Wellness Policy for Hoffman Trinity Lutheran School

2023-2024

Reviewed August 2023

A disturbing number of children are inactive and do not eat well. The result is an alarming 16 percent of children and adolescents are overweight – a three-fold increase since 1980.1 Congress passed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 on June 30, 2004.2  Recognizing the role schools can play in health promotion, this law requires local education agencies participating in a program authorized by the National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to develop a wellness policy with the objectives of improving the school nutrition environment, promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity (PL 108-265, Sec. 204). In addition, Public Act 094-0199 requires the Illinois State Board of Education to establish a state goal that all districts have a wellness policy

Belief Statement:

• We believe at Hoffman Trinity Lutheran School that our bodies are gifts from God himself and are to be used to His glory.

• We recognize that children need access to healthful foods and opportunities to be physically active in order to grow, learn, and thrive. 

• We know that good health also fosters better student attendance and education.

• We know that obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades, and physical inactivity and excessive calorie intake are the predominant causes of obesity.

• We know that the major risk factors including, unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, and obesity for diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, are often established during childhood.

• We believe as a board and staff that we must be committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn by teaching the students and sharing with parents and guardians the reasons that God would want us to eat healthy and be physically active. 

Therefore, as the board and staff of Hoffman Trinity Lutheran School:

• We will be committed to meeting the requirements of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and the Illinois School Code, by setting and meeting goals for nutrition, nutrition education and physical activity.   

• We will be committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects children’s health,

well-being, and ability to learn by teaching and being examples to the students and sharing with parents and guardians the reasons that God would want us to eat healthy and be physically active. 

• The school will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other interested community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing this policy.

• All students in grades K-8 will have opportunities, support, and encouragement to be physically active on a regular basis.

• Foods and beverages sold or served during school will meet the nutrition recommendations of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

• Qualified lunch room staff will provide students with a variety of nutritious and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.

• The school will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity.

TO ACHIEVE THESE POLICY GOALS:

I.  School Wellness Committee:

The school will create a school wellness committee to develop, implement, oversee and periodically review and revise the school wellness policy. The committee will meet at least four times per year to accomplish this goal. The school wellness committee will consist of three or more of the following groups: parents, students, school food authorities, school board members, school administrators, teachers, health professionals, or members of the community.

Leadership

The Principal or designee(s) will convene the wellness committee and facilitate development of and updates to the wellness policy and will ensure the school’s compliance with the policy.  

Beth Boester, Principal

The name(s), title(s), and contact information (email address is enough) of this/these individual(s) is (are): 

Name

Title / Relationship to the School or District

Email address

Role on Committee

Beth Boester

Principal

bboester@trinityhoffman.org

Assists in the evaluation of the wellness policy implementation

Debra Albers

Head Cook

dalbers@trinityhoffman.org

Assists in creation and evaluation of wellness policy and its implementation

Heather Childress

Teacher

hchildress@trinityhoffman.org

Assists in review and implementation of wellness policy

Sara Kuper

Teacher/Parent

skuper@trinityhoffman.org

Assists in review and implementation of wellness policy

II  Wellness Policy Implementation, Monitoring, Accountability and Community Engagement

Implementation Plan

The school will develop and maintain a plan for implementation to manage and coordinate the execution of this wellness policy. The plan delineates roles, responsibilities, actions and timelines specific to our school; and includes information about who will be responsible to make what change, by how much, where and when; as well as specific goals and objectives for nutrition standards for all foods and beverages available on the school campus, food and beverage marketing, nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, physical education and other school-based activities that promote student wellness. This wellness policy and the progress reports can be found at: htt://trinityhoffman.org

Recordkeeping

The school will retain records to document compliance with the requirements of the wellness policy in the school office.  Documentation maintained in this location will include but will not be limited to: 

• The written wellness policy;

• Documentation demonstrating that the policy has been made available to the public;

• Documentation of efforts to review and update the School’s Wellness Policy; including an indication of who is involved in the update and methods the school uses to make stakeholders aware of their ability to participate on the school health committee;

• Documentation to demonstrate compliance with the annual public notification requirements;

• The most recent assessment on the implementation of the school wellness policy;

• Documentation demonstrating the most recent assessment on the implementation of the School Wellness Policy has been made available to the public.

