Health and Wellness of Student
Information and guidance about your child’s emotional and physical health
Nurse
Dear Parents, 08/08/2022
Welcome to the Nurse’s Office at HHIE. My name is Gayle Oslund and I am your school nurse. My nurse assistant is Alli Brammer. It is important that the nurse and your child’s teacher be made aware of any life threatening allergies, chronic medical conditions, or health concerns your child may have. If your child will need to have medication at school, there is paperwork which needs to be completed by the parent and the prescribing physician. Medications must be brought into the nurse’s office by the parent along with this paperwork. Students are not allowed to be in possession of medications at the elementary level. All medications given at school must be in their original container with a pharmacy label attached.
Per SC law, immunizations must be up-to-date in order for students to attend school. If you are new to SC, please take all immunization records to DHEC to be transcribed into the SC Immunization Registry.
Please take a moment to read the document entitled “Sickness and School Attendance”. It provides important information on when to keep your sick child home from school. In the event your child becomes ill at school, it is ESSENTIAL that you pick up your sick child as soon as possible after being contacted to prevent further spread of illness. Please provide the school with additional contacts in the event you cannot be reached.
Call or email us if you have any questions and to provide updates on your child’s medical conditions during the year. Communication is key for us to stay current with your child’s health needs. We’re looking forward to another exciting and healthy school year!
Nurse Documents
Medications
Dear Parents,
Below is the Beaufort County School District’s medication policy. Please keep this policy for future reference, especially if your child will be taking prescribed and/or over-the-counter medications at school. Below is a list of over-the-counter medications available at school.
You will fill out your health card on info snap so that we can obtain necessary emergency information about your child. Please make sure that your child has permission for the school health nurse to administer Tylenol (Acetaminophen) and Ibuprofen, if necessary. If you are unable to fill out info snap, please get a health card from the nurse. This information will be confidential and placed in your child’s health folder.
The school health nurses welcome your questions and concerns. If we can assist you in any way, please call. We ask that you assist us in treating home injuries at home. We also ask that meds to be given twice daily and three times daily be given at home. We all know that “healthy children learn better”.
School Health Nurses
Beaufort County
STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING MEDICATIONS TO SCHOOL
LIST OF OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATIONS FOR SCHOOLS:
O.T.C Medication | Indications |
Acetaminophen | Fever above 100, headache, toothache, menstrual cramps, sore throat, muscle pain, earache |
Benadryl | To be administered at the onset of systematic reaction characterized by generalized rash, edema and/or mild to moderate respiratory distress due to environmental, food or insect allergies. Use liquid Benadryl for faster absorption. Benadryl does not replace epinephrine in an anaphylactic reaction. If Benadryl is administered, the student will have to go home. |
Caladryl Clear | Relief of itching and pain associated with insect bites, minor skin irritation and rashes due to poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac. Dries the oozing and weeping of poison ivy, oak and sumac. |
Epinephrine | Anaphylactic reaction: apprehension, flushing, generalized itching and burning, and/or hives on face and upper chest. Respiratory difficulty, e.g., sneezing and coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath; cyanosis, pallor, imperceptible pulse, loss of consciousness, swelling inside the mouth. This is for Emergencies only. Parents must provide all prescribed emergency medications for the student. |
Ibuprofen | For pain and discomfort caused by menstrual cramps, headache, and musculoskeletal pain |
Topical Orajel | Temporary relief of pain due to toothaches and other minor irritations of the mouth |
Tums | For stomach pain and discomfort |
Administration of Medication in Schools
The needs of children who require medication during school hours to maintain and support their continued presence in school shall be met in a safe and prudent manner.
STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING MEDICATIONS TO SCHOOL
If a child is required to take medication during school hours and the parent cannot be at school to administer the medication, only the school health nurse, the principal, or the principal’s designee will administer the medication. The medication will be administered in compliance with the regulations that follow: New Prescription are required every school year, dated after July 1, 2022
A. Prescribed Medications:
1. Written authorization signed and dated by the physician and parent or guardian will be required and will include:
a. Child’s name
b. Name of medication
c. Dosage
d. Purpose of medication
e. Time to be administered
f. Route of medication
g. Termination date for administering the medication
2. Medication must be in its original current pharmacy container, properly labeled.
3. The parents of the child must assume responsibility for informing the school health nurse or the principal of any change in the child’s health or change in medication.
4. The school district, under exceptional circumstances, retains the discretion to reject requests for administration of
medication.
5. A log of administered medications will be maintained.
B. Emergency Medication (Life Threatening Situations):
Medication will be administered by the school health nurse, or by other school personnel trained by the school nurse, to students who have a history of serious allergic reaction or a health condition which may require specific medication(s) for certain life-threatening circumstances and who have written authorization and individually prescribed medication (see A. 1-5 above) or according to protocols for administering Epinephrine and Benadryl (see protocols).
C. Over-the-Counter Medications:
1. Selection of stock over-the-counter medication made available to students should be jointly decided by the school district’s physician consultant, school health nurse, and district administration.
2. A written protocol authorizing administration of stock over-the-counter medications must be approved and signed
by the physician consultant (see protocol for over-the-counter medications).
3. Parents will be notified of all stock over-the-counter medications available at school.
4. Any non-stock over-the-counter medications requested by the parent or guardian to be given to the student for a specific condition requires written parental permission and a doctor’s order and the medication must contain a
pharmacy label. (The policies in A. 1-5 apply to these non-stocks over-the-counter medications.)
D. Field Studies – Overnight Field Studies:
1. Parents of students who will require special medical attention must notify the principal prior to a scheduled field
study trip. After consultation with the school health nurse, the principal will decide if the student can participate or
needs to be accompanied on the trip by his/her parent. Regulations for the administration of medications on field
study trips shall be the same as specified in A-C above unless administered by the parent.
2. Mini first-aid kits will be provided by the school health nurse upon request.
The administration of medication will be coordinated by the school health nurse. The school health nurse should provide individual health counseling and health education to examine and encourage alternative approaches to relieving discomfort and/or distress. Follow up will include parent conferences when necessary. Upon request, a copy of this regulation will be provided to any parent who is interested in the administration of medication in the schools.
June 2022 DU
Sickness and School Attendance
SICKNESS AND SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Per BCDS Policy students may NOT attend school with any of the following symptoms:
· Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
· Loss of taste or smell
· New or worsening cough
· Fever 100.4 or higher- taken orally (without fever reducing medication)
· Vomiting- once in 24 hrs
· Diarrhea- once in 24 hrs
· Certain types of Rashes
· Pink-eye (conjunctivitis) with drainage
· Head lice- may return after treatment
Additional symptoms associated with COVID-19 include sore throat, muscle or body aches, chills, fatigue, headache, congestion or runny nose. For these symptoms, as well as the bulleted symptoms listed above, your child will need a medical evaluation to determine if their symptoms are from COVID-19 or from another diagnosis.
If your child has one or more of the FIRST THREE bulleted symptoms above, they will be required to:
Provide a Negative COVID test.
OR
Provide a note from a Health Care Provider clearing them to return to school.
OR
If no test or doctor note, then Isolate at home for 10 days after symptoms began.
Plus they must be fever free for 24 hrs without the use of fever reducing medication AND their symptoms must be improving before returning.
All other symptoms should follow school exclusion rules for that particular symptom.
There is a detailed list of illnesses requiring school exclusion with specifics for each diagnosis titled “DHEC School Exclusion List” on our website.
If your child was seen in the Emergency Room or was Hospitilized or had Surgery, a doctor note is required to return to school.
Please encourage your student not to come to the nurse’s office for minor issues that can wait until they get home. Teachers will have bandaids available in the classroom for minor cuts and abrasions. The nurse’s office is where the sickest people at the school are found.
