Elementary Screenings

During the school year your child will have the opportunity to be screened for Vision, Hearing,  and Dental

Elementary Vision

Smithfield Eye and Optical completed OCRS vision screens for this year. Vision screening is required for all students upon entry to school, and in preschool programs operated by public school districts, as well as in first, second, third, fourth, fifth grade and 7th grade.  

This is only a screening and does not take the place of a full eye exam.  If you receive a vision referral from school, please follow up with your pediatrician or eye doctor, and return the referral slip to the clinic. If you have any concerns about your child's vision throughout the rest of this school year, please reach out to your health care provider or vision specialist. 

Elementary Hearing

The RI School for the Deaf will be coming to OCRS to do our hearing screens again this year.  They are currently scheduled for March of 2024.  Once they've completed the screens, a referral form will be sent out to those parents/guardians whose student failed the screening.  Please follow up with your pediatrician or the RISD. 

At any point in the school year if you have concerns about your child's hearing please contact your pediatrician or reach out to Mrs. Forte and she can provide you with the RI School for the Deaf  contact staff. 

Elementary Dental 

Dr. Greg Stepka DMD, our new Smithfield Dentist will be coming to help with our dental screens.  This is only a screening and does not take place of a true dental hygiene appointment.  Dr. Stepka has completed our dental screening for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are looking for a dentist, please reach out to Mrs. Forte for a list of dental providers in our state.

             When to keep your student home: 

Parents should observe for symptoms of illness each morning before school. For the safety of all students, please follow our district policy on when to keep your child home.

Exclude from school if child has:

• Temperature above 100 F within the past 24 hours and/or general condition is poor in spite of temperature

• Sore throat and/or swollen glands

• Earache and/or discharge from the ear canal

• Itchy, red eyes, with or without drainage (parent may supply a doctor's note confirming student suffers from seasonal allergies)

• Frequent or uncontrolled cough and/or runny nose

• Severe headache

• Unidentified rash

• Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours

• Seizures

Any child with the above symptoms should stay home. Parents are required to notify the school on the morning of each absence.

Please call into the office early in the morning to report the reason of your child's absence. 

Please inform the school office or the nurse if your child is absent or has an extended illness or surgery. A note MUST accompany a child returning to school after absence of three or more days, or tardiness.

If your child has been diagnosed with a throat or eye infection, (i.e. Strep throat or pink eye) and is put on an antibiotic, he/she needs to stay home for a full 24 hours before returning to school.

What To Do If Your Child Is ILL! 

24 Hour Rule

Our Smithfield First Aid and Emergency Care protocols include keeping your child home for a fever, and then having them stay home until they are fever free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine. 

These standing orders and protocols are renewed yearly and written in conjunction with our school physician, Dr. Alexander Lee who is a pediatrician at Blackstone Valley Pediatrics.

Dr. Katie Friedman, a board certified pediatrician and specialist in pediatric emergency medicine writes about why it’s so important to stay true to this 24-hour rule:

1.     You don’t want to get other kids sick, and your child can still be contagious within 24 hours of a fever. While we all know this is best practice, it’s not always enough motivation to keep kids home from school – especially if they feel great or if we need to get back to work. It’s important to keep this 24-hour rule in mind.

2.     Your child is more likely to catch something else. Within 24 hours of a fever, your child’s immune system is weakened, and they are much more likely to catch something else. This is why it can seem like your child is better for a couple of days, only to be sick again. They’ve caught something else. It’s also why sometimes your child’s symptoms can go from a sore throat to vomiting within a few days. They’ve caught something else.

3.     Rest and recovery is crucial to feeling better. Even if they are feeling great, extra rest and recovery is critical in helping your child fully get over an illness. You don’t want them to come down with something else or relapse with what they already have.

Even if your child is feeling better, be sure to keep them home from school for 24 hours after a fever. Not only will it help keep those germs from spreading to other students and staff, but it can help keep your child safe from germs as well. As usual, if you have any doubts or questions, be sure to call your pediatrician.

                           NUT-FREE CLASSROOMS

2023-2024 School Year

Dear Parents of OCRS Students,

This is just a reminder that we have students in our classes who have severe allergies to many different foods including peanuts/nuts. OCRS classrooms remain Nut Free Zones! 

 Please check that you are not sending any peanut or nut-related “snacks” to school with your child that he/she will be having in the classroom? This includes peanut butter/cheese crackers or any snacks that may have peanut oil in them. This also includes any snack that may have been manufactured on equipment that processes peanuts. These children can become very ill from just a brief exposure. 

It is “ok” for students to have peanut butter and snacks containing nuts in the cafeteria for lunch only. Our cafeteria offers NUT-FREE tables for those students with nut allergies. Our food service providers serve Nut-Free food which allows students purchasing lunch to sit with friends who are sitting at the Nut-Free tables.      

We are doing everything we can to provide our students with the safest environment in which to learn. If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to call me at school.