***** WHOOPING COUGH *****
Dear Parents,
We have had a positive case of Whooping Cough (pertussis) reported in 5th grade. Please see the attached sheet for a description of this disease.
The State Department of Health tells us that students in this specific classroom should see or call their doctors as soon as possible. If your child is not in this classroom, but your child has symptoms, please call your doctor and let us know what action has been taken.
Kids with exposure and symptoms must stay home until they have been on medication for at least 5 days. Please send us a note from your doctor.
Kids without symptoms may return to school tomorrow.
Please continue to watch for symptoms in your children, and call Mahaska Health Partnership Community Health (673-3257), or your doctor, or the school nurses, for questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Karol Little R.N.
Felicia Fuller R.N.
Elementary Nurses
NURSE NEWS: WHOOPING COUGH DEC. 2010 Karol Little R.N.
We have been hearing alot about whooping cough (pertussis) lately. There are many good web-sites that describe this disease, and some even have the sound of the characteristic cough.
In the recent past, we have had fewer than 5 positive cases per year in the OCS district. Several other kids have been tested and were negative. Some sources say we may have many cases that are undiagnosed. If we have had more actual cases of whooping cough in the schools, then our kids' good immunity levels must have kept it in check. Almost all school-age children have been immunized for whooping cough, but immunity does wear off about 5-10 years after the last vaccination. Most kids get their last vaccination just before entering kindergarten.
Whooping cough is usually not life-threatening in school-aged kids; most serious cases occur in infants under 6 months of age. It is caused by bacteria and spread by direct contact or droplets broadcast with coughing. It takes about 7-20 days for the disease to develop after exposure.
The first 1-2 weeks of the disease have symptoms just like a cold --- sore throat, tiredness, runny nose, dry cough. May have a mild fever. After about 2 weeks the disease progresses to the coughing phase, which may last for 3 weeks or even months.
The sufferer may have attacks of a choking cough that lasts from 1-2 minutes, often with gagging and vomiting and a feeling of suffocation. These choking attacks of coughing may happen as little as twice a day or as often as fifty times a day. Between attacks, the sufferer may not cough at all and may appear healthy. "Whoop" is the noise that occurs between coughs when the sufferer is suddenly able to take a breath in again. Only about half of those with whooping cough actually have a "whoop".
Diagnosis is made by taking a swab from the back of the nose and having it cultured in the lab. This may be inaccurate, and many diagnoses are made just by noting the symptoms.
Treatment usually consists of 14 days of an antibiotic, but sometimes this doesn't make much difference, and the disease just has to run its course. The sufferer is considered to be contagious from the first day of the first cold-like symptoms through about 3 weeks of the bad coughing (if untreated) or until after 5 days on antibiotics. By the time this disease is positively diagnosed, most close contacts have already been exposed. Again, it is our good immunity levels that prevent exposed kids from getting sick.
If your child has a persistent cough, please call your doctor. Let us know if you have a positive diagnosis of whooping cough. We will notify classmates of a positive case, but don't wait for a note from school before taking a coughing child to the doctor.
OSKY PRIDE NEWS - December 2010
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER:
Friday, December 3 2nd Grade Vocal Concert 2:00 PM
Bambrook, Gatton, Grubb, Rogers
Elementary Art Show 1:00 PM
Thursday, December 9 5th grade Vocal Concert 2:00 PM
Allen, Doud,Veiseth, VanWaardhuizen
Friday, December 10 DARE Graduation 1:45
Archer, Allen, Veiseth,VanWaardhuizen
Monday, December 13 5th Grade Band Concert 7:30 PM
Tuesday, December 14 2nd Grade Vocal Concert 2:00 PM Braithwaite, Jackson, Kerper, Van Zee
Wednesday, December 15 Early Dismissal- PD 1:15 PM
Thursday, December 16 2nd Grade movie 8:40 AM
3rd Grade movie 1:15 PM
Friday, December 17 1st Grade movie 8:40 AM
4th Grade movie 1:15 PM
Monday, December 20 Kindergarten movie 8:40 AM
5th Grade movie 1:15 PM
Tuesday, December 21 Kindergarten Vocal Concert 2:00 PM
Anderson, Blythe, Hersom, Miller
REMINDER: PLEASE DRESS YOUR CHILD FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER. COLD WEATHER HAS ARRIVED, we want to keep our students safe!