In the event your student does become ill at school, you will be contacted. IF THIS HAPPENS, PLEASE PICK UP YOUR CHILD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO PREVENT FURTHER SPREAD OF GERMS.
Fact Sheet about Current Illness
Click here for Influenza Fact Sheet
Click here for Influenza Fact Sheet - Spanish Version
Contact the Nurse Office
Gayle Oslund, RN
School Nurse
O: 843-342-4215
Alli Brammer
School Nurse Assistant
O: 843-342- 4300
School Counselor
Jessica Barnes and Melissa Hady, School Counselors
The Beaufort County School District utilizes the South Carolina Comprehensive and Developmental Guidance and Counseling Program Model to promote and enhance the learning process and facilitate student development in three broad areas; learning to live (personal/social development), learning to learn (academic development), and earning to work (career development). School counselors help students build bright futures.
Jessica Barnes, M.Ed
School Counselor
O: 843-342-4279
Jessica.barnes@beaufort.k12.sc.us
Sections: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 (Andreas, Rooney, Smith, Slaughter, Perry, House), Mullen
Melissa Hady, M.S., NBCT School Counseling
School Counselor
O: 843-342-4353
Sections: Grade 3 (Mehle, Andrews, Roberts), Grade 4, Grade 5, Lopes
CAPA Lessons
CAPA’s Comprehensive Elementary School-Based Child Abuse & Neglect Prevention Education Program Play It Safe!® and Think First & Stay Safe® are Evidence-Informed, specialized, age-appropriate child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and neglect risk reduction programs for children ages pre-school through 5th grade and are in compliance with Erin’s Law www.erinslaw.org. Play It Safe!® and Think First & Stay Safe® are best practice comprehensive prevention programs that effectively educate and empower children to recognize, interrupt, and report unsafe, uncomfortable, and confusing behaviors or situations to safe adults. Elementary lessons focus on different types of touches, types of bullying and being a victim of grooming, by teaching and practicing proven prevention strategies that include assertiveness, advocacy, and increasing a child’s self-efficacy in reporting inappropriate actions. All lesson goals and objectives are accomplished by emphasizing every child’s right to stay safe from sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect. Children are able to understand different types of touches, recognize tactics used by a bully and learn the subtle grooming behaviors sexual perpetrators employ to build a “fake trust” with children and their caregivers. Each grade level includes a variety of take-away resources and material in English and Spanish, so children and their families can reinforce these concepts at home.
To learn more and schedule lessons for your site please contact: April Fletcher-Clark, Director of Programs april@capabeaufort.org or Ashleigh Newman, Outreach Specialist ashleigh@capabeaufort.org
Pre-K through 2nd Grade Programs - Each lesson lasts 30–45 minutes and includes an age-appropriate animated video, a PowerPoint, and dolls wearing bathing suits to illustrate children’s private parts.
- 1st Grade Lesson 30 minutes Video: “Mae Shares a Secret” - Mae tells her grandfather a secret that her mother’s boyfriend has been touching her private parts. Activity: “Who Could You Tell?” PowerPoint – Includes examples of touches and 3 Safety Steps Handout: 3 Safety Steps Coloring Sheet
- 2nd Grade Lesson 45-60 minutes Video: “Bentley’s Big Production” – Bentley is making a movie about child safety, with a humorous approach, to teach risk reduction. Activity: PowerPoint “Who Could You Tell?” – Includes examples of touches and 3 Safety Steps Handout: My Body Safety Rules, Resources for Parents
3rd through 5th Grade Programs - Each lesson lasts 45-60 minutes and is comprised of age-appropriate live action videos, children’s literature, PowerPoint presentations, by using interactive, thought-provoking, and engaging activities, as well as evaluative pre and posts surveys.
