Good nutrition throughout the school day supports:
- academic achievement
- a positive social and learning environment at school
- student health
To support our students’ learning and health, Gatewood promotes good nutrition throughout the school day:
- Birthday celebrations: Teachers determine whether and how birthdays will be celebrated in their classroom. If food is allowed by your child’s teacher for birthdays, please see this attachment for guidelines.
- Snacks, other classroom celebrations, and all-school events: Food offered to students at other times during the school day will make a positive contribution to children’s health and diets, with an emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and other healthful foods.
- Classroom snacks are generally donated by families (coordinated by your class GatorAide or teacher) and supplemented by the PTA.
- Classroom celebrations and all-school events will most often focus on activities and may sometimes include a healthful snack.
- Incentives: When used at Gatewood, incentives will most often be non-food items, privileges, or activities. See this attachment for staff guidelines.
Thank you for supporting our efforts to improve nutrition at Gatewood. We wish to create the best learning environment possible for children. According to research done by RULER at Yale, a healthy diet is one of three essentials to promote success in learning. The three are diet, exercise, and sleep.