SCHOOL NURSE WEBSITE

Health Screening is provided throughout the school year. Scoliosis screening will be held in the fall semester for 7th grade girls and 8th grade boys. Scoliosis screening is assessing the spine for a curvature or rotation. Seventh graders are screened for Vision, Hearing and Acanthosis Nigricans (AN) early in the fall. AN is a skin condition that signals high insulin levels in the body which puts a person at risk for Type 2 diabetes and other chronic health problems. Referral forms for all screening will be sent home if further evaluation is recommended. If you have any objections to your child participating in the screening, please notify me by letter or phone.

Immunization records will be updated throughout the school year. On March 5, 2009 the Executive Commissioner on Health & Human Services approved several revisions to the "Immunization Requirements for Children and Students in Texas Public and Private Schools". The changes to the requirements were made in order to update the Texas elementary and secondary school immunization requirements so that they adhere more closely to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) These requirements are for ALL INCOMING 7th graders:

1. Tetanus, Diphtheria and acellular pertussis-containing vaccine (Tdap): All students entering the seventh grade will be required to have one dose of Tdap. Students in the seventh grade will be required to have a booster dose of Tdap only if it has been five years since their last dose of a tetanus-containing vaccine. If 5 years have not elapsed by entry into 7th grade, the dose will become due as soon as the five-year interval has elapsed.

2. Meningococcal Vaccine: All 11-year old students entering 7th grade will be required to have one dose of meningococcal vaccine.

If your child has a fever (100 degrees or higher) or vomiting in the evening or morning before school, he/she should NOT come to school that day. This policy supports the ill child and prevents unnecessary exposure of other students to illnesses. Please report communicable diseases (Example: chicken pox, measles, conjunctivitis, strep throat, Fifth’s Disease, etc.) to the nurses’ office.

Your knowledge and experience with your child is a valued part of their health care. Please call me at 512-732-9245, if you have any questions or concerns. My goal is to help your child develop a positive self image and increase their health awareness.

Thank you,

Susan Murphy, RN