Food Allergies
Food allergies remain a serious concern. The partnership that St. Patrick’s seeks to foster in all areas among students, parents, and faculty and staff is of particular importance in promoting the safety of our students with life-threatening food allergies.
St. Patrick’s is an “allergy-aware” community that strives to help students learn to manage their allergies in developmentally appropriate ways. This approach means that our youngest students may be in classes that have more significant food restrictions than our older students. By taking this approach, we encourage students with food allergies to develop a sense of security knowing that schoolwide guidelines are in place to protect their physical and emotional well-being. St. Patrick’s guidelines regarding children’s allergies are based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE).
The Health Office assists parents with the management of children’s life-threatening allergies while they are at school by providing faculty and staff training; distributing the parent provided Food Allergy Action Plan to teachers; working closely with the provider of the School lunch program and with other food vendors, including those on off-campus field trips; storing and/or administering medication; and providing other necessary care to children with food allergies.
Parents of children with food allergies must provide the Health Office with a yearly Food Allergy Action Plan (located on the Magnus Health Portal) for their child and prescribed medication for anaphylaxis treatment (such as an Epi-Pen). Parents should contact the Health Office if they have any concerns about their children’s participation in the School lunch program. The Health Office is available to parents as a resource for ingredient lists for school lunches and snacks. Parents of children with food restrictions should note those restrictions in Magnus.
Students with food allergies will only be allowed to eat store-bought goods with legible ingredient lists that do not contain the allergen in question or foods specifically approved by their parents. If parents of children with food allergies choose to do so, they may provide a container of nonperishable special treats for the homeroom teacher to have on hand.
We encourage parents of children both with and without food allergies to rely on the Health Office as a vital resource as we work together in partnership to protect all of our children—in this instance, ensuring that food items entering classrooms and other spaces are safe for all students in the group for which the food items are intended. Parents of children with food restrictions should note those restrictions in Magnus.
Birthdays and other seasonal/holiday celebrations are special times for children, but they can be difficult for children with food allergies. In order to ensure that our classroom celebrations are both safe and inclusive, parents and other caregivers may not bring in any items to share with other members of the class that may contain or are made in a facility that processes peanuts or tree nuts. Other food allergies are managed individually.
At the beginning of the school year, we ask that parents of children with food allergies provide the Health Office and homeroom teachers with a list of child-specific allergy-friendly treats that can guide the selection of birthday and other celebration treats that the entire class can enjoy. Teachers will share these lists with parents at Back-to-School Nights. In PK3/PK4, Kindergarten, and Grade 1, the Day School provides allergy-friendly treats from an approved vendor for specified seasonal/holiday celebrations. We move away from that arrangement in Grade 2 and beyond, consistent with our commitment to a developmental approach.