Wellness

Triennial Assessment

On June 19, 2017, the Hastings Public Schools Board of Education approved a new District Wellness Policy. This policy was developed through the work of the District Wellness Committee comprised of a variety of stakeholders from throughout the district. This wellness team includes representatives from students, support staff, physical education, UNL Extension, South Heartland District Health Department, administration, health education, school board, school counselors, parents, nurse, Lunchtime Solutions, and classroom teachers.

This policy was revised on September 12, 2022.

Rule 508.08

DISTRICT STUDENT WELLNESS

Nutrition Guidelines

SCHOOL MEALS

Our District is committed to serving healthy meals to children and to meeting the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements and are in compliance with USDA Nutrition Standards. Adequate time for students to eat school meals, (seat time – 10 minutes at breakfast and 20 minutes at lunch, not including time spent walking to or from class or waiting in line) will be provided.

All schools offer USDA School Breakfast Program.

Water

Water cups/jugs will be available in the cafeteria if a drinking fountain is not present. All water sources and containers will be maintained on a regular basis to ensure good hygiene and health safety standards.

Professional Standards

All school nutrition program directors, managers and staff will meet or exceed hiring and annual continuing education/training requirements in the USDA professional standards for child nutrition professionals. These school nutrition personnel will refer to the USDA professional standards for school nutrition professionals website to search for training that meets their learning needs.

District takes steps to protect the privacy of students who qualify for free or reduced meals.

Competitive Food and Beverages

To support healthy food choices and improve student health and well being, all foods and beverages outside the reimbursable school meal programs that are sold to students on the school campus during the school day will meet or exceed the USDA SMART Snacks Nutrition Standards. Fundraising efforts will be in compliance with the SMART Snack Standards for any fundraising events involving foods and/or beverages sold to students within the school building, during the school day. The school day is defined as the period from the midnight before, to 30 minutes after the end of the official school day.

Celebrations and Rewards

School Wellness Committees will be encouraged to follow the USDA SMART Snacks in School Nutrition Standards, including through celebrations and parties, classroom snacks brought by parents, rewards and incentives. The district will provide a list of healthy party ideas to parents and teachers, including non-food celebration ideas and the SMART Snack Nutrition Standards. The District will also provide teachers and other relevant school staff with a list of alternative ways to reward children given that food and beverages used as a reward or celebration should be limited.

Nutrition Education

Nutrition education will be integrated into other classroom instruction beyond health class through subjects such as math, science, language arts, social sciences and elective subjects. Nutrition education will be offered at each grade level as part of a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based health education curriculum. All health education teachers will provide opportunities for students to practice or rehearse the skills taught through the health education curricula.

Nutrition Promotion

The District will promote healthy food and beverage choices for all students through the school campus, as well as encourage participation in the school meal programs. It is the intent of the District to protect and promote student's health by permitting advertising and marketing for only those foods and beverages that are permitted to be sold on the school campus, consistent with the District's Wellness Policy. Staff will be encouraged to model healthy eating habits in the presence of students.

Physical Education/Activity

Physical Education

All students in grades K-7 will receive 80 minutes of physical education per week. Our physical education department will promote a physically active lifestyle as outlined in their standards-aligned written curriculum. All physical education teachers will be appropriately endorsed in physical education.

We encourage each building to engage family and community in physical activity opportunities. We encourage before and after school physical activity for all students be included in clubs, intramurals and interscholastic opportunities.

Each building is encouraged to promote physical activity brain breaks during the day.

Physical Activity

Elementary school students will have a minimum of 20 minutes a day of supervised recess, preferably outdoors. In the event that the school must conduct indoor recess, teachers and staff will follow the indoor recess guidelines that promote physical activity for students, to the extent practicable. In addition, physical activity will not be used or withheld as punishment. Finally, opportunities for physical activity will be regularly incorporated into other subject areas. Staff will be encouraged to serve as role models by being physically active alongside the students whenever feasible.

Public Involvement

The District will convene a representative District Wellness Committee (DWC) that meets at least four times per year to establish goals for and oversee school health and
safety policies and programs, including development, implementation, monitoring compliance, and periodic review and update of this district-level wellness policy.

The DWC membership will represent all school levels and include (to the extent possible), but not limited to:

Parents and caregivers
Students
Representatives of the school nutrition program
Physical education teachers
Health education teachers
School health professionals
Mental health and social service staff
School administrators
School Board Members
Health Professionals
General Public

Each school within the District will establish a School Wellness Committee (SWC) that convenes to review school-level issues, in coordination with the DWC.

Public Notification

The District will inform the public 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 content of, implementation of, and updates to the Wellness Policy or Rule, as well as how to get involved and support the policy; and
The availability of the annual and triennial reports.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Annual Progress Reports

The District will compile and publish an annual report to share basic information about the Wellness Policy and to report on the progress of the schools within the District in meeting wellness goals. This report will include, but is not limited to:

The website address for the Wellness Policy and Rule, and/or how the public can receive/access a copy of the Wellness Policy and Rule;
A description of each school's progress in meeting the wellness policy goals; and
Information on how individuals and the public can get involved with the DWC or SWC.

The district will track, analyze, and report on any correlations between improvements in health-promoting environments with education outcomes.

Triennial Progress Assessments

At least once every three years, the District will evaluate compliance with the Wellness Policy and Rule to assess the implementation of the policy/rule and include:

The extent to which schools under the jurisdiction of the District are in compliance with the wellness policy;
A description of the progress made in attaining the goals of the District's wellness policy.

Policy 508.08

DISTRICT STUDENT WELLNESS POLICY

Hastings Public Schools is committed to the optimal development of every student. The District believes that for students to have the opportunity to achieve personal, academic, developmental, and social success, we need to create positive, safe, and health-promoting learning environments at every level, in every setting, throughout the school year.

This policy provides a framework for ensuring environments and opportunities for all students to practice healthy eating and physical activity behaviors throughout the school day while minimizing commercial distractions. Specifically, this policy and the corresponding rule establish goals and procedures to ensure that:

Students in the District have access to healthy foods throughout the school in accordance with Federal and state nutrition standards;
Students receive quality nutrition education that helps them develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors;
Students have opportunities to be physically active during school;
Schools engage in nutrition and physical activity promotion and other activities that promote student wellness;
School staff are encouraged and supported to practice healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviors in and out of school;
The community is engaged in supporting the work of the District in creating continuity between schools and other settings for students and staff to practice lifelong healthy habits; and
The District establishes and maintains an infrastructure for management, oversight, implementation, communication about, and monitoring of the policy and rule that establish goals and objectives.

This policy applies to all students, staff, and schools in the District.