A Message From The School Nurse: August 17, 2021

8/17/2021

Good afternoon parents,

I hope everyone had a restful summer and that the students are eager to get back to campus for another great year at Harding Academy! I have a few important items to share with you before the students return to campus on Thursday.

Staffing in the nurse's office:

I am pleased to announce that Brooke Lovell is back with us this year! Brooke was such a gift to the Harding Academy community last year, and was clearly loved by the students. I know I speak for all of the faculty and staff when I say that we are grateful that she is able to be a part of the nursing team at Harding Academy again this year.

Magnus: School Requirements Past Due

Requirements in Magnus were due no later than August 1, 2021. There are still several families who have not completed those requirements, and it is important that those forms be completed, and up to date, so that we can know how to best care for your child when they are in our care. If your child(ren) have outstanding requirements in Magnus please log into Magnus today to complete them, or your child may not be able to attend school or participate in athletics until this has been done. If for some reason you are unable to get forms in on time please contact me. If you have already spoken with me about this then you are all set, and I am aware of when I will receive any outstanding items.

Medication drop off:

One of the nurse's will be at a table during orientation on Wednesday, August 18th, ready to receive student medications. If your child will need to keep medication(s) at school this year please stop by our table to drop them off. If you are unable to attend orientation and need to set up another time to drop off your child(ren)s medication, then please reach out to me at clarkm@hardingacademy.us. It is important that we have any necessary medications on campus prior to the start of school.

Middle School August Day Trips and Medications:

If your middle school student will need medication during the middle school day trips next week, please get in touch with me as soon as possible. Any medications that are kept at school during the school year for your child(ren) will be sent (ex. inhalers), but if there are additional medications that need to be given during the trip please let me know. Paperwork will need to be completed and the medication will need to be handed in at least a few days prior to the trips.

COVID-19 Testing at Harding Academy:

Due to the rising cases of COVID-19 we will be offering COVID-19 testing at Harding Academy again this fall. Testing will not occur the first week or two of school, due to the hectic nature of the start of the school year, but we will keep you posted on when we will have our testing up and running, and will provide you with the details at that time. This year we will not be sending out the test result reports but will be requiring individuals who get tested with us to register with The PathGroup so that you can access your results. The nurses will still have access to view the results, and will contact anyone who tests positive to discuss next steps. Please note that we will be reassessing this as the year progresses, and that testing may or may not be offered for the entire 2021-2022 school year.

Diligence Regarding Symptoms and Illness:

While I know we were all hopeful that this year would look different than last year, we find ourselves in the midst of a rise in cases of COVID-19 in Nashville. Although, at this time we are not asking parents to complete a COVID-19 screening prior to dropping their child(ren) off at school each morning, we are asking and trusting that parents will be diligent in keeping their child(ren) home if they are experiencing any symptoms. We will continue to follow the TN Dept of Healths' Return to School Algorithm this year, which is now entitled: Public Health COVID-19 Return To School Decision Support Algorithm. The nurses will follow this document when we assess students that come to our office, and as we determine who needs to be sent home. As we were able to do last spring, we will be taking into consideration any known chronic conditions that students may have (ex. students with seasonal allergies), with the intention of working hard not to send students home unnecessarily. Please take a few minutes to review that document, as it is what we are asking parents to consider when they send their child(ren) to school.

*If your child has been determined to be a close contact and is currently in quarantine and or if there is a positive case of covid-19 in your household please contact me at clarkm@hardingacademy.us, in order to determine when they can return to campus.

Contact Tracing and Masks:

As David Skeen mentioned in a recent message, the CDC is allowing schools to change the contact tracing protocols from individuals who were within six feet for an accumulation of fifteen minutes, to those who were within three feet of an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 for an accumulated fifteen minutes, over a 24 hour period of time. It is important to note that the CDC states that we are only able to do this IF the individuals were wearing properly fitted masks for the entire time that they were near that one another. For that reason, please make sure that your child(ren) has a properly fitting mask; for example, masks can not fall down below the child's nose throughout the day. We are hopeful that with this update in contact tracing protocol that less students will need to quarantine if a positive case occurs in a classroom.

Lice checks:

While we had a nice break from lice this past year, and I hope that continues, I would ask that everyone check their child for lice in the next couple of days. With children back to attending sleep away camps the chance of cases of lice increases, so please check your child before they start school on Thursday.

More to come:

I am sure there will be more health related topics to address, and questions that will arise regarding COVID-19 this year, and I plan on sending out communications with you throughout the year so that we can work together to keep our community healthy. Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns that you may have.

We recognize that there are many different views on these policies and appreciate you respectfully following our guidelines when on campus. I look forward to seeing your and your child(ren) back on campus,

Moira Clark, BSN, RN

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