Food Services and Wellness Update
November 2020
Included in this newsletter
- Tuesdays in November for meal box distribution
- In-person school cafeteria menu
- Health attestation reminder
- Sexual Health Education information
- Mental health resources and list of school counselors
- Playgrounds open with safety protocols in place
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Pick up meal boxes on Tuesdays the rest of November
For the rest of November, there will be Tuesday distributions of the meals. Come by on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 17 and 24. The day of the week will go back to Wednesday in December.
We encourage all families to pick up a free box of 14 meals and support our food services program and the Good Food Project in Bellingham Public Schools, as well as our local community. In every week’s box, we will provide a scratch-made entrée out of our Central Kitchen with ingredients sourced from local farms when available.
Boxes distributed from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at 15 school locations and six community locations.
Locations are found online at bellinghamschools.org/food-services.
Health attestation: an important safety step
Information on sexual health education
Initiative 90 did not change anything about our curriculum in Bellingham Public Schools.
- In our schools, policy and procedure 2125 govern sexual health education.
- Initiative 90 did not change our current practices and it did not mandate a curriculum. View a helpful resource on the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction at OSPI FAQ
- In addition to the FAQ, sexual health education requirements are listed on the OSPI website: https://www.k12.wa.us/student-success/resources-subject-area/sexual-health-education
- Parents and guardians have an opportunity to review materials to be used and choose to exclude their child from sexual health education instruction.
Fifth grade curriculum can be reviewed here. For grades 6 to 8, we use the KNOW curriculum, available here. High school health classes use the FLASH curriculum, with information available here.
School playgrounds open; safety reminders
With elementary schools coming back in-person at some grades, playgrounds can only be used outside of school hours.
Thank you for following these safety precautions:
- Wear a mask at all times;
- Practice social distancing;
- Rotate through if the playground has too many children on it; and
- Wash hands before and after use.
Check out important mental health and suicide prevention resources
Please find a list of mental health and wellness resources online on the district website.
You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255. Press 1 for the Veterans Helpline. If you’re under 21, you can ask to talk to a peer at Teen Link at 1-866-TEENLINK between the hours of 6-10 pm or (206) 461-3210 during regular business hours. Don’t feel like talking on the phone? You can start a text conversation with the Crisis Text Line by sending “HEAL” to 741741.
How to contact someone for support
If you or your child would like to talk to someone about how to manage stress, anxiety and routines, please use one of these avenues:
- Call the Family Resource Center at 360-676-6456 and leave a message.
- Call the District Office at 360-676-6400 and leave a message.
- Fill out the Bellingham Public Schools request form and select “I would like a school counselor to contact me” (or your child).
Food Services Program
Email: patrick.durgan@bellinghamschools.org
Website: bellinghamschools.org/food-services
Location: 2005 Alpine Way, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: 360-676-6504
Wellness Program
Email: jessica.sankey@bellinghamschools.org
Website: bellinghamschools.org/wellness
Phone: 360-676-6400