Allergy Awareness
St. Anne's acknowledges the prevalence of food allergies in our student community. We are a peanut and tree nut aware facility. Nut aware means you are being asked by the school to consider peanut/nut alternatives for individual student lunches and snacks out of consideration to our children with severe, life threatening allergies. Food brought to share or distribute cannot have any peanut or nut ingredients, including peanut/nut oils or peanut/nut flour.
At St. Anne's, the number of children in our elementary and middle schools with “nut” allergies far exceeds the national average. Upon ingestion or even air-borne exposure to these products, allergic reactions can range from hives, to skin swelling, to asthmatic wheezing, to gastrointestinal distress, to increased heart rate, and to an even more life threatening reaction, commonly known as anaphylaxis.
Anaphylaxis involves a reaction within the respiratory tract that causes swelling in the airways and constricts the flow of oxygen. If not treated immediately, this reaction can be fatal. A portion of our students present all of these symptoms and require special medications and consistent monitoring to ensure their safety at all times. These students live with this life-threatening challenge each day.
Our staff and faculty undergoes annual training in recognizing the symptoms of anaphylaxis and responding immediately to these emergency situations. We ask the community, as a team effort, to not send in any products that contain and/or were manufactured in facilities that process tree nuts and peanuts.
Parents should address their questions or concerns to the Director of Health Services, Michael Phillips, mphillips@saintannesschool.org. Thank you!!