Health

It is the policy of the State of Iowa that all students enrolled in their schools must be in compliance with the Iowa State Immunization Code or they may be excluded from school. Students, parents or guardians must submit a valid certificate of immunization to the school in which the applicant wishes to enroll. Students who do not provide a Certificate of Immunization, Provisional Certificate of Immunization, or Certificate of Immunization Exemption to the school on the first day of school cannot attend.

Certificate of Immunization

For more information regarding Iowa Immunization laws, and the most current forms, visit the website of the Iowa Department of Public Health: Bureau of Immunization and TB.

Health and Wellness Policy
Board Approved May 2019
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary strives to educate the whole person in mind, body and soul.  In educating students about the body, they strive to develop a profound reverence for the greatest gift of life, their own lives and the lives of others, along with readiness to spend themselves in serving all that preserves and enhances life.  

The school, overseen by the St. Matthew Catholic Elementary Board of Education, strives to maintain a learning and working environment that promotes and protects children’s health, well-being and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.  Archdiocesan Board of Education Policy #6145

St. Matthew Catholic Elementary supports and promotes proper dietary habits contributing to students’ health status and academic performance.  Foods available on school grounds and at school-sponsored activities during the instructional day should meet or exceed St. Matthew Schools nutritional standards.  Foods should be served with consideration and nutritional integrity, variety, appeal, taste, safety and packaging to ensure high-quality meals.

The School Improvement Advisory Committee has developed a plan to implement and measure the wellness policy and monitor the effectiveness of the policy.  This committee will report annually to the St. Matthew Board of Education regarding the effectiveness of this policy.

Specific Wellness Goals:

• Nutrition Education and Promotion
• Nutrition Guidelines For All Foods Available on Campus
• Physical Activity
• Implementation and Evaluation

 

NUTRITION EDUCATION AND PROMOTION

St. Matthew Catholic Elementary School will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

• Is offered as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based program, which in part consists not only of physical education classes, but also part of classroom instruction in other subject areas;
• Includes promotion of enjoyable, developmentally appropriate, culturally relevant participatory activities, such as promotions, taste-testing, 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 physical activity;
• Links with meal programs, other foods and nutrition-related community services.

 

NUTRITION GUIDELINES FOR ALL FOODS AVAILABLE ON CAMPUS

Food Safety
All foods made available on campus will follow food safety and security guidelines and comply with the state and local food safety and sanitation regulations.  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans and guidelines will continue to be implemented to prevent food illness in schools. For the safety and security of food and facility, access to the food service operations should be limited to food service staff and authorized personnel.

Sharing of Food
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary discourages students from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and other restrictions on some children’s diets.

Food Service Department
The St. Matthew Catholic Elementary Food Service Department will:

• Engage students in selecting food offered through the meal program in order to identify new, healthful and appealing food choices.  Parent feedback is welcome;
• Share information about the nutritional content of meals with parents and students.

Qualifications of Food Service Staff
Qualified nutritional professionals will administer the meal programs.  As part of the St. Matthew Catholic Schools’ responsibility to operate a food service program, St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will:

• Provide continuing professional development for all nutritional professionals;
• Provide staff development programs that include appropriate certification and/or training programs for managers and cafeteria workers, according to their level of responsibility.
• Provide the USDA established-continuing education hours and training for all food service employees.

School Meals
Meals served through the National School Lunch Program will:

• Be appealing and and attractive to students;
• Be served in clean and pleasant settings;
• Meet nutrition requirements established by local, state and federal law;
• Include a variety of fruits and vegetables and menu choices.

Breakfast
To ensure that all students have breakfast either at home or at school in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn, St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will:

• To the extent possible, operate the school breakfast program;
• Notify parents and students of the availability of the school breakfast program;
• Encourage parents to provide a healthy breakfast for their students through newsletter articles, take-home materials or other means.

Free and Reduced-Priced Meals Program
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will continue to make every effort in eliminating any social stigma attached to, and in preventing the overt identification of, students who are eligibile for free and reduced-priced meals.  Towards this end, St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will:

• Utilize electronic identification and payment systems;
• Promote the availability of meals to all students.

