Hello Families and Caregivers! 

We are quickly settling into a new, exciting year in the counseling area!  It’s been so fun reconnecting with returning students and meeting our new students.

This month, we are thinking about sleep habits and hygiene.  Recently, there was a Screen Free Sleep Campaign, launched to get back to the basics by keeping screens and devices out of kids' bedrooms.  The “Why?” is because the science is clear: when devices are kept out of the bedroom, kids get more sleep, and that extra rest translates into stronger academic performance, better physical health, and improved mental well-being - benefiting students day-to-day and in the long run.

Visit https://www.screenfreesleep.org/about for more information - and consider taking the pledge! As always, please reach out at any time with any questions or concerns you may have. 

Catherine Nein - School Counselor catherine_nein@yarmouthschools.org

Chelsea Collupy - Social Worker chelsea_collupy@yarmouthschools.org

Sam Durham - Social Worker

samantha_durham@yarmouthschools.org

We can also be reached by calling the main office phone 207-846-2499.

School Nurse Molly Small ( Molly_Small@yarmouthschools.org ) wanted to share an update regarding when to send students to school. Parents and guardians should keep their child home from school for contagious symptoms like fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. The child should also stay home if they are too unwell to participate in learning and stay focused and engaged. This is especially true if they are unable to manage their symptoms as it can be challenging to concentrate with an uncontrolled cough or runny nose where a student cannot keep up with hand hygiene and respiratory secretions.

Reasons to keep a child home from school:

Fever

• Keep home if: Your child has a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.

• Return to school when: They have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication. 

Vomiting and Diarrhea

• Keep home if: Your child has vomited or had watery diarrhea in the past 24 hours.

• Return to school when: The child has been symptom-free for at least 24 hours and is able to eat and drink normally. 

Respiratory illness (cold, flu, COVID-19, RSV)

• Keep home if: Your child has a persistent, uncontrolled cough, wheezing, or difficulty breathing.

• Consider keeping them home if: Mild cold symptoms like a runny nose or light cough are severe enough that they cannot participate in class comfortably.

• Return to school when: Their fever is gone for at least 24 hours (without medication) and other symptoms are improving.

• After COVID-19 infection: The CDC suggests treating COVID-19 like other respiratory illnesses. Take extra precautions like wearing a mask for five days after returning. 

Sore Throat (including strep throat)

• Keep home if: The sore throat is severe, especially with a fever, headache, or white spots on the tonsils. See provider.

• Return to school after strep throat when: The child has been on antibiotics for at least 24 hours and their fever is gone. 

Students at school with fevers over 100.4 will need to be dismissed and picked up for the day, and may return after 24 hours of being fever-free without fever-reducing medication. Please avoid sending an ill child to school premedicated and/or to try to make it through the day with symptoms of fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, as it puts others in the school community at risk for contracting the illness. 

Please note that Wednesday, October 29th, is a half day of school for students with a dismissal of 11:30 am. Students will have the option of grabbing a bagged lunch when they leave.

Classroom teachers will be reaching out to you in the next few weeks to schedule parent-teacher conferences for later this fall. We plan for all conferences to be in-person, but you can communicate with your child’s teacher if you prefer to meet virtually.

This is an opportunity for you to get an update as to how your child is progressing academically and as a member of the classroom and school community. It is also a time to learn how your child can specifically grow as a learner and understand ways that you can help support that process.