If your child will be home sick, please notify us via our Safe Arrival message system. You may call the Safe Arrival Line 978-468-8400 or email bukersafearrival@hwschools.net. These messages are received directly by the school nurse.
Illness
In order to provide the healthiest environment as possible in order to promote learning, please do not send your child to school when symptoms of illness are present. Symptoms can include, but not be limited to, vomiting, diarrhea, general malaise, fever, severe or persistent sore throat, ear pain, or frequent cough. A child will not be allowed to remain in school if any of the following conditions exist: temperature measured at, or above, 100.4 degrees fahrenheit; persistent cough; untreated head lice; undiagnosed/untreated skin rash or communicable disease; vomiting/diarrhea; neurological changes; severe pain or disabling injury.
Please notify the health office within 24 hours if your child contracts any contagious disease, including but not limited to: strep throat, MRSA, conjunctivitis, head lice, impetigo, fifth’s disease, chicken pox, measles, whooping cough (pertussis), mononucleosis, scabies, mumps, tuberculosis, and scarlet fever.
Additional information to help you decide if your child is well enough for school can be found here, "Sick Day Guidelines." Please remember, the guidelines discussed are just that...guidelines. A child does not have to be 'so sick,' or hit a certain number of checks on a list, to simply not be well enough with enough energy to function through a day and benefit from being in school.
Post-Illness Return to School Attendance Guidelines
Your child must be fever free without medication and symptom free (no vomiting/diarrhea, etc.) for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Your child should also feel generally well enough, and have had adequate rest in the recovery of their illness to be able to deal with a school day. This would mean that a child dismissed home from school with a fever or other illness symptoms on a given day should not return to school the following day. According to school guidelines, a child diagnosed with strep throat, impetigo or conjunctivitis must be on medication for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
In the event of a head lice (pediculosis) diagnosis, please treat accordingly and check your child’s head frequently. Please see the Hamilton Wenham guide for treatment here. The Hamilton Wenham School District procedure for the management of lice can be found here. Our procedure supports the American Academy of Pediatrics position statement, found here, as well as that of the National Association of School Nurses, found here, in relation to the management of head lice (pediculosis) in schools. In short, exclusion of a student from school because of a head lice diagnosis is unnecessary and results in unfounded loss of days in school. Parents are encouraged to review these informational statements in order to best support their family and our school community. Call the school nurse if you have any questions.
