> Welcome to St. Mary's Simsbury > Parents > Health Office News & Reminders

Health Office News & Reminders

Health Office News & Reminders
February 6, 2018

Dear Parent or Guardian:
We are entering the time of year when we see influenza (flu) and other respiratory viruses at school. We want to let you know what steps we are taking to keep our school community healthy and how you can help.

Respiratory infections, such as the flu and common colds (colds), are spread when people come in close contact with sick people and inhale airborne droplets, or come in contact with contaminated surfaces. Flu and colds symptoms can sometimes be difficult to tell them apart, but consider this:
FLU COMMON COLD
How it begins Sudden Gradual
Cough Severe Mild to moderate
Muscles Achy None to mild aches
Stuffy, runny nose Sometimes Common
Tiredness Severe Mild
Fever None to high grade None to low grade
Complications Bronchitis/Pneumonia Earache/Sinus infection
If symptoms persist or worsen, make an appointment with your healthcare provider to be evaluated. The flu can be serious for children of all ages, causing them to miss school, activities, or even be hospitalized.

We take the health of our students seriously and work very hard to keep these viruses from spreading. We regularly clean frequently touched areas such as door knobs, stair rails, telephones, computer keyboards, and bathroom faucets and fixtures. We also instruct students and staff to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Take 3 approach to fight the flu:
1. Get the flu vaccine every year
2. Take everyday preventative actions to stop the spread of germs:
• Wash hands often with soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers when soap and water are not available,
• Cover coughs with a disposable tissue or cough into their sleeve,
• Avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth,
• Avoid close contact with sick individuals,
• Avoid sharing cups and eating utensils, and
• Stay home when sick.
3. Take flu antiviral drugs if your healthcare provider prescribes them

You can help us maintain a healthy school environment in a variety of ways:
• Make sure your children receive all recommended immunizations, including an annual flu vaccine,
• Reinforce all of the above preventive behaviors practiced at school,
• Make sure children get plenty of exercise, sleep, and healthy food, and
• Keep sick children home, especially if they have a fever above 100o F, diarrhea, vomiting, or a severe cough.

A couple additional important points:
• Notify your child’s healthcare provider if your child develops difficulty breathing or a new onset of wheezing, and
• If your child has asthma, please make sure we have a copy of your child’s Asthma Action Plan.

Important information about preventing the flu can be found at these websites:
• http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/children.htm

If you have any questions, please contact the school nurse. Together we can have a healthy school year!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 2017

A note in regards to sunscreen…

In compliance with the Connecticut State Law and Regulations of the State Department of Education Section 10-212a-1, St. Mary’s School requires an authorized prescriber (physician, dentist, optometrist, advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant) written authorization for a nurse or other authorized staff member to administer over the counter and prescribed medication in school. It will be permitted for students to self-administer non-prescription and/or prescribed emergency medication.

With the proper paperwork in place (authorization for medication form found on the school web site under the forms tab) and parent provided sunscreen students may self-apply sunscreen at school. That being said, the student must demonstrate independence with task. Teachers at school are not expected to apply sunscreen to students.

Generally, an application before school should be sufficient to protect students when they go outside at recess. They will not have the opportunity to “sweat it off” before recess.

February 2017

Once again this year, we are starting to see students in our school district who have been diagnosed as having fifth disease.

Fifth disease is a benign viral disease of children usually seen in the winter or early spring. The first symptoms of fifth disease are usually mild and may include fever, runny nose, and headache.

The child with fifth disease appears with bright red checks and possibly a rash over arms, legs and trunk. By the time the rash appears the child is no longer contagious.

While there is no reason to exclude the child with fifth disease from school, it is important for women who suspect that they may be pregnant to contact their physician. Physicians screen for fifth disease as part of a women’s prenatal blood work.

