A Message From the Principal,

To stay within the McNeil Policy, we ask that students and parents celebrating birthdays to please follow these guidelines:

1. Unless each student in the class is invited, the school does not permit students to bring birthday invitations to school for home parties. This policy is designed to take into consideration each student and their feelings.

2. Birthday parties should always be scheduled for off campus and after school hours. Individual birthday parties are not permitted during the school day.

3. Below are a few suggestions of non‐food items that could be used to celebrate your son or daughter’s birthday at school

• Mascot or school pencils

• Notepads

• Crayons

• Books

We are taking this decision a step further to ensure the health and safety of our students. Our focus will include food allergies, diversity of diets, obesity and its related health conditions, and the overall safety of our students. Therefore, we will no longer be celebrating birthdays with parties in the cafeteria or classroom with any food items. We want our focus to be on the children’s health and wellness as healthy, stronger bodies equal stronger minds.

Please refer to the MISD Elementary Handbook on the complete policy regarding food items and FMNV. (Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value).

Part of the McNeil Mustang Way is to show mutual respect to others, and following these guidelines demonstrates this to other students.

Thank You,

Tracy Meador