As we welcome the new school year, we wish to share our practice concerning student birthday celebrations at school. Please do not send food items or decorations to school. If on your child’s birthday they wish to share it with classmates, please have them bring a favorite read aloud book, a small item for a brief show and tell or a personal story about themselves to share. That would allow classmates and teachers to know them better and learn something unique about them.
Heritage’s vision is that we are a place where connections happen, between friends, to teachers and with ideas. In this spirit, we wish to create a culture where students share about themselves and who they are. The books we fall in love with speak to us deeply. A small personal trinket possesses powerful emotions, captures special memories and can be an inspiration for the future. Similarly, sharing a personal story with classmates fosters community and understanding of others. By eliminating food and decorations, we more readily and directly engage with the reason and purpose; each other and community. Also, by not having food items, it eliminates systems and safety processes needing to be in place to ensure health and diet expectations are being ensured. This includes but is not limited to students who are diabetic, gluten free, have wheat sensitivity and others. It allows teachers to not have to have individual student and class conversations about why some students can and cannot share specific food items.