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NOTES FROM THE NURSESusan Caracciolo: scaracciolo@sainttimothyschool.org
Rising 6th graders, TDaP Immunization: For the upcoming school year, TDaP must be administered prior to the first day of school... the Commonwealth is not allowing any extensions. There are two different types of vaccine dependent upon the age of your child: the Boostrix vaccine for 10 year olds and the Adacel vaccine for 11 year olds. If your physician wishes to defer the immunization until your child is 11 y.o., the parent is responsible for providing a medical exemption letter from the physician. If the student had a tetanus shot within the last 5 years, he does not need the TDaP for the 6th grade; however, we need the documentation reflecting the Tetanus immunization date from the physician. Please provide documentation of this immunization no later than August 2nd, 2010. 1. New Immunization Requirements: The Virginia Department of Health has issued new immunization requirements for the upcoming school year. According to the publication, “No student shall be admitted by a school unless at the time of admission the student or his parent submits documentary proof of immunization to the admitting official of the school.” Vaccines must be administered in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control spacing and age requirements. The requirements mandate that the following four immunizations must be in place for students:
These changes supercede the “Requirements” listed under “Section III” of the Commonwealth of VA School Entrance Health Form! It is the parents responsibility to ensure that all immunizations are up-to-date and complete, or that a medical or religious exemption is obtained and provided to the school. 2. Varicella Vaccine (Chickenpox): The Center for Disease Control recently released a revised schedule for the varicella vaccine (chickenpox). It includes a two-dose schedule for children who have never had chickenpox by the following ages:
In addition to the varicella update, the chickenpox vaccine may be given along with the MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) known as the MMRV. Please reference the Chickenpox Vaccine fact sheet and the Minimum Immunization Requirements for School & Day Care (revised 6/06) 3. Other Health Immunizations for Consideration: Recommended immunizations for discussion with your pediatrician. Whenever your child receives immunizations, send a copy of the updated immunization to the school nurse to keep the health record of your child up to date.
MedicationsIf your child needs a medication, please ask the physician to space the dosages around school time (for home administration). If this is not possible, please come to the office and complete the appropriate medication form. Remember that each medication has its own form. All medications must be in the original prescription container with the following information: student's name, license prescriber's name, medication name, medication dosage, administration frequency, and the prescription fill/expiration dates. Medications cannot be administered out of plastic bags or other non-original containers. NO MEDICATIONS (PRESCRIPTION OR NON-PRESCRIPTION) IS PERMITTED IN THE CLASSROOM AT ANY TIME INCLUDING ASPIRIN, TYLENOL, COUGH DROPS, ETC.. All over-the-counter medications must be brought to the office in their original container upon arrival to school. At the end of the school year, the parents/guardians must pick up the remaining medication. We are not able to release medications back to the student. Upon school closure, any remaining medication will be disposed of. THIS IS FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL OF OUR CHILDREN! Preschool Medications Over-the counter medications, such as Children’s Benadryl, will only be held in the clinic for 10 working days unless a physician and parent have signed the medication form (in accordance with the Preschool Licensing Requirements). Long-term prescription and over–the-counter medications will be allowed only with written authorization from the child’s physician and parent.
For those students who are new at St. Timothy School, please ensure that all "Commonwealth of Virginia School Entrance Health Forms" are in the office before August 2, 2010. For those students who have transitioned from preschool to kindergarten, please have the physician's office complete the VA Health Form. Emergency care forms are due by the first day of school for each child in a family. The registrar will be contacting any families that have not sent in their forms. Please print and complete a new Emergency Care Form for any insurance or medical information changes. Medication Authorization Form Asthma Medication Authorization Forms Allergy Treatment Plans and Authorization Forms For students with allergies that use an Epi-Pen, please download and complete the Epi-Pen Authorization Form AND Allergy Action Plan. School CelebrationsThe School Health Committee committee (in accordance with the Center of Disease Control) requests healthy snacks for classroom celebrations. Below, you will find a list of recommendations for birthday and special occasion celebrations: Fruits - Fruit Kabobs, Dried Fruits, Frozen Fruits, Fruit Salad, Fruit Cups Birthday Celebrations: Your teacher may instruct you that all birthdays will be celebrated once a month, i.e., the last Wednesday of each month. The room mother will help organize this activity with the snacks, drinks, and paper products. First Friday Celebrations: We will no longer offer First Friday Donuts. Instead, we will continue with our First Friday Food Pantry. Holidays and Other Celebrations: These will be organized by your room mothers. Please remember to provide healthy snacks and drinks (in a creative way). Thank you for your cooperation in providing healthy snacks to our students. Please organize all celebrations with your teacher and reference the "Classroom Food Allergies" list for classroom allergies. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to notify me via e-mail. Classroom Food AllergiesClasses with known food allergies as of 3/6/10 (please refer back before providing any food for your class) PF1 (Mrs. Feldmann): Peanuts KA: Soy, avoid Gaterade, Hawaiian Punch and Hi-C punches If you receive a classroom letter informing you that a student in the class has a food allergy, please read the package label carefully to ensure that the allergen has not been used in the food processing! Also, avoid purchasing foods that have been processed in a plant that makes nut/peanut products for those who have students with nut or peanut allergies. Classrooms with students who have food allergies receive a letter at the beginning of the year. Instructions on how to read a food label for peanut allergies are available. Also, Mrs. Grandinetti has provided us with a list of recommended safe foods for peanut/cooked-egg/shellfish allergies. You may refer to this classroom celebration guideline on food ideas, but remember that the label is the final authority. Please refer to this information sheet for a home test for scoliosis. To ensure the health of our students, the Diocese of Arlington requires that all staff and volunteers provide a medical statement regarding being "free of communicable tuberculosis". The original test must be performed within the last 12 months. You may choose to have this testing done at any of the following locations: your physician's office or the local Fairfax County Health Departments:
