For Parents:

Parent Handbook: Section 4 - Student Health

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When Your Child is Ill | If your child gets sick at school |  Emergency Care | Medication |  Biting | Special Health Concerns | 
When Your Child is Ill  
  Whenever you child is ill and won’t be coming to school, please call the office between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. to let us know that she will be absent so we don’t worry.

Students with infectious diseases, such as chicken pox, strept throat, must stay out of school until the contagious stage has passed. For the sake of the other children’s health, it is vital that you let the office know your child’s doctor’s diagnosis as soon as possible. A doctors note is needed for a child to return to school.

In the case of a common cold, flu and other childhood illnesses which spread from child to child with alarming speed, the student should remain at home as long as there is a fever, a sore throat, weeping lesion, an eye infection, or severe nasal excretions. Students with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, head lice, or undiagnosed skin rash should remain at home also. Students will be sent home if any of these symptoms appear while they are at school, or if their temperature is elevated.

If your child has fallen behind in her schoolwork due to an extended absence, please contact her teachers to develop a strategy to help her catch up.

Remember: Acorn is a country day school, and, weather permitting, students will go outside to play every day. If you feel that your child may be too sick to go out to play, he is probably too ill to be at school.
If your child gets sick at school  
  If your child feels ill we will take her to the office. If she seems to be fairly sick, shows any signs of illness (vomitting, diarrhea, elevated temperature, etc.) or if after a brief stay she feels too ill to return to class, we will contact you to arrange for her to be picked up right away. We understand how difficult it can be for working parents to break free during the day, and yet all of our children get ill from time to time. You will need to make arrangements with a friend or relative in advance. Children sent home due to any illness must remain at home for one full day before returning to Acorn.
Emergency Care  
  Acorn’s faculty and staff are trained in first aid and Pediatric CPR. In the event of any medical situation that requires immediate medical attention, we will want your child to see a doctor right away. Please remember to keep your emergency information card (located in the Acorn office) up-to-date throughout the academic year. We must be able to reach you at any time during the school day. If your child needs immediate medical attention, and you cannot be reached, your enrollment agreement authorizes us to seek medical care in your name. We will take your child to the emergency room at the Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington. Naturally, we will continue our efforts to contact you.
Medication  
  Except under extraordinary situations, we do not administer medication at school.
Please do not send in any medication with your child, including aspirin or other over-the-counter drugs, except under a doctor’s instructions as explained below.

Antibiotics and other medications should be scheduled so that doses are due during hours when the student is at home. When children are so ill as to require frequent medication, they probably shouldn’t be in school for a full day.

Any medication brought to school must be left with the teaching staff. Under no circumstances should medication be put in a child’s lunchbox, totebag or pocket.

