Allergies
Allergies
NUT ALLERGIES
For the safety of the children in our school who have severe nut allergies, Saint Joseph School is completely nut-free. Please review our allergy policy below.
Because our children share space and interact daily with different grades, classrooms, and equipment, NO NUTS are permitted in classrooms, hallways, or anywhere in the school building.
What does this mean? It means that food should not contain peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil, or any form or derivative of peanut or nuts at all. It must not contain "traces of peanut." Even if the ingredient label says "may contain traces of nuts or peanut," or "made in a facility with tree nuts," treat this label as if it says "contains nuts or peanut."
Note: if you send a safe non-nut butter in your child's lunch, such as sunflower butter, please label the sandwich so that the teachers and lunch monitors know that it is safe.
OTHER ALLERGIES
Furthermore, we have adopted an “allergy sensitive” policy for all other allergies (such as dairy and gluten). The prevalence of food allergies in children is growing exponentially, even in our small school. We want to be sure that all children are safe while in our buildings and that they feel included in all school activities.
“Allergy sensitive” means that in addition to the school-wide ban on peanuts and nuts for both lunches and classroom-wide food (such as for holidays and birthday celebrations), classrooms with a child who has other allergies will only be able to share food that all children can eat. For example, if a child has an allergy to gluten, classroom celebrations can feature only food that is both nut- and gluten-free. This is to keep children safe and to promote the values of inclusion and empathy that we value at SJS.
For impacted classrooms, food must be labeled free of those allergens. Unfortunately, baked goods from home are not typically safe enough for children with severe allergies. Your teacher will inform you if there are other allergies in your class and will work with parents to develop a list of safe classroom-wide snacks and treats. We appreciate everyone’s adherence to and cooperation with this policy to keep all of our children safe and included.
If you have any questions relating to allergies, please contact Nurse Haladay at shaladay@stjosephschoolwakefield.org.
