The School Nurse
We have a school
nurse who comes to the Fletcher Elementary School three days a week and at our
request in emergencies. Her services include administering vision and
hearing tests and keeping cumulative health records. The nurse confers
with teachers, parents, students, medical personnel and others relative to
health problems and health records. She also participates in the
health education instructional program.
An informative
Health Handbook is prepared by the school nurse and is sent home early in the
school year. This will include information and permission forms regarding
the Health Handbook and returning necessary permission forms.
Health Measures
No child should be
sent to school with any of the following conditions:
1.
An elevated temperature,
no matter how slight.
2.
Sore throat or ear ache.
3.
Sick or aching stomach.
4.
Serious cough or cold.
5.
Any kind of rash.
Please do not send
your child to school if he/she has had a fever within the past 24 hours.
He/she should be fever free, without medication, for 24 hours before returning
to school.
First Aid
1.
The school personnel
give only emergency first aid.
2.
Serious injuries such as
fractures and cuts requiring sutures are not treated, except for emergency
measures. We will attempt to notify the child’s parent. The child
will be taken to the health center/hospital.
3.
When appropriate, an
ambulance will be used to transport an injured child.
4.
It is important that
emergency forms be filled out by the parent and returned to school. This form enables the
school to bring a seriously injured/ill student to the health center or
hospital.
If your child needs to have medication administered
during the day please bring the medication, in the original container,
with a doctor’s prescription order. Do not send medication to school with
your child. All medication is securely locked in the nurse’s room.
Although we hate to
admit it, lice infestations sometimes occur whenever large groups of people
come into close contact with one another. If you suspect that your child
has been exposed, please notify the school.
What to look for: Persistent itching of the head and back of the neck
can indicate head lice. Look for infected scratch marks or a rash on the
scalp and nits attached to individual hairs.
Treatment: Shampoo head with appropriate lice shampoo.
Check with pharmacist. This is a one step treatment that eliminates head
lice quickly and easily. Then comb with a fine comb to remove nits.
When a case is reported in a particular
classroom the procedure shall be:
1.
Check all children’s
heads in the room.
2.
Any children found to
have lice/nits shall be sent home.
3.
All parents in the room
shall be informed of the situation and will receive an information sheet on the
treatment of head lice.
The children’s heads will be re-examined as
necessary.
There are a growing number of students who have
extreme food allergic reactions to peanuts and tree nuts. If exposed to
these foods or foods containing peanut or tree nut oils, these individuals may
experience anaphylactic shock leading to death. The school has designated
peanut/tree nut safe rooms, which includes the kitchen, library, offices and
all common areas. There are cafeteria tables labeled peanut free and tree
nut free. The school will neither accept, nor serve foods with these
ingredients. We ask parents to join us in educating our students and
ourselves in the importance of maintaining a school environment, which is safe
for ALL of our students.
Protocol for Building Use During After School Hours
The Fletcher School has a number of students who
have severe, life threatening food allergies. Peanuts and tree
nuts (ex. Walnuts, cashews, almonds) and their derivatives (Ex: peanut oil,
almond paste, coconut oil, etc.) may cause violent reactions in these children
including anaphylaxis (the complete shutdown of the respiratory system
resulting in suffocation). In order to ensure that the building remains safe
for all of our students, groups who use our space must follow the
following procedures:
1.
The
nurse's office, designated classrooms, and the kitchen are peanut and tree nut
free zones. No food may be brought into these rooms without approval of
the principal, school nurse, or their designee. The kitchen staff
must approve the list of food being prepared in the kitchen prior to an event.
This should be done prior to the event since kitchen staff is only at school
until approximately 2:00 p.m.
2.
There
is no eating allowed in the library or the school hallways.
3.
There
are round cafeteria tables marked "peanut free" and "tree nut
free". These tables are not to be used for events outside of
the school day.
4.
People
entering the library and classrooms should wash their hands with soap and
water. After eating people must wash hand with soap and water.
5.
Monitors
need to be stationed at the doors of the rooms to ensure compliance with these
safety issues during the event.
Cleaning instructions when food has been served:
1.
There
are cleaning supplies (bucket, cleaner, products and instructions) behind the
kitchen door.
2.
Using
the cleaning supplies provided, wipe down the furniture and mop the floor in
the area where food was served. The goal is to dissolve and remove all
oils and sweep up all crumbs.
Safe Practices for Groups Using the School Grounds
1.
We
encourage parents to bring peanut/tree nut free snacks for players and
spectators, whenever possible. Creating public awareness is our best
defense.
2.
We
encourage people to throw out wrappers; they are sources of contaminants.
Remember, skin contact is possibly life threatening.
3.
Be
certain to review emergency medical procedures with parents of allergic
children. Do you know which child has life threatening food
allergies? Where their medication is kept; can you immediately find their
medication in the event of an emergency? Do you have access to a phone to
call 911? Are you able to recognize the symptoms of an allergic
reaction? Be certain that you have answers to each of these questions!
It could save a life.
4.
Please
wash your hands with soap after eating.
Please note that
public schools in the State of Vermont are Smoke Free Zones. Smoking is
NOT Permitted in the building or on school grounds.
Crisis
Management Plan
The Fletcher Elementary School has adopted a Crisis
Management Plan which includes protocols for dealing with bomb threats, lock
downs, etc. This policy and all other Board Policies are available for
review in the school office.
Resource Services
Fletcher Elementary
School has a resource team consisting of special educator, speech pathologist,
and early intervention teachers. This team provides services to students
with special needs. An effort is made to provide services within the
regular classroom environment. The resource team serves to provide
support to students who need small group instruction to alternative teaching
approaches in order to succeed within the regular curriculum. The
Fletcher Elementary School's philosophy offers individualized resources to all
students as mandated by Vermont Act 230.
Instructional Support Team (Act 230)
The Fletcher Elementary School has an Instructional Support Team
comprised of the principal, a special educator and classroom teachers that
usually meet each week. The mission of the team is to provide classroom
teachers with resources to help in making accommodations for students’
different learning styles and needs.
504 Policy
This policy is
available for review on the school website.