the Board with review of the performance of the programs and any recommended changes to this policy.

Revised 12/27/17

© Neola 2017