Health Center Nurse – Laurie Picard RN595-1570, x-1400 lpicard@sau81.org

Please be sure to have your medical records up to date!

In order to ensure the safety and well-being of as many students as possible, we ask that you please adhere to the following health guidelines.

• Keep your child home if they have experienced diarrhea at any time during the previous 24 hours. Please adhere to this even if you think the condition is due to medication they may have taken or food they have ingested.

• Keep your child home if they have vomited any time during the previous 24 hours. Please adhere to this even if you think the condition is due to medication they may have taken or a particular food they ingested.

• Keep your child home if, during the past 24 hours, they have had a fever. They need to have been fever-free for at 24 hours, without the use of any medication, before returning to school. While the medication may make your child feel better and reduce a fever, the medication is not eliminating the underlying cause of the fever.

• If your child presents with a rash, headache, sore throat, stomach ache, or other symptoms that are making them uncomfortable, we encourage you to keep the child at home to monitor them rather than sending them to school to be checked by the nurse or to see if they feel better later. Sending your child in potentially exposes many of their peers to viruses and bacteria that cause illness.

We are working diligently to try and keep students well as the cold weather arrives. However, the nature of the close contact that occurs in school settings, as well as sharing of materials, increases opportunities for illness to spread. We appreciate your help in keeping unwell children at home so they recover faster and do not spread illness to others.

Thank you for your support!

Laurie Picard, RN (School Nurse)

Questions & Answers from the School Nurse on how to talk to your child about H1N1

Click here for more information.

More Flu Information

What are the symptoms of H1N1 influenza?

The symptoms of H1N1 are the same as for other types of flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.

When should I keep my child home from school or childcare?

If your child has flu-like symptoms, consult your health care provider. If your child has influenza you should keep them at home for 7 days or until 24 hours after symptoms are gone. A public inquiry line is also available 8:00 AM-8:00PM for questions at

1-888-330-6764.

What are the H1N1 influenza infection prevention measures I can take to protect my children and family?

Many good materials can be found at the CDC website www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

How worried should I be about the H1N1 virus?

To date, the cases of H1N1 influenza in the United States have been mild, with most patients recovering well and not experiencing symptoms any more severe than the regular flu.

For further facts about flu like illness, click here.

Other Health Concerns

Head Lice - Head lice is caused by a parasite, Pediculosis capitis. It is common in day care settings and schools throughout the country. Head lice affects ALL children, and crosses all socio-economic lines. It is in no way a sign of uncleanliness. read on...

Conjunctivis - What exactly is conjunctivitis? Is it contagious? Does it cause problems with eyesight?
Conjunctivitis is a condition that causes inflammation of the eye lining, or conjunctiva. This inflammation is also called "pink eye" or "red eye". It is usually due to an infection, but can also be caused by allergic reactions, physical or chemical irritation, or a foreign body. On rare occasions, it may be associated with a more serious systemic condition. read on...

Exercise is Good for the Brain - Psychiatrist John Ratey, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, says it improves cognitive performance. When he became a psychiatrist in the 1970s, John Ratey didn't expect to evolve into an exercise buff. But today, the Harvard University professor and expert in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder calls exercise the single most important tool people have to optimize brain function. read on...

Healthy Snacks - Recommendations for School Functions and Celebrations
In keeping with our pledge to provide a full circle of education to the students of Nottingham West Elementary, we would like to recommend the following healthy food items when providing a snack for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, holiday celebrations and other classroom activities as well as recommendations for packing lunches and snacks. read on...

Childhood Obesity – Fast Facts

• More than 33% of all children and adolescents are overweight or obese
• A major study showed that 61% of obese 5 – 10 year olds already had risk factors for heart disease (CDC)
• This generation of children may be the first in centuries to have a shorter life span than their parents! (Dobbins-Harper)
• French fries account for 46% of the “vegetable” servings for children ages 2 – 19 years old. (US DHHS)
• $15 billion a year is spent on marketing and advertising to children under age 12 years old.
• The average child views about 40,000 TV ads per year, most for junk food!
• In 1900 the average American consumed 5 lbs of sugar per year. In 2000, the average American consumed 150 lbs of sugar per year!
• Healthy eating and physical activity has been linked to improved academics!