Health and Wellness
At St. Pat's we follow the health guidelines of Great Valley School District. The following information is from their website:
Sleep Recommendations from the National Center on Sleep Disorders and the National Sleep FoundationAgeHours Sleep/Night·
3 - 6 years (pre K - K)11 - 13 hours
6 - 11 years (1st - 5th gr.)10 - 11 hours
12 - 18 years (6th – 12th gr.)8 ½ - 9 ½ hours
18 - 64 years Try to get at least 8 hours
FLU vs. COLD
Flu Symptoms:
When to Stay Home
Your child should not attend school if they have:
Students who are ill will not be permitted to remain in school. Transportation of ill students is the responsibility of parents or of whomever a parent specifically designates to take their child home from school. Permission by the nurse or an administrator is REQUIRED before any student with an illness may leave the building.
Please remember that school is no place for a sick child. A sick child's learning is compromised, and other students and staff members are put at risk of exposure to contagious illness.
A student that is absent for 5 or more consecutive days because of illness may be required to present a note from a physician stating the cause of illness.
Sleep Recommendations from the National Center on Sleep Disorders and the National Sleep FoundationAgeHours Sleep/Night·
3 - 6 years (pre K - K)11 - 13 hours
6 - 11 years (1st - 5th gr.)10 - 11 hours
12 - 18 years (6th – 12th gr.)8 ½ - 9 ½ hours
18 - 64 years Try to get at least 8 hours
FLU vs. COLD
Flu Symptoms:
- Fever / shaking chills
- Severe headache
- Extreme tiredness
- Severe cough
- Possible vomiting / diarrhea in children
- Mild fever
- Headache
- Cough
- Sore / scratchy throat
- Runny / stuffy nose
- Watery eyes
When to Stay Home
Your child should not attend school if they have:
- Fever of 100 degrees or higher: stay home until fever-free for 24 hours without Tylenol or Advil/Motrin; if your child awakens during the night with a fever but feels well in the morning, please keep your child home until the 24 hour period is over
- Vomiting/Diarrhea/Nausea: stay home until no vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours; if your child awakens during the night with vomiting or diarrhea, please keep your child home until the 24 hour period is over
- Symptoms such as cough, headache, sore throat, abdominal cramping, and/or generally looks sick
- Severe chest and/or nasal congestion or frequent nasal discharge
- Frequent coughing
- Head Lice: There are millions of cases of head lice in our country every year. Anyone, adult or child, can get head lice. All head lice need are humans to survive. Lice will not survive without human contact for 2 days. Please keep your child home, provide treatment, and notify the school.
- Eye Infections: If your child has a red, itchy eye with discharge. They must be seen by a physician and can return with a doctor’s note.
- Medications: All medications have to be in the original container, not expired, and accompanied with a doctor’s note. No medicine can stay in a backpack during the school day. Do not send in cough drops with your child. They are not permitted to have them in school: it is a choking hazard.
Students who are ill will not be permitted to remain in school. Transportation of ill students is the responsibility of parents or of whomever a parent specifically designates to take their child home from school. Permission by the nurse or an administrator is REQUIRED before any student with an illness may leave the building.
Please remember that school is no place for a sick child. A sick child's learning is compromised, and other students and staff members are put at risk of exposure to contagious illness.
A student that is absent for 5 or more consecutive days because of illness may be required to present a note from a physician stating the cause of illness.