The CDC has a great web site:
https://www.cdc.gov/parvovirusb19/fifth-disease.html

In regard to head lice, current public health standards and research-based recommendations indicate that routine screening and management at home are the key factors in the effective control of head lice. Therefore, our emphasis is on prevention through parental education, collaboration and communication. Mass screenings for head lice are no longer conducted routinely in our schools. Not only are they ineffective as a method of control, but also they result in loss of instructional time, misdiagnosed cases, and stigma for children who are sent home in the middle of the day. While head lice are a nuisance, lice do not cause disease and, when first identified on a head, have usually been there for a few weeks. They are very annoying and are sometimes difficult to get rid of, but they are not dangerous. Head lice are usually best controlled when managed through a combination of mechanical and chemical means, along with housekeeping techniques currently recommended by public health experts. Click here for a helpful facts sheet about head lice and management of infestation. If you have any questions about this topic, or if you need information about prevention or management, please call our school nurse, Kim Tyrrell at 860-658-9412. You may also email Mrs. Tyrrell at hoffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.

September 2015

Legislation has been passed that changes the required annual health screenings in school. Beginning this year, these are the new required screenings by the Connecticut State Department of Education:
Vision and Hearing K, 3, 4, 5
Posture girls 5th and 7th
Posture boys 8th
These screenings will be done over the next few weeks by the nursing staff. If any irregularities are found, a note will be sent home asking you to follow up with your physician. If you do not want your child to be screened for any of the above, please make a request in writing to St. Mary’s school nurse, Kim Tyrrell, RN.


Attendance Reporting Requirements due to Connecticut State Law -

As you know, St. Mary's School adheres to all Connecticut State requirements for health and safety. Regular and punctual student attendance in school is essential to the educational process. Connecticut state law places responsibility for assuring that students attend school with the parent or other person having control of the child. to assist the parent and other persons in meeting this responsibility, the Simsbury Board of Education, through its Superintendent, will adopt and maintain procedures to implement this policy. St. Mary's school will also implement and follow this policy.

An absence is defined as any day during which a student is not considered "in attendance" at his/her assigned school, or on a school sponsored activity (e.g., field trip), for at least one half of the school day.

Connecticut state law now requires that all student absences be reported in writing to the school nurse. If your reported absence does not meet the criteria established for proper reporting, our school nurse, Mrs. Kim Tyrrell will contact you.

The first nine (9) days of absence, consecutive or not, will be excused upon receipt of approved absence reports. After the tenth (10th) day of absence, consecutive or not, additional information is required in the absence report. The school nurse will contact you to discuss the additional requirements for reporting after the 10th absence if and when this applies to your child.

If you have any questions about this, please contact our school nurse, Mrs. Kim Tyrrell at HOffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net or 860-658-9412, ext. 12.




January 27, 2014

Current public health standards and research-based recommendations indicate that routine screening and management at home are the key factors in the effective control of head lice. Therefore, our emphasis is on prevention through parental education, collaboration and communication. Mass screenings for head lice are no longer conducted routinely in our schools. Not only are they ineffective as a method of control, but also they result in loss of instructional time, misdiagnosed cases, and stigma for children who are sent home in the middle of the day. While head lice are a nuisance, lice do not cause disease and, when first identified on a head, have usually been there for a few weeks. They are very annoying and are sometimes difficult to get rid of, but they are not dangerous. Head lice are usually best controlled when managed through a combination of mechanical and chemical means, along with housekeeping techniques currently recommended by public health experts. Click here for a helpful facts sheet about head lice and management of infestation. If you have any questions about this topic, or if you need information about prevention or management, please call our school nurse, Kim Tyrrell at 860-658-9412. You may also email Mrs. Tyrrell at hoffice@stmarysimsbury.eduk12.net.




January 8, 2014

Reminder to parents of 6th graders & 5th grade students -

School health legislation requires that all 6th graders must show proof of a physical examination performed sometime during their 6th grade school year (i.e. a physical examination dated June 1, 2013-June 30, 2014). The physical must be completed on the blue State of Connecticut physical examination form and submitted to the Health Office.

No student may start their 7th grade school year without proof of a completed physical examination dated June 1, 2013- June 30, 2014. You are encouraged to schedule your child’s physical well in advance of the June 2014 deadline.


Parents of fifth grade students - this notification is a helpful reminder. Students currently in fifth grade need to have a physical examination that is completed on the blue State of Connecticut physical examination form sometime after June 1, 2014 and before June 30, 2015. The completed blue form must be submitted to the school’s health office.


Kim Tyrrell, RN
St. Mary's School Health Office




St. Mary's School ~ 946 Hopmeadow Street ~ Simsbury, CT 06070
Phone ~ 860.658.9412
Fax ~ 860.658.1737


Designed by