Section 1: Strong Policies and Aligned Practices
The Florida Union Free School District has been successful in meeting many of our wellness goals.
An on-going dialogue and the support by many disciplines has made wellness for our school district community a priority. Establishing a Junior Wellness Committee composed of students in grade 4 and 5 connected with the student population in our elementary school. This committee and our monthly food tasting for students has been suspended during the current pandemic but will continue when conditions support the reintroduction of these valuable programs.
Breakfast and lunch are available to all students at no cost and the number of students participating has increased significantly from pre-pandemic to currently, 75-80% of our students attending school on site 5 days a week.
Meals were available for pick-up by families choosing remote learning for their children. We continue to promote drinking water and make it available at water filling stations. This is communicated to parents/guardians through the district website and group messaging.
Classroom celebrations are no longer food centered so food is provided for each individual student by parent/guardian or by our district food service.
Vending machines are not available in the elementary school and use had been limited in the past during after school hours in the middle/high school.
Physical activity continues to be promoted and is practiced by faculty, staff and students. Our multi-purpose fitness trail added a monthly book trail with students walking through a story set up by our local library. Students and staff look forward to daily physical activity breaks. Staff model physical activity by walking the hallway mile (12.4 times around the inside hallway equals
1 mile!) before and after school.
Section 2: Create Practice Implementation Plan
Nutrition Education:
- All grades receive sequential nutritional education based on NYS Standards in Health Education. Use of Other Required Health Areas of Functional Knowledge in teaching students how to make healthy choices based on acquired information.
- USDA Discover My Plate Program utilized by kindergarten teachers
- Hands-on food activities with students in small self-contained classrooms for students to participate in healthy food preparation and choices
- USDA Choose My Plate and other nutritional graphics to be displayed in eating areas (cafeteria/classrooms)
- Choose My Plate bulletin board display in health office/hallway
- Daily Wellness Wake-Up Calls to continue in elementary school.
- Harvest Days- monthly fruit/vegetable tasting by staff and students (currently on hold due to pandemic restrictions)
- Budget Night- Jr. Wellness Committee members oversee a nutrition/Harvest Day table during district voting. USDA nutrition materials are available for children and adults. Children have an opportunity to vote for their favorite Harvest Day fruit/vegetable or favorite healthy ice cream topping. This activity will resume as safety allows.
- Food label reading instruction by school nurses to assure safety of students with food allergies but should be expanded to include additional label information.
School Meals:
- Information for need-based programs made available to families on the district website and in the district calendar that is distributed to all district families.
- Student confidentiality is protected using personal ID numbers entered by each student when exiting breakfast/lunch line. There is currently no cash exchange and this will continue for the 2021-2022 school year.
- Unpaid balances in the past are handled by school administration. All children receive the same meal regardless of balance status.
- All schools provide breakfast through the USDA School Breakfast Program.
- The Florida Union Free School District supports the purchase of local foods for school meals. A local farmer supplies fruits/vegetables as available.
- No foods or beverages are provided after school by our district food service.
- Any snacks available on school sites meet the USDA Smart Snack Federal Nutrition Standards. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/smart-snacks-school
- No foods or beverages with caffeine are available for purchase in the middle/high school.
- Students are provided with a daily 30 minute lunch period.
- Non-Food Rewards are encouraged with activities such as additional recess or
gardening time. - Annual training for food and nutrition staff in accordance with USDA Professional Standards is completed and recorded.
- Meals served though the Florida Union Free School District’s Food Service Program shall comply with the National School Lunch and Breakfast Standards for meal patterns, nutrient levels, and calorie requirements for the ages/grades levels served.
Physical Education and Activity:
- The written PE curriculum for each grade is aligned with National and/or State PE Standards.
- Students in grades kindergarten, 1, 2 and 3 have 150 minutes of PE time per
week. - Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 have 120 minutes of PE time per week.
- Students in grades 7 and 8 have at least 90 minutes of PE per week.
- Physical activity periods are encouraged during the day
- Punishment will not be accepted as an excuse for not participating in scheduled PE classes.
- Jump Rope for Heart Program encourages continuation of newly learned physical activity outside of school and individual involvement during recess periods.
Marketing:
There is no marketing in school or on school grounds including school equipment or sports equipment.
General:
- Relevant stakeholders are included on the Wellness Team and are invited to participate if an interest is expressed. Annual meetings are planned but will attempt to schedule more often on an as needed basis.
- The triennial assessments will be made available to the public on our district website.
- The Wellness Committee will meet to discuss the triennial assessment and update the current Wellness Policy to reflect these results.
- The Wellness Policy is currently available on our district website and will be presented to our Board of Education.
- Our current Wellness Committee includes administrators from both the elementary and middle/high school, PE teachers/athletic directors from both schools, school nurses from both schools, a teacher, our School Lunch Manager, our cook manager, and the Health and Wellness Coordinator from the Orange County Department of Health. Previous members that need to be replaced are two community members and a registered dietitian. We plan to add a student member.
Section 3: Update Policies
The Florida Union Free School District is committed to updating our Wellness Policy to reflect the goals to strengthen identified areas of concern. Our intent is move forward with these wellness goals as current safety allows.
Our identified goals include but are not limited to the following:
- Strengthen nutrition curriculum by facilitating communication regarding how to coordinate in a more consistent/deliberate fashion
- Explore local resources to enable the continuation of Harvest Days. Our current facilitator is no longer available. We will reach out to our local farming community and seek a new facilitator for our monthly tasting.
- Encourage student participation in our school meal program through ongoing, clear communication with parents/guardians
- Rejuvenate our District Wellness Committee and reestablish its importance after directing our required focus on the current pandemic and meeting the short and long-term needs of our school community.
- Meet in the Fall to review the triennial assessment and update the Wellness
Policy to reflect these results - Review list of current committee members to verify acceptance to continue to
serve - Replace committee members as needed and add a student member
- Communicate committee meeting time/date/location on our district calendar to encourage interested stakeholders to attend or communicate interest.