Dear Parents/Guardians:

 

Hi! My name is Heather Tibbett, and I am the school nurse at HVS.  I hope that you and your children had a wonderful summer break.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  I encourage you to let me know any information that will help me provide the best possible care for your child. Please be aware the following are some school health guidelines/policies to be aware of:

 

Exclusion from School:  

Keep your child home from school for ANY of the following reasons:

-Temperature 100F or above within the last 24 hours

-Disruptive cough, cough with fever

-Suspected infection of the eyes, nose, throat, skin or scalp

-Abdominal pain or headache

-Has vomited or had diarrhea within the last 24 hours

-Any suspected communicable disease

-Any suspected fracture or severe injury

-Head injury

-Head Lice

-Immunizations which are not up to date (unless you have filed a request for exemption with the school)

 

*** It is extremely important that you keep your child home if they are sick to avoid passing illness to other students. Please help us help your child as well as the other students***

 

Medication Policy:

-Medications MUST be stored in the nurse’s office. Students are NOT ALLOWED to carry medications at school at any time

-A parent or guardian consent form must be on file with the nurse for both prescription and over the counter medications.

-Parents must deliver and pick up medications from school

-Medications MUST be in the original prescription container with the student’s name, medication name and directions from physician on dispensing said medication. (Usually a separate school bottle can be obtained from the pharmacy when ordered by the physician)

-If medication instructions change, a written physicians order must be sent to the nurse office unless medication is brought in a new prescription bottle from the pharmacy reflecting all changes

-The school reserves the right to refuse to give any medication

-Medications need to be picked up at the end of the school year. A reminder note/email will be sent out, any medications NOT picked up will be destroyed.

– If your child is sick at home and you have administered ANY medication before school (to include Tylenol, ibuprofen, cough/cold medications) PLEASE notify the school nurse of this.

– I will administer ONE dose of OTC medication per student with a written parental consent. Afterwards you are responsible to supply your child’s medication that I will store in the nurse office.

 

Contacting a parent or guardian:

-Make sure you contact the front office with any changes to phone numbers or email address so we can contact you if your child is ill or injured. If we are unable to contact you, we will call emergency contacts on file. In a major emergency, the paramedics will also be called. The school is NOT responsible for any costs incurred for medical care or emergency transportation.

– If you are contacted to pick your child up, we appreciate that you pick up your child as soon as possible, we do not have the space to have a sick child here for hours waiting for a parent/guardian. If you are unable to pick up your child within 30-45 minutes please arrange for the emergency contact on file to pick up your student.

-A lot of communication will be via email unless an emergency or I need to speak with a parent/guardian.

 

Health Screening at School:

-All students will receive screenings for vision, color vision and eye muscle balance. Students K, 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th, 7^th and all new students will receive a hearing screening. You will be notified if and when a further evaluation by a specialist is recommended.

 

Vaccinations:

-If you receive a notice that your child needs another vaccination, please have it completed and send in the documentation asap. We do not want to have any of our students excluded due to lack of immunizations.

 

Clothing:

-We recommend that all kindergarden students have an extra change of clothes in their backpack. If your student has frequent accidents please put clothes in a bag with the students name to keep in nurses office.

-If your child gets “loaner” clothing due to an accident from the nurse, please wash and return back to the nurse as soon as possible. If your child gets underwear from the nurse we CAN NOT take this back, even after washing,  please replace with a new pair of underwear in the package.

-We are always thankful for donations of new socks/underwear and any bottoms/tops that your child has outgrown.

 

Special Health Concerns:++**

 

-We have multiple children with life threatening food allergies, including peanuts, tree nuts, fish/shellfish etc. We would appreciate your assistance in reminding your student NOT to share food at school. We also need your support in not providing class snacks or party treats that contain any of these items. All

 

Sunscreen and Water Bottles:

-Please apply sunscreen to your child every morning before school. This is so important living in the “valley of the sun” where there is a high incidence of skin cancer.

-Include a water bottle daily and encourage your child to drink frequently throughout the day to stay hydrated.

 

***As always help us prevent the spread of illness, teach your child regular handwashing, teach your child to sneeze and cough into the crook of his/her arm***

 

 

Thank you and looking forward to healthy school year!

 

Nurse Heather