School News

Letter To Parents

3^rd May 2011 

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the summer term.  I hope you had a wonderful Easter and made the most of the gorgeous weather. 

As well as welcoming everyone back I also wish to make a plea about the contents of the children’s lunch boxes.  We have a school policy which states that children are not allowed junk food (this includes mini cheddars and twiglets) and heavily processed foods should be avoided where possible.  It is the latter which particularly concerns me.  Cereal bars, fruit leathers, yoghurts with additional treats all contain extremely high levels of sugar.  Indeed many cereal bars can be as high in sugar content as chocolate. 

Sugar not only has links with tooth decay and obesity but is also responsible for depressing the immune system, contributing to hyperactivity and reducing levels of concentration; all worrying traits.

Consequently please may I ask for your support in reducing the amount of processed foods found in lunch boxes.  We will no longer be turning a blind eye to cereal bars and yoghurts that contain chocolate and we will reinforce the rule that the break time snack must be fresh fruit or vegetables and ideally water.  Staff will be sensitively monitoring lunch boxes and some special stickers have been ordered to encourage the children to eat healthily.  I know that many parents feel under pressure to include such ‘treats’ because their children say that others are allowed them and I hope that by reiterating  and enforcing  the school policy this will no longer be the case.  Please feel free to catch me if you wish to discuss any of the above. 

Let’s make the most of the summer term and enjoy rice and pasta salads, houmous dips, chicken drumsticks, quiche, pitta bread, bagels, wraps, fruit jellies, homemade cakes, fruit fools etc.

Thank you for your support with this.

Best wishes

Caroline