August 31, 2011
A student in your child’s grade level has a serious peanut/nut allergy. A child with a serious peanut allergy can suffer a reaction merely by touching a peanut-containing food. Therefore, we are putting the following safety guidelines into effect:
- Please do not send any peanuts, peanut butter, other nuts, or food containing peanuts, peanut butter, or other nuts to be eaten as snacks in the classroom. These items cannot be distributed in the classroom due to safety concerns. It is fine to send these products for lunch, which is eaten in the cafeteria.
- We will not be doing any classroom projects that involve peanut butter (like bird feeders) or peanut shells (art projects). Please do not send any of these projects into the classroom with your child.
- Birthday parties are a special time for children, but can be a difficult time for the food-allergic child. For those of you who would like to send something to school to celebrate your child’s birthday, please consider sending a non-food treat, for example pens/pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. This not only eliminates the food allergy issue and makes everyone feel included, but it also promotes our district’s focus on healthy eating. If you would like to send in baked goods, please be careful about the ingredients. (We ask that you please list the ingredients on the outside of the package, again to ensure the safety of all students.)
- We will try to keep the food at holiday parties to a minimum. As with birthday parties, we must be extremely careful about the ingredients in all of the food items. Please do not enclose candy or other food treats with holiday cards.
- We will request that all the children wash their hands when they return from the cafeteria. Similarly, if your child ate peanut butter for breakfast, we would greatly appreciate your making sure that he/she washes his/her hands before leaving for school.
We trust that you understand how deeply important it is to respect and adhere to these guidelines. If throughout the course of the year you have any questions or concerns about food-allergy-related issues, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Wishing you and your family a safe and healthy school year.
Sincerely,
Mr. Bowen