December 2014
Audubon Elementary
From the Principal's Desk
Happy December! I want to thank everyone who joined us for parent conferences. Teachers will be reaching out to families whose conferences were cancelled due to the weather.
As we enter the season of hustle and bustle, I encourage you to keep in mind the importance of following a routine with children. They are already full of excitement and anticipation and getting off schedule can lead to difficult days. The best gift we can give our children is always the gift of time spent together.
We have many special events this month. Listed below are the building wide events. Please keep an eye out for information specific to your child's classroom.
I wish you all peace and happiness in the coming weeks and in 2015.
Important December dates:
December 2 Winter Concert 2 and 7 PM
December 3 Home and School Meeting 7 PM
December 4-5 Holiday Shop
December 23 Holiday Sing- a-long (Students and Staff)
December 24- January 2 Winter Break
January 5 School Resumes- Reading Assembly
News from the Nurse
Making the Right Call When Your Child is Sick
Should I keep my child home or send him or her to school?
Your child should stay home if she or he
- Has a fever of 100 degrees or higher
- Has been vomiting or has diarrhea
- Has symptoms that keep your child from participating in school, such as:
Very tired or lack of appetite
Cough that he or she cannot control
Headache, body aches, or earache
Sore Throat- a little sore throat is ok for school, but a bad sore throat could
be strep throat, even without a fever. Other signs of strep throat in
children are a headache, stomach upset, or rash. Call your doctor if
your child has these signs.
24 hour Rule:
- FEVER: Keep your child home until his or her FEVER has been gone
WITHOUT medicine for 24 hrs. Colds can be contagious for at least 48
hours. Returning to school too soon may slow recovery and make
others sick.
- VOMITING or DIARRHEA: Keep your child home for 24 hours after the
LAST time he or she vomited or had diarrhea.
- ANTIBIOTICS: Keep your child home until 24 hours after the FIRST dose of
antibiotic for anything like an ear infection or strep throat.
Please help others from becoming sick by keeping your child home while they are the sickest.
School Counselor News
You may see a new face in the counseling department this year since graduate student intern, Amy Grabfelter will be assisting Ms. Shaw throughout the year.
We kicked off the new school year with an assembly and a new word… RESILIENT. Students are learning that to be resilient means to “bounce back” when something unexpected happens. Throughout the building beach balls are displaying great strategies for bouncing back. Some of our favorites can be encouraged at home, including: take a deep breath, let it go, play with a new friend, and talk it out. Be sure to ask your child what helps them to “bounce back” when they are disappointed.
Students who were recognized by their teachers for doing a great job being resilient by meeting new friends this month include: Sanjana Parekel, Lucs Serpico, Ashley Wojton, Sean Crawford, Victoria James, Owen Salotti, Claire Montgomery, Harley Bennett, Isabella Brower, Ben Warkentin, Luca Cifelli, Dylan Oszeyczik,Tyler Sprawls, Warren Simard, Katelyn Ryan, Dante Pineiro, Alexandra DePiano, Jack DePiano, Crystal Barroso, Ryen, DiRosa, Rory Gately, Alex Shaw, Jenica Hine, Ellis McKenzie, Lilah Lewis, George Burkhimer, Emma Li, Ben Clark, Emmalyn Kock, Nick Altieri, Krishna Gade, Sean Kim, Maia Singh, Krishna Tirumalareddy, Mairi Smith, Cameron Chilson, Emily Hufford, Damien Pineiro.
in October we focused on following rules. Students who demonstrated strength in this area were:
Tarini Saravanan , Adrish Ghosh, Sophie Kirschner, Kevin Brenn, Aubrey Wheeler, Armando Vasquez, Gwen Jones, Ellie Rothgeb, Ayaan Syed, Emily Ettorre, Avinash Joshi, Skylar Kim, Hyrum Fultz, McKenzie Casioce, Jadon Crawford, Sophie Scott, Aidan Loftus, Maggie Petren, Austin Gross, Lyla Souiedan, William Schafer, Lauren Montgomery, Andrew Hendrick, Shavani Joshi, Anthony Daddazio, Sarah McKillip, Mason Clark
Tyler Bailey, Caitlyn Hennessy, Liam George, Eden Fultz, Jason Hu
More News from the Nurse
Head lice are common in the United States among children 3-12 years of age. Approximately 6-12 million active cases occur each year. Unfortunately no one is immune to head lice. All socioeconomic groups are affected. Each year your school nurse sees several cases of head lice, sometimes more than one case in a classroom.
The ideal standard for diagnosing head lice is finding a live louse on the head. This can be difficult because the louse is extremely quick. The tiny eggs or nits may be easier to spot, especially at the nape of the neck or behind the ears. It is important not to confuse nits with dandruff or other hair debris. Nits are more difficult to remove because they are “glued” to the hair shaft. Head lice can not survive long without a host beyond
6-20 hours.
Once lice are discovered, over the counter shampoos are the preferred treatment of choice. Remember to check the specific shampoo you have purchased. Certain shampoos require damp, towel-dried hair-not wet hair.
Another requires a dry head. Apply pediculicides a few drops at a time, directly on the scalp, section by section-not as one would apply a regular shampoo. Be certain scalp and roots are saturated. Begin to time the treatment only after the shampoo has been applied to all areas. Re-treat the hair 7-10 days after the initial treatment according to package directions. Continue daily monitoring for nits until your family is lice and nit free.
It is impossible to prevent head lice. Young children come into close
head-to-head contact with each other. I am reminding parents to periodically check their child’s head for any signs of head lice, especially after sleeping away from home, dress-up play dates, and participation in sports when helmets or headgear are shared. Never disallow protective helmet use because of fear for head lice. Looking through your child’s hair for any signs of lice or nits should be done at least once or twice a week.
Remember- teach your children to
Avoid head-to-head contact at school and at home while playing with other children.
Avoid sharing combs, brushes, hats, scarves, bandanas, ribbons, barrettes, towels, helmets, or other personal care items.
Keep hats and scarves inside their coat sleeve or in their backpack when not in use.
Encourage tying back long hair while at school.
Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns.