Nurse's Corner

Office Hours: 7:20am - 2pm, M-F

Physical examinations are required by New York State mandate for students entering Kindergarten, Second and Fourth grade and all new students. To meet this requirement, the physical may be done after September 1st of the year the student is entering these grades. A Physical Examination form is sent to families to be filled out by the child’s physician and returned to school.

• Physical exams for next school year's Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade students are now being accepted. A physical exam dated after September 1, 2016 can be used for the 2016-2017 school year.
• 5th Grade students - Those students that will be turning 11 years old this year will need to provide an immunization record showing that they have received their Tdap immunization.
• For a list of Free or Reduced Cost Physical Exam Providers, just click here or see the link to the right.

Vision and hearing are screened in the Fall of each year. If there is any cause for concern parents will be notified by the Health Office.

All children in 5th grade or older will be checked for scoliosis in the Spring of each year.

When to send a child to school: Sometimes it can be difficult for a parent to decide whether to send a child to school when they wake up with early symptoms of an illness or complaints that they do not feel well. In may cases, the illness is not significant, and the child will do just fine with a supply of tissues, reassurance, and a little encouragement to try to get out of bed and get going. However, there are some conditions when it is best to plan on keeping your child home for the day to rest and recuperate or to arrange for an appointment with your health care provider. The following are a few such suggestions:

• Fever greater than 100.4 orally

• Child is too sleepy or ill to profit from sitting in classes all day

• Significant cough that would make a child feel uncomfortable or disrupt the class

• Sore throat that is severe, accompanied by a fever/significant malaise, that persists longer than 48 hours, or after known exposure to strep throat

• Honey crusted sores around the nose or mouth that might be impetigo or a rash in various stages including boils, sores and bumps associated with chicken pox, or a significant rash accompanied by other symptoms of illness

• Red, runny eyes until cleared as non-contagious by a physician

• Copious green nasal discharge, especially if accompanied by sinus pain or headache

• Severe ear pain or drainage from the ear that needs to be evaluated by a physician

• Any condition that you think or know is contagious

• Children who have an upset stomach should be kept home.

If you send your child to school uncertain that there is significant illness as described above, it is a good idea to give the nurse a call to alert her to your concerns and to provide her with numbers where you can be reached that day should your child become more ill and require early dismissal.

If a child is diagnosed with strep throat, a child should be kept home for at least 24 hours after medication has first been given. When a culture is taken, advise the health office and keep your child at home until the results of the culture are obtained. A child may return to school if the culture is negative.

If you find a pattern in your child’s asking to stay home from school, especially if they are falling behind or appear anxious by the thought of attending school, or if there does not appear to be any physical symptoms, it may be a good idea to contact your school nurse and your health care provider to discuss your concerns.

In general, during cold and flu season, unless your child is significantly ill, the best place for them is in school where they have already been exposed to the same germs and where they are less likely to expose other more vulnerable people, like the very young or the very old, to their routine bouts of cold and flu. Remind and show your children to discard used tissues promptly, not to share personal items, and to wash hands thoroughly and often. See document on the left for more info about the flu.

If a child is absent, parents are advised to contact the Health Office at 586-1893 prior to 8:00am, stating the child’s name, teacher’s name and the reason for the absence. When your child returns to school, a written excuse explaining the absence must be submitted within 48 hours of the absence or the absence will be noted as illegal.

If surgery is scheduled for your child, if s/he has a fracture, or if there is any health concern, please notify the Health Office.

Children who are returning to school following a case of chicken pox should be seen in the Health Office first thing in the morning before being admitted to class.

The Health Office monitors not only attendance but tardiness. Parents are urged to review the need for being on time with their child and that arriving late can be disruptive to his/her classmates and classes already in progress. Students who arrive late must report to the Health Office with a note of explanation for their tardiness before they proceed to their homeroom.

When it is necessary for a student to have medication administered during school hours, a parent must complete the "Administration of Medicin" form, (found on the above right side of this page) form to grant permission for the health office staff to administer the medication a physician has prescribed. The upper potion of the form is completed by the parent and the lower portion is completed by the physician indicating the frequency and dosage as well as his/her signature authorizing its administration by school health office personnel. A parent must return the medication sheet to the school Health office along with the medication in the original pharmacy bottle and two small pictures of the child. Prescription medication cannot be administered without both physician and parental approval. Non –prescription medication (e.g. cough syrups, cough drops, pain relievers etc) also require a parent and physician authorization. The Health Office is bound by State Law to administer medication only when an adult brings it to school in the original pharmacy bottle.