From the Health Office
Winter is officially here, which means it is a busy time in
the Folwell Health Office! I wanted to
remind all parents of a few things.
If your child is sick,
please keep them home for the day.
Staying home and resting will help fight sickness and children will get
better more quickly. This also helps the
other students stay well. Please
remember the district guidelines about when a child is to stay home.
A child should stay home
with severe coughs, colds, or sore throats, temperature over 100 degrees,
vomiting or diarrhea, or other signs of acute illness that will prevent them
from participating in school activities.
Children may return to school when they are free of symptoms for 24
hours (without the use of medication) and feel well enough to participate
throughout the school day.
If your child requires
frequent cough drops or over-the-counter medicine throughout the school day, we
do require a medication authorization form to be completed by parents. Elementary students are not allowed to carry
medications and they will have to be housed in the health office. The authorization in available under the
Student Health section of the RPS website, or you can always call the health
office and we will be happy to send one home with your child. An adult should bring medication in to the
health office as we cannot have students transporting medications.
As the weather gets colder
and winter break approaches, I also wanted to briefly touch on lice at
school. Lice is not a problem at Folwell and we want to ensure that it stays
that wayJ. There are a few things that you, as parents,
can do to help keep this nuisance out of the school and out of your home. Please regularly check your children’s heads,
especially after sleepovers with family or friends. Remind your children not to share hats with
other students. It is handy to teach
kids to put hats and mittens in the sleeve on their coats to prevent
transmission and also to keep from losing hats and mittens. If you do find lice, please treat your child
before sending them to school and notify the school health office. The health staff monitors cases and can help
with treatment, so please do let the health office know.
Lastly, when calling your
child in sick, please share symptoms that they are experiencing (stomach,
fever, sore throat, headache, etc.). We
watch these symptoms closely to monitor for trends and work with Public Health
to assist should we notice concerning trends.
If you EVER have questions
or concerns, never hesitate to call or email me!
Have a safe and healthy
winter break and we look forward to seeing you back in January!
Kelly Leadens, Licensed
School Nurse
507-328-4157
