Health Information

Please be sure your 7th grader has their Physical prior to returning to school. A copy can be faxed to 402-393-0463.

Attendance at school is very important!  
However, the following are times when your child should stay home from school so they do not unwillingly spread illness:

* Fever over 100 degrees
* Vomiting
*  Diarrhea

Please keep your child home until they are free from these conditions for a full 24 hours without the aid of medications.

If your child has been to the doctor and has been prescribed antibiotics, they must wait for 24 hours after the first dose to return to school. This includes eye drops as well as oral medication.

Medication should be given outside of school times whenever possible. Ex: Antibiotics prescribed three times per day should be given at home before school, after school, and at bedtime.

MEDICATIONS
 
The administration of medication at school is strongly discouraged, except when necessary for the student's health or education. If your student must take prescribed medication during school hours, it must be administered through the health office. The medication must be in an original appropriately dated prescription container and kept in the health office. Non-prescription medications in their original container are also to be kept in the health office. The student may request to  go there at the prescribed time or when the medication is needed. Medication must be accompanied by written, signed, parent note which includes a phone number parent can be reached at. Because your student is at Heartland School for approximately five hours daily, you will receive a call whenever your student is requesting medication as we do not wish to double up on any medications which may have been administered prior to their arrival at school. Medications that will be given long term must also have physician permission signed.

HEAD LICE

Head lice are transmitted by close contact with a person who has head lice or by wearing that person’s clothing, sharing hats, or using their bedding. Since lice are easily transmitted from almost anywhere: a classmate, an upholstered seat in a movie theater, or another child’s hat or comb. It is often difficult to determine where the lice came from or if your child may have passed it on to someone else. Please notify the school, and the parents of your child’s friend’s who may have been in close contact.  

Lice outbreaks are common among school children and even the cleanest child can easily become infested. It’s important that you act IMMEDIATELY to prevent their spread to other members of your family. Listed below are instructions to help you be lice free again! Following all these instructions thoroughly now is much easier than taking shortcuts and having to repeat the steps later if the lice come back. The most important step to prevent lice from returning is to comb the hair with a special lice comb to remove the lice and eggs which are attached to the hair shaft near the scalp. 

Your child may return to school after being treated and verification they are lice free. Your child’s hair will be checked upon their return to school. If nits or eggs are found, they will need to return home for additional treatments.

Everyone in the family must be treated! 

Shampoo and Remove Nits
Follow the directions on the product label. Shampoo hair with a lice killing treatment. There are several brands available that may use different chemicals. If possible use treatments that are pesticide free. Examine the hair for nits that look like small cocoons on the hair shaft near the scalp. These nits look resemble dandruff but will not flake off, and are stuck to the hair shaft near the scalp. Use a special fine tooth nit comb, usually included in a lice kit, to remove the nits, or you may pull each nit down the length of the hair with your fingernails. Sterilize the comb after you are finished by soaking it in a solution of bleach and water for at least 10 minutes. You must continue to comb and check hair daily for at least 10 days to be certain no nits are left behind to hatch. It would be wise to repeat the shampoo treatment in 7 days.

Clothing and Bedding
All clothing and bedding should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes the same day everyone’s hair is treated. Make sure coats and hats are washed or heated for 20 minutes in the dryer as well! Items that can’t be washed should be placed in plastic garbage bags and sealed for one month. (After that time, all nits will have hatched and new lice will have died without human contact.)


Furniture, Carpets, Etc.
The same day you do the above, also vacuum the furniture, mattresses and carpets. There is an environmental spray available for purchase for use after vacuuming. Once you have vacuumed, the vacuum cleaner bag or contents of the vacuum collector, should be sealed and thrown away in the trash.

Prevention:
Follow the above directions carefully. Do not wear other people’s clothing. Cutting hair short can help with prevention, identification and treatment. It is hard to avoid people infected with head lice, while at the same time taking care not to overreact. Most of all, check your child’s hair routinely and you will more likely find any problems early, when it is the easiest to treat. Consider using a daily shampoo containing "Tea Tree Oil" to act as a prevention of sorts. 



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