St. Mary's New Families

Parents must ensure that emergency cards are accurately and completely filled out and are current. In the event of an emergency, these cards provide our only access to essential information. Please inform the office secretary if there is any change in the information requested on the card.

All school students in Illinois are required to show proof of having met physical examination and immunization requirements prescribed by the Illinois State Board of Education.

For all students entering school for the first time.
For students transferring from out of Illinois .
For students entering 5 th grade.
For students entering 9 th grade.
For students participating in athletics.

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Effective July 1, 2005 , Illinois Law requires all children in kindergarten, second and sixth grades to have an oral health exam by a dentist. Proof must be presented by May 15 th of the school year.

Illinois State law requires that all children entering school for the first time must show evidence of having completed a lead screening test.

The dates of required immunizations must be verified by your health care provider (i.e., physician, health department, clinic, etc.) Please note that some of the immunizations are completed in a series of shots that may require several months to complete. For instance, the three Hepatitis B shots may require up to 12 months to complete. It is important that you do not wait until the last minute to schedule an appointment with your health care provider.

Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus(DTP/DTaP/Td): 4 or more doses; at intervals of no less than 4 weeks apart; last dose at least 6 months from previous dose. Measles: 1 dose administered on/after 1 st birthday.

Hepatitis B: 3 doses, interval of at lease 4 weeks between 1 st & 2 nd dose, interval of at lease 2 months between 2 nd & 3 rd dose. For children entering after July 1, 2002 , the interval between 1 st &3 rd dose must be 4 months.

Hib: Children 24-59 months of age who have not received a primary series according to the Hib schedule must show proof of receiving 1 dose at 15 months of age or older.

Polio (IPV or OPV): 3 or more doses; administered no less the 4 weeks apart. Last dose receives on/after 4 th birthday.

Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus (DTP/DTaP/Td): 4 or more doses; Last dose receives on/after 4 th birthday, at intervals of no less than 4 weeks apart; last dose at least 6 months from previous dose.

Children enter school (other than Pre-K, K, & 1 st grades): 3 doses with last dose on/after 4 th birthday, at intervals of no less than 4 weeks apart; last dose at least 6 months from previous dose.

Measles: 2 doses, 1 st dose administered on/after 1 st birthday, 2 nd dose no less than 4 weeks after 1 st dose.

Hepatitis B: (not required for K-4 only) all others, 3 doses, interval of at lease 4 weeks between 1 st & 2 nd dose, interval of at lease 2 months between 2 nd & 3 rd dose.

For children entering 5 th grade , the interval between 1 st & 3 rd dose must be 4 months. A booster may be required.

Proof of immunity: A physician who believes a child to be protected against a disease for which immunization is required may indicate in writing, stating the reasons, and certifying that the specific immunization is not necessary or indicated.

Health Reasons: If a child is not fully immunized because of health reasons, the physician must state this fact of the health certificate.

Religious Objection: A parent or guardian may object to health examinations, immunizations, dental exam, vision and hearing screening based on religious grounds. If a religious objection is made, a written and signed statement detailing the specific grounds for the objection must be presented in accordance with current Illinois Law.

In the event of a diagnosed case of a communicable disease, such as measles, any student who is not protected by immunization shall be immediately excluded from school. This exclusion will be effective for 21 days, following the last reported case, or until the student can show proof of immunity.

Any illness or injury should be reported to the teacher and to the office without delay. If a student is not well enough to attend class, a parent will be called and requested to come for the student. In cases of emergency, the child will be transported to a Hospital or Medical Office if the parents cannot be located.

Students who have been absent because of a contagious disease must have a doctor's written permission to return to school. The following is a partial list of diseases considered to be contagious: chicken pox, encephalitis, hepatitis, impetigo, influenza, measles, meningitis, mumps, pink eye, pin worms, rheumatic fever, ring worm, scabies, scarlet fever, trench mouth, and whooping cough.

It is the parents' and/or guardians' responsibility to keep children home when they are ill. These are the prevalent symptoms which should tell you to keep your child at home (depending upon the severity and frequency, your family physician should be consulted): temperature/fever, sore throat, nausea/vomiting, swollen glands, skin rash/lesion, chills/headache, acute cold/earache, dizziness/faintness, diarrhea, excessive sneezing/coughing, severe pain, watery discharge from nostrils or eyes.

