The school year is off to a busy start. I have begun the mandated Vision and Hearing Screening for all the students. For those children who wear glasses please remind them to bring their glasses to school. They will need them for the screening. As you may know, school nurses are mandated to conduct yearly screening for vision/hearing difficulties, as well as to conduct height and weight measurements with BMI calculation for all students in grades K-8. Postural screening happens in grades 5-8. I enjoy meeting all the students during these screenings, because for some, it is the only time they visit my office. If your child has any difficulty with the screening, you will receive a letter advising a follow-up with your child's physician and/or a vision/hearing specialist.

We have had a fair amount of illness already, including fever, cough/cold, and gastrointestinal illness.

This seems like a good time to remind parents of the school illness policy. If your child is ill, please keep them home. They are not able to learn if they are not feeling well, and in fact will detract from the classroom learning environment for all students (and teachers!). If your child has a fever, they must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school. Tylenol before school means a return of the fever midway through the day, and a phone call home. If your child has a very bad cold or cough, they should stay home until the symptoms lessen. They certainly do not need to be excluded for the entire duration of the cold, but the initial day/s are usually when they feel the worst. If they have had a gastrointestinal illness, please make sure they are able to tolerate a normal diet before returning to school. We have had several "liquid cleanup calls" for the custodian already this year, and the children are usually very upset when this happens. If you tell your child that they may go to the nurse and you will pick them up if they don't feel well after getting to school, please be aware that they expect you to keep your word. I usually see these kids shortly after they have arrived at school! If something is bothering your child, please give me a call and together we can make a plan for helping them through the school day. Communication is a very important component in my relationship with you and your child/ren. I will notify you any time I am concerned that they may not be feeling well, if they have had a more significant injury that you should be aware of, or if I have given them Tylenol/ibuprofen during the day. Many times I will leave a message if I cannot reach you at home. However, there are times that I feel leaving a message is adequate. Please know that if I really need to speak with you, I will call every phone number that you have provided. If your contact information changes during the year, please make sure to update that information at school.

Lastly, a reminder for paperwork! Each year we send out new Emergency contact information forms for you to complete. I am still missing forms from some families. It is important that these be completed each school year because information does change. Parents of fourth graders need to send in a recent physical exam report. This can be from anytime within the past 12 months.

I look forward to another rewarding school year here with your children, and welcome your phone calls or visits anytime.

Michele Mosher BSN

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