Holy Family Elementary School

Health Policy

HEALTH/MEDICAL INFORMATION

When Should I Keep My Child Home From School?

 When deciding whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines:

• If your child has a fever of 99.5 degrees or higher, please keep your child home. The child must be fever-free for at least 24 hours before sending them back to school.

• If your child has vomited or had diarrhea, please keep them home for 24 hours after the last episode has occurred.

• If your child has a very frequent, persistent cough, particularly a congested, wet cough or a croup-sounding cough, please keep them home so as to not spread this to others.

• Colds are contagious during the first 48 hours — if your child has very excessive nasal congestion that persists, please keep your child home.

• If you think your child may have pink eye, strep, ringworms, impetigo, or any other infections that must be treated with medication, do not send your child to school!

• If your child has recently had a bad accident or head injury, it is crucial that your child sees a physician before sending them back to school.

• If your child has an unknown rash, especially accompanied by a fever, please take your child to the doctor before sending him/her to school.

• A child who has started antibiotics needs to be on the medication for 24 hours before being considered non-contagious and able to return to school.

• Please, please, please keep in mind that it is an extremely long day for a child who is sent to school ill. Remaining at home will help minimize the spread of the infections and viruses in the classroom to students and staff. We appreciate your assistance in keeping Holy Family a healthier environment for all!

When Might The School Choose To Send My Child Home?

 The school office personnel will first attempt to contact the child’s parent(s) in the event that your child has become ill. Here are some guidelines:

• If your child has a temperature of 99.5 degrees or higher, we will contact the parents immediately.

• If your child vomits at school or passes out from dizziness, we will contact the parents immediately.

• If a teacher feels that a child is very ill, i.e. coughing, sniffling or sneezing persistently, acting very tired or out of sorts, acting dizzy or nauseous, students will be brought up to the office. Office staff will check the child’s temperature, ask some basic questions and even allow the student to rest for a short while. If the problems persist, office personnel will contact the child’s parents to discuss the next step.

• After a parent has been contacted and notified that his/her child is ill, please pick your child up as quickly as you are able to! You are welcome to make arrangements with an authorized contact person to pick your child up in the event that you are unable.

• If the office cannot get ahold of the parents/guardians through the phone numbers provided at enrollment, the office will begin attempting to reach the two emergency contacts that parents have listed on the child’s registration forms at enrollment.

• In these cases, it is VERY important that you keep all phone numbers, contact information and emergency contact information UPDATED every single school year so that we can have a better, smoother and more open line of communication with you and your family, particularly in times of medical or emergency situations!

Student Medications

Because HFE does not have a school nurse on hand, we highly recommend that students needing antibiotics get on a routine of taking these medications before and/or after school. If a student needs an antibiotic 3 times a day, please schedule the first before school, the second after school, and the last before bed. We occasionally get an overwhelming amount of medications brought in and it would assist us greatly if we only have to administer medications if absolutely necessary during the school day. It is up to your child to remember to come up for his/her medicine!

Policy states that the administration of medication to students by school employees is permitted upon proper authorization by a physician and/or the student’s parent/guardian. Medications are kept in the office under lock and key and administered by school office personnel only.

It is the parent/guardian’s responsibilities to:

• Complete, sign and return the school Medication Release Form, located in the office and also available at enrollment. A separate form is needed per medication, and the form is needed for both prescription and non-prescription medications.

• Have the student’s physician sign the medication form if it is a prescription.

• Bring in any medications in the original container that includes the student’s name, medication name, unit dosage, and instructions. If the medication is a prescription, the pharmacy’s information should be included as well.

• Specify the exact time a medication should be given if necessary, and make note of any other instructions for the staff to be aware of.

• We also strongly encourage parents/guardians to bring the medications directly to the school office in person so it does not get misplaced in bookbags.

• Be aware that Holy Family does not have a school nurse, therefore office personnel will need to be made aware if you have any changes to medications and/or routine through parent/guardian contact. Please call the school if you have any questions, concerns or changes you need to make.

• A medication form is even necessary for administering simple things like cough drops, saline drops, ointments for rashes, anti-itch cream, etc.

• We strongly encourage you to use sunscreens and aloe vera lotions on your children during the warm summer months, particularly before outdoor field trips!

Immunizations

Students entering HFE preschool in the fall must have received a physical before the first day of school begins. All medical paperwork is given to parents at Preschool Parent Info night, and these forms must be completed in full and signed by the student’s physician at the time of the appointment. The appointment must be recent, as in occurring in that year. Appropriate immunizations mandatory by the State of Kansas Health Department must be caught up before the first day of school!

Students entering HFE kindergarten in the fall must also, once again, have another physical completed before the first day of school, as well as updated immunizations, which do differ from the immunizations given before preschool. After a student has completed both physicals and immunizations for preschool and kindergarten, student’s files will be updated with these health forms. HFE does not require physicals when entering any other grade level, though we do recommend annual physicals if your child is participating in sports and activities.

Students entering Kinderprep are NOT required to have another physical and immunizations done, as they will complete these the following year when the child is ready for kindergarten.

Healthy Lifestyles

HFE staff and faculty work together to promote healthy lifestyles for the students. Physical education is offered to the children, and daily breakfast/lunch menus follow the regulations determined by the Kansas Food & Nutrition Program. You can check the school menus each month in the “Breakfast and Lunch Menus” tab.

Choosing healthy snacks means shopping smart. Be cautious of the health claims on food packages. The best way to judge if a food is healthy for your family is to read the ingredients and nutrition information on the food label. Not all packages with “low-fat” in the title are necessarily healthy!

9-5-2-1-0 For Health

Kids need….

9 hours of sleep each night!

5 fruits & veggies each day!

2 hours or less of screen time each day!

1 hour of exercise each day!

and 0 sugary drinks!

Student Medical Screenings

Hearing screenings are provided by the FHSU Herndon Hearing and Speech Clinic students under supervision of FHSU professionals each fall. Visual screenings are provided for students by a team of local optometrists each fall.

Helpful Links

• For more information about headlice, click here.

• For healthy recipes and tips for smart snacking, click here.

• For the most current immunization form for the State of Kansas, click here.

• For the most current Authorization for Emergency Medical care form, click here.

• For information and fun activities about Dental Health for your kids, click here and here.

• For more information on promoting physical activity, click here.