From the Health Office

Please remember that all medication must be picked up or dropped off at school by a parent/guardian.  If you have brought in any medication (with the exception of inhalers and epi-pens) for your child during this school year, it needs to be picked up by the last day of school or it will be disposed of. 

Be sure to read the attached article “5 Tips to Sun Safety for Kids” from www.parents.com.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR CHILDREN WITH US!  HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY SUMMER!

Dear Parents of Current Sixth Graders,

It’s hard to believe that this is the last Newsletter for this school year. It seems like just the other day we were sending out early information relative to the Department of Public Health’s immunization requirements for students entering 7th grade.

We strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment for your child within the next few weeks to ensure that he/she has the required immunizations to enter seventh grade in September 2010.   It would be extremely helpful to have this information before the end of the school year.

Please understand that this cannot be done on the morning of the first day of school as there are medical care plans and other medical concerns to be addressed by the nurses. We are also committed to staff workshops on August 30th and 31st .

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.  Please understand that your child will not be able to attend the first day of school if his/her immunizations are not up to date.

The physical exam for seventh grade may be done as your insurance permits during the 2010-2011 school year.

Please contact your building nurse if you have questions or concerns. We are glad to be of assistance.

Alison Enright, RN  MS-South                    Kay Stidsen, RN MS-North

Jennifer DeRouin, RN MS-South

It’s allergy season again and we’re running out of tissues! We’d love to accept donations of tissues to either the North/South Health Office or your child’s classroom. We appreciate your help in keeping the spread of germs down! Thank you!

For Students Entering Grade 7 Next School Year (2010)

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health requires students entering the seventh grade to have had two doses of the measles vaccine, documentation of the disease chicken pox or the vaccine, the Hepatitis B series and a Td booster (preferably Tdap which needs to be given within the last five years) in order to attend classes on the first day of school.

We strongly encourage you to schedule an appointment for your child within the next couple of months to ensure that he/she has the required immunizations to enter seventh grade in September 2010.   It would be extremely helpful to have this information by the beginning of June so that it can be documented and recorded while the nurses are available in the building.

We appreciate your cooperation on this matter.  We want to prevent your child from being excluded on the first day of school because his/her immunizations are not up to date.

Please note that a physical exam is also required during the seventh grade (7/01/2010-6/30/2011) and may be done as your insurance permits as it is not a mandatory requirement to attend school.

Please feel free to contact any of the Middle School nurses if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jen Derouin,RN                          978-448-6155 ext 1160

Alison Enright, RN    

Kay Stidsen, RN                           978-448-6155 ext 1800

We would like to remind you of our school district’s policy for the administration of medicine in our school.  Before your child can receive any medication in school, you need to obtain a Consent Form from the nurse’s office.  Fill out the parental side of the form and take it to your child’s physician or nurse practitioner, etc. to have the back of the form filled out and signed.  Bring this form with no more than a thirty-day supply of the medicine in the ORIGINAL PHARMACY BOTTLE to Nurse’s Office.  Your pharmacist can provide separate bottles for home and school.  You need to bring in the medicine and pick it up from the nurse’s office. FOR SAFETY PURPOSES, STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TRANSPORT MEDICINE TO AND FROM SCHOOL.  With prior arrangements with the nurse, some students can carry their inhalers or epi-pens on the bus.  The nurse cannot start any medicine until the forms have been completed and returned to the school.

If your child is to receive a short-term medicine (less than 10 doses), just fill out the parental permission side of the consent form.  After 10 doses have been given during the school year, a doctor’s written order is required for further administration of the medication.  Please pick up all medicine upon completion.  All medicine remaining in the nurse’s office will be discarded on the last day of school.

THIS POLICY IS FOR ALL MEDICATIONS, PRESCRIPTION AS WELL AS OVER THE COUNTER.  If there is a change in the dose, time or type of medication, new forms are required from you and the physician. 

With the cold weather approaching, we will all be spending more time gathered together in the indoor environment.  This creates the perfect breeding ground for many common communicable illnesses.  We’d like to pass along some simple guidelines that will help insure a healthy winter season:

Any child who has had a fever (Temp>100) should remain home until fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicines such as Tylenol, Motrin or Advil.

Any child experiencing symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting must remain at home.

Any child who has a contagious bacterial disease (such as strep throat, conjunctivitis, impetigo, etc.) must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school. 

Any child with a disruptive cough should remain at home.

