Winter Recess Guidelines

As we enter into the winter season, we believe outdoor recess is an important and valuable part of the student’s day. Fresh air, exercise and time spent outside afford students a break from the structure of the classroom. Teachers agree that students perform best at school when they have an opportunity for vigorous outdoor play, so we try to get them out whenever possible. However, because there are times when it is not safe for children to be outdoors, we will be following the guidelines listed below to determine whether we will have inside or outside recess.

It will be imperative that your child is dressed appropriately (jackets, gloves, and hats) for the cold weather and prepared to play outdoors. Every child will need to wear a coat in order to go outside for recess.

Please call me if you have any questions/concerns or if your child is in need of any of the above mentioned items.

Winter Recess Guidelines

The National Nurses’ Association has established the following guidelines for outdoor recess during the winter months:

• Feels like 25 degrees and above (considers wind chill factor) -  Outdoor recess
• Feels like 24 degrees or below (considers wind chill factor) - Inside recess

To access the current local temperature including wind chill, we will:

1. Go to www.weather.com.
2. Type in zip code 15531.
3. Look at the current temperature for Boswell.
4. Look right below the current temperature to get the “Feels Like” temperature.  That’s the temperature we will use to determine outdoor recess.