Our staff members are prohibited from providing or administering any medication, including aspirin, to any student except as authorized by you as parent or guardian and by the child’s physician, in accordance with the following procedures:
  1. Prescription Medications:
    1. All medications sent from home must be accompanied by the "Individual Medication Permission" (Appendix #4) form before the first day medication is administered at the school. Any medication sent to school without the appropriate completed authorization form will not be administered and will be sent home. (A copy of the form authorizing Acorn to dispense medication, may be obtained from the office.)
    2. If a medication is to be administered on an on-going basis, the "Individual Medication Permission" form should indicate the duration of treatment.
    3. In cases involving long-term medication for chronic conditions, a new authorization form must be filed with the school each year in September. Any medication changes during the school year must be accompanied by a new medication form.
    4. We can only administer oral medications.
    5. We can accept only the appropriate dose for one day at a time. Medication will not be kept at school overnight, nor will containers of more than one day’s dosage be accepted. The original bottle containing the medication must be clearly labeled with the student’s name, medication contained, and the time(s) and amount(s) of dosage.
      This policy applies to prescription and over-the-counter medications, as prescribed by a physician. A new authorization form must be completed for each episode of illness and each new medication. When having the prescription filled, you may request two bottles. If the medication is liquid, please do not dilute it with water.
    6. As parent (guardian), you are responsible for administering the first day’s dosage of any new medication at home.
    7. As parent (guardian), you are responsible for notifying the school in person or by telephone on the first morning a new medication is being brought in with the completed authorization form and physician’s statement.
    8. Whenever possible, medication schedules should be arranged to cause minimal interruption in the student’s school day.
    9. We will strictly adhere to this policy.
  2. Over-the-Counter Medication:
    Absolutely no medications, including aspirin, Tylenol, cough remedies, or other over-the-counter medications will be given or allowed to be taken at school unless authorization is submitted in accordance with the above policy (1.Prescription Medications:).
Biting  
  Young children bite because of any one or a combination of reasons. These reasons fall into three broad categories: developmental issues, expression of feelings or an environment or program that is not working for the child. It takes thoughtful observation to find out why a particular child is biting. Despite their best efforts, teachers cannot guarantee that there won’t be any biting in a program with young children. Because young children bite for so many reasons, it is not possible to predict or prevent every bite. However, to determine the best response in a given situation, teachers have to observe a child closely and work with the child’s parents. The response that will help a particular child stop biting and keep other children safe is dependent on each child’s needs, temperament, and reason for biting.
  1. When faced with a child who has bitten two other children, Acorn teachers will make detailed observations for a week that will include:
    1. When the bites take place
    2. Where in the environment do bites occur
    3. Who does the child bite
    4. What has happened just before each bite
    5. The child’s reaction after biting
    6. The child’s social interaction skills
    7. The child’s verbal skills
    8. The child’s motor skills
    9. The child’s general personality characteristics
    10. The child’s chronological age
  2. Make an appointment to meet with the parents as soon as is convenient for both parties, to discuss the situation. From the incident report, the parents will already know that their child has been biting, but the teacher will want to tell the parents what s/he has noticed in school and s/he will ask the parents what they have noticed at home.
  3. From the teacher’s observations of the child and with the parents’ input, an action plan will be developed at that meeting which includes:
    1. Possible reason (or reasons) why the child may be biting
    2. Strategies and techniques related to development that will be implemented by both the teachers and the parents
    3. Strategies and techniques related to expressing feelings that will be implemented by both the teachers and the parents
    4. Strategies for changing the school program and/or home life
  4. If the problem of biting continues, the child biting may be shadowed. Shadowing involves having one staff person stay with the child, positioning herself where she can always intercept a bite. Shadowing requires intense vigilance, but the staff person shadowing the child is usually able to redirect the child before biting occurs, showing the child different, more acceptable behavior. Because shadowing means that one staff person must be devoted to watching and staying with just one child, this is usually difficult for a program to do. Acorn will ask the parents of the child who is biting to voluntarily assist the teachers so that some chores, normally done by staff persons, can be shared with the parents during this intensive time.
  5. Acorn is committed to helping children who have a pattern of biting, the children who have been bitten and the parents of all these children. Sometimes, however, a few children will need a different kind of setting. This would be determined after trying a number of different approaches consistently over time. When nothing seems to help, Acorn will review what has been tried and perhaps ask for outside help in this review. If Acorn concludes that the needs of the child are beyond what the school can provide, the parents will be asked to withdraw their child.
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
According to the State of NJ, DYFS, "Accidents, bites and injuries shall be reported to the child’s parent by the end of the day."

The treatment facility will want to make sure the child’s immunization status for tetanus is up-to-date. Parents should be instructed to have their child’s immunization card with them whenever they go to a physician or Emergency Room.

Bite wounds are particularly prone to infection since there is a wide variety of bacteria in the human mouth. Parents should be told to follow the physician’s instructions in detail.

Parents need to realize that it is possible children will bite each other. However, repeated episodes may present a disciplinary or medical management problem under certain settings.
Special Health Concerns  
  Any child who has a special health concern needs to contact their child’s teachers as well as the administrative staff of Acorn.
We have separate policies for diabetes, asthma, food allergies and SARS. Please contact the office to receive a copy for your needs.


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Last updated 23 October 2005