To implement the Wellness Policy, the following district specific goals have been established:

Goal 1 - Nutrition Education and Promotion: Schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that help students develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors. The actions for addressing nutrition education and nutrition promotion include the following:

Nutrition Education

1. Provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;

2. Ensure nutrition education and promotion are not only part of health education classes, but also integrated into other classroom instruction through subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects;

3. Include enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, and participatory activities, such as cooking demonstrations or lessons, promotions, taste-testing, farm visits;

4. Promote fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, and healthy foods; Items on the walls; newsletter

5. Emphasize caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (promotes physical activity/exercise);

6. Link with school meal programs, cafeteria nutrition promotion activities, Field to Family programs, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services;

7. Implement evidence-based healthy food promotion techniques through the school meal programs using smarter lunchroom techniques;

8. Teach media literacy with an emphasis on food and beverage marketing;

School Meals

 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); all grains served will be eighty percent (80%) whole grain. 

6. accommodate alternatives for those students with allergies that meet the above guidelines as closely as possible and with a signed USDA modified diet plan. 

7. will provide access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks

 B.  Breakfast 

 

1. To promote students eating 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. 

2. Support the consumption of breakfast at middle and high school by implementing alternative breakfast options to the extent possible (e.g., grab n' go).

 

C.  Beverages 

 

1. The district will seek to provide water without added caloric sweeteners; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain at 100% 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). 

2. Permit students to bring and carry water bottles filled with water throughout the day;

3. Make drinking water available where school meals are served during mealtimes;

 

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.  Sharing of Food 

 

1. The district prohibits students from sharing foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies, spreading of germs and communicable diseases, and other restrictions on student diets. 

 

F.  Meal Times and Scheduling 

 

1. The district will do the following: 

 

1. provide students with adequate and appropriate time for meals; 

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

3. provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks; and 

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

5. Strive to provide students with at least 10 minutes to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch;

 

G.  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. 

 

 Other Food Available at School 

 

A.  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. 

 

B.  Snacks 

 

1. Snacks served during the school day will make a positive contribution to students’ diets and health.  The district will disseminate a list of suggested snack items to teachers and parents.  The district encourages parents and teachers to provide food that is commercially packaged or comes from a commercial bakery. Website, updated annually

 

2. Each school will be encouraged to evaluate their celebration practices that involve food during the school day.  The district will disseminate a list of healthy party ideas to parents and teachers. 

Food Safety 

 

1. All foods made available on campus will adhere to food safety and security guidelines. 

 

2. All foods made available through food service will comply with the state and local food safety and sanitation regulations.  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans and guidelines are implemented to prevent food illness in schools. 

 

3. For the safety and security of the food and facility, access to the food service operations are limited to food service staff and authorized personnel. 

 

 

Other Aspects of Wellness Plan – Nutrition Guidelines 

 

A.  Discipline 

 

1. The District will not withhold food or beverages (including food served through meals) as a discipline. 

 

 

Goal 2 - Physical Activity: Schools will provide students with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet federal and state guidelines, including the Iowa Healthy Kids Act. The actions for addressing physical activity include the following:

 

Physical Activity 

 

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 

• promotes the benefits of a physically active lifestyle and help students develop skills to engage in lifelong healthy habits;

• engage students in moderate to vigorous activity during at least 50 percent of physical education class time;

• utilizes a wellness approach to physical education curriculum;

• encourages appropriate use of waivers to physical education at secondary level.

 

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

 

Goal 3 - Other School-Based Activities that Promote Student Wellness: Schools will support student, staff, and parents' efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle, as appropriate. The goal(s) for addressing other school-based activities that promote student wellness include the following:

 

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: 

 

• 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; 

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

• Encourage teachers to incorporate movement and kinesthetic learning approaches into core subject instructions when possible;

• 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: 

 

• 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; 

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

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

• 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: 

 

• Offer nutrition information via school newsletters, post nutrition tips on the school website, and provide nutrient analysis of school menus;

• 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; 

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

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

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

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

• 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 seniors, so that each student has completed instruction in CPR prior to their high school graduation.  The district will offer this instruction as it deems appropriate.

 

C.  The North Linn Community School District follows the guidelines on training for suicide awareness. 

 

   

 

Approved: 8/18/2021       Reviewed:  11-20-24           Revised: 11-20-24