Meal Times and Scheduling
St. Matthew will:

• Allow adequate time for students to receive and consume meals and provide a pleasant dining environment;
• Schedule meal periods at appropriate times, e.g., lunch periods scheduled between 11 AM and 1 PM;
• Not schedule tutoring, club or organizational meetings or activities during meal times, unless students may eat during such activities;
• Attempt to schedule lunch periods to follow recess periods;
• Provide students access to hand washing or hand sanitizing before they eat meals or snacks.

Beverage and Food
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will follow The Smart Snacks in School Standards published by the USDA, building on the healthy advancements by ensuring that snack foods and beverages sold to the students, in addition to those foods provided through the National School Lunch Program are also tasty and nutritious.  Any food or beverage sold during the school day must meet the nutrition standards. As defined by the USDA, the school day is any time before the first bell until 30 minutes after the last bell.

Beverage Nutrition Standards
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary may sell:

• Unflavored low fat milk
• Unflavored or flavored fat free milk and milk alternatives permitted by NSLP/SBP

Elementary schools may sell up to 8-ounce portions, while middle schools and high schools may sell up to 12-ounce portions of milk and juice.  There is no portion size for plain water.

Food Nutrition Standards
General Standard for Competitive Food must meet all the proposed competitive food nutrient standards and

1. Be a grain product that contains 50% or more whole grains by weight or have whole grains as the first ingredient* or
2. Have as the first ingredient* one of the non-grain main food groups: fruit, vegetables, dairy, or protein foods (meat, beans, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, etc.) or
3. Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup fruit and/or vegetables or
4. Contain 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of a nutrient of public health concern (i.e. calcium, potassium, vitamin D, or dietary fiber).  Effective July 1, 2016, this criterion is obsolete and may not be used to qualify as a competitive food.
5. *If water is the first ingredient, the second ingredient must be one of items 2, 3 or 4 above.

Exemptions to the Standard

• Fresh fruits and vegetables with no added ingredients except water are exempt from all nutrient standards.
• Canned and frozen fruits with no added ingredients except water or are packed in 100% juice, extra light syrup, or light syrup are exempt from all nutrient standards.
• Canned vegetables with no added ingredients except water or that contain a small amount of sugar for processing purposes to maintain the quality and structure of the vegetable are exempt from all nutrient standards.
• Grain items
  • Acceptable grain items must include 50% or more whole grains by weight, or have whole grains as the first ingredient.

Total Fats

• Acceptable food items must have <35% calories from total fat as served
• Exemptions to the standard:
  • Reduced fat cheese (including part-skim mozzarella) is exempt from the total fat standard.
  • Nuts and seeds and nut/seed butters are exempt from the total fat standard.
  • Products containing of only dried fruit with nuts and/or seeds with no added nutritive sweeteners or fats are exempt from the total fat standard.
  • Seafood with no added fat is exempt from the total fat standard.
  • Combination products are not exempt and must meet all nutrient standards.

Saturated Fats

• Acceptable food items must have <10% calories from saturated fat as served
• Exemptions to the standard:
  • Reduced fat cheese (including part-skim mozzarella) is exempt from the saturated fat standard.
  • Nuts and seeds and nut/seed butters are exempt from the saturated fat standard.
  • Products containing of only dried fruit with nuts and/or seeds with no added nutritive sweeteners or fats are exempt from the saturated fat standard.
  • Combination products are not exempt and must meet all nutrient standards.

Trans Fats

• Zero grams of trans fat as served (<0.5 g per portion).

Sugar

• Acceptable food items must have <35% of weight from total sugar as served.
• Dried whole fruits or vegetables, dried whole fruit or vegetable pieces and dehydrated fruits or vegetables with no added nutritive sweeteners are exempt from the sugar standard.
• Dried whole fruits or pieces with nutritive sweeteners that are required for processing and/or palatability purposes (i.e., cranberries, tart cherries or blueberries) are exempt from the sugar standard.
• Products consisting of only exempt dried fruit with nuts and/or seeds with no added nutritive sweeteners or fats are exempt from the sugar standard.

