​Illness

Students who are sick should be kept home from school. Productive coughs, runny noses and fevers are all indications that students have an infection that may be contagious to others.  The school will contact parents, or any of the approved emergency contacts, to pick up students who become ill at school.  Please make sure there is someone available to care for your children when they are not well enough to attend school.

Medication

School staff members are not authorized to administer any medication to your children without appropriate paperwork signed by your physician.  Students who require daily medication at school, as well as those who require Epi-Pens or other physician prescribed medications for emergencies, need to have a “Medication Management Plan” in place.    

Medical Alerts

Students who have serious medical conditions may require on-going medications. In this case, it is the responsibility of the parent to provide the school with information, doctor instructions, and medication in original containers.  School staff members are not authorized to administer any medication to your children without appropriate paperwork signed by your physician.  Students who require daily medication at school, as well as those who require Epi-Pens or other physician prescribed medications for emergencies, need to have a “Medication Management Plan” in place.   

Students with a life threatening condition should wear a Medic Alert Bracelet so that he/she is easily identified should a medical emergency arise.  Student Focused Medication Management Plan & Student Focused Medication Management Parental Consent forms are available at the office.  Please ensure that you complete the medical forms and send them with your child’s medication to the school office. If we do not receive this information and medication, should a medical emergency arise, our course of action will be to call 911.

Public Health

Services to children and youth in schools are provided by a number of professionals in public health.  The PHN works to promote health and wellness, prevent disease and injury, assist children and youth who are in need or at risk and support those who have health concerns.  For any questions, please call the On-Call nurse at 604-983-6700.  (Please note that the school nurse works at the Vancouver Coastal Health office and does not have an office or regular hours at the school.)

Vancouver Coastal Health – North Shore Health Manual

Please refer to the website noted below for the North Shore Health School Manual.  The manual outlines the services public health provides to schools and it includes access information and resources on a variety of topics.  

http://www.vch.ca/your_health/school_health/north-shore---school-health-manual

Communicable Diseases

If your child contracts a communicable disease, please inform the school office as soon as possible.  We have students in the school who are immune compromised, and are at serious risk if exposed to immune suppressing infections.

Nut Allergies - Nut Aware School

Vancouver Coastal Health encourages all schools to be "nut aware" in support of students who have a life-threatening allergy to NUTS. To help reduce the risk of accidental exposure, we ask for your cooperation in order to provide a safer, nut aware learning environment.  The following are respectfully requested:

1.  Please do not send food to school that contains peanuts or nut products (i.e. peanut butter, muffins/cookies with nuts, granola bars).  Please read ingredients on purchased and packaged food items included in your child’s lunch and snack prior to packing.

2. If your child enjoys peanut/nut containing products at home, please ensure that your child adds hand washing to their routine before coming to school.  Even a small amount of peanut oil or dust from a friend’s hand can easily be transferred to crayons, books or playground equipment that can pose a risk for the allergic child.

3. Discuss the importance of not trading or sharing food with your child.

The above items will also be discussed with all the students in the classroom setting along with ways to help their allergic friend stay safe.

We hope you will appreciate the seriousness of allergic reactions and that you will assist us in our efforts to create as safe an environment as possible for all students.  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to call the school office, or contact Community Health at 604 983-6700.

Head Lice

Head lice is a common issue among school-age children and one that can affect anyone. 

• Lice spread relatively quickly 

• Lice spread through DIRECT head-to-head contact as well as through personal articles

such as hats, combs, brushes, helmets, scarves etc.

The best way to reduce the chances that your child will get head lice is by being proactive:

• Check each family member’s head EVERY week. (Make this a family routine Sunday

night before returning to school on Monday).

• Provide individual combs and brushes for each family member.

• Teach children to avoid head-to-head contact and not to share items that come in contact

with their head or neck, for example: towels, helmets, hats, scarves.

• Comb or brush hair vigorously daily.

• Children with long hair should tie their hair back. Braids are ideal.

If head lice are found on your child’s head a complete course of treatment is necessary to

get rid of the lice. The most effective way to manage head lice is regular checks of your child’s head.

For more information please call BC Health Link at 811 or visit:

http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile06.stm