Health Services
Robert Ripper MSN, RN, APN, CSN Stephanie Hurley BSN, RN, MA, CSN Maggy Mota
School Nurse School Nurse Secretary
Health Services Coordinator
908 789 4500 x 4517 908 789 4516 908 789 4519
fax 908 519 2319
The health office will be dividing the students by last name for the 2032-24 school year.
Robert Ripper : Last name A through K Stephanie Hurley : Last name L through Z
Health Office Guidance for Respiratory Viruses, including COVID-19, influenza, and RSV (Updated April 2024)
Per the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has updated its guidance for COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. This guidance offers a unified approach to preventing the spread of common viruses like COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Since these viruses share transmission methods, symptoms, and prevention strategies, the NJDOH and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that schools, early care and education programs, and youth camps implement a core set of infectious disease prevention strategies, outlined HERE. In summary:
Students or staff who are sick should stay home until symptoms are improving and they are fever-free for 24 hours.
Students or staff with a temperature equal to or greater than 100.4, vomiting, or diarrhea should stay home according to our standard school policy. Individual with a fever need to stay home for 24 hours after the last temperature of 100.4 or above, without fever-reducing medications.
Improving symptoms means the individual is no longer feeling ill and can participate comfortably in educational and other activities as they did before they were sick.
If students or staff test positive for a respiratory illness but are symptom-free, they should mask and practice good hand hygiene for five days, unless the disease has more specific exclusion criteria.
After returning, students or staff should take additional precautions for five days, including masking, practicing good hand hygiene, and coughing into the bend in their elbow.
If symptoms worsen or the fever returns, they should stay out until symptoms improve and they are fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
Common symptoms of COVID include (1) one of the following symptoms: new cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, or new disorder of smell or taste; or (2) two of the following symptoms: fever (Temperature equal to or greater than 100.4 F), chills, shivers, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose. If your student has the above symptoms, please contact your healthcare provider.
Health Office Guidelines for students who have hospitalizations, major illnesses, or major injuries, including those that need crutches
If your child has an inhaler or EpiPen, please ensure they carry it at school and know how to use their device. Students in high school come early and stay late for activities outside nursing hours. Additionally, older students can leave the building for lunch.
Please notify the school nurse of changes in your student's health or if they have new diagnoses.
Students with hospitalizations, emergency department visits, new major illnesses, major injuries, or concussions need a doctor's note to return to school. If your student is on crutches, we need a doctor's note saying they are on crutches at school. Doctors usually write for elevator use, extra time to get to class, and someone to carry their bookbag while they are on crutches.
If your student has diabetes, seizures, asthma, or allergies that they have been prescribed an EpiPen, please submit an action plan from your doctor at the beginning of EACH YEAR: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G-GzNDuCS31MxRsb68C4ElF8m8IOkXCA/view?usp=share_link
Students that take prescription or over-the-counter medications at school or on field trips need a medication authorization form filled out by their doctor: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G-GzNDuCS31MxRsb68C4ElF8m8IOkXCA/view?usp=share_link
If your student has a minor illness or injury and needs to sit out of PE, you can email their PE teacher. A parent note or email is valid for up to five days. If your student sees a doctor for an injury, please send in a doctor's note to the health office each time they are seen. Doctor's notes need to be written by a doctor, dentist, podiatrist, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant. If your student is in sport, please let their coach and the trainers know if they are injured. Students in sports need a clearance note to return to sports. Students cannot be out of PE and participate in sports.