Too Sick for School?

Can you believe it? We already have our first bug going through the classroom! I agree that it is WAY TOO SOON for this, but it's here! Half our students and teachers have experienced fever, coughing, congestion, runny nose or stuffy nose. Our students tend to be such little warriors and troop through, even when they are feeling crummy. Please keep in mind though, that sometimes our kids aren't really able to tell us how bad they feel, and when we don't feel great, we often don't feel up for learning. We are doing all that we can in the classroom--cleaning with disinfectant several times a day, washing hands multiple times, avoiding any physical contact we can and teaching and reteaching germ awareness. I've also spoken to our school custodian about getting an extra "deep cleaning" for our classroom.

We need your help too. I know that our students are serious troopers, and really want to be at school to maintain their routines. But what we often see is that kids (and adults) are coming back too soon. In the last few weeks, we have seen kids and staff come back to school, thinking they're feeling okay--so happy to be back--and then end up crashing within a few hours :-(  While this is sad for them, it also runs the risk of infecting and reinfecting others. I really hope that in the next few days we can all get well so that we have the energy for the exciting learning and fun events to come!

Here is a reminder of the Beaverton School District "Too sick for School" policies:

-Fever: You must be fever free without the aid of medication for 24 hours prior to returning to school

-Vomiting: There must be 24 hours since the last incident of vomiting prior to returning to school

-Diarrhea: There must be 24 hours since the last incident of diarrhea prior to returning to school

-Cough: Free of serious, sustained coughing or shortness of breath

-Rash: Any new rash accompanied by a fever--may return with clearance of the rash or release by health care provider

-Skin Lesions: Draining from sores need to be contained by a bandage

-Other: Symptoms that prevent the student from active participation in usual school activities or student is requiring more care than school staff can safely provide