- 3rd Grade Lesson #1 60 minutes Pre-Assessment Survey, Video: “Vat Would You Do?” - Shows a girl who is being sexually abused by a babysitter and a boy who is being physically abused by his father who both learn that telling an adult will stop the abuse and keep them safe. Handout: You are the Boss of Your Body, Resources for Parents 3rd Grade Lesson #2 60 minutes Activity: Lesson 1 Review PowerPoint, Video: “Tom’s Secret” – Tom is being sexually abused by his friend’s brother and is struggling with being told to keep it a secret. Activity: Interactive CAPArdy game through Kahoot! ®, Post-Assessment Survey Handout: Internet Safety for Kids, Protecting Your Children Online, Resources for Parents
- 4th Grade Lesson #1 60 minutes Pre-Assessment Survey, Video: “Chase Steps Up” – Chase is being abused by his uncle and finally speaks up and tells his coach what is happening to him. Handout: How to Rock the Talk on Body Safety, Resources for Parents 4th Grade Lesson #2 60 minutes Lesson 1 Review, Activity: PowerPoint “What is Bullying? – Interactive CAPArdy game through Kahoot! ®, Video: “Its Harassment” – Talks about why it is not okay to make fun of someone because they are different. Post-Assessment Survey Handout: Types of Bullying, Mindfulness coloring sheet, Resources for Parents
- 5th Grade Lesson #1 60 minutes Pre-Assessment Survey, Activity: 4 major types of abuse and safety steps, Video: “Aiden’s Discovery” - A girl finds out what abuse is and is able to report sexual abuse that is happening to her at school. Handout: Tips for Kids, Resources for Parents 5th Grade Lesson: #2 60 minutes Lesson 1 Review, Activity: Grooming Behaviors PowerPoint – Children will learn how to recognize the subtle, gradual and escalating process sexual abusers use to build a “fake trust” with kids and their caretakers. – Interactive CAPArdy game through Kahoot! ®, Video: “Survivors” – Through animated drawings the voices of two young adult survivors tell their stories of abuse, how they coped and finally how they began to recover. Post-Assessment Survey, Handout: Types of Grooming Behaviors, Mindfulness Coloring Sheet, Resources for Parents
Resources
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or text HELLO to 74174 www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
- National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE(7233) www.thehotline.org
- Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD(1-800-422-4453) www.childhelp.org
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 1-800-662-HELP(4357) www.samhsa.gov
- National Alliance on Mental Illness(NAMI) 1-800-950-NAMI(6264) or text “NAMI” to 741741 www.nami.org
- Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255 www.veteranscrisisline.net
- National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888 www.humantraffickinghotline.org
- Beaufort County Sheriff Non-Emergency Dispatch 843-524-2777
- Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office(Hours 8AM-5PM) 843-255-3200 www.bcso.net
- Beaufort County Department of Social Services(DSS) 843-255-6080
- Beaufort County Department of Social Services Abuse/Neglect Report Line 843-255-6143 www.dss.sc.gov
Social Worker
School Social Workers Responsibilities
The school social worker's responsibilities include providing information to students, parents, and school staff, counseling students with personal and psychological issues, and addressing relevant issues in the school, such as school attendance, social adjustment issues, and basic needs of a student.
School Social Worker Student Outreach
Backpack Buddies of Hilton Head provides food to qualifying students at Hilton Head Island public schools free of charge. Food is distributed by school staff and faculty each week during the school year.
Backpack Buddies is founded and funded by The Hunger Coalition, which began in 2010 and is a multifaith alliance of community volunteers who work together to address hunger issues in the Lowcountry. Backpack Buddies of Hilton Head / Hunger Coalition has no paid staff members, thus allowing us to maximize return of all donated dollars to those in need.
Denise Friday
School Social Worker
O: 843-342-4213
Behavior Management Specialist
Behavior specialist responsibilities include assisting individuals, groups and systems through the application of positive behavior strategies. The Behavior Specialist helps coordinate Functional Assessments of Behavior and Behavior Intervention Plans that address students’ inappropriate behaviors and provide a means to help the students become more academically successful. Behavior Intervention Specialist also provides classroom and school-wide behavior management strategies.
John Perry
Behavior Management Specialist
O: 843-342-4217