School Wellness Plan
The McLeod Independent School District is committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity. Therefore, it is the policy of the McLeod Independent School District that:
- The school district will engage students, parents, teachers, food service professionals, health professionals, and other community members in developing, implementing, monitoring, and reviewing district-wide nutrition and physical activity policies.
- All students in grades K-12 will have opportunities to engage in physical activities on a regular basis.
- Foods and beverages sold or served at school will meet the nutrition requirements of the Texas Department of Agriculture.
- Child nutrition staff will provide students with access to a variety of affordable, nutritious, and appealing foods that meet the health and nutrition needs of students; will accommodate the religious ethnic, and cultural diversity of the student body in meal planning, and will provide clean, safe, and pleasant settings and adequate time for students to eat.
- To the maximum extent possible, our district will participate in available federal school meal programs (including the School Breakfast Program, and National School Lunch Program).
- Our school will provide nutrition education and physical education to foster lifelong habits of healthy eating and physical activity, and will establish linkages between health education and school meal programs.
To Achieve These Policy Goals:
I. School Health Advisory Council
The McLeod Independent School District School Health Advisory Council consisting of a group of individuals representing the school and community including: parents, a representative from food services, school administrators, teachers, health professionals, students and members of the public will coordinate to create, implement, monitor, review, and, as necessary, assist in revising the school nutrition and physical activity policy.
II. Nutritional Quality of Foods and Beverages Sold and Served on Campus
School Meals
Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will:
- Be presented in an appealing and attractive method to students
- Be served in a clean and pleasant environment
- Meet nutrition standards established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations;
- Offer a variety of fruits and vegetables, in school lunch meal plans
- Allow students to obtain water during all meal services
- Per the nutrient standards of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs:
- Serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy alternatives (to be defined by USDA)
- Ensure that at least the daily and weekly minimum numbers of grains are served to each age
- Ensure that all grains served are whole grain rich
- Provide meals that are trans-fat free
- Provide meals with less than 10% of total calories from saturated fat during a school week
- Ensure that at least the minimum required amount of fruits and vegetables are served to each age group
- Ensure that vegetable subgroups are all represented in menu planning throughout the school week
- Ensure that at least the minimum required amount of meats or meat alternate are served to each age group
- Provide meals that fall within the minimum and maximum calorie range by age group
- Ensure meals that meet the weekly sodium target range by age group
Breakfast
To ensure that all children have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn:
- Our school will, to the extent possible, operate the School Breakfast Program.
- Our school will, to the extent possible, arrange bus schedules in order to serve breakfast to our students.
Meal Times and Scheduling
Our school will:
- Provide students with at least 10 minutes to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch;
- Schedule meal periods at appropriate times, e.g., lunch should be scheduled between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- Not schedule tutoring, club, or organizational meetings or activities during mealtimes, unless students may eat during such activities. Child nutrition personnel will be notified in advance of any activities that will effect meal times.
School Food Service Staff
As part of the school district’s responsibility to operate a food service program, we will provide continuing professional development for the nutrition professionals in our school.
Sharing of Foods and Beverages brought from home
Our school does not allow students to share foods or beverages brought from home with one another during meal times.
Foods and beverages Sold individually (i.e., foods sold outside of
reimbursable school meals)
Beverages
Allowed:
-water without artificial sweeteners, sugar, or sodium; fruit and vegetable juices and fruit-based drinks that contain 100% fruit juice or 100% fruit juice plus water with no additional sweeteners, must contain at least 10% Daily Value of 3 vitamins and nutrients of public health concern: Vit A, C, D and calcium.
- Low-fat milk, flavored or unflavored fat-free fluid milk and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy beverages (to be defined by USDA).
- At least 50 % of the beverages sold will be water.
- No calorie beverages, flavored and/or carbonated beverages
- Low calorie beverages, flavored and/or carbonated
Portion Sizes: Portions size and calorie restrictions for beverages will meet the USDA’s final rule “Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School”, effective July 1, 2014, The Smart Snacks Regulation, under The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010.
Plain Water
§ no portion restriction all age groups
Milk
§ 8 oz in Elementary,
100% Fruit and Vegetable Juice
· < 8 oz Elementary, < 12 oz Middle and High School.
Calorie Free Beverages with or without flavoring or caffeine
§ Not allowed in Elementary and Middle School.
§ High School < 5 cal per 8 oz, or 10 calories per 20 oz
< 20 oz portions.
Lower Calorie Beverages, with or without caffeine
§ Not allowed in Elementary or Middle School High School < 40 calories per 8 fluid oz or < 60 calories per 12 fluid oz
< 12 oz portion
Competitive Foods
Not sold during the school day.
Fundraisers that involve food are allowed to be ordered but not consumed at school- ex. Cookie dough, meats, etc.
Time and Place Restrictions:
The elementary school campus may not serve competitive foods (or provide access to them through indirect sales) to students anywhere on the school campus throughout the school day except for those food items made available by the school food service department
The middle or junior high school campus may not serve competitive foods (or provide access to them through indirect sales), including fundraising, to students anywhere on the school campus from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after meal periods except for those food items made available by the school food service department.
High schools may not serve competitive foods (or provide access to them through indirect sales), including fundraising, to students anywhere on the school campus from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after meal periods except for those food items made available by the school food service department.
Nutrition and Physical Activity Promotion and Food Marketing
Nutrition Education and Promotion
The McLeod Independent School District aims to teach, encourage, and support healthy eating by students. Our school should provide nutrition education and engage in nutritional promotions that:
- are offered at each campus 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
- are displayed in the cafeteria through posters and other signage to encourage healthy eating habits.
Other School Based Activities Designed to Promote Student and Staff Wellness:
Each campus will participate in Field Days and other special events to promote student physical activity and wellness.
McLeod ISD provides a weight room for students and an exercise room for staff members. Students are encouraged to exercise during athletic and physical education classes in a supervised environment. Staff members are allowed time built in to their work day for exercise. Students and staff members engage in healthy competitions such as FitBit challenge to see who takes the most steps in a day. Other staff members will compete in weight loss programs monitored by the school nurse. All programs are designed to promote the development and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle for students and staff.
III. Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education
Daily Physical Education (P.E.) PK-12
All students in grades K-12 will receive daily physical education (or its equivalent of 150 minutes/week for elementary school students and 225 minutes/week for middle and high school students) for the entire school year. All physical education will be taught by a certified physical education teacher.
Athletic programs are offered for grades 6 through 12. These programs offer many after-school opportunities for physical fitness. The District offers the facilities for use for an after-school Pee Wee basketball program. Elementary grades may participate in a structured program of practice and competition.
IV. Monitoring and Policy Review
Monitoring
The superintendent or designee will ensure compliance with established district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies. The school food service professionals will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and will report on this matter to the superintendent. New requirement: LEAs are required to periodically measure and make available to the public an assessment of wellness implementation. This can be found on our website.
Policy Review
The McLeod Independent School District will review our nutrition and physical activity policy. The district will, as necessary, revise the wellness policy and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.
Public Notification
The Wellness Policy and information on implementation (see measuring implementation) will be posted on the district website in an easily retrievable section.
Measuring Implementation
Administrators will periodically measure and make available to the public (see public notification) an assessment on implementation of LWP, including the extent to which the schools are in compliance with LWP, the extent to which the LWP compares to model LWP, and a description of the progress made in attaining goals of LWP.
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