Congratulations to Bridlemile Elementary School, which substituted helium-filled beachballs for balloons in a balloon arch for the last day of school. This protects students with a latex allergy, such as my son, for whom regular balloons are dangerous because they contain latex. We have been working with Bridlemile leaders for years, and they are really getting it. Congratulations and thank you to them for taking this aspect of student safety to heart and making changes to protect our son and others with this allergy. It is relatively rare, but not that rare that people should not think about it.

Kevin Hayes, Portland