Birthday Policy

FOOD-FREE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Caley Elementary School recognizes that one of the special milestones each year for your child is celebrating their birthday.  In an effort to be responsive to those children who have food allergies or other dietary restrictions, we have changed the way we celebrate birthdays at Caley.

The teacher and your child’s classmates will recognize your child on their birthday in a variety of special ways. I encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher to learn how you may be able to support a food-free birthday recognition for your child. With the support of your classroom teacher, special care will be taken when selecting foods for our four classroom parties (Halloween, Winter, Valentine’s Day, and End of Year) held throughout the year.

I have provided a list of food-free alternatives for recognizing your child on their birthday. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I recommend you do some research online or speak with your child’s teacher for more information.

• Caley Birthday Book Club - sponsor a book for our Library.  Details HERE. 
• Donate a book to the classroom in honor of your child’s birthday with his/her name inside.  
• Have your child bring their favorite book to share and the teacher or child will read it to the class.
• Donate a new or gently used board game to the classroom.

We appreciate your support and understanding as we continue to reflect on how to provide all students with a safe and healthy environment.  A simple change in policy, which will continue to allow children to be honored on their birthday, is the prudent action to take at this time.  We welcome any suggestions for simple, yet meaningful ways to recognize your child’s special day. 

BIRTHDAY INVITATIONS

We do not recommend that the school be the primary point of distribution for birthday invitations. Teachers are not expected to hand out invitations for the child.  If a child brings invitations to school, the entire class is expected to be invited.