A Note from Nurse Meghan
August 26, 2022
Hello St. Joseph School Families!
I am looking forward to this upcoming school year and providing health services needed throughout the school day. I am EXCITED to announce…
St. Joseph School will continue to implement health and safety measures in accordance with guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On August 11, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eased its COVID-19 guidance for schools. According to the agency, the recommendations have been relaxed as nearly 95 percent of the country has acquired some level of immunity after more than 2 ½ years.
Based upon the updated CDC recommendations, we are asking everyone in our school community to continue to take steps this school year to help mitigate the spread of illness in our schools:
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- If your child is sick, please keep them home and report the illness to your school’s health office.
- If your child tests positive for COVID-19 and experiences symptoms, they should stay home for 5 days and until symptoms have improved (with no fever without using medication). Upon return to school, face masks are recommended and respected, but not required.
- Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes and washing your hands frequently
Thank you for your cooperation and partnership in helping keep our school healthy. Please note that St. Joseph School does not allow cough drops or throat lozenges as they are a choking hazard (please refer to the school handbook). At home testing kits are available in the school office. Please do not hesitate to call or email with any health concerns throughout the school year.
Stay healthy!
Meghan Lorenzen, BSN, RN, LSN
meghan.lorenzen@district196.org
Nursing Letter – November 17, 2022
MDH Influenza Symptom Screening Tool for Parents and Caregivers
7th Grade Student Immunization Requirements
All 7th grade in the fall will need to meet the immunization requirements set by the MN Dept. of Health. By law, before the first day of 7th grade, students will need to have received:
- Tdap booster vaccine (Tetanus, Diphtheria, AND Pertussis) at age 11 years or later. If a child received Tdap at age 7-10 years, another dose is not needed at 11-12 years. However, if it was only a Td, a Tdap dose at age 11-12 is required.
- Meningoccocal vaccine
- OR a physician-signed Medical Exemption or parent-signed/notarized Conscientious Exemption if you choose not to immunize.
To see if your student is ready for 7th grade this fall, click on the link for guidelines:
- Are your kids ready?
- Authorization for Administration of Prescription Medication at School
- Authorization for Student Possession & Self-Medication with Inhaler/EpiPen/Insulin at School
- Medication Policy
- Student Immunization Form
Email Nurse Meghan Lorenzen.
Wellness Policy
All St. Joseph School stakeholders can contact our Food Service Manager or Principal if you would like to participate in the development, review, update, and implementation or our wellness policy. Our wellness policy is reviewed and updated every three years.