If the principal, school secretary, or lead teacher decide the student is not in condition to stay at school, the parent will be contacted and will be expected to make immediate arrangements to the have child picked up at school.

For example, a child who last vomits at 4:00 in the afternoon should not return the school the next day.

The office staff or designee will treat scrapes, scratches and minor concerns, so that the child is made as comfortable as possible for the return to class.

If a student must receive prescription or non-prescription medication at school, a Medication Authorization Form must be completed by the parent or guardian and signed by a prescribing physician. This form must be on file in the office before medication may be administered.

Students are NOT allowed to carry prescription or non-prescription/over-the-counter medications with them. This includes cough drops or throat lozenges.

Medications must be brought to the office by an adult and all medications must be locked in the school office. The only exception to this policy will be for students who require a rescue inhaler for asthma. A Medication Authorization Form must also be completed for inhalers.

Prescription medications must be in the original container provided by the pharmacy and the labeled and include the following information:

Non-prescription or over-the-counter medications must be in the original container and the student’s name must be affixed to the container. Expired medication will not be administered. Medication will not be supplied by the school or school personnel.

All requests for self-administration of medication will expire at the end of the school year, unless a shorter date is indicated on the Medication Authorization Form.

Parents will pick up unused medications within one week of the ending date listed on the form. Medications that are not picked up within one week will be disposed of by the principal and a witness. At the end of the school year, all left over medication will be destroyed unless picked up on the last day of school.

The office staff or designee will dispense medications only if proper authorization is on file. Parents are permitted to come and administer medications at any time.

When a case of head lice is discovered all students in that class will be notified by a note sent home the day of the discovery. When this occurs, parents should check their child's hair at home and be alert to the nape of the neck and behind the ears. Persistent itching and scratching of the scalp may be an indication that head lice are present. Look for nits (lice eggs) which are small silvery egg cases attached to the individual hairs. They cannot be removed unless pulled the full length of the hair. The following explains the procedure if head lice are found.

1. Consult your physician for diagnosis and treatment. The hair of the infested child and all members of the family should be washed with medicated shampoo or treated with medicated conditioner. Please note the amount of time that it is allowed to stay on the hair before rinsing. Non-prescription treatments such as RID, A-200 Pyrinate, and Nix are available. Other treatments are available by prescription only. Follow the directions carefully.

2. After using an anti-louse treatment, parents must be prepared for the often tedious process of removing all nits in the child's hair. While these products effectively kill the lice, all of the nits may not be killed, and the survivors will hatch in a week to ten (10) days, re-establishing the infestation. Nits can be removed with a nit comb but fingernails must be used for the ones left behind. Since lice can be transferred onto clothing, the child should remove shirts and undershirts before shampooing and put on clean clothing afterwards. To be sure the treatment has been effective, parents should look for new nits on a daily basis for ten (10) days following treatment. If lice or new nits appear, re-treatment will be necessary.

3. It is widely agreed that clothing and bed linens are to be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. Combs and brushes can be soaked in the louse shampoo for an hour or in very hot water. Rugs and mattresses and upholstered furniture should be vacuumed carefully to pick up living lice or nits that are attached to recently fallen hairs. Please avoid spraying the furniture and rugs with insecticide. It may be dangerous to children and pets.

4. St. Mary’s School has a NO NIT policy. If a child is found to have head lice, the child must be treated AND all nits must be removed from the hair before returning to school.

If your child is sent home, he/she may return to school after being treated with a head louse shampoo or conditioner and all nits are removed. PLEASE SEND PROOF OF TREATMENT (i.e., a doctor's note, label, or box from shampoo).

Parents of your child's friends should be notified so that their child may be checked and treated if necessary.

Emergency Drills

Disaster drills, both fire and tornado, are periodically conducted in the building. Students are to remain calm, quiet and obedient during all drills and actual emergencies. For fire drills, all occupants will exit the classrooms through the exterior doors and clear the building at a safe distance. In the case of tornado drills and alerts, all occupants move without delay to the restrooms and basement of the new addition. An updated emergency preparedness plan is available in the office and in each classroom.

Custody Issues

Parents are responsible for informing St. Mary’s about custody issues; however, St. Mary’s employees will not become involved in custody issues including visitation rights, or protective orders. If a situation arises in which a parent defies a custody agreement, visitation schedule or protective order, we will make every effort to contact the other parent and/or local police. The Bloomington Police Department should have information about the orders of protection and enforcement of those orders.

Health and Safety