Annual Notification of Policy

The school will actively inform families and the public each year of basic information about this policy, including its content, any updates to the policy and implementation status. The school will make this information available via the website and/or parent communications. The school will provide as much information as possible about its nutrition environment. This will include a summary of the schools’ events or activities related to wellness policy implementation. Annually, the school will also publicize the name and contact information of the school officials leading and coordinating the committee, as well as information on how the public can get involved with the school wellness committee.

Triennial Progress Assessments

At least once every three years, the school will evaluate compliance with the wellness policy to assess the implementation of the policy and include:

• The extent to which the school’s wellness policy compares to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s model wellness policy; and

• A description of the progress made in attaining the goals of the School’s wellness policy.

The position/person responsible for managing the triennial assessment and contact information is 

Principal, Beth Boester

The school wellness committee will monitor the school’s compliance with the policy.  

The school will notify households/families of the availability of the triennial progress report via the school website. 

Revisions and Updating the Policy

The school wellness committee will update or modify the wellness policy based on the results of the annual School Health Index and triennial assessments and/or as school priorities change; community needs change; wellness goals are met; new health science, information, and technology emerges; and new Federal or state guidance or standards are issued. The wellness policy will be assessed and updated as indicated at least every three years, following the triennial assessment.

Community Involvement, Outreach and Communications

The school is committed to being responsive to community input, which begins with awareness of the wellness policy. The school will actively communicate ways in which representatives of the school wellness committee and others can participate in the development, implementation and periodic review and update of the wellness policy through a variety of means appropriate for the school. The school will also inform parents of the improvements that have been made to school meals and compliance with school meal standards, availability of child nutrition programs and how to apply, and a description of and compliance with Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards. The school will use email or the school website or the school newsletter, or sending information home to parents, to ensure that all families are actively notified of the content of, implementation of, and updates to the wellness policy, as well as how to get involved and support the policy. The school will ensure that communications are culturally and linguistically appropriate to the community and accomplished through means similar to other ways that the school is communicating important school information with parents. 

The school will actively notify the public about the content of or any updates to the wellness policy annually, at a minimum. The school will also use the website to inform the community about the availability of the annual and triennial reports. 

III. Nutrition

School Meals

The school participates in the National School Lunch Program and serves meals that will:

• be appealing and attractive to children;

• be served in clean and pleasant settings;

• be posted on the school website and published in the Trinity Times;

• meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations;

• offer a variety of fruits and vegetables; 

• serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk;

• moderate in sodium;

• low in saturated fat;

• have no trans-fat per serving;

• and offer a variety of whole grains.

Free and Reduced-priced Meals

We 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-price school meals.

We will make the information available for parents to apply for the free and reduced meals program. 

Meal Times and Scheduling

• We will provide students with at least 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch;

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

• We will provide students access to hand washing before they eat meals or snacks.

Lunch Charging Policy

Each week your child will have their lunch and milk tallies recorded on the Friday Note. If you see that your student is getting low on either one, please send in a check to Ms. Rita for a new lunch or milk card, buy 10 at a time, please. When your child has a negative amount of milks or meals, you will be contacted to take care of the deficit. 

Qualifications of School Food Service Staff

Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the school meal programs.  As part of the school’s responsibility to operate a food service program, we will provide continuing professional development for all nutrition professionals in schools.  Staff development programs should include appropriate certification and/or training programs for any one that deals with the NSLP, according to their levels of responsibility.

Water

To promote hydration, free, safe, unflavored drinking water via water fountains will be available to all students throughout the school day (“school day” are defined in the glossary). The school will make drinking water available where school meals are served during mealtimes.  Students will be allowed to bring and carry (approved) water bottles filled with only water with them throughout the day.

Competitive Foods and Beverages 

At the present time, no foods or beverages are sold to the students during the school day.

Snacks

Snacks served during the school day or in after-school care will make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health, with an emphasis on serving fruits and vegetables as the primary snacks and water as the primary beverage.  The school will make a list of healthful snack items to be given to teachers.

Rewards and Celebrations

The school will not use food or beverages, as rewards for academic performance or good behavior, and will not withhold food or beverages (including food served through school meals) as a punishment.

The school will limit celebrations that involve food during the school day to no more than four parties per classroom per month.  Each party should include no more than one food or beverage that does not meet the requirements for Smart Snacks.  The school will send a list of healthy party ideas to parents and teachers.  See attachment A

School-sponsored Events 

(such as, but not limited to, athletic events, dances, or performances).

Foods and beverages offered or sold at school-sponsored events outside the school day will meet the nutrition standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually (below).

