Nurse's Notes

Heather Stubbs
[email protected]
832-223-5306

Dear Charger Families,

Please check in with your child each morning for signs of illness. If your child has a temperature of 100.0 degrees or higher, they should not go to school.

Make sure your child does not have a sore throat or other signs of illness, like a cough, diarrhea, severe headache, vomiting, or body aches.

If your child has had close contact to a COVID-19 case, they should not go to school. Follow guidance on what to do when someone has known exposure.

Please contact the school if your child is sick.

Be familiar with local COVID-19https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/community-based-testing-sites/index.html sites in the event you or your child develops symptoms. These may include sites with free testing available.

Make sure your child is up-to-date with all recommended vaccines, including for flu. All school-aged children should get an influenza flu vaccine every season, with rare exceptions. This is especially important this year because we do not yet know if being sick with COVID-19 at the same time as the flu will result in more severe illness.

Review and practice proper hand washing techniques at home, especially before and after eating, sneezing, coughing, and adjusting a mask or cloth face covering. Make hand washing fun and explain to your child why it’s important.

Be familiar with how your school will make water available during the day. Please send your student with a water bottle every day!

Develop daily routines before and after school—for example, things to pack for school in the morning (like hand sanitizer and an additional (back up) mask) and things to do when you return home (like washing hands immediately and washing masks).

Talk to your child about precautions to take at school. Children will be advised to:

Wash and sanitize their hands more often.

Keep physical distance from other students.

Wear a mask.

Avoid sharing objects with other students, including water bottles, devices, writing instruments, and books.

Use hand sanitizer (that contains at least 60% alcohol.) Make sure you’re using a safe product. FDA recalled https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use that contain toxic methanol.

Develop a plan as a family to protect household members who are at increased risk for severe illness.

Make sure your information is current at school, including emergency contacts and individuals authorized to pick up your child(ren) from school. If that list includes anyone who is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, consider identifying an alternate person.

Plan for possible school closures or periods of quarantine. If transmission is increasing in your community or if multiple children or staff test positive for COVID-19, the school building might close. Similarly, if a close contact of your child (within or outside of school) tests positive for COVID-19, your child may need to stay home for a 2-week quarantine period. You may need to consider the feasibility of teleworking, taking leave from work, or identifying someone who can supervise your child in the event of school building closures or quarantine.

If your child rides a bus, plan for your child to wear a mask on the bus and talk to your child about the importance of following bus rules and any spaced seating rules.

If carpooling, plan on every child in the carpool and the driver wearing masks for the entire trip. If your school uses the cohort model, consider finding families within your child’s group/cohort at school to be part of the carpool.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan or receives other learning support (e.g., tutoring), ask your school how these services will continue.

If your child receives speech, occupational or physical therapy or other related services from the school, ask your school how these services will continue.

If your child receives mental health or behavioral services (e.g., social skills training, counseling), ask your school how these services will continue.

Reinforce the concept of physical distancing with your child.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions,

Nurse Stubbs

Helpful Information

If your child is sick:

Children must be free of fever (less than 100.0 degrees) for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications (such as Tylenol or Advil / Motrin) before returning to school. Children must be free of diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school and need to be eating and drinking without any problem. If a child vomits two or more times within 24 hours, they will need to stay home for at least 24 hours to ensure they are not contagious.

Please call the school nurse if your child has been diagnosed with a contagious condition such as pink eye, strep throat, chicken pox, head lice, impetigo, ringworm, flu or has vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Medication:

Children are not permitted to carry medication including cough drops. ALL MEDICATION must be administered from the clinic. Over the counter medication for less than 6 weeks must be accompanied by a note from the parent authorizing administration of the medication, reason and dose, time and amount. Parents must deliver the medication to the clinic and bring only the necessary amount for school. ALL medication must be in the original container. All prescription medication must be in the original pharmacy container with the child’s name, medication date and dosing instructions. A second bottle from the pharmacy can be requested from the pharmacy by the parent for the school clinic. Medications such as antibiotics for 3 times a day or every 8 hours are to be given at home. Just follow a before breakfast, after school and before bedtime schedule. Click here to download the Medication Administration Form.

*There are no "stock medications" in the clinic such as Tylenol, Motrin, Tums, etc. Medications can only be sent for the student by the parent or guardian.

Food Allergies:

Food allergies can be life threatening. The risk of accidental exposure to foods can be reduced in the school setting if schools work with students, parents, and physicians to minimize risks and provide a safe educational environment for food-allergic students. Provide written medical documentation, instructions, and medications as directed by a physician, using the Food Allergy Action Plan as a guide. Include a photo of the child on the written form.

Immunizations:

Texas Department of Health requires all school age children to be up to date on immunizations. Children are excluded from school until the required immunizations are obtained and a copy is given to the school nurse. Contact school nurse with questions.