In our school, we have children who have life-threatening allergies to peanuts, nuts and nut products. Consequently, we would like our school to be Nut Aware to ensure the safety of these children.
Parents are asked not to send any nuts or nut products for snacks or lunches. It is very important to check the list of ingredients to ensure that items are safe. The school will do its best to monitor all foods.
We realize that we may not be able to create an environment which is 100% safe for children with nut allergies, but we want to ensure that our school is as safe as possible. We will certainly be on the lookout for peanut butter sandwiches, nut granola bars and cookies with nuts as these are items which are particularly dangerous.
Even items that contain the warning, may contain traces of nuts, may be dangerous to a small percentage of children who have allergies that are at the life-threatening end of the spectrum. We ask parents not to send these items even if they are a minimum threat.
When food items are brought in by the staff or volunteers for special events, every effort is made to ensure all products are nut-free.
In the event a child does bring a nut product to school, they will be asked to put it away and eat it at home. A reminder to parents will be communicated. If it is the child’s main lunch, they will be sent elsewhere to eat.
Because we have children who are severely allergic to animals, we are particularly careful about having animals brought into classrooms. This may occur if it is part of a teaching unit and the teacher is confident that no one will be adversely affected.
Our staff and students need to work together to make our school a safe place for everyone. Like a family, we need to help, support and be kind to each other.
Scent Aware Environment
Elk Island Public Schools is a scent aware environment. The entire school community needs to be aware of and respect the potential adverse impact of odours and scented materials on the health of others.
Staff and students are expected to cooperate with site and division controls or initiatives that limit or eliminate the use of perfumes and scented personal care products whenever possible. This may also include highly scented flowers, cigarette smoke on clothing, air fresheners and essential oil diffusers.
