Susquenita Elementary SchoolEDUCATING AND EMPOWERING TODAY’S LEARNER;

GRADUATING TOMORROW’S FUTURE.

COVID GUIDELINES UPDATE:

CDC updates and simplifies respiratory virus recommendations | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC

Respiratory Virus Guidance (cdc.gov)

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Attention Parents of Students Entering Kindergarten!

Entering your child into kindergarten in a public school requires multiple forms to be completed providing proof of vaccination status, as well as medical and dental status. The following are required for your child to attend kindergarten class on the first day:

1. Documentation of a physical examination. A print out from your child's primary care provider or the Commonwealth of PA form ( found under forms on this page) are acceptable. The form must be dated no earlier than one year in retrospect of the first day of kindergarten 2017, this would be August 29, 2016. If your child has a scheduled appointment that is after the first day of school just let the nurse know the date.

2. Documentation of a dental examination. This also can be accepted from up to one year before the first day of kindergarten. The SMILES Program Mobile dentists will also visit Susquenita School District in January 2018 and is an alternate method of a dental visit for your child. This program accepts most insurances and provides cleaning, x-rays and some restorations. All students will receive an application in November. A child cannot be seen without written consent from the parent.

3. Documentation of all required immunizations are necessary for first day attendance!

• 4 doses of tetanus ( one dose after age 4)
• 4 doses of dithpheria (one dose after ageg 4)
• 4 doses of polio (one dose after age 4)
• 2 doses measles
• 2 doses mumps
• 1 dose rubella (German measles)
• 2 doses varicalla (chickenpox)
• Measles, mumps and rubella are usually combined as MMR

If your child does not have sufficient vaccination status ( still needs booster vaccines, but has received the first shot of each vaccine) by the first day of school, written proof of an appointment within five days with your PCP or the Department of Health will be required. Unless the child is unable to receive the vaccine on that date due to a medical condition, he/she will be excluded from school until documentation of the vaccine is obtained.

Health Action Plans

It is recommended that all students who have a diagnosis of asthma or severe allergy have an action plan updated yearly in their health records. These plans have been mailed home to students who have known allergies or a diagnosis of asthma. These files can also be downloaded from the website.

Health Insurance

Does your child have health insurance? Do you qualify for CHIP?

Answers to the following questions can be found at www.chipcoverspakids.com

1. My child has a pre-existing health condition will this affect qualification for CHIP?

2. My Medical Assistance benefits are going to end, can I apply for CHIP?

3. I am pregnant, can I apply for CHIP for me and my unborn baby?

4. I have a job, can my children still receive CHIP?

5. What are the income guidelines for CHIP?

6. My son and I live with my parents, do I include their income ?

Is it Strep Throat?

A sore throat can be mild or severe. When is it "strep" throat? How should you treat it? Your doctor can do a quick test and give you answers. Proper treatment can get you better faster and prevent spreading to others!

Sore throats can have a variety of causes. Viruses, bacteria, allergens, environmental irritants (such as cigarette smoke), chronic postnasal drip and fungi can all cause that unpleasant, scratchy and sometimes painful condition known as a sore throat. While many sore throats will heal without treatment, some throat infections- including strep throat-may need antibiotic treatment.

How You Get Strep Throat

Strep throat is an infection in the throat and tonsils caused by group A Streptococcus bacteria (called "group A strep"). Group A strep bacteria can live in a person's nose and throat. The bacteria are spread through contact with droplets from an infected person's cough or sneeze. If you drink from the same glass or eat from the same plate as the sick person, you could also become ill. It is also possible to get strep throat from contact with sores from group A strep skin infections.

Common Symptoms of Strep Throat

• Sore throat, usually starting quickly
• Severe pain when swallowing
• A fever (101° F or above)
• Red and swollen tonsils, sometimes with white patches or streaks of pus
• Tiny red spots (petechiae) on the soft or hard palate-the area at the back of the roof of the mouth
• Headache
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
• Body aches
• Rash

Is it Strep? A Simple Test Gives Fast Results

A strep test (a quick swab of the throat) can quickly show if group A strep bacteria are causing a sore throat. A test is needed to tell if you have strep throat; just looking at your throat is not enough to make a diagnosis. If the test is positive, your doctor can prescribe antibiotics. If the strep test is negative, but your doctor still strongly suspects you have this infection, a culture of your throat (another sample) may be taken as another way to test for the bacteria.

Antibiotics Get You Well Fast

The strep test results will help the doctor decide if you need antibiotics. Antibiotics reduce the length of time you're sick and reduce your symptoms. Antibiotic treatment may also prevent the spread of infection to friends and family members. They can also prevent complications such as tonsil and sinus infections, and, although rare in the U.S., acute rheumatic fever (an inflammatory disease that can affect the heart, joints, skin, and brain).

Once treatment begins, you should start feeling better in just a day or two. Call your doctor if you don't feel better after taking antibiotics for 48 hours. People with strep throat should stay home from work, school, or daycare until they have taken antibiotics for at least 24 hours. Be sure to finish the entire prescription, even when you start feeling better before the medicine is all gone. Click here to learn more about taking antibiotics for a sore throat.

The best way to keep from getting strep throat is to wash your hands often and avoid sharing eating utensils, like forks or cups. It is especially important for anyone with a sore throat to wash their hands often and cover coughs and sneezes. There is no vaccine to prevent strep throat. For more information on coughing and sneezing etiquette, click here.

New Pennsylvania Immunization Requirements!

An announcement has been made regarding a major change for Pennsylvania students and parents when it comes to immunizations.

The state's secretaries of health and education have announced plans to revise immunization regulations for school children. Currently, students must be immunized to attend school, but it includes a provisional period.

Past requirements for students required them to have the first dose of a vaccine to attend school, allowing up to 8 months to complete a multi-dose vaccine.

Students entering school in kindergarten or their first year in school will now be required to have 4 doses of polio vaccine ( a change from 3). The 4th dose must be on or after the child's 4th birthday. If a student who is already in school only has 3 doses and the 3rd dose is after the child's 4th birthday, that is acceptable by the state.

The new regulation would require students to receive the final dose within the first 5 school days. Or, if the medical schedule doesn't allow it, a medical certificate that includes a plan to complete the vaccine.

The proposal also changes some of the states vaccination requirements, including requiring a pertussis and meningococcal vaccine for students entering 12th grade.

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Karen Murphy says the current 8-month provisional window for immunization presents a very real risk for children to become infected and potentially spread preventable, communicable diseases to others.

The regulations apply to public, private, parochial and non-public schools.

The school code does allow for an immunization exemption for religious, philosophical and medical reasons.

( medical exemption requires documentation from a health care practitioner)

Universal Flu Vaccination

Despite recommendations for universal vaccination of all individuals older than 6 months, influenza vaccine uptake in the United States remains dismal. Although there are clear benefits of large-scale vaccination in terms of both use of healthcare resources and improved work productivity, the issue of whether the influenza vaccine may prevent cardiovascular (CV) events has been controversial.

However, a new meta-analysis finds that the influenza vaccine may reduce the risk for CV events by more than one third among adults, and even more among adults at high risk for CV disease (CVD). These findings could have important implications for public health policy, as well as the way in which physicians counsel individual patients regarding the use of the influenza vaccine.