Reopening of the canteen service from 16 November - Adjustment measures

13 November 2020

 

We are pleased to announce that the canteen service will resume its activities together with the school reopening on Monday.

Despite the difficulties of running a school canteen in these exceptional circumstances, APEEE Ixelles has made every effort to avoid a suspension of the service and to continue to provide our students with a quality daily meal. We are the exception among canteens of the European Schools in Brussels, and we are proud of this.

Targeted adaptation measures, established in line with the directives of the school management and in cooperation with Belgian authorities, will be implemented as of Monday.

Adjustment measures - as of Monday, 16 November 2020

1) Meals

  • Based on decision of the Belgian authorities, hot meals are suspended with the exception of nursery classes.
  • Hot meals will be replaced by lunch boxes, which will be distributed by the canteen staff.
  • The lunch boxes will include:

A sandwich

1 fruit

1 biscuit

1 juice

Where possible, lunch boxes will be regularly supplemented by other items (e.g. home-made cake / yoghurt drink / fresh vegetables).

Within few days, fresh soup will be included as extra item for secondary pupils.

 

  • The composition of the lunch boxes (with ingredients and allergens) will be available online on the APEEE webpage. To the extent possible, lunch boxes will be prepared according to the quality standards set out in the Canteen Food Policy and reviewed by canteen nutritionist (e.g. vegetarian min. 1x/week, red meat max. 1x/week). The bread used for sandwiches, fruit and biscuit will vary daily. Special effort will be made to find appropriate formulas for P1-P2 classes (e.g. softer bread).The canteen will explore ways how to offer a 2nd option for the sandwich as soon as possible.

 

2) Organisation of the daily service

 

Nursery:

The timetable and the organisation of the canteen service have not changed. Children will continue to go to the canteen with their teacher at agreed times. 1,5m social distancing will be ensured between class bubbles.

Dessert will be eaten in classroom - this will allow children more time to eat.

 

Primary:

Lunch boxes will be delivered by the canteen staff in front of the classroom door. They will be distributed and eaten in class under the supervision of the teacher.

Pupils are requested to bring their own water bottle. At request, canteen staff can deliver 1,5l water bottles for refill.

 

Secondary:

A) Enrolled students will receive a lunch box in the refectory between 12.50 and 13.50.

The school allocated the students to 3 possible slots, established according to the number and respecting the school timetable:

 

o Slot 1: 12:50 for S2 (S1 during weeks of in-situ teaching)

o Slot 2: 13:20 for S4+S6 (S3 during weeks of in-situ teaching)

o Slot 3: 13:50 for S7 (S7+S5 during weeks of in-situ teaching)

 

Students will be informed of the time slot allocated to them via information screens in the school. 

Students will be required to present their badge, pick up the lunch box and sit down at the designated place in the refectory to eat. Social distancing of 1,5 m between students will be ensured.

Water will be available to students during the whole slot.

Students will be given 20 min. time to eat.

 

B) In line with applicable school rules, students not enrolled in the canteen can eat their own lunch as usual in the Cafeteria, Hall AB, Cervantes Room or outside.

Garderie, snack&go:

Canteen will continue to provide snacks to the OIB garderie groups and Snack&Go extracurricular groups. Lunch box will be provided on Wednesday. Details and menu will be communicated on the APEEE website.

 

3) General safety measures

  • Wearing a mask is compulsory in the refectory at all times when not eating: secondary students should only remove it when already seated!
  • Unnecessary moving around in the refectory is strictly forbidden.
  • Disinfection will be available when entering and leaving the refectory.
  • The service staff will scrupulously respect all the established hygiene measures (gloves, mask). No direct contact with the students will be possible.
  • After each service, 10 minutes are allowed for disinfecting the premises.

 

4) Reimbursements:

Given the switch to cold food, we offer the parents exceptionally the possibility to cancel their canteen enrolment as of 23 November. The cancellation must be requested via MyAPEEE by Thursday 19 November by 15:00 at the latest, no administrative fee will apply. For later cancellation standard conditions will apply (see Horeca regulation). Exceptional cancellation will be available only to parents without outstanding payments.

We understand that you would like to know more about reimbursements. We are assessing what can be reimbursed and will inform you shortly. Our intention is to return as much money as possible for days when children could not use the canteen service. Please be aware that some cost for running the canteen arise even on days when your child is not attending the school.

We would like to thank you for words of appreciation we receive for the quality of the canteen food and for your support and trust.

Stay safe,

Your canteen