Rockford Christian Schools

EATING HEALTHY – IMPROVED LEARNING!

The Primary/Intermediate School is happy to announce some policy improvements regarding healthy food served at school. This includes the following areas – birthday treats, snacks, treats, and even with our lunch program. It has been proven that a child’s diet affects their ability to learn. With that in mind, it is our desire to manage what our students consume while they are at school.

SNACK POLICY

While snacks may have an appropriate place in a child’s day to bridge periods of time between meals, some students may develop unhealthy habits, ingest unhealthy foods, and may not be prepared to take advantage of a full meal during lunch.

Additionally, we work hard to keep our classrooms safe for those students with peanut allergies. Please do not send any snacks that contain peanuts or peanut products and/or indicate that they have been made in a factory that processes peanuts.

If your child’s teacher has a designated snack time, please choose a snack from the following healthy snack choices: Fresh fruit or Vegetables, Animal crackers, Graham crackers, Cheerios, Raisins, Vegetable sticks with low-fat dip, Raisins, Popcorn, Yogurt, Rice Cakes, Chex mix, Nutri-grain bars, Pretzels, Fig Newtons, Dried Fruit, Goldfish, Baked tortilla chips and salsa, Baked chips, Fruit or oatmeal bites, Cheese and crackers. The only beverage allowed in the classroom is water.

BIRTHDAY POLICY

We all know that birthdays are important and that children like to celebrate with their classmates. At Rockford Christian Schools we want to celebrate your child’s special day without interrupting our important work of learning.

We encourage you to let your child participate in our Birthday Book or Learning Game program. Here is how it works: your child treats his or her class to a new book for the library or activity for the classroom teacher’s learning centers. At a 

designated time, the birthday girl or boy opens the book or game and the class has an opportunity to enjoy it. A name plate with your child’s name will be mounted inside the cover of the book or on a prominent place on the game. This becomes a very special present that will long outlast a sugary treat that is gobbled up in minutes!

Because Rockford Christian values a healthy lifestyle, parents wishing to provide a birthday snack may bring in a healthy snack to celebrate their child’s special day. Please see the list of approved Snacks. Snacks that are provided for the entire class must be individually portioned and wrapped to make distribution quick and to minimize mess.

Remember, sending a treat, book or game is strictly optional.

NEW LUNCH PROGRAM!

Rockford Christian Primary/Intermediate School has partnered with Community Kitchen, Inc. to provide custom daily meal preparation services for both hot and cold lunch meals. Community Kitchen is a Rockford-based organization dedicated to preparing nutritious meals for schools and other local organizations. The meals provided by Community Kitchen are nutritious – no fried foods, peanut-free, and moderate in sodium, sugar, fat, calories from fat, and cholesterol!

DESCRIPTION AND PROCEDURES

• Menu – Each Hot Lunch will include an entrée, vegetable, and a fruit dessert. Cold Lunch will include a sandwich/salad entrée, along with a variety of sides (chips, pretzels, etc.), and a fruit dessert.
• Pre-ordered meals – Each month, parents will receive a menu (and an order form) that will include a different Hot or Cold lunch choice for each day of the upcoming month. On the order form, parents will decline the lunch option or select either the Hot or Cold lunch option for each day.
• Pre-paid meals – Payment must be attached to the order form if paying by check or cash. If paying by credit card, please bring the form into the office. The order form and payment must be received by the marked deadline for each month in order to receive your lunches for the next month.

• Cost for Hot or Cold Lunch - $3.50 per meal (does not include a beverage).
• Beverage – Milk/bottled water is not included with the cost of lunch. Milk/bottled water is optional. Students who wish to take milk or bottled water every day may purchase a milk ticket for the year for $60. If your child will only be purchasing a drink occasionally, you may purchase a 10-punch card for $3.50.
• Lunch cancellation – If an order and payment has been made for a day on which the student will not need the meal (sickness, unforeseen appointments, etc.), then it is the responsibility of the parent to cancel the lunch order by 8:15 a.m. of the day of the meal.
• School cancellation – In the event that school is closed (snow day, emergency, etc.), that days meal will be carried over to the following day. If school is closed for more than one day, the menu will resume its normal cycle when school resumes.
• Other lunch needs – in the event that a student needs a lunch and has not ordered one or brought a sack lunch for the day, the school will make an emergency lunch for the student at the normal cost. The parents will be billed or the money will be removed from their lunch account.

LUNCH ROOM VOLUTEERS NEEDED!

We are excited about the new lunch program for this year! However, in order to make the program run efficiently and smoothly each day, we must utilize parents or grandparents to help serve and wipe tables every day. If you would be willing to help in this area, please contact the office or indicate it on the beginning of the year volunteer form! Volunteering in this way allows you to visit with your child, connect with other students, and be a part of our healthy community! As a thank you for your time and efforts, each volunteer will receive a free hot lunch for the day that they served.