Please click on the link below to send an absence note, transportation/dismissal changes, and any health related information:
My name is Jeanne Patterson and I am the nurse at Mechanicsville Elementary. I want to address a few health issues and CCPS policies that may impact your child during his/her school year. I hope that this page will answer some of the questions you may have. Below you will find information on acute illnesses, medications and more. If you have any concerns, questions or are seeking more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, via either email or calling the school. I am looking forward to a happy health school year with your children!
Health Forms
The following health forms are commonly requested:
Acute Illnesses
The Carroll County Public School System has the following set of standards regarding when a child must be sent home from school for illness. If your child exhibits vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever 100 degrees or higher, they need to stay home. In addition, he/she cannot return to school the next day. The student must have a temperature below 100 degrees for 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school.
For instance, if your son or daughter has a temperature of 99 because you have given Tylenol to bring the temperature down, you must start counting the 24 hours after the Tylenol has worn off, 4-6 hours later. This policy will result in more children missing multiple days from school if they are sent home with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, however, it will help to prevent the spread of disease. We are strongly enforcing this standard at MES. In fact, if your child arrives to school the next day after being sent home the day before with a fever, we will notify you to pick up your child immediately.
Students who were sent home from school due to vomiting or diarrhea must also stay home for 24 hours AFTER the vomiting or diarrhea has ceased. This allows the virus to completely leave the system, and helps to prevent contamination to other students. Many students may have episodes of vomiting, and then “feel better”. However, gastrointestinal illnesses often recur in cycles and need to have 24 hours before returning to usual activities.
Absence & Sick Notes
When reporting an absence whether via email or phone please provide a specific reason when the situation allows. The nurse tracks outbreaks of illnesses and this helps the nurse know the current health issues in school. It also helps the nurse to have current information when a student visits the health room after being home with an illness or injury.
Lice
Lice are a fact of life among school age children. If you discover lice on your child, please notify the school nurse as soon as possible. This will allow the nurse to confidentially track cases of lice, identify an outbreak in a class and determine the need to check other students who are in close contact to your child in school. Keep your child home and treat with a medicated lice shampoo to kill the lice. After treatment, be sure to comb all of the nits (eggs) out of your student’s hair daily with a lice comb. CCPS no longer has a nit free policy to return to school; however, removal of all of the nits will help to prevent a re-infestation. The morning that your child returns to school the nurse will check your child to be sure no lice are present. The nurse will recheck them again 10-14 days later. It is also important to treat the environment at home as well. You can contact the school nurse for information.
Health & care items that students are permitted to carry but not allowed to share with others:
Medications
All medications given at school require a CCPS Medication form fill out by your child’s physician. The link to the form is at the top of this page.
Remember- Students are not allowed to transport medication to or from school as this is a violation of the CCPS Drug and Alcohol policy. A parent or guardian must transport the medication to the nurse along with all appropriate paperwork. The medication must be in the original labeled container. No medications will be accepted without completed paperwork.
When a student is starting a new medication, the first dose should be given on a day the student is home with a parent/guardian. A weekend day is an ideal day to start a new medication. Some medications have serious side effects and starting on a day the child can be home and observed closely by a parent/guardian for any adverse reaction is always best.
If your child has a serious illness, such as asthma, or an allergy that may result in an anaphylactic reaction please supply the nurse with the needed medication at school to treat your child in an emergency.
Extra Clothing
Please send a change of weather appropriate clothes for your child to keep in their locker. Children often have spills, bathroom accidents, slip in the mud etc. and need to change their clothing. The nurse has a limited supply of clothing to loan. If your child should end up borrowing any clothing items from the nurse, please wash them and return them to the nurse.
When will a parent/guardian get a phone call about their child?
The nurse can see many students during the day, so it is not feasible for the nurse to call or send notes home with every student. The nurse will call home when a student has a fever, vomiting, has a serious injury or needs emergency medication. If 911 is activated the parent/guardian will also get a phone call. Sometimes if a child is visiting the nurse multiple times in a short time period, the nurse will call to discuss the visits.