• Food items sold in the concession stand and other fundraisers are to be of a variety, and some must meet the nutritional standards set. Several different foods should be offered with a variety of fat and calorie contents. 

Smart Snack Criteria:

• Allowed:  water or seltzer water[1] without added caloric sweeteners; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain at least 50% fruit juice and that do not contain additional caloric sweeteners; unflavored or flavored low-fat or fat-free fluid milk and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy beverages (to be defined by USDA);

• Not allowed:  soft drinks containing caloric sweeteners; sports drinks; energy drinks; iced teas; fruit-based drinks that contain less than 50% real fruit juice or that contain additional caloric sweeteners; beverages containing caffeine, excluding low-fat or fat-free chocolate milk (which contain trivial amounts of caffeine).

• will have no more than 35% of its calories from fat (excluding nuts, seeds, peanut butter, and other nut butters) and 10% of its calories from saturated and trans fat combined;

• will have no more than 35% of its weight from added sugars;

• will contain no more than 230 mg of sodium per serving for chips, cereals, crackers, French fries, baked goods, and other snack items; will contain no more than 480 mg of sodium per serving for pastas, meats, and soups; and will contain no more than 600 mg of sodium for pizza, sandwiches, and main dishes. 

IV. Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion and Food Marketing

Nutrition Education and Promotion.

Hoffman Trinity Lutheran School aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. The school provides nutrition education and engages in nutrition promotion that:

• is offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;

• is part of classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences, and elective subjects; 

• includes enjoyable, developmentally-appropriate, culturally-relevant, participatory activities, such as contests, promotions, taste testing, farm visits, and school gardens;

• promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods, and health-enhancing nutrition practices;

• emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and energy expenditure (physical activity/exercise);

• links with school meal programs, other school foods, and nutrition-related community services;

• teaches media literacy with an emphasis on food marketing; and

• includes training for teachers and other staff.

Integrating Physical Activity into the Classroom Setting.

For students to receive the nationally-recommended amount of daily physical activity (i.e., at least 60 minutes per day) and for students to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior, students need opportunities for physical activity beyond physical education class.  Toward that end:

• classroom health education will complement 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, such as watching television;

• opportunities for physical activity will be incorporated into other subject lessons; and

• classroom teachers will provide short physical activity breaks between lessons or classes, as appropriate.

Communication with Parents.

 The school will support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children. The school will send home nutrition information, post nutrition tips on school websites, and provide nutrient analyses of school menus, as requested.  The school encourages parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to refrain from including beverages and foods that do not meet the nutrition standards for individual foods and beverages.  The school will provide parents a list of foods that meet the snack standards and ideas for healthy celebrations/parties, rewards, and fundraising activities.  

The school will provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities before, during, and after the school day; and support parents’ efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school.  Such supports will include sharing information about physical activity and physical education through a website, newsletter, or other take-home materials, special events, or physical education homework.

Staff Wellness.

Hoffman Trinity Lutheran School highly values the health and well-being of every staff member and will encourage activities that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The staff will discuss ways in which they can improve their health monthly at staff meetings.

V. Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education

Daily Physical Education (P.E.) K-8.

All students in grades K-8, including students with disabilities, special health-care needs, and in alternative educational settings, will receive daily physical education and recess of 200 minutes/week for elementary school students and 200 minutes/week for middle school students) for the entire school year. Student involvement in other activities involving physical activity (e.g., interscholastic or intramural sports) will not be substituted for meeting the physical education requirement.  Students will spend at least 50 percent of physical education class time participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Daily Recess.

All school students in K-4 will have at least 20 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors, during which staff will encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment.

The school discourages extended periods (i.e., periods of two or more hours) of inactivity.  When activities, such as mandatory school-wide testing, make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, staff will give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

Physical Activity Opportunities after School.

The school will offer extracurricular physical activity programs, such as physical activity clubs or intramural programs. The school will offer a range of activities that meet the needs, interests, and abilities of all students.

Physical Activity and Punishment.

Teachers and other school and community personnel will not use physical activity (e.g., running laps, pushups) or withhold opportunities for physical activity (e.g., recess, physical education) as punishment. 

Safe Routes to School.

The school will assess and, if necessary and to the extent possible, make needed improvements to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school.  When appropriate, the school will work together with the people of the community to assist in this endeavor. The school will encourage students to use the bike path to get to and from school safely. The staff will also speak about the safety of walking and biking to school. 

