Hawthorne Board of Education

QUICK NOTES

On behalf of the Hawthorne Education Community, we would like to thank the residents for supporting the budget!!

REMINDERS:

2013-2014 Budget can be found on the Reports tab to your left or you can access it by Clicking Here

Please note the Board of Education Policies and Regulations are now online (See link at left of page).

Please take a moment to read the Mission Statement by clicking the attachment below.

2013-2014 School Calendar Click here

Message from the Superintendent

As you know, Hawthorne Public Schools initiated a ban on peanut and tree nut products in the preschool and the elementary schools and a voluntary ban in the middle and high schools. Since the new regulations were put into effect last Monday, February 4, 2013, the administrators have been working on operational guidelines designed to protect the students who are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and at the same time minimize unnecessary restrictions on the students during lunch period. The district recognizes the importance of social growth during the lunch period as an essential part of the school day.

The most critical component to the guidelines is to create a buffer zone between the children with the allergies and other children who might accidentally be eating products containing even trace amounts of peanut and tree nut products. Despite our best effort to comply, occasionally a mistake can be made and as a result we need to continue our vigilance.

In each of our three elementary schools, students with peanut and tree nut allergies will be seated in an area often called the “peanut free café”. Students sitting with or near proximity to students with these allergies need to be especially careful. Students who buy their lunch and bring nothing from home are assumed to be safe because our cafeteria service has not served any peanut or tree nut products for a significant period of time. Those students wishing to sit with or in near proximity to the children with peanut allergies will be asked to show their lunch to the cafeteria personnel who will confirm safety.

Once again, these new modified procedures are designed for safety and reasonable flexibility. The compliance on the new ban on peanut and tree nut products has been outstanding and I would like to thank the families and the students for their cooperation and understanding as we work out the guidelines.

Thank you.

Robert P. Mooney
Superintendent of Schools

Click here for Regulation R 5331- Management of Life-Threatening Allergies in Schools

The following link contains material for informational purposes only. Hawthorne Board of Education accepts no responsibility for the reliability, accuracy, or content.

http://snacksafely.com/snackguide