Communicable Disease
When a student becomes ill or shows signs of a communicable disease (such as fever {100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater}, vomiting or diarrhea, pink eye, head lice, scabies or generalized rash or persistent cough) at school, the student will be sent home. The parent or guardian, or the contact person(s) for medical emergency, will be notified. All students should have an emergency phone number where a parent or guardian can be contacted in case of illness or injury arising during the school day. Please update contact information throughout the school year as needed. If a medical emergency arises and none of the above can be reached, an ambulance will be called.
To help keep our students healthy, please consider the following:
- Encourage healthy behaviors in your child including proper nutrition, promoting exercise and ensuring an adequate amount of sleep. These behaviors will boost your child’s immune system and help keep them healthy.
- Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.
- Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues or use the elbow, instead of the hand, when a tissue is not available.
- Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
- Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever, without use of fever-reducing drugs such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen, or vomiting and diarrhea. If your child is sent home from school with a fever, vomiting or diarrhea plan to keep them home the following school day. Keeping children at home will reduce the number of people who may become infected.
- Antibiotic treatment when prescribed must be administered for 24 hours before a child is considered non-contagious and is able to return to school. Any prescription or over-the-counter medication to be administered during school hours must be brought to the nurse’s office by a parent or guardian and proper paperwork must be filled out. Prescription medications must be in their original packaging with pharmacy label attached.
Please contact your child's school if he or she is too ill to attend and inform them about the symptoms or communicable disease the child is experiencing. The child may return to school when symptoms subside or with a written consent from your doctor.
Thank you for in advance for making this school year as healthy as possible!
Jordan Hughes
School Nurse