When To Keep Your Child Home
Guidelines For Keeping Children Home From School
These guidelines are established to ensure a healthy learning environment for all our students.
Children must remain home when:
- They have received a positive COVID-19, Strep or Flu test
- They have a temperature of 100 degrees or more
- They have been vomiting or have persistent diarrhea
- They have a persistent cough that would interfere with classroom activity
- They have persistent colored nasal discharge
- They have persistent ear pain or ear drainage
- They have colored eye drainage
- They have a sore throat that interferes with swallowing or after being exposed to someone with a “strep” throat
- They have a suspicious or draining rash
- They have any complaint that would keep them from participating in class
Please seek the advice of your health care provider when these symptoms occur. Children may not return to school unless:
- They are fever free for 24 hours WITHOUT medication for fever
- They have not vomited or had diarrhea for 24 hours
- A FULL 24 hours has passed since their first dose of antibiotic for strep throat or oral or topical medication for a skin infection or drops for an eye infection.
- They can comfortably participate and learn in class
If your child needs to have medication administered during the school day, contact your school nurse. If you have any questions regarding the above, please call your school nurse or the health services office at (845) 620-2016.
Health Issues
Safety and Seasonal Tips
Bike/Helmet Safety
Every year about 300,000 children go to the emergency department because of bike injuries. Some of these injuries are so serious that children die, usually from head injuries. That's why it is so important for your child to wear a helmet even if they are going for a short ride.The helmet should fit properly, worn level and cover your forehead, not tipped toward the back. The straps should always be fastened.
Remind your children to wear their helmets when using skateboards, scooters and rollerblades as well.
Car Safety
School-aged children: booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seat. Children should stay in a booster seat until the adult seat belt fits correctly. (When a child reaches about 4" 9" in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age)
Older children: children who have out grown their booster seats should ride in a lap and shoulder seat belt. They should ride in the back seat until 13 years of age.
Please remind your child to use their seat belt when riding the school bus.
Seasonal Reminders
Tips to reduce missed school days due to outdoor allergies:
- When mold and pollen counts are high, pre-medicate if directed by your doctor. After playing outdoors, the child should bathe and change clothes to remove allergens.
- Drive with the car windows shut and air conditioning on.
- At home use air conditioning and keep windows and doors shut.
- Don't let the child mow the grass or rake the leaves.
Sun Safety
- Choose sunscreen that is made for children, preferably waterproof. Use a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 30.
- Sun rays are strongest between 10AM and 4PM. Try to keep out of the sun during these hours.
- The sun's rays can bounce back from sand, snow, or concrete; so be particularly careful of these areas.
- Most of the sun's rays can come through the clouds, so use sun protection even on cloudy days.
- Put on sunscreen 30 minutes before going out of doors, it needs time to work on the skin. Reapply every 2 hours.
- Sunscreen should be used as sun protection, not a reason to stay in the sun longer.
Vaping
Health Risks
Health Risks and Consequences
There is NO Evidence that E-cigarettes are Risk-Free
To the contrary, e-cigarettes may lead to a multitude of negative health issues and dangers:
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Damage to the brain, heart and lungs, especially when used during adolescence or fetal development
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Cancerous tumor development
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Preterm deliveries and stillbirths in pregnant women
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May lower the body’s ability to fight infection
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The chemicals in vape smoke cause “popcorn lung”
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Accidental ingestion of vape liquid is poisonous
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E-juice also contains formaldehyde or embalming fluid
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Pneumonia is a risk for vape users
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E-cigarette usage is linked to depression
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Nicotine addiction
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The levels of nicotine are loosely monitored
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Metal particles are found in vape smoke
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Lithium ion-powered vapes can blow up
. . . And There’s More
Using nicotine increases the risk of addiction
Nicotine addiction is difficult to reverse, and addiction to e-cigarettes can lead to using other nicotine products, including smoking cigarettes, as well as alcohol and other drugs.
Nicotine Can Affect Brain Development/ Functioning in Young People
Young people are particularly vulnerable to using e-cigarettes and vaping devices and their effects. The younger a person is when he or she tries nicotine, the greater the risk of addiction. The developing brain is more vulnerable to the effects of addictive substances than a fully developed adult brain. Additionally, nicotine can disrupt brain development, interfere with long term cognitive functioning and increase the risk of various mental and physical health problems later in life. The brain is not fully developed until mid twenties.
E-cigarettes and Other Vaping Devices are not FDA Approved
These products are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a smoking cessation aid. Until very recently, manufacturers and distributors of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices were not bound by standards of safety set by the FDA for smoked tobacco products. Despite the new regulations, e-cigarette manufacturers are free to project a risk-free image in their marketing, and offer enticing candy-like flavors that appeal to children, adolescents and young adults.
Not What You Think
It's Not What You Think
Electronic nicotine devices can look like a pen, a computer memory stick, a car key fob or even an asthma inhaler. Instead of inhaling tobacco smoke from a cigarette, e-cigarette users inhale vapor from liquid “e-juice” that has been heated with a battery-powered coil. This is called vaping. The juice is flavored and usually contains nicotine and other chemicals.
Know the lingo - Juuling, dripping, e-juice:
Kids might use different words to talk about e-cigarettes and vaping. For example, “Juuling” is a popular word to describe using a brand of e-cigarette. About one in four kids who use e-cigarettes also tries “dripping.” Instead of using a mouthpiece to vape, they drip the liquid directly onto a heat coil. This makes the vapor thicker and stronger. E-cigarette juices (e-juice) are sold in flavors like fruit, candy, coffee and chocolate. Most have the addictive ingredient nicotine. The more kids vape, the more hooked they become.
But laws will stop them, right?
The legal age to buy e-cigarettes is 18 years, but online stores don’t always ask for proof of age.
E-cigarettes are unhealthy and addictive, yet wildly popular among kids.
New research estimates that about 3 million adolescents vape.
Young brains are easily addicted.
Kids who vape just once are more likely to try other types of tobacco. Their developing brains make it easier for them to get hooked, according to a recent study.
A step to quitting cigarettes? Not quite.
E-cigarettes may not help people quit using tobacco. Some adults use e-cigarettes when they want to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. While a recent report found e-cigarettes are “less toxic” than cigarettes, most people who use e-cigarettes do not quit using cigarettes.
What's a Juul?
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Quit Vaping: Help and Resources
Quit Vaping
If you or someone you know is dealing with a nicotine or marijuana vaping addiction, you can text “DITCHVAPE” to 88709 to access the program “This is Quitting”. This is a free, anonymous text messaging program tailored to specific age groups (13-17 and 18-24) that gives appropriate age quitting recommendations.
Parents of Vapers text "QUIT" to 847-278-9715 to receive messages designed for parents of vapers.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's ASPIRE online interactive program is a free, bilingual, online tool that helps middle and high school teens learn about being tobacco free. The site features a wide range of resources to help you quit, including a live text or voice chat with an expert; the quitSTART app; a customizable, step-by-step plan to help you quit and hard information on the dangers of smoking and vaping.
Further resources on quitting and the hazards of vaping are listed below.