Nurse Updates

Dear Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving!

Below you will find information on the following:

• Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease
• Puberty Training Information
• Medications for 2025-2026 School Year
• Illness Protocol
• Our Health Staff

Nicole Wollert

District Nurse

nicole.wollert@westfieldpioneers.org

As with a lot of other schools this year, we saw an increase in cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) this fall. As we were still seeing a few cases in our district before Thanksgiving break, I wanted to once again share some general information about this illness.

HFMD is caused by a virus. It is most common in young children but people of any age can get it.

• Spread/Transmission: through inhalation of droplets from an infected person when they sneeze/cough/talk; also from objects and surfaces that have virus particles on them; and additionally from the fluid from blisters and poop.
• Typical Symptoms: sore throat, painful mouth sores, rash (commonly found on hands and feet), and fever.
• Treatment: treatment usually can occur at home, including over-the-counter medication to relieve fever/pain and drinking plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
• Prevention: wash your hands (with soap and water for at least 20 seconds), avoid touching your face with unwashed hands, clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and shared items, avoid close contact with an infected person.
• Return to School Criteria: students who have been diagnosed with HFMD would need to stay home from school until they no longer have any mouth sores (on or in their mouth), the blisters on their skin is crusted over, and they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

If your child has symptoms, you should keep your child home and contact their doctor's office.

We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to limit the spread of it so thank you in advance for your help.

For more information on HFMD, please visit the WI DHS website https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/disease/hand-foot-mouth.htm.

References: Mayo Clinic, CDC, and WI DHS websites

Puberty can be a very difficult time for children due to the many physical, emotional, and developmental changes happening to their bodies. To prepare them for these normal changes, we will be doing a puberty education session for the 4th and 5th graders. This will occur at the beginning of December.

To help teach this class, we will be using materials from the “Always Changing and Growing Up” Program.

These materials will help both boys and girls:

• Understand the physical and emotional changes they experience during puberty.

• Acknowledge that these changes are a normal part of growth and development.

• Understand that personal hygiene is each individual’s responsibility.

• Understand how girls manage their periods.

• Talk to parents and trusted adults about their feelings and questions during puberty to help them better understand and get the support they need.

The program is based on national research and consultation with school nurses, health educators, parents and medical professionals. It has been a trusted resource for over 35 years and has been taught to millions of students worldwide. It is provided as a free educational service to our school by P&G’s brands: Always® period products, Tampax® period products, and Old Spice® body wash, deodorant & antiperspirants.

The 4th grade girls and boys will have separate presentations where the girls will watch the girls video and the boys will watch the boys video. This will be followed up by a question and answer session.

For 5th graders, the girls and boys will have separate presentations of the co-ed video followed by a question and answer session.

Parents of 4th and 5th graders, we encourage you to use this lesson as a springboard for starting to talk about the topic with your child, if you haven’t already started.

If you wish for your child to NOT participate in this puberty training, please email me as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

If your child will need medication to be given at school this school year, please complete the following medication form.

The law states that a practitioner's signature is required if the medication is a prescription OR the dose written by parent/guardian on medication administration consent form for an over-the-counter medication differs from the recommended therapeutic dose on the medication label.

Due to not receiving many signed medication forms from the providers' offices this past school year, we are asking parents to get their child's provider to sign the medication form PRIOR to giving it to the school office. We will no longer be offering to fax the medication forms to provider's offices/clinics for signatures.

The student's parent/guardian must bring the medication in the original (manufacturer's or pharmacy-labeled) package and the package must list the ingredients and recommended therapeutic dose.

Students are not allowed to keep their own supply of medication in their lockers. Needed medication must be administered through the school office.

STOCK MEDICATION

As a courtesy, the School District of Westfield will offer stock (school supplied) Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen to middle school and high school students (ages 12 and over) while at school as needed during the current school year. Parent/guardian consent is needed for students to receive these stock medications - Stock Medication Consent Form.

Stock medication will be administered according to package directions (stated below):

Acetaminophen 500 mg tablet - One tablet every 6 hours for headache/pain

Ibuprofen 200 mg tablet - One tablet every 6 hours for headache/pain

This consent covers occasional use only, and will be given at the discretion of the school nurse or designated school staff. Any student that requires any of these medications on a regular basis will be asked to provide their own supply of medication and will need a medication consent form filled out by the student's parent/guardian and medical provider. School supplied medications will not be given to students more than ten times during the school year. If your child reaches the tenth time, a letter will be sent home, alerting you that your child has depleted their doses for the school year.

School supplied medications will only be given to students during the school day; they will not be available on school sponsored trips, athletic events, or after school activities.

If your child has a fever over 100 degrees, is vomiting, or has diarrhea, your child should stay home from school. Your child may return to school when they have been free of fever/vomiting/diarrhea for at least 24 hours.

Your child should also stay home from school if he/she has an unidentified rash or live head lice.

If your child has a rash, your child may return to school when their doctor recommends. Please provide a note to your child's school office from their medical provider indicating when they may return.

If your child has live head lice, he/she may return to school after they are treated as long as there are no longer any live lice.

Your child should stay home if he/she has an eye infection and is unable to avoid touching their eyes.

If your child has a communicable disease, please refer to this chart for guidance on when they may return to school.