February 8th, 2019

With Valentine’s Day coming soon we wanted to send a reminder to everyone about our No Treat Policy at Williamsburg. In keeping with our “no Birthday and Special Events Treat Guidelines”, please do NOT send treats to school with your child on Valentine’s Day.  Students are still welcome to bring Valentine’s Day cards for their friends at school.

Here is an explanation of the policy:

As of December 2017, we implemented a “No Birthday or Special Events Food/Treats” guideline at Williamsburg Public School. Please know that this decision was made after much thought and discussion. There are a number of reasons why we made this change:

1. We have an increasing number of students with life-threatening food allergies. It is our responsibility to ensure all students are safe at school and to take every precaution to prevent allergens from entering the school.

2. A number of our parents have indicated that they do not want their children eating food other than the food they send to school. They especially don’t want their children eating treats, sugar etc.

3. We are an inclusive school. Many children/families feel pressure that they need to bring in treats like other children in the class which causes financial strain and/or stress for some.

4. It is important that our school promotes and protects students’ health, well-being and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating, physical activity and healthy choices.

Please know that we are not trying to take the fun out of birthdays and special events. Rather, we want to create an environment that is safe for all of our students and one that is focused on learning. Thank you in advance for your flexibility and for caring about the health and safety of our students.

Categories: School News