Use of School Facilities Outside of School Hours.

School spaces and facilities should be available to students, staff, and community members before, during, and after the school day, on weekends, and during school vacations. These spaces and facilities also should be available to community agencies and organizations offering physical activity and programs.  School policies concerning safety will apply at all times. The facility must be reserved through the Trinity Lutheran Board of Trustees and a cleaning/rental fee may be charged.

VI.  Monitoring and Policy Review

Monitoring.

The principal will ensure compliance with established school-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. The school wellness committee will ensure compliance with the policies in our school and will report on the school’s compliance to the school principal each year.

School food service staff, at the school, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and will report on this matter to the school principal.  In addition, the school food service staff will report on the most recent USDA School Meals Initiative (SMI) review findings and any resulting changes.  If the school has not received a SMI review from the state agency within the past five years, the school food service staff will request from the state agency that a SMI review be scheduled as soon as possible.

The principal will develop a summary report every other year on school compliance with the school’s established nutrition and physical activity wellness policies, based on input from the school health committee within the school.  That report will be provided to the school board and also distributed to the parents through the school web-site.

Policy Review.

The school board will assess the policy beginning in June 2007 and will repeat it every three years to help review policy compliance, assess progress, and determine areas in need of improvement.  As part of that review, the school district will review our nutrition and physical activity policies; provision of an environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity; and nutrition and physical education policies and program elements.  

The school health committee will, as necessary, revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.

Attachment A

Healthful Food and Beverage Options for School Functions*

At any school function (parties, celebrations, meetings, etc.) healthful food options should be made available to promote student, staff and community wellness. Examples of nutritious food and beverages that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are listed below. 

• Raw vegetable sticks/slices with low-fat dressing or yogurt dip

• Fresh fruit wedges – watermelon, pineapple, oranges, tangelos, etc.

• Sliced fruit – nectarines, peaches, kiwi, star fruit, plums, pears, mangos, apples, etc.

• Fruit salad 

• Cereal and low-fat milk

• 100% fruit or vegetable juice

• Frozen fruit pops with fruit juice or fruit as the first ingredient

• Dried fruits – raisins, cranberries, apples, apricots

• Single serving applesauce or canned fruit in juice 

• Fruit smoothies made with fat-free or low-fat milk

• Trail mix (dried fruits and non-sugar-coated cereals)

• Lean meats and reduced fat cheese sandwiches (use light or reduced fat mayonnaise in 

chicken/tuna salads)

• Party mix (variety of cereals, pretzels, etc.)

• Pretzels or reduced fat crackers 

• Baked chips with salsa or low-fat dip (Ranch, onion, bean, etc.)

• Low-fat muffins (small or mini), granola bars and cookies (graham crackers, fig bars) 

• Mini bagels with whipped light or fat-free cream cheese

• Pasta salad

• Breadsticks with marinara

• Fat-free or low-fat flavored yogurt & fruit parfaits 

• Fat-free or low-fat pudding cups

• Fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products (string cheese, single-serving cottage cheese, cheese cubes)

• Flavored soy milk fortified with calcium

• Pure ice cold water

*This list is not all inclusive and is meant only to provide parents and school staff with guidance for healthier food and beverage choices. Not all food and beverage items on this list will necessarily meet the school’s nutrient standards (Attachment A) as items vary in sugar, fat and calorie content from brand to brand. However, all of the items in the list are believed to be consistent with the intent of the wellness policy to promote student health and reduce childhood obesity. 

Attachment B

Classroom Rewards

• A smile

• Going first

• Verbal praise

• Sit by friends

• Teaching the class

• Helping the teacher

• Enjoy class outdoors

• A field trip for the class

• Choosing a class activity

• Eat lunch outdoors with the class

• Eat lunch with a teacher or principal

• Extra credit or class participation points

• Taking care of the class animal for a day

• Have lunch or breakfast in the classroom

• A photo recognition board in a prominent location in the school

• A note from the teacher to the student commending his or her achievement

• A phone call, email, or letter sent home to parents or guardians commending a child’s accomplishment

• Recognition of a child’s achievement on the school-wide morning announcements or school website

• Ribbon, certificate in recognition of achievement or a sticker with an affirming message (e.g. “Great job”)

• Take a trip to the treasure box (filled with: stickers, temporary tattoos, pencils, pens, highlighters, sidewalk chalk, notepads, erasers, bookmarks, etc.