wellness

Kindergarten through 8^th Grade Wellness Guidelines

(Revised May 2016)

Our wellness guidelines are integral to teaching health education to all of our students.  By allowing them to practice healthy habits daily and observe adults doing the same, students are better able to internalize these lifelong positive behaviors. These guidelines are meant to support the health and well-being of HPA students, families, volunteers, and community members.  HPA staff will do their best to enforce this policy fairly and consistently. Please note:  Due to preschool state licensing requirements, HPA’s preschool follows slightly different wellness guidelines and practices.  See the preschool wellness policy for more details.

Daily Guidelines

• Children can only drink plain water throughout the school day with the exception of juice that may be served at breakfast and lunch.
  • To encourage hydration and health, students K-8 can drink water throughout the day and are allowed to have water bottles with them in class. Students in 6-8 must have a clear/transparent water bottle.
• Candy is not permitted at any time during the school day.
• Food based rewards are prohibited. HPA seeks to help students develop a healthy relationship with food, and does not want to instill the idea that food is something that is earned.
  • There are ideas for healthy celebrations in the classroom on the HPA website.
• To role model healthy behaviors, teachers, IAs, parent volunteers, and all other adults on campus will adhere to the same wellness guidelines and practices as students.

Snack Guidelines

• To encourage additional servings, only fruits and vegetables are permitted at snack time.
  • Sliced apples, carrot sticks, celery sticks, grapes, cherries, strawberries, melon, broccoli, sweet peppers, or pea pods
• If students bring snacks or drinks that do not meet the above requirements, they will be politely instructed to return them to their backpacks.

Lunch Guidelines

• Lunches at HPA are provided through a community partnership.
• Fast food is not allowed at HPA. If parents wish to feed their students fast food for lunch, parents must take their student off campus to do so.  Or, if you provide your student with fast food for lunch it needs to be brought in containers from home, and should not include any wrappers or bags with logos.
• Water, milk, and 100% fruit juices are permissible in the lunchroom.

Celebration Guidelines

• At HPA, we strive to focus our celebrations focus on activities, not food. These include, but are not limited to, holiday parties, birthdays, and individual, school-wide, and whole-school contests.
• If parents wish to provide their student’s class with food or drink for a celebration, those foods and drinks must meet the snack policy requirements.

PE and Wellness Curriculum

• HPA provides physical education for all K-8 students 2 times per week.
• Students are provided with 30 minutes or more of recess each day throughout the week.
• All students attend wellness as one their specials classes 1 time per week while in grades k-6. The wellness curriculum is comprehensive, and includes all aspects of health and wellness including, but not limited to, nutrition, exercise, bones and muscles, social/emotional health and feelings, healthy relationships, bullying, personal hygiene, germs, and safety.

After-School Activities

• Please make sure your student athlete has plenty of water and fresh snacks; in this situation we encourage snacks with protein including nuts.
• On campus, HPA student athletes are not permitted to have sodas, energy drinks, or flavored drinks.
• Students should be prepared with healthy snacks if they are participating in any other after-school activity.

Staff Wellness

• Our school community supports and encourages all staff members to live a healthy lifestyle, and staff is encouraged and supported to model these behaviors, and are expected to follow the wellness guidelines.
• Staff members are offered opportunities to participate in activities that encourage physical activity, healthful eating, or other aspects of wellbeing.

Fundraisers

• At HPA we encourage the use of fundraisers which are not based around food, and, instead, promote health and wellness (i.e. Boosterthon Fun Run).
  • Fundraisers that are food related will be healthy offerings.

  Please contact Keri Melmed, Principal, with any questions, comments, concerns or ideas.

PDF Version of the K-8 Wellness Guidelines

Preschool Wellness Policy

Our Wellness policies are integral to teaching health education to all of our students. By allowing them to practice healthy habits daily and observe adults doing the same, students are better able to internalize these lifelong positive behaviors. These policies are not meant to be restrictive. Instead, they are meant to lead HPA students, staff, families, volunteers, and community members to a better understanding of the extreme importance of taking care of the only bodies we are given, for life. Due to preschool licensing requirements, High Point Academy’s preschool follows slightly different wellness policies than the rest of the school.

Daily Policy

• Children drink plain water throughout the school day. At lunch, children may drink unflavored milk, 100% fruit juice, or water. Drinks that are carbonated or flavored, including carbonated or flavored waters, are not permitted.
• Fast food is not allowed at High Point Academy. If parents wish to feed their children fast food for lunch, parents must take their student off campus in order to do so. In addition, any food that comes to school needs to be brought in containers from home and should not include any wrappers or bags with restaurant logos.
• Candy is not permitted at any time during the school day.
• Food-based rewards are explicitly prohibited. HPA seeks to help students develop a healthy relationship with food and does not want to teach that food is something that needs to be earned.
• To role model healthy behaviors, teachers, instructional aides, parent volunteers, and all other adults on campus will adhere to the same wellness practices as the students. Adults who choose to eat fast food must eat it off campus.

Snack Policy

• Children eat fresh fruits and vegetables combined with a small serving of protein. Acceptable fruits and vegetables: fresh only, not dried. Try sliced apples, carrot sticks, celery sticks, grapes, cherries, strawberries, grape tomatoes, cantaloupe chunks, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini sticks, sweet pea pods and more! Acceptable sources of protein: string cheese, sliced cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, nuts, nut butters (peanut, almond, cashew, etc.), hummus, sliced lean turkey or chicken.
• Children drink plain water with snack.

Celebration Policy

• All celebrations (parties for holidays, birthdays, rewards, etc.) focus on activities, not food. If teachers or parents wish to provide food, those foods must meet the snack policy requirements.

Please contact Keri Melmed, Principal, with any questions, comments or concerns.

PDF Version of the Preschool Wellness Policy