Parents should call our Attendance Hotline,                 (203)245-6404, by 8:00 am to report their child's absence or tardiness.  Please indicate a reason for your child's absence.

Scoliosis Screening for Grade Five Students

The State of Connecticut requires that all students in grade five be screened for scoliosis. The purpose of postural screening is to detect signs of spinal curvature at their earliest stages so that the need for treatment can be determined.

The procedure for screening is simple. The school nurse will evaluate your child’s back while he/she stands and bends forward. For this screening, boys and girls will be seen separately and individually.

 Boys must remove their shirt. Girls must remove their blouse and may wear a bathing suit top or bra, which exposes both shoulder blades. It is necessary for the entire back to be visible during the screening process. Shoes and sneakers must be removed.

If your health care provider has screened your child within this current school year, you may provide the results of this postural screening to the Health Office. It must be signed and stamped by your health care provider. CT statute (10-214) does not permit acceptance of screening by chiropractors. Documentation that your child has been screened with results from the health care provider must be sent to the Health Office by Februrary 28, 2013. We will start screening Monday, January 14, 2013. Please contact the Health Office if you have additional questions.

General Information

The Health Office is staffed with a Registered Nurse and a health paraprofessional from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Health Office provides health and emergency services to students at Brown School. If an emergency should arise while the Health Office is closed, students will be sent to the Main Office. All Health Office visits are documented and these records are maintained in the child’s cumulative health record.

Parents/guardians will be notified if their child is to be sent home. A student with a temperature greater than 100 degrees, or who is vomiting, will be sent home from school. Individual assessments may also result in exclusion from school.

Additional Guidelines

• At the beginning of the school year, the Health Office will request that each parent or guardian complete an emergency information form. Please list all available numbers where you can be reached (home, work, beeper, cell phones) and local persons to contact if you are not available. Please update all changes during the school year.

• The Physical Education department requires that a parent write a note of explanation if his/her child is unable to participate in a class, due to illness or injury. If more than two classes are missed, a note from the treating health care provider is needed to excuse the student.

• To ensure safety, students returning to school with any limitation of mobility (crutches, casts, wheelchairs or sutures) must first report to the Health Office before attending any classes.

• Any products containing latex are not permitted in the building.

• Parents should contact the school nurse before their child returns to school after surgery, serious illness, injury, or hospitalizations. A note from the treating health care provider is needed before the student returns so that the nurse can make a plan for the child’s safety.

• The school nurse will make recommendations to the school administration regarding students with health problems participating in field trips.

Medication Administration

• The State of Connecticut has created definitive regulations regarding administration of medication in schools. Medications (prescription or over-the-counter) are NOT to be carried on the student’s person or kept in lockers. If it is necessary for a student to take any medication during school hours, it must be administered by the school nurse, school administrator, or a designated teacher. The following steps will facilitate the procedure and meet state regulations:

• A medication authorization form signed by the prescribing health care provider and the parent/ guardian must be submitted annually. These forms are available from the Health Office, the health care provider, or the Madison Public Schools website.

• The parent/guardian must deliver the medication directly to the school nurse.

• The medication container must be labeled by the pharmacy with the name of the patient, medication name, strength, dosage and frequency, and the name of the prescriber. Over-the-counter medication must be received in its original unopened container from the store.

• The amount of medication is limited to a forty-five (45) day supply.

• A student may be allowed to self-administer an inhaler or medication for anaphylaxis with approval of the School Nurse, Principal, parent and prescribing health care provider. The child may carry his/her own inhaler or EpiPen and parents will need to provide an additional supply of these meds for the Health Office.

The medical advisor for the Madison Public Schools has approved the following medications and preparations for use in the Health Office.

Emergency Medications

• EpiPen: Anaphylactic shock

• Benadryl: for hives, allergic reaction, or motion sickness

Over the counter preparations

• Acetaminophen: for general pain/discomfort, headache, dysmenorrhea, dental pain or temperature greater than 101°

• Bacitracin: topical application for minor abrasions and lacerations

• Calagel: topical application for itching

• Bactine: topical application to clean wounds

• Petroleum jelly/Medicated lip ointment:: chapped lips

• Sunscreen: topical application

Screenings

The State of Connecticut and Madison Board of Education requires that students in grades five and six have scoliosis, vision and hearing screenings. Grade 5 students will have these screenings performed at school by the school nurse during the fall. Grade 6 students will have these screenings completed during their grade 6 physical exam by their health care provider.

Physical Examinations

All newly enrolled students from out of state are mandated by the State of Connecticut to submit a physical exam, which includes immunizations prior to attending class.

Madison Board of Education policy and Connecticut State Law, Section 10-206-C requires a physical examination for all students in Grade 6. This physical examination needs to be completed by your child’s health care provider after June 1, 2010 and submitted to the Health Office by June 1, 2011. The Connecticut State Blue Form (HAR-3) is available in the Health Office or at your child’s health care provider.