Flu Season

Head Lice

Meningococcal Disease

In the attempt to control the spread of the flu please follow these guidelines with your student: 

• If you child has a fever of 100 degrees or over, please keep your child home from school

• Please have your child fever free, without the use of medication, for 24 hours before returning to school

• Wash your hands frequently

• Cough or sneeze in a tissue or in the elbow area, not in your hands

• If your child has a bad cough and isn’t controlled by medication, please keep home

When winter approaches, many parents become concerned about their child’s possibility of getting head lice. Although head lice can be contracted any time of the year, cold weather offers more ways of getting lice. In efforts to try and prevent the spread of lice I would like to remind you of a few facts.

Lice are tiny bugs that live on the scalp of a human. Having lice is not a sign of poor hygiene habits, lice like clean scalps/hair too. Lice cause the scalp to itch. Lice are small (less that 1/8 inch long), tan-colored insects, alive and moving. They prefer the back of the scalp, behind the ears and above the neck but can be found other places on the scalp too. The eggs (nits) are gray-white specks stuck to the hair.

Lice spread by direct contact with a person who has lice by sharing brushes, combs, hats, scarves, bed sheets, blankets, and pillows. Lice do not jump or fly; they only crawl. Animals do not spread human lice. Please remind your child not to share their brushes, combs, hats, etc.

If you notice your child is scratching their head a lot please check for lice or notify myself or their teacher and I will check them. If you find lice please keep your child home and provide treatment to kill the lice. Also, I have information on treatment of lice and the treatment of the home available. Prevention is the key.

A new Indiana law requires each year that parents/guardians be informed “about meningococcal disease and its vaccine” (IC20-30-5-18). Meningococcal disease is a dangerous disease that can attack children and youth. You may hear it referred to as meningitis. This is an infection of the fluid of a person’s spinal cord.