The Mission of The Museum School of Avondale Estates is to inspire students, teachers, and the community to collaborate to develop strong critical thinking, interpersonal and academic skills in our students, which will prepare them for real-world success.
Scope
TMS offers a meal program in accordance to the NSLP and SBP that provides healthy nutritious breakfast and lunch, available to every student.
The Museum School (TMS) recognizes that a proactive, preventative, and comprehensive wellness plan is essential for student success and staff support. TMS is committed to providing a school environment that enhances the learning and development of lifelong wellness practices.
Oversight
The Principal or Principal’s designee shall be responsible for the implementation and compliance of this Wellness Policy, and any related regulatory requirements including the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, and the Principal or designee will work with the Wellness Advocate and the Wellness Team to monitor and report the measurable outcomes of this Wellness Policy.
Wellness Team
The Principal or designee shall identify a Wellness Advocate to collaborate with parents and the community to establish and maintain a wellness plan that complies with Section 204 of Public Law 108-265, Child Nutrition, WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and Section 204 of Public Law 111-296, Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The Wellness Advocate, as part of a Wellness Team, is responsible for the updates and management of the TMS Wellness Plan which includes: developing and revising the plan, monitoring compliance with it, and assessing progress toward its goals.
Goals
This plan establishes goals and procedures to ensure that:
- Students at TMS have access to healthy foods throughout the school day- both through reimbursable school meals and other foods available throughout the school campus- in accordance with federal and state nutrition standards;
- Meals offered within the federally reimbursable meal program will feature and work to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods from the local area as available through the FSMC and other programs such as FFAVORS to the greatest extent possible.
- TMS is committed, to the greatest extent possible, to integrate locally/regionally sourced (TN, NC, FL, GA, and TMS garden-grown) foods into school culture via school meals, clubs, and in a cross-curricular manner to appropriately facilitate the nutritional, educational, and sustainability goals of the school. Hands-on learning activities such as school gardening, farm visits, culinary clubs, and food-related education will be integrated into standards-based curriculum.
- Marketing for all food or beverages in areas accessible to students during the school day must be consistent with USDA standards for nutrition.
- Fundraising activities occurring at any time on school grounds shall promote foods that meet USDA standards for nutrition. This includes fundraisers for school, PTO, clubs, student activities, and athletic teams. TMS may hold up to 10 fundraisers annually that are exempted from this rule.
- Students receive quality nutrition education that helps them develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors;
- TMS engages students in nutrition and physical activity and other activities that promote wellness;
- TMS will create an environment that promotes physical activity and establishes a healthy foundation enabling students to reach their full academic potential;
- Students have opportunities to be physically active before, during, and after school throughout the school year;
- TMS shall provide Physical Education (PE) instruction taught by a certified instructor;
- In accordance with state law, TMS will perform an annual fitness assessment (Fitness-gram) for all students, including reporting on the assessment;
- TMS shall not use physical activity or withhold opportunities for physical activity as punishment;
- School staff are encouraged and supported to practice healthy nutrition and physical activity behaviors in and out of school;
- The community is engaged in supporting the work of TMS in creating continuity between school and other settings for students and staff to practice lifelong healthy habits (such as International Walk to School Day, Walk and Roll to School, Livestrong, 5K Run/Walks, etc).
- TMS establishes and maintains an infrastructure for management, oversight and monitoring of the plan;
- TMS shall establish a school “Wellness Team” that meets at least 2 times per year to develop recommendations regarding TMS’s Wellness Plan. The Wellness Advocate shall consult with the Wellness Team on all aspects of the plan, including its development, implementation, assessment, and any revisions.
- The TMS Wellness Team should include representation form a broad array of stakeholders including students, staff, parents, health and nutrition professionals, physical education and health instructors, and school administrators.
- TMS will also identify a means of communication of the goal, objective, and progress of this plan with stakeholders.
Plan Evaluation
The Wellness Advocate shall prepare a report assessing the school’s compliance with the Wellness Plan at least once every other year. The report shall be distributed by means reasonably calculated to reach interested stakeholders. The report must measure implementation of the Wellness Plan and include the following at a minimum:
- Assessment of the extent to which the school is in compliance with The Museum School’s wellness policy;
- Assessment of the extent to which The Museum School’s wellness policy compares to other local school wellness policies; and
- A description of the progress made in attaining the goals of The Museum School’s wellness policy;
- Proposed updates to the Wellness Plan based on the Wellness Team’s assessment.
The Wellness Advocate shall maintain records to document compliance with the Wellness Plan and this Board Policy. Records that must be retained to ensure compliance include:
- Written copies of the Wellness Plan and any revisions;
- Documentation demonstrating compliance with community involvement requirements;
- Making the biennial assessments available to the public;
- Documentation of the biennial assessment of the Wellness Policy.