Parents know their child best!  Encourage and practice good hand washing and sneezing/coughing technique with your children, keep family toothbrushes separated in bathrooms and discourage sharing of snacks and drinks to help prevent the spread of illness at home and at school.  If you suspect or are concerned that your child may be coming down with any kind of “bug”, please keep them under your care for the day.  With all of us working together, we can help to prevent the spread of unwanted illness at school.  We have attached a flyer entitled “Fight the Flu” from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for your reference.

Sports Physicals

Students planning to try out for a sports team must have an up-to-date physical on file for the first day of participation. A physical may be done by your physician or at school, and is current for thirteen months from the date done. School physicals will be done on March 6, 2009. A permission form signed by the parent is required for a school physical and is available from the nurse. The student will be given an appointment time when the permission form is returned to the nurse. Pre-registration is mandatory. The cost of a school physical is $5.00. Check with Mrs. Stidsen if you have any questions and to know if you have a current physical on file.

Allergies

We would like to remind you that this year we have several students with SEVERE allergies to tree nuts, peanuts and nut products.  Strict avoidance is the only way to prevent a life-threatening allergic reaction.

We must do all we can to provide these students with a safe learning environment.  Therefore, we are requesting that you help in keeping our school safe by not sending your child in with any foods which contain nuts or nut products including food for classroom parties, etc.  These students eat only food brought from home, but their sensitivity is such that the oil or residue absorbed through the skin could cause symptoms.

In the event that peanut butter is the only thing that your child will eat, please advise him/her to keep it secured in their locker until lunchtime.  Nut products may be eaten in the cafeteria only as there are “nut free” tables available for students with allergies and others who choose to follow this guideline.  Thank you for helping to provide a safe environment in the classroom.

Since the cold weather is here, we will all be spending more time gathered together in the indoor environment.  This creates the perfect breeding ground for many common communicable illnesses.  All people have variable levels of immunity, so we’d like to pass along some simple guidelines that will help insure a healthy winter season:

• Any child who has had a fever (Temp>100) should remain home until they are fever free for 24 hours without medication.
• Any child experiencing symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting must remain at home.
• Any child who has had a positive strep throat culture must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.  Strep is VERY contagious before 24 hours of antibiotics.
• Any child exhibiting signs of conjunctivitis (“pink eye” with oozing or crusting around the eyelashes) must be treated with antibiotic eye ointment or drops for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Any child with a disruptive cough should remain at home.

Parents know their child best!  Encourage and practice good hand washing technique with your children, keep family toothbrushes separated in bathrooms and discourage sharing of snacks and drinks to help prevent the spread of illness at home and at school.  With all of us working together, we can help to prevent the spread of unwanted illness at school.

The Centers for Disease Control recommend a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against the flu.  Getting vaccinated now can still protect you against the flu this season.  It is not too late - get vaccinated!

REMINDER!!!

The following immunizations are required for all students entering seventh grade:

• 2 doses of MMR vaccine (or 2 doses of a measles-containing vaccine and 1 dose each of mumps and rubella vaccines)
• 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine
• 1or 2 doses of varicella vaccine (1 dose if> 13 yrs. of age) or physician-certified reliable history of chicken pox disease
• 1 booster dose of Td or Tdap (if it has been ≥ 5 years since the last dose of DTaP, DTP, or DT was given)

*While not required, 2 doses of MMR (or mumps-containing vaccine) are now recommended for all students due to the recent national mumps outbreak.

ARE YOUR CHILD’S IMMUNIZATIONS UP TO DATE FOR 7TH GRADE?

HAVE YOU MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE THE IMMUNIZATIONS GIVEN?

Please make an appointment now for your child to have the immunizations needed to enter seventh grade in September 2009.  It would be extremely helpful to have this information by the beginning of June so that it can be documented while the nurses are still in the building.

The physical exam required for seventh grade may be done when your insurance permits during the 09-10 school year, however the Department of Public Health mandates that the nurse documents that the required immunizations have been given in order for the student to enter the classroom on opening day.  Please feel free to contact your building nurse if you have any questions.  This will make for a smooth first day of school in the fall and avoid anyone being excluded from the classroom because his/her immunizations are not up to date.

Regulations for Immunizations and Physicals

All incoming 7th grade students must have: 

A tetanus booster Tdap (Preferred) or Td within the last 5 years to be admitted to the classroom

A physical exam by child’s physician done between 7/01/09 - 6/30/10

Most physician’s offices will administer immunizations as a well-child visit so that students will

meet the MDPH requirement and the physical can be done as insurance permits.

Tracking and recording for all seventh grade students while meeting the everyday needs is a lengthy process. In that light, I ask that you start now to find out what your child needs and how your physician’s office will accommodate you.

Please note that the school nurse is only available at the Middle School during the school year.

MS North Kay Stidsen RN         978-448-6155   X1800