Nurse's Corner

Our school clinic is staffed each day by two wonderful women! Maureen Duru is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and also a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse.  Mrs. Duru has 13 years of nursing experience. Mrs. Duru works in our school clinic on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

The role of our school nurse is to provide health and nursing services for students in grades Pre K-8.  The goal of the nurse's office is to support the educational process by promoting optimum wellness, monitoring students' immunization status and working closely with parents/guardians, teachers, and administrators, assessing and evaluating the health needs of students, and accommodating students with specific health concerns.

The clinic hours are 7:45 am - 3:45 pm. each school day.
Our school clinic team can be reached by email at schoolnurse@sjcstx.net 
or on the direct line at school: 972-692-4533 or through the main school line: 972-234-4679.

TIPS FOR PARENTS FROM YOUR SCHOOL NURSE
 
Many parents ask, “When is my child sick enough to stay home from school?” This is not always an easy question to answer! We hope that these tips can help.
 
A child who is sick will not be able to perform well in school and is likely to spread the illness to other children and staff. We suggest making a plan for childcare ahead of time so you will not be caught without a comforting place for your child to stay if he/she is ill.
 

Our school policy states that you should not send your child to school if he/she has:

• Fever  in the past 24 hours

• Vomiting in the past 24 hours

• Diarrhea in the past 24 hours

• Chills

• Sore throat

• Strep Throat (must have been taking an antibiotic for at least 24 hours and fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school)

• Bad cold, with a very runny nose or bad cough, especially if it has kept the child awake at night.

• Head lice – until your child has been treated according to the nurse or doctor’s instructions.

• Pink eye – until the doctor determines your child may return with a written release.

• Impetigo – may return to school when the blisters and drainage can be contained and maintained in a clean, dry bandage.

• Hand, foot, and mouth disease – your child can return to school when fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

   

  If your child becomes ill at school and the teacher or school nurse feels the child is too sick to benefit from school or is contagious to other children, you will be called to come and take him/her home from school. It is essential that the school nurse have a phone number where you can be contacted during the day and an emergency number in the event you cannot be reached. Please be sure that arrangements can be made to transport your child home from school and that childcare is available in case of illness. If your daytime or emergency phone number changes during the year, please notify the school immediately.

   

  Please email or call the nurse’s office if you have any questions or concerns.

  972-234-4679, schoolnurse@sjcstx.net

 

Cleaning and disinfecting are always a priority in our school as well as the use of our HEPA filtration systems. We will follow the recommended protocols for Covid-19 as follows:

• Students and staff can return to school/work if their symptoms are mild and improving and they have been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine.

• If you are having symptoms, stay home.

• CDC still recommends but not mandate “additional prevention strategies” for an additional five days, including wearing a mask and keeping distance from others.

 

Students are free to wear masks for their own protection, but the school will not provide masks, and the use of masks is not mandated. 

 

IMMUNIZATION CHECKLIST FOR GRADES PreK-6th grade:
 
Following is the list of immunization requirements as per the TX Department of Health Services:
 

Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (DTaP): 5 doses, 1 of which must have been received on or after the 4^th birthday. Or, if the 4^th dose was administered on or after the 4^th birthday, only 4 doses are required.

Polio:  4 doses, 1 of which must have been received on or after the 4^th birthday.  Or, if the 3^rd dose was administered on or after the 4^th birthday, only 3 doses are required.

Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR):  2 doses

Hepatitis B:  3 doses

Varicella (Chicken pox):  2 doses

Hepatitis A:  2 doses

HIB: 4 doses

PCV (Pneumococcal): 4 doses

These immunizations must be received and documentation of the same submitted to the school nurse prior to the 1^st day of school in order for your child to attend class.  You may email or submit the record personally. We anticipate immunization clinics and pediatricians’ offices to be quite busy, so we recommend that these immunizations be received as soon as possible.  If you have already submitted your child’s immunization form, the nurse will contact you only if the form is incomplete.

If you need information about low-cost or free immunization clinics, please check the website for your municipality or county. You will need to take along a copy of your child’s immunizations to date.

Immunization Requirements for St. Joseph Catholic School

Dear Parent/Guardian of all incoming 7th and any new 8th graders,

Per Texas Dept. of Health Services:
In addition to immunizations required to have begun Kindergarten, there are two that are required to begin 7th grade: 

 

Tdap: 1 dose

Meningitis: 1 dose

These immunizations must be received and documentation of the same submitted to the school nurse prior to the 1^st day of school in order for your child to attend class.  Please do not wait until the last minute to submit if possible.

The immunization requirements are statewide, and we anticipate immunization clinics and pediatricians’ offices to be quite busy, so we recommend that these immunizations be received as soon as possible.  If you would like a list of free or nominal-charge immunization clinics, please go to the website for your local municipality or county. You will need to take along a copy of your child’s immunizations to date.

If you have questions about whether your child has received these immunizations, we would be happy to check the immunization record on file at school.  However, this record is not always current unless you have submitted an updated record for any immunizations(s) your child may have received since PreK.