DISTRICT WELLNESS POLICY
General Statement of Belief:
The Newfield Central School District, hereinafter referred to as District, is committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects children’s health, well-being, and the ability to learn by fostering healthy eating and physical activity. The District has established a wellness committee to develop the District’s proposed local wellness policy, making such policy recommendations for review and adoption by the Board of Education. The District’s wellness committee includes, but is not limited to, representatives from each of the following groups:
a) Parents
b) Students
c) The District’s food service program
d) The School Board
e) School Administrators, and
f) Members of the public
The District Wellness Committee will assess and recommend goals, as needed, to the Board of Education relating to the promotion of school and community wellness in the following areas:
• Nutrition Education Goals
• Physical Activity Goals
• Other school-based activities:
o Federal School Meal Program
o Access to school nutrition programs
o Meal environment
o After-School Program(s)
o Community Access to District’s Facilities
o Staff Wellness
• Sustainability
Nutrition Goals
• Students in grades pre K-12 receive nutrition education that is integrated in the total school program and teaches the skills needed to adopt healthy eating behaviors.
• Coordination between the education program and the food service program provides a consistent nutrition message throughout the school and community.
• The District will provide adequate training for staff that provides nutrition education.
• The District will ensure the implementation of nutrition education activities and promotions that involve parents, students, and the community.
Physical Activity Goals
• Students are provided daily opportunities for physical activity inclusive of but not limited to Physical Education classes, recess periods, interscholastic athletic competition, and the integration of physical activity into the academic curriculum.
• The District will collaborate with community agencies to provide opportunities for students to participate in physical activities before and after school as well as to and from school.
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• Parents and guardians are encouraged by the school to support their children’s participation in physical activities and to be physically active role models.
OTHER SCHOOL-BASED ACTIVITY GOALS
The District is committed to the goal of creating a total school environment that is conducive to healthy eating and being physically active.
Meal Environment
• The District will provide meal environments that are safe, clean and large enough to ensure all students have access to school meals with minimum wait time.
• The District encourages all students to participate in the school meals program and protect the identity of students who receive free or reduced meal prices.
• The District will ensure adequate time is provided for students to enjoy eating healthy foods with friends during the school day.
• The District will ensure scheduling of lunchtime as near to the middle of the day as possible.
Consistent School Activities and Environment
• The District will monitor all school fundraising activities in an effort to ensure that all fundraising activities are supportive of a healthy eating environment.
• The District will provide opportunities for on-going professional training and development for all staff in the areas of nutrition and physical activity.
• The District will make a focused effort to collaborate with the community in an effort to ensure access to District-owned physical activity facilities open for use by students and the community outside of school hours.
• The District encourages all school staff, parents, and community members to serve as role models in practicing healthy eating habits and being physically active in school at home and in the community.
• The District will provide information about programs such as Food Stamps and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to students and parents upon request.
• The District encourages all students to participate in school meals program such as the National School Lunch, snacks for after-school program, and School Breakfast programs.
Measurement and Implementation Plan
The District will use the following to assess the implementation of the Local Wellness Policy and Measuring the effectiveness of said policy:
• The District Wellness Committee will convene annually to review implementation of the policy and measure policy effectiveness.
• The District shall document the financial impact, if any, to the school food service program, school stores, or vending machine revenues based on the implementation of the wellness policy.
• All amendments to the Wellness policy will be reviewed at the building level and then forwarded to the District Wellness Committee for review. The Wellness Committee will forward recommendations to the Superintendent for consideration with final approval from the Board of Education.
Adopted by BOE: June 8, 2006