It is that time of year when most of us are ready for sunshine and warmth. Colds and flu often linger through March, even as we look forward to spending more time out of doors enjoying fresh air.
To sustain a healthy student body, we all benefit when we follow certain guidelines that reduce the spread of illness. Parents are urged to keep a student home during the highly infectious first stages of a cold or flu to protect the student and their classmates. We also ask that students remain at home until they have been fever-free for 24 hours. The CDC recently updated its COVID-19 guidance. They recommend that those affected may return to normal activities when symptoms have improved for at least 24 hours and a fever is gone without a fever-reducing medication. While we have not received this updated guidance from our Washington State Department of Health for COVID-19, this is good counsel if you are unsure of the origin of the illness. If you are interested in a document from the Snohomish County Health District outlining symptoms of common illnesses, click here.
Students should be kept home if displaying one or more of the symptoms:
A temperature over 100 degrees over the past 24 hours
Tiredness or achiness
Sore throat or swollen glands
Diarrhea, stomach ache, vomiting, or nausea
Loss of taste or smell
Rash or open skin sores of undiagnosed origin
One final reminder: Medications are to be administered by a parent or our trained personnel only. Medication from home should be brought to the office with a medication form completed by the physician and parent. The medication should be in the original container. This includes over-the-counter medications such as cough drops, Tylenol, and sunscreen. The school cannot administer ointments, eye drops, and creams. For further information regarding school medical policies, please refer to pages 28-30 of the Student-Parent Handbook.
We desire to keep our students healthy and safe. Thank you for helping to make this happen.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. - 2 Peter 1:3