507.08R1 Student Wellness Plan – Physical Activity

Physical Activity

Schools will provide students and staff with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet federal and state guidelines, including the Healthy Kids Act. The goal(s) for addressing physical activity include the following:

A.        The District will provide at least thirty (30) minutes of physical activity per day for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The District will provide at least one hundred twenty (120) minutes of physical activity per week for students in sixth through twelfth grade.

B.        Physical Education

1.         The District will provide physical education that:

● Is for all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade;

● Is taught by a certified physical education teacher;

● Includes students with disabilities; students with special health-care needs may be provided with alternative educational settings; and

● Engages students in moderate to vigorous activity during physical education class time.

C.        Daily Recess

1.         Elementary schools will provide recess for students that:

● is at least twenty (20) minutes a day;

● is preferably outdoors;

● encourages moderate to vigorous physical activity; and

● discourages extended periods (i.e., periods of two (2) or more hours) of inactivity.

2.         When activities, such as mandatory school-wide testing, make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, schools      should give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

D.        Physical Activity and Discipline

1.         Employees should not use physical activity (e.g., running laps, pushups) as disciplinary action. Withholding opportunities for physical activity              (e.g., recess, physical education) is discouraged.

Nutrition Guidelines

A. Meals served by the district to students will:

1. Be appealing and attractive to students;
2. Be served in clean and pleasant settings;
3. Meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by state and federal law;
4. Offer a variety of fruits and vegetables;
5. Include low-fat and fat-free milk and nutritionally equivalent non-dairy alternatives (as defined by the USDA) for those with an allergy;
6. Encourage serving of whole grain products; and
7. Accommodate alternatives for those students with allergies that meet the above guidelines as closely as possible.

B. Breakfast

1. To ensure that all students have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn, schools will notify parents and students of the availability of the District’s breakfast program and encourage parents to provide a healthy breakfast for their children.

C. Beverages

1. The District will seek to provide water without added caloric sweeteners; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain 100 percent fruit juice and that do not contain additional caloric sweeteners; unflavored or flavored low- fat or fat-free milk; and nutritionally equivalent nondairy beverages (as defined by the USDA).

D. Free and Reduced-Price Meals

1. The District will make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced- priced meals. Toward this end, the district will utilize electronic identification and payment systems and promote the availability of meals to all students.

E. Meal Times and Scheduling

1. The district will do the following:

a. Provide students with adequate and appropriate time for meals;

b. Schedule meal periods at appropriate times, e.g., lunch should be scheduled between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.;

c. Provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks; and

d. Take reasonable steps to accommodate the tooth-brushing regimens of students with special oral health needs (e.g., orthodontia or high tooth decay risk).

F. Qualification of Food Service and Staff

1. Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the meal programs. As part of the District’s responsibility to operate a food service program, the District will provide continuing professional development for all nutrition professionals and provide staff development programs and training programs for the Food Service Director, kitchen managers, and cafeteria workers, according to their level of responsibility.

H. Food Sold Outside the Meal

1. All foods and beverages sold individually outside the reimbursable meal programs including those sold through a la carte lines, vending machines and sales foods during the school day, will meet federal and state nutritional standards.

2. Elementary Schools. The food service program will approve and provide all food and beverage sales to students in elementary schools.

3. Middle School and High School. The food service program and the school make available to middle and high schools foods and beverages meeting federal and state nutritional standards regarding calorie, sodium, saturated fat, trans fat, total fat, sugar and dietary fiber content of food and the ingredients in beverages.

I. Snacks

1. The Elementary will provide a healthy school wide snack to all children with regard to allergic concerns and attempts will be made to avoid common food allergens.

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Nutrition Promotion and Education

A.        The district will provide nutritional education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

● is offered at each building as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;

● is part of not only health education classes, but also classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects;

● promotes fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutritional practices;

● emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and physical activity;

● links with meal programs, other foods, and nutrition-related community services; and

● includes training for teachers and other staff.

Other Aspects of Wellness Plan – Nutrition Guidelines

A. Fundraising Activities

1. Regulated fundraising groups’ activities, which offer the sale of food and/or beverages on school property to students by students and/or student groups/organizations, will be encouraged to use foods and/or beverages that are compliant with the school’s wellness policies. These groups’ activities will be encouraged to promote physical activity.

2. To support student health and school nutrition-education efforts, non-regulated school fundraising groups’ activities will be encouraged to use foods and/or beverages that are compliant with the school’s wellness policies and promote physical activity. 

B. Rewards

1. The District will discourage the use of foods or beverages, especially those that do not meet the nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold individually, as rewards for academic performance or good behavior, and will not withhold food or beverages (including food served through meals) as a discipline.

Activities that Promote Student Wellness

A.        For students to receive the nationally recommended amount of daily physical activity and for students to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior, students need opportunities for physical activity beyond the physical education class. Toward that end, the District will:

1.         Integrate physical activity into classroom settings, by doing the following:

a.         Offering classroom health education that compliments physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities;

b.         Discouraging sedentary activities, such as watching television, playing computer games, etc.;

c.         Providing opportunities for physical activity to be incorporated into other subject lessons; and

d.         Encouraging classroom teachers to provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate.

2.         Market food in school in a manner consistent with nutritional education and health promotion, by doing the following:

a.         Limiting food and beverage marketing to the promotion of foods and beverages that meet the nutritional standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually;

b.         Prohibiting school-based marketing of brands promoting predominantly low-nutrition foods and beverages;

c.         Promoting healthy foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products; and

d.         Marketing activities that promote healthful behaviors.

3.         Communicate with parents regarding providing students with a healthy diet and daily physical activity, by doing the following:

a.         Sending home nutrition information and posting nutrition tips on a school web site;

b.         Encouraging parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet the established nutritional standards for individual foods and beverages;

c.         Providing parents a list of foods that meet the school District’s snack standards, ideas for healthy celebrations/parties, rewards, and fundraising activities;

d.         Asking parents or guardians to notify the school if their student has any food allergies or special dietary requirements;

e.         Providing information about physical education and other physical activity opportunities before, during, and after the school day. 

f.          Supporting parents’ efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school; and

g.         Sharing information about physical activity and physical education through a web site and/or newsletter.

B.        The District will also provide instruction concerning cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to all high school students, so that each student has completed instruction in CPR prior to their high school graduation. The District may offer this instruction as it deems appropriate, including offering it through its physical education program.

Activities that Promote Staff Wellness

The District values the health and well being of every staff member. Staff members are encouraged to plan and implement activities that support efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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