RECESS POLICY: If the air temperature or wind chill is 0 degrees or below, the students will stay inside during their scheduled recesses. The students will remain in their rooms and supervision will be provided. The temperature is carefully monitored, and outside recesses are shortened if needed. This typically occurs when air temperatures or wind chill is between 1 degree and 15 degrees. Please dress your children appropriately.
NOVEMBER PBIS CELEBRATION - "Giving Back to the Community" FOOD DRIVE: As a school we wanted to give back to the community for their support of our PBIS program, and we wanted to remind our students the importance of giving and giving back. We collected over 2020 food items for our food drive, and our goal was 1110 which equaled one item for every student! The food was donated to the Ecumenical Cupboard, and they said it was their biggest collection in the cupboard's history. Way to go OES and all of our generous families!
LOST AND FOUND: Please remind your child to check the Lost and Found for missing items. Label coats, hats, and mittens if at all possible so they can be returned to the rightful owner.
AFTERSCHOOL MATH PROGRAM: The afterschool math program started Tuesday, November 16, with 110 students enrolled. Sessions run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:45- 4:45. The focus of the program is developing proficiency in math skills in small group settings. Instructors are all certified teachers. The program will run until February 10. The YMCA provides a snack and supervision from 3:15-3:45 PM.
ART SHOW: The Elementary Art Show will be held on December 2nd and 3rd from 1:00 PM until after the Lighted Parade. It will be housed in the Iowa Building across from Brown Shoe Fit. Please stop in to see some great art work!
ELEMENTARY BAND CONCERT: The Elementary Band Concert will be held December 13, at 7:30 PM, at the George Daily Auditorium. The fifth grade band students have been playing for almost two months now, and they have been using flashcards to help master their first six notes. The students have adapted well to playing in a large group of over 80 members. There are just a couple of weeks left before the first concert, so students should be recording their practice and meeting their goal of 90 minutes per week.
CONFLICT MANAGERS/PEER HELPERS PROGRAM: The program is off to a great start. 5th grade students from A lunch are working with kindergarten and students from B lunch with 1st grade. Two conflict managers go to recess, circling the playground, offering assistance to students who are having some conflict. Two peer helpers go out to play with the students during their recess. A 5th grade team leader is out as well and is the person that the conflict managers and peer helpers report to. They, in turn, report to Mr. McCaulley, our 4th and 5th grade counselor who is in charge of the program.
BLOOD DRIVE: We had a successful Blood Drive with 40 units of blood collected. PTO will receive a check for $250 which will be used to purchase more playground mats. A big thank you to Dana Sereg for coordinating it.
DARE GRADUATION: We will be holding our DARE graduation on Friday December 10th @ 1:45 PM. Students from Mrs. Veiseth's, Mrs. Van's, Ms. Allen's and Mrs. Archer's class will be receiving their certificate for making their commitment to be drug and violence free. As a special guest, we hope to have Lt. McClun and his K-9 partner, Nash, attend and put on a short demonstration for all to enjoy. If you have a student in the DARE program, we would love to have you attend. The program should be over around 2:35 PM. DARE has been taught in Oskaloosa since1987.
HEAD LICE: This is not a sign of poor hygiene, but just as a child may get cold germs from another child, he/she may also get lice when exposed to an infested child. Most cases of lice (95%) are spread at sleep-overs or with very close playing, where heads are touching for long periods of time. You need to check your child thoroughly for signs of lice. Using a lice comb is better than using your eyes only -- the comb can find lice your eyes may miss. Lice are tiny gray-brown insects, about the size of a hyphen - . They do not fly or jump, but can move very quickly through the hair. On blondes, you may see tiny brown eggs, or nits, close to the scalp. On brunettes, you may not be able to see the nits until they turn white and grow away from the scalp. If you do find lice or nits, you need to start a two-week treatment plan, giving a daily regular shampoo, followed by a daily comb-out with a fine-toothed comb. Lice shampoos, to which lice have developed a resistance, are optional. Follow directions on the bottle. Also take precautions with combs and brushes, and wash clothing, towels, and bedding used by your child. If you don't find lice, you may still want to wash your child's coat and hat, and Kindergarten sleep rug, in case they were close to an infested child. If you do find lice, please notify the school, and notify parents of children your kids are especially close to. Your child may return to school after all live lice are removed. Lice treatment is not done until all nits are removed. Any missed nits may hatch out and start the infestation all over again. Lice-killing chemicals do not kill nits. Please continue to check your children's heads with a lice comb each week throughout the year.
