Subject: Important Health & Safety Update – Our School is Now a Nut-Free Environment

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well as we begin another exciting school year together.

We are writing to inform you of an important change to our school’s health and safety protocols. Effective immediately, our school will be a Nut-Free Environment. This decision has been made to protect the health and safety of several new members of our school community who have severe anaphylactic allergies to nuts and nut products. These allergies are not only triggered by ingestion but can also be caused by airborne particles or contact with surfaces that have traces of nuts. For this reason, we must take extra precautions to ensure our school remains a safe space for all students and staff.

What This Means for You:

Please ensure that all lunches and snacks brought to school do not contain any of the following:

• Peanuts
• Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts)
• Cashews
• Sesame
• Nut oils (e.g., peanut oil, almond oil, etc.)

We understand that this may require adjustments to your usual routines, and we appreciate your cooperation and understanding. Our collective efforts will help prevent potentially life-threatening allergic reactions and ensure that every child and adult can move freely about our school safely to work and learn without concern of risk and exposure.  If your child brings nuts etc. to school, we will be sending home reminder slips in the child’s lunch kit and ask the student to not open their package and send it home. We will offer the child a nut free alternative from our school lunch Brown Bagging program to supplement their lunch/snack for the day.

Safe Snack Suggestions:

To help support this transition, here are some nut-free snack ideas that are safe to send to school:

• Fresh fruits (apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, etc.)
• Fresh vegetables (carrot sticks, cucumber slices, bell pepper strips)
• Cheese cubes or string cheese
• Yogurt (check labels to ensure nut-free)
• Applesauce or fruit cups
• Crackers (e.g., Ritz, Triscuits, Wheat Thins – always check labels)
• Nut-free granola bars (e.g., MadeGood, Enjoy Life)
• Popcorn (plain or lightly salted)
• Rice cakes
• Pretzels
• Mini muffins (homemade or store-bought, nut-free)
• Hummus (without sesame) with veggie sticks or pita

Please always read ingredient labels carefully, as manufacturers can change their recipes or processing methods.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a safe and inclusive environment for all.

Warm regards,
Benita  Dalton
Principal