Cathleen Coward RN

School Nurse

 

Patricia Hay CNA

Clinic Assistant

 

Email Mrs. Coward

Last updated 12/9/2008

 

Health Services Website:

VBCPS - Student Health Services

 

 

Stop the Spread of Germs!

  1. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough with a tissue or your sleeve, not your hands! 
  2. Clean your hands often with warm water (not cold) and soap for 15-20 seconds:
    • After coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.
    • Before and after you eat or touch food.
    • After using the bathroom.
    • After being around someone who is sick or injured.
    • After touching an animal.
    • After playing outside.
    • If your hands look, feel or smell dirty.
  3. When soap and water are not available, use alcohol based hand wipes or gel sanitizers.
  4. Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered.
  5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
  6. Sanitize work areas and shared items (countertops, keyboards, phones, etc.).
  7. Stay home when you are sick.
  8. Avoid contact with people who have a contagious illness.
  9. Don’t share drinking cups and eating utensils and don’t eat or drink things that other people have already put their hands or mouths on..
  10. Use paper towels, not cloth, to dry hands.
  11. Practice good health habits:
    • Get plenty of sleep.
    • Drink plenty of fluids.
    • Bathe regularly and practice good personal hygiene.
    • Eat a variety of nutritious food.
    • Manage your stress.
    • See your doctor and dentist regularly for checkups.  Get the shots you need.
    • Do some type of physical activity every day.
    • Brush your teeth after meals, as well as after waking and before going to sleep.

 

 

Attention Parents of Rising Kindergarteners!

Now is the time to make an appointment with your child’s doctor for the required school entry physical exam and immunizations for the 08/09 school year!  Virginia law requires that a comprehensive physical exam be performed within the 12 months prior to the date the student enters public kindergarten.   Kindergarteners cannot be enrolled without this important documentation.  So, don’t delay!  Appointments become difficult to schedule come July and August.  Make your child’s appointment now and avoid the rush!  

 

 

Reminder to the Parents of 5th graders…

All fifth grade students MUST have a Tdap booster before entering 6th grade. Students will not receive a schedule until documentation of this important immunization is provided to the Middle School.  Now is a great time to see your physician for this, before the summer rush!

 

 

 

Illness Guidelines

            Below are some guidelines to use to decide if your child needs to stay at home due to an illness.  For some conditions I will direct you to contact your child’s physician regarding treatment and will require permission from your child’s physician before your child may return to school.   A child should stay home for:

 

  • A fever of 100 degrees or more.  They should stay home until they have not had a fever for 24 hours without the aid of fever-reducing medication, i.e. Tylenol or Ibuprophen.
  • Vomiting or diarrhea.  They should stay home until it has been 24 hours since the last episode.
  • An unidentified rash or skin condition.
  • Colored mucous indicating infection.
  • The presence or suspicion of a communicable disease.
  • A specific condition until proper treatment is started such as lice, scabies, pink eye, or ringworm.  There are several bacterial infections that warrant exclusion from school and must be treated with an antibiotic for 24 hours before returning to school such as strep throat, impetigo, and bacterial conjunctivitis (red eyes with colored, pus-like drainage).
  • Frequent coughing and/or sneezing that distracts from their ability to learn.

 

 

P.E Excuses

 

            Your child can be excused from P.E. with written parent permission for a period of 3 days for each incident.  If your child needs to be excused for more than 3 days, a doctor’s excuse will be necessary.

 

 

Please consider this…

 

  • Anticipate your child’s needs during seasonal changes.  Be ready to give your child the allergy medication they need for those days of runny noses, itchy, watery eyes, and dry skin to help them get through the school day.
  • Put a change of clothes in your child’s back pack just in case of an accident or spill.  Occasionally, donated clothing is loaned from the school clinic.  Please launder such clothing and return it to the clinic so that we can have it for others who may be in need.
  • Some students develop a frequent visit pattern to the clinic, thus causing multiple class absences.  If I find this occurring, you will be notified.  I would like to work together to find the source of the frequent visits and resolve the issue.