August 21, 2018
Dear Parents:
Enclosed is Lubavitch Yeshivah Ocean Parkway’s latest and most updated Local School Wellness policy for the school year 2018-19.
Please feel free to call our office with any suggestions for our next update or if you are interested in participating in our next meeting in regard to evaluating and assessing the school’s Wellness policy. Please share the Local Wellness Policy with any Health Professional that you feel would be interested in participating in the review and update of our policy.
If you would like to see our annual progress report or Wellness Assessment, please contact the school office.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Shmuel Dechter
Executive Director
Policy
Understanding that children need access to healthful food and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive; our school is dedicated to providing an environment that promotes and protects students’ health, well being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating, nutrition education, and physical activity.
In understanding this mission by setting forth and implementing a school wellness policy for our school, we hope to help prevent childhood obesity. Obesity rates have doubled in children, and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades.
Heart disease, cancer, stoke, and diabetes, are responsible for two-thirds of deaths in the United States, and since major risk factors for those diseases, including unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity are often established in childhood, our school would like to promote nutrition education.
Nutrition Goals
To achieve these goals our school will make sure that meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will:
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- Be appealing and attractive to children
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- Be served in clean and pleasant settings
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- Meet, at minimum, nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal regulations
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- Offer a variety of fruits and vegetables
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- Offer low-fat and/or fat-free milk
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- Encourage use of whole grain
- Assure that students are given adequate time for eating and served in a pleasant atmosphere
Our school will encourage staff development and training of pertinent food service staff, teachers, and parents in child nutrition in order to effectively deliver quality nutrition education to the students.
To ensure that the school models good nutrition choices, healthy foods will be highlighted at school functions, celebrations, and class parties.
The school will involve the Parents Association in regard to setting forth a policy of children bringing healthy snacks to school.
The school will encourage teachers not to use foods or beverages, especially those that do not meet nutrition standards as rewards for academic performance or good behavior. Â Non-food alternatives such as toys, starts, and little trinkets could be used.
Nutrition information will be taught formally in classrooms and informally in the lunchroom to order to educate students and assist their development of making healthy food choices for meals and snacks.
Snacks served during the day or in the after school care or enrichment programs will make a positive contribution to students’ diet and health.
The school will continue to be a smoke free environment.
Fresh drinking water will be available to all students and staff.
Physical Fitness Goals
Recognizing that physical fitness is an integral component to a child’s well being, the school shall adopt and implement a health and fitness curriculum. This curriculum will provide opportunities for developmentally appropriate instruction for all grades.
The school will provide daily recess periods for elementary school students featuring time for unstructured but supervised active play for at least 20 minutes daily.
Teachers will not use physical activity or withhold opportunities (e.g. running laps) for physical activity (e.g. recess) as punishment.
Students that live in close proximity to school will be encouraged to walk to school and home.
In our after school program, the program coordinator will include some form of physical activity on a regular basis.
Implementation and Monitoring
To help with the initial development of the school’s wellness policy, we will conduct a baseline assessment of the school’s existing nutrition and physical activity policies. The results will be compiled and used to identify and prioritize needs.
Assessments will be repeated every three years to review policy compliance, assess progress and determine areas in need of improvement. If needed, the wellness policy will be updated, and fine tuned to facilitate better implementation.
The principal/administrator will oversee policy compliance for physical education and activity.
The School Food Service administrator will oversee the nutritional component of the policy for compliance.
Parents will continue to be encouraged to assist the children with healthy food choices at home and encouraged to make sure their child partakes in physical activity.
Non-discrimination Statement: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
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