Families

Healthy Schools Program Healthy Celebrations

Why does it matter?

It is important to provide consistent messaging around food, beverages and healthy eating throughout our schools and out-of-school time programs is important. Promoting healthy options during meal or snack times, while allowing foods high in calories, fat, sugar and sodium at celebrations, sends students conflicting messages. Celebrations can include healthy options, or take on a non-food focus to provide opportunities for more play and time to enjoy music, dance, games, sports and other fun activities. Evolving policies and standards around foods and beverages allowed in schools and out-of-school time programs create an opportunity for starting new traditions to celebrate special days throughout the school year or during out-of-school time.

Check ingredient statements and nutrition information to ensure celebratory items meet the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards. Ensure food allergies of any participants are known before serving any food item.

For more information on healthy celebrations or finding healthy snacks and beverages, contact the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Examples of NON-FOOD alternatives:

• Bring supplies for a game or craft project

• Bring small items to trade (pencils, stickers or erasers)

• Bring music for a dance party

• Provide extra recess or play time

• Bring a special book

• Arrange for a guest reader

• Hold a special show and tell

• Arrange for special time with a principal, teacher or staff - take a walk around the school or playground

• Organize a community project

• Create a themed scavenger hunt around the school

• Stock a treasure chest - bring items like pencils, stickers, erasers or other small trinkets to fill the chest

• Allow the birthday child to be the class assistant to help with special tasks

• Allow the birthday child to wear a special sash and crown or carry a special item

Examples of FOOD alternatives:

• Snacks like smoothies, yogurt parfaits, trail mix, roll ups or other items that young people can assemble are great ways to get students involved in the preparation.
• Allow students to use cookie cutters to make foods into fun shapes.
• Plan theme menus – use monthly, seasonal or holiday themes. For example, serve warm apple cider (100% juice) in the fall, toasted pumpkin seeds in October, or turkey roll-ups in November. Make red and green fruit kabobs in December, fill green peppers with fat-free or low fat yogurt dip in March, or hand out frosty fruits in the summer. Here are other helpful food suggestions:
  • Water
  • 100% fruit juice with no added sugar
  • Fat-free or low fat milk
  • Fruit smoothies (made with frozen fruit with no added sugar and fat-free or low fat yogurt)
  • 100% fruit juice slushies with no added sugar
  • Fresh fruit - trays, salads or kabobs
  • Fresh vegetables - trays, salads or kabobs
  • Fat-free or low fat yogurt (alone or as a dip for fruits or vegetables)
  • Yogurt parfaits (fat-free or low fat yogurt, fruit and whole grain cereal or granola as topping)
  • Canned fruit or fruit cups (in water, 100% fruit juice of light syrup)
  • Frozen fruit or fruit cups (in water, 100% fruit juice of light syrup)
  • Frosty fruits - freeze your own fruit (frozen grapes make a great treat!)
  • Dried fruit with no added sugar
  • Nut or seed butter (with fruit or whole grain crackers)
  • Nuts or seeds
  • Trail mix made of nuts or seeds and dried fruit with no added sugar
  • Whole grain crackers
  • Low-fat cheese (with fruit or whole grain crackers)
  • Hummus (with vegetables or whole grain crackers)
  • Small, whole grain waffles or pancakes topped with fruit or nut or seed butter
  • Whole grain pretzels (soft or crunchy)
  • Low-fat or air-popped popcorn (no added butter or salt)
  • Graham crackers
  • Nut or seed butter and jelly sandwiches on whole grain bread
  • Small whole grain bagels or English muffins with nut or seed butter or jelly
  • Pizza (on whole grain crust with low fat cheese and lean protein or vegetable toppings)
  • Roll-ups on whole grain tortillas (fill with a lean protein, low fat cheese, hummus, nut or seed butter and jelly or vegetables)
  • Fat-free or low fat pudding
  • Bean quesadillas or burritos made with whole grain tortillas with salsa
  • Whole grain cereal bars
  • Baked whole grain tortilla chips with salsa or bean dip
  • Baked chips (small portions)

 

Dear Families and Friends of Grant Elementary,

We want to welcome all of you to another new school year. Grant PTO works to provide students and families focused activities throughout the year as well as appreciation events to recognize work well done. Another exciting year is ahead of us and we look forward to sharing it with you!

All our activities are made possible because of YOU! It’s true! Of all the things you offer Grant, your time is the most valuable. Grant families have logged in countless hours in the classroom, during special events, and so much more. When parents and families spend time at their children’s school, it has positive benefits for us all!

Many of us are working families, so time is often scarce. Don’t worry, though! There are many ways families can support Grant Elementary. Throughout the year, Grant PTO holds a number of fundraisers. Fundraisers help raise money for special student activities and needed school equipment.

There are other ways to contribute without any extra cost to you. Check it out:
· Box Tops for Education provide schools 10 cents for every Box Top turned in by students. You’ve probably already seen them on various food boxes and cereal boxes. Simply cut them out and send them to school with your child. We’ll take care of the rest!
· Campbell's Soup labels provide valuable points to Grant which can be used to purchase PE equipment. Just like Box Tops, you can cut them out and send them to school with your child and PTO will take it from there!
· E-scrip is another easy program that costs you nothing but gives back to your school every time you shop. Anytime you shop at Safeway with your club card, a percentage of your purchases will be donated to the school of your choice. It’s easy to enroll and it costs you nothing!

All of us want to thank you for everything: your time, your energy and your support. We welcome your thoughts and ideas and encourage you to share them. Here’s to a great school year!

Sincerely,
Grant Elementary PTO

President- Beck Yawney
Vice President - Kelly Cobb & Lisa Riggs
Treasurer- Brenda Murray
Junior Joggers- Havila Roberts
Secretary- Ashley Iverson
Class Tiger Paws- Kim Linehan
Accelerated Reader Store (AR)- Michelle Smith
Box Tops- Ashley Iverson

Dear Grant Families,

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! Grant School is a wonderful place to be. We hope your scholar finds their time at Grant to be rewarding. Our staff has an unrelenting passion for scholar; our motto is “Preparing our future ~ one scholar at a time.” We believe in this and will work hard to support it.

Our commitment is to do everything we can to help your scholar be successful. We want each scholar to learn as much as they can, be a kind and caring person, and work to make Grant an even better place than. There is a saying, “leave it better than you found it” – I hope that when your scholar leaves Grant they can say they did all they could to make Grant School a better place. It is my hope that the information in this handbook will answer many of your questions. I encourage you to read this book with your scholar and to keep it for future reference.

We welcome and encourage families to visit and help out. We have an active Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) that would welcome your support. Always remember to check in at the office when coming to school so that we can continue to provide a safe environment for all.

It is often worrisome to release your scholar into someone else’s care. We have your scholar for almost seven hours each day; which is a small amount of time compared to the time you have with them. We will do our best with the precious time we have been given. If a situation arises that affects your scholar’s well-being please come see us.

This is going to be a fantastic year and I hope to see you at our many, many schools event!

Sincerely,

Shannon Dahl
Principal

Grant School Handbook 2021-2022

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs.