St. James Montessori Snack Policy
Due to the severity and increasing number of food allergies, the St. James Montessori School has developed a policy for snack time which best protects the Teachers, the Board, but most importantly – the children at risk.
Our Goals
To provide a safe snack time - an essential part of the Montessori environment.
To allow time for the children to enjoy a snack with their peers.
To encourage the children to independently serve themselves their snack, and clean up their eating area afterwards.
To be aware of, and to ensure all families are aware of any allergies in our program, in order to respect our students with life-threatening allergies.
We are a Nut-Aware Program, which means we will not store or serve any foods that may contain peanuts or tree nuts. We ask all families to support us in this policy, for the safety of not only our students, but also those within Lincoln Middle School, by not bringing any foods that may contain nuts into our building.
Families will need to provide a snack each day for their child(ren). As part of our program, we provide a daily snack time in our classroom. We do not ever force a child to eat with us, and we do not force them to eat any food during snack time that they do not wish to consume. We do encourage children to be adventurous, and to try new foods; but we never force them if they do not want to.
If your child has any food allergies, it is imperative to let the School know immediately.
There are specific forms we require families to fill out if their child has any food allergies or sensitivities, and will take all necessary precautions to ensure your child does not come into contact with that allergen while in our program.
Snack Guidelines
Families are required to provide a snack each day.
Please ensure all foods have labels so we can check for allergens other students may have. Your child’s snack will not be refrigerated, so we recommend families send a lunch box/bag that has the ability to keep foods cool, or to add an ice pack.
Please ensure you are sending utensils if your child’s snack requires them.
Water bottles are optional for families, as we have our water cooler and disposable cups available as well.
It is each family’s decision what they choose to include in their child’s snack each day.
We will at times provide all families with healthy food recommendations, or educational materials, but this is not something families are required to follow. We respect each family and their right to decide what their child eats, and recognize and are understand to the fact that food insecurities exist.
What if a family forgets to send a snack?
If a family ever forgets to send a snack, we will first contact you to see if one can be dropped off. If it cannot, SJMS does have limited food on site we can provide, for a $5 fee. Food items include things like yogurt tubes, cheese strings, crackers, and granola bars.
Occasionally, SJMS will serve a “fun” alternative snack.
At times throughout the year (such as on Halloween or Spirit Week), SJMS may choose to provide a fun snack. This will be planned in advance and emailed out to all families with the date and ingredients of the snack (such as banana ghosts with chocolate chip eyes on Halloween). Families can still choose to send their own snack for that day if they wish, and as always the children are never forced to eat any food they do not want to. These snacks will always take into account any allergens in the program.