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Health and Wellness at Ponderosa

Health and wellness is very important to us here at Ponderosa Elementary.  We have a team of staff members that meet monthly to help promote, facilitate and educate around wellness.  Our staff has adopted and supports the following health and wellness guidelines: Click here for healthy kid tips. 
   
Health and Wellness

  

Ponderosa Elementary School

Health and Wellness Guidelines

Classroom Celebrations/Rewards

We request non-food related celebrations, rewards and parties due to the health and wellness focus of Ponderosa, as well as increased number of food allergies and special dietary needs. Non-food ideas: Extra recess, pencils, extra computer time, educational video, lunch in the classroom, special show and tell, etc.

Birthdays

We request a “non-food” focus when celebrating a child’s birthday at school (please refer to individual classroom Birthday Menus).

Individual Snack

Ponderosa Elementary requests low caloric and low sugar snack choices as part of our Health and Wellness initiative (fruits, vegetables, pretzels, granola, yogurt, cheese).

Classroom Snack/Holiday Parties

          If food products are brought to school for group consumption, all snacks must be prepackaged with food labels detailing ingredients (per District Nutritious Foods Policy). Fresh fruits and vegetables are welcome and encouraged, but must be prepared on site (classroom sink).

Physical Activity

          All PES teachers are incorporating physical activity into the daily curriculum to meet the needs of all students. This is in addition to daily recess and bi-weekly PE classes. We stress the importance of a partnership between teachers, parents and community in order to meet the national recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity daily.

  The following is a suggested Birthday Menu to choose a non-food based birthday treat, classroom teachers may have Birthday Menu's unique to their room:  

Birthday

Birthday Menu

The birthday boy or girl can choose one of the following special items to celebrate their special day:

·      Extra Recess

·    Free Time

·    Lunch in the classroom with a friend

·    Make a simple craft (supplies by parents)

· Bring a treat – stickers, pencils, bookmark, etc (not food based)

·   Watch a short educational video

·    Donate a book to our class

·    Bring in a special show and tell