Nurse's Corner

School Nurse

Samantha Hess, MSN, RN, CSN

School Nurse
Email Samantha Hess
973-921-1394 x36008

In an effort to keep our South Mountain community healthy and safe, I have a few reminders to share as we go into the 2024-2025 school year.

Incoming students:

Preschool, kindergarten and all transfer students must have up-to-date immunizations prior to starting school. If your child has any health issues please contact the school nurse as soon as possible to provide information and establish a plan of care. 

Preschool Students:

According to N.J.A.C. 8:57-4.19, “children six months through 59 months of age attending any licensed child care center, or preschool facility on or after September 1, 2008, shall annually receive at least one dose of influenza vaccine between September 1 and December 31 of each year.”

As soon as your preschool child has received his or her flu vaccine, please send in proof from their doctor so that I may record it in their chart.  If I do not receive proof of your child receiving the flu vaccine before we leave for winter break on December 20th, 2024, your child will not be able to return to school on January 2nd, 2025. 

Medication Administration at School:

School nurses are not permitted to dispense medication to students in school without a doctor's order.

Medication in the original bottle, and necessary paperwork from the health care provider must be submitted to the Nurse's office if your child needs to take medication during school hours.  Forms are located on the right. 

COVID-19

Millburn School District is carefully monitoring and responding to information as we receive it, surrounding COVID-19. The safety of our students, staff, faculty and community is our highest priority. We receive our information from the Centers for Disease Control CDC, as well as the New Jersey Department of Health NJDOH, our local health department LHD, Johns Hopkins University Center for Science and Engineering JHU, and the US State Department State Department Travel Advisory (See the Millburn Covid Protocols for 2024-2025 below)

Snacks

Remember to pack a snack for your child.  We do not have any snacks to give out at school so if your child does not have a snack with them, they will not have snack that day.  As a reminder, all snacks should be peanut and nut free in order to ensure the health and safety of those students with food allergies.  Snacks should be substantial enough to give your child a boost of energy and get them through their day with us, but that also does not require a lot of time or utensils to eat.  Please remember to pack a refillable water bottle for your child.

Allergies

Some of the symptoms of seasonal allergies mirror those of COVID-19.  Please let me know if your child has a history of seasonal allergies.  If you are at all questioning whether or not the symptoms are that of allergies or COVID-19, contact me right away and we can discuss it.  When in doubt, please keep your child home to monitor their symptoms.

Cold And Flu Season

With the cold and flu season upon us it is important to keep our children healthy by following good health practices. Common symptoms of the flu include high fever, severe headache, muscle and body aches, chills, sore throat, exhaustion and dry cough. Children may also have nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Oftentimes, cold symptoms come on gradually and they include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat and hacking cough.

Usually, the cold and flu viruses are spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing. It is important to recognize the symptoms and know when to keep your child home. 

How To Keep Your Child Healthy And Virus Free

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the best way to prevent your child from getting the flu is to take him/her to get a flu vaccine. The CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and up.  New Jersey requires all children ages 6 months to 59 months to have an annual flu vaccine while enrolled in school or childcare setting.

Talk to your child about practicing good health habits, such as:

-Washing hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds (as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song)

-Covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing-‐preferably into the inside of the elbow or with a tissue and disposing of the tissue immediately into the trash

-Avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth

-Eating a well-balanced diet and getting plenty of rest to establish a healthy immune system 

You can prevent spreading illness to others by keeping your sick children home from school until they have been fever free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication). It is important for your sick child to get rest and drink plenty of fluids.

Frequent and proper hand washing is our number one line of defense against all circulating illnesses.

Other Cold Weather Tips

This time of the year can be particularly rough on skin.  Many children will experience chapped skin including cracked lips and raw noses.  Please encourage your children to apply chapstick and lotion at home to prevent dry, cracked, and irritated skin.  You may also send chapstick into school with your child. Using a humidifier at home can also help with dry skin and noses, and may even help the immune system function more efficiently.

It is important to keep your child hydrated, even though the weather is not hot anymore.  Proper hydration will help the skin from becoming irritated and it will also help to prevent frequent headaches and nosebleeds. Sending in a water bottle with your child will help to remind them to stay hydrated.

What We Are Doing At South Mountain School

Our custodians are hard at work making sure the school stays clean.  Daily, the classrooms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Particular attention is paid to frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs, handles, and faucets.  We have a Curis Disinfecting Atomizer that helps to further disinfect the classrooms as well as several new antibacterial dispensers throughout the school.  

Hand washing, hand hygiene, and proper coughing/sneezing techniques have all been discussed in the primary grade classes.  These topics are reinforced by faculty members daily and posters to serve as additional reminders are hung in classrooms, bathrooms and throughout the building.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, Samantha Hess, School Nurse, at samantha.hess@millburn.org  or 973-921-1394 ext. 36008.

For more information, please visit the Center for Disease Control website: This Website or Here.

Health Office Forms