Absences and SicknessRegarding absenteeism, please reference the Student Handbook. If your child develops a fever through the night or has an upset stomach from a virus or cold, please give your child a day to recover. In the Student Handbook, it is stated "a student should not return to school until at least 24 hours after an illness. Temperatures should be normal and other symptoms must have subsided." If a student is not well enough to go outside for recess periods, they should not be in school. The student should remain at home until he/she can follow the regular school schedule. Absence NotificationStudent absences must be accounted for by a written note to the classroom teacher upon return to school stating the reason for the absence. We also ask that you notify the office if your child is absent for more than three days. Parents of Junior High students must call the office each day that a student will be absent. Following these simple procedures will decrease the classroom and parental interruptions. Commununicable Diseases:If your child contracts a communicable disease, i.e., chicken pox, please inform the school office immediately. (Preschool parents: Please notify the school of any household communicable disease. From the Standards for Licensed Child Day Centers: "When children at the preschool have been exposed to a communicable disease listed in the Department of Health's current communicable disease chart, the parents shall be notified within 24 hours or the next business day of the center's having been informed unless forbidden by law, except for life threatening diseases, which must be reported to parents immediately.") Strep. Throat: Recently, a few cases of strep. throat have been reported. Symptoms of strep. include, but are not limited to, the following: fever, sore throat, nausea, unknown sand-paper trunk rash, headache, etc.. If your child complains of any of these symptoms repeatedly, please follow-up with your Pediatrician. Please refer to your local county health dept. website for H1N1 information and free clinics. Information on the H1N1 flu is also available from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm and Va Dept of Health www.vdh.virginia.gov. This flu virus is spread from person-to-person through coughing/sneezing or contact (lives on surfaces 24 hours or longer). The symptoms are flu-like symptoms with any or all of the following: fever, lethargy, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Antivirals are available if the patient is seen within 2 days of symptoms. Remind students to cover their cough/sneeze, wash their hands/alcohol-based cleaners and keep their hands away from their face as an effective way of prevention. Your child must be fever-free for 24 hrs. before they return. Please notify the front office of the diagnosis. If your child is out of school 3 days due to an illness, please e-mail our nurse with the symptoms or diagnosis at scaracciolo@sainttimothyschool.org. If your child has the flu, it is recommended to keep your child home at least 7 days until they are fever free without taking any anti-fever medications for 24 hours. The following table may be useful in determining the difference between symptoms of a cold vs symptoms of the flu.
It can happen to any child and is nothing to be embarrassed about, so if you determine that your child has a case, please notify the school nurse directly to assist with the spread of further cases. If you receive a letter in your child's envelope, then a case was reported in that class. Follow the information sent home at that time. Detailed information on the life cycle of lice, how to find it and treat it is available online at http://www.ridlice.com. WHAT ARE HEAD LICE? The head louse (pediculous capitus) is one of three types of lice that infest people. Head lice are tiny insects (about 1/10 to 1/8 of an inch long) that live in human hair and feed on human blood. They multiply rapidly laying little silvery-colored oval-shaped eggs (called nits) which they glue to the base of the hair, close to the scalp. If your child develops chicken pox, please report this to the school clinic ASAP. From WebMD: Chicken pox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It can spread easily. You can get it from an infected person who sneezes, coughs, or shares food or drinks. You can also get it if you touch the fluid from a chickenpox blister. A person who has chicken pox can spread the virus even before he or she has any symptoms. You are at risk of chickenpox if you have never had the illness and have not had the chickenpox vaccine. The first symptoms of chickenpox often are: a fever, a headache and a sore throat. You or your child may feel sick, tired and not very hungry. The chickenpox rash usually appears about 1 or 2 days after the first symptoms start. Some children get the chickenpox rash without having a fever or other early symptoms. It usually takes 14-18 days to get the symptoms of chickenpox after you have been around someone with the virus. This is called the incubation period. After a chickenpox red spot appears, it usually takes about 1 or 2 days for the spot to go through all its stages. This includes: blistering, bursting, drying, and crusting over. New red spots will appear every day for up to 5 to 7 days. Your child can return to school when all blisters have crusted over. This is usually about 10 days after the first symptoms start. More information is available at http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/Chickenpox-Varicella-Topic-Overview.
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