News From the Nurses (keeping BRMS Bug-Free!!)

Welcome back to school this year!!

It has been a very busy fall in the health office this year. We would like to remind you of few things as we already enter the season of colds, viral illnesses and flu.

The CESU district nurses want to promote healing and wellness in our schools. To that end, we ask that students who have been ill with a fever (100F or over) remain at home until they are feeling better AND have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of any ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Also students who have experienced diarrhea or vomiting  should remain at home until the illness has resolved and they have been free of  symptoms for at least 24 hours. We assess children all day for illness. Students can have a viral illness without a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. If a student comes to school ill or develops an illness that makes it impossible for the child to attend to school we will notify the parent or guardian. Our goal is to keep kids in school while trying to keep school a healthy place for everyone. If you are not sure whether to send your child to school, give us a “heads-up” call or email so that we know what has happened first thing in the morning.

Also, this is the time of year that we all become aware of the dreaded louse!!! Lice have been around for centuries and this year is no different. Lice only need a warm scalp and food supply--they are indiscriminate in where they take up housing; it is not related to hygiene in any way!

There are several things a parent can do to stay ahead of lice:

• Encourage your child not to share head items such as hats, brushes, ponytail ties, etc.
• Do not comb or brush each other’s hair.
• Encourage kids to bring their own pillows to sleepovers and not sleep head to head. 
• Inspect your child’s head on regular basis especially if he complains that his head or neck itch. 
• Look for tiny eggs close to the scalp (resemble sesame seeds but much smaller). They are usually tanish, and difficult to dislodge, unlike dandruff.
• Eggs that have hatched are whitish or appear to be light gray (empty cases).
• Live lice are wingless insects about the size of sesame seed and appear reddish brown or grayish brown. 

Lice are a nuisance (a big one for families) but they do not present a risk to others. They do not carry disease. We do not exclude kids from school for lice or nits.  Many times the lice spread at the sleepovers, or at a camp type environment where kids tend to be head to head.

Please call the nurses if you have concerns about your child and lice. Let us know if your child has lice so we can track where we have lice in the building. It is always kept confidential.  We are happy to do a head check on your student before or after treatments if requested. We also have many evidence based articles to help you make decisions on how to treat if needed. Thank-you for your cooperation on this matter.

Also, contact us if you have any concerns about your child’s health.

Tina Gallagher, RN

Ainee Commichau, RN

B.R.A.G.

BRAG meeting (BRMS PTO)

Wednesday, 10/12/16 @ 6:30pm 

In the BRMS Library

You are invited!

Progress Report Change

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I wanted to inform you of a change in our academic reporting practices.  This October we will not be issuing our traditional written “progress reports”.   The rationale for this adjustment to our reporting system follows.

The switch to  trimester reporting structure a few years ago moved our first “progress reporting” period to early October which also aligned  these reports with parent/teacher conferences.  This alignment of parent/teacher conferences and progress reports meant that teachers were creating a written document that was then discussed again at a parent conferences.  This overlap between  progress reports and parent/teacher conferences has eliminated the need for written progress reports

Also, in prior years teachers were developing progress reports based on very small work sample size.  As of today, October 10, 2016 students have been in school for twenty-nine school days.  Within these first 4 weeks teachers have been focusing on developing and building a community of learners, establishing team norms and forming personal and academic relationships with students.  While our current 6th and 8th grade teams are returning to their looping teams, 5th and 7th grade students are transitioning into new learning communities.  

During the weeks of October 10, 2016 and October 17, 2016 BRMS will be holding parent/teacher conferences.  These conferences provide us with an opportunity to discuss with you our initial impressions of your child and to also allow you the opportunity to discuss with us what your child is saying about their school year start.  We value these conference opportunities and look forward to discussing with you your child’s learner characteristic and academic  performance over these first twenty-two school days.  It is important for parents and guardians to sign up for these conferences.  Teachers will be contacting some parents/guardians directly if there is need to communicate about specific academic concerns that may need to be addressed with your child.  

Thank you for your understanding as we move forward.  Please contact me directly if you have concerns regarding the quality of the information shared during the upcoming parent teacher conferences.  

Sincerely,

Kevin Hamilton

Principal

October Delayed Start Reminder

Wednesday October 12th will be a delayed start day.  We will be offering student supervision from 7:30-10:00.  Currently we have few families signed up for this service.  We would like to get a final count as to the amount students who will be arriving at 7:30.  Please let us know if you need transportation as well for the early morning

All regular pickups will be approximately two hours later than the usual time.  

Please contact Diane Alexander if you would like to reserve a space for your child. 

Below are the delayed starts for the remainder of the year.

11/9,  12/14, 1/11, 2/8, 4/12,  5/10

Picture Day Tomorrow!

REMINDER!

Photographer Diane Parenteau will be at Browns River Middle School on the following dates to take pictures of students. An order form was sent home with your student last week.

Wednesday, October 5th: 5th and 6th Grade

Thursday, October 6th: 7th and 8th Grade

Friday, October 7: Reserved for a rain date should we have yucky weather either day.

See BRMS Website for more details.