Accompaniments

• Use of accompaniments is limited when competitive food is sold to students in school.  The accompaniment must be included in the nutrient profile as part of the food item served and meet all proposed standards.

Caffeine

• Foods and beverages must be caffeine-free with the exception of trace amounts of naturally occurring caffeine substances.

Special Event Snacks

Snacks
Snacks served during the school day should make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health, with an emphasis on serving fruits and vegetables as the primary snacks and healthy beverages conforming to this policy.  Schools will assess if and when to offer snacks based on timing of meals, children’s nutritional needs, children’s ages and other considerations. Daily classroom snack is provided by families, per the recommended snack list. A list of healthful snack items in the Snack Policy is posted on the school website.

Snacks brought to school should have (per serving):

• No more than 7 grams of fat and contribute less than 30% of its calories from fat.
• 2 grams of saturated fat and contribute less than 10% of its calories from fat and 0 trans fats.
• No more than 15 grams of added sugar and contribute less than 25% sugar by weight.
• No more than 370 mg of sodium.
• 100% fruit juice.

Rewards
Schools are encouraged to offer nonfood forms of rewards.  If food or beverage rewards are used for academic performance or good behavior, they should conform to this policy.  Schools will not withhold beverages or food (including food served through meals) as a punishment.

Celebrations
Schools will evaluate their celebration practices that involve beverage or food during the school day.  The food used in celebration practices should make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health with some exceptions.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Wellness education is an important and integral part of the education of students at St. Matthew Catholic Elementary.

Physical Education
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will provide wellness education that:

• Includes students with disabilities;
• Engages students in moderate to vigorous activity during at least 75% of physical education class time;
• Meets regularly for the scheduled period of time it will allow at the elementary school level;
• Is taught by a certified physical education teacher.

Physical Activity Opportunities After School
To provide opportunities for physical activity outside the regular physical education classes, the school is encouraged to:

• Offer extracurricular physical activity programs, such as physical activity clubs or running club;
• Offer a range of activities that meet the needs, interests, and abilities of all students, including students with disabilities and students with special health-care needs;
• Offer information about community agencies such as Marion/Cedar Rapids Community Y to offer maximum number of physical activity opportunities;
• Publicize and promote participation in community events and programs that involve physical activity.

Physical Activity and Punishment
Employees will not use physical activity (e.g., running laps, pushups) or routinely withhold opportunities for physical activity (e.g. recess, physical education) as punishment.  Physical activity may be used as an accommodation for students demonstrating a specific need for activity.

Daily Recess
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will offer recess for students that are preferably outdoors (criteria should be established for when indoor recess occurs).  Recess should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment.

St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will discourage 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, schools will give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

Integrating Physical Activity into Classroom Settings
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, St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will:

• Offer integrated health education that complements 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;
• Provide opportunities for physical activity to be incorporated into other subject lessons;
• Encourage classroom teachers to provide short physical activity breaks during lessons or classes, as appropriate.

 

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION

Communication with Parents
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will support parents’ efforts to provide a healthy diet and daily physical activity for their children.  St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will:

• Provide information about physical education and other school-based physical activity opportunities before, during and after the school day;
• Support parents’ efforts to provide their children with opportunities to be physically active outside of school;
• Distribute information about physical education and activity via a web site, newsletter, other take-home materials and special events or physical education homework.

Staff Wellness
St. Matthew Catholic Elementary values the health and wellbeing of every staff member and encourages activities and policies that support personal efforts by staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Monitoring
The principal will ensure compliance with established school district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies.

At. St. Matthew Catholic Elementary:

• Food Service staff, at the school level, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within food service areas and will report on matter to the Food Service Director or Principal.
• St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will report on the most recent USDA School Meals Initiative (SMI) review findings and any resulting changes.  If St. Matthew Catholic Elementary has not received a SMI review from a state agency within the past five years, the school will request from the state agency that a SMI review be scheduled as soon as possible.

Policy Review
The Principal will review the nutrition and physical activity policies and practices and the provision of the environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity at the end of the school year.  St. Matthew Catholic Elementary will revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.