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Mrs. Mich's Nutrition Nuggets
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Meet Our School Nurse:
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m.michsjschoolva.orgSchool Nurse
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Breakfast for Learning
Nearly half of all American families regularly skip breakfast. Is your family one of them? When it comes to getting your children to school, a healthy breakfast is just as important as gym shoes and sharp pencils.
How Breakfast Betters Your Child
Breakfast has been associated with everything from:
- Better memory
- Better test scores
- Better attention span to decreased irritability
- Healthier body weights
- Improved overall nutrition
Rise & Dine
It’s easy to see how breakfast has come to qualify as one of the nutritional challenges of parenthood. Whether it’s your own parental time constraints or your child’s busy schedule, getting the whole family ready to set off to child care and/or school in the morning, play dates, or any of a whole host of other common early-in-the-day commitments, breakfast is often neglected.
If the words “slow” and “leisurely” don’t exactly describe your morning routine, we’d like to suggest that you commit a little extra time and effort to protecting the nutritional integrity of your child’s morning meal.Breakfast-Made-Easier Tips for Parents
Whether you opt for a simple breakfast or a more elaborate one, any effort to make it nutritious is better than no breakfast at all. Whether that means a glass of low-fat milk and a piece of wheat toast or an all-out feast, the following breakfast-made-easier tips will hopefully help you rise to the occasion and overcome some of the most common barriers to a healthy breakfast.
- Schedule accordingly. While we’d like to remind you that sitting down and sharing family meals is beneficial, we’re willing to bet that sitting down to a leisurely breakfast with your kids each morning simply isn’t realistic for most of you. What is realistic, however, is making sure you carve out enough time to allow your child to eat without pressure. Especially for infants and toddlers, this includes factoring in enough time in the morning’s schedule to allow for both assisted- and self-feeding.
- Fix breakfast before bedtime. In other words, plan ahead. As with just about all other aspects of feeding your child, a little advance planning can go a long way toward having a wider range of healthy foods on hand. Simple examples such as hard-boiling eggs ahead of time or having your child’s favorite cold cereal dished out the night before to pair with some presliced fresh fruit can mean the difference between time for a balanced breakfast and running out the door without it (or, as is often the case, with some commercially packaged and far less nutritious alternative in hand).
- Grab-and-go breakfasts. If the reality of your schedule is such that you and your kids routinely run out the door with no time to spare in the morning, then try stocking up on a variety of nutritious foods that you can prepare and prepackage for healthier grab-and-go convenience. In addition to hard-boiled eggs, consider other fast favorites like sliced apples, homemade muffins, or a bagel with low-fat cream cheese.
- Make sure sleep is on the menu. Applying the age-old adage, make sure your child is early enough to bed that she rises early enough to allow time for breakfast. No matter what their age, tired kids tend to be cranky, and cranky kids are far less likely to sit down for a well-balanced breakfast. Not only that, but sleep has proven itself to be a crucial ingredient in children’s overall health.
- Broaden your horizons. You’ll certainly want to keep safety in mind when figuring out what’s age-appropriate to offer your child for breakfast, but don’t let yourself be constrained by artificially imposed labels to determine what is good to serve for a morning meal. Think protein, think fruits and vegetables, and think outside the box when it comes to expanding your breakfast horizons beyond just breakfast cereals and milk.
- Look for child care and school support. Be sure to check out what breakfast options your child’s school or child care provider offers. With much-deserved attention now being paid to the food our children eat in out-of-home settings, you’re more likely to find balanced breakfast options on the menu, and your child may well be more receptive to eating them if all of his friends are eating alongside him.
- https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Breakfast-for-Learning.aspx
Accidents and First AidThe parents of an injured student will be notified of the accident/injury by the principal/administration or the principal/administration's designee as soon as reasonably possible, taking into consideration such factors as the apparent severity of the accident/injury and the priority of providing assistance to the student. If an incident results in a medical condition or injury which can be reasonably known to the appropriate supervisory faculty/staff member and/or the principal, the school and/or its staff are authorized to render reasonable basic first aid if such direct medical assistance would, in the opinion of the school, serve to minimize the severity of the injured person's condition. In addition, staff may secure professional diagnosis and/or treatment if such action, in the opinion of the school, appears to be reasonably warranted. The school and school officials shall be expressly held harmless from any liability costs or expenses associated with the professional diagnosis and/or any treatment or first aid provided (including but not limited to the cost of transportation), such costs or expenses being the responsibility of the injured party or, if a student, the student's parents. The school nurse or principal’s designee will record the circumstances of all accidents, (e.g., date, time, injured party, immediate cause, involved parties, supervisory facility/staff member, treatment/action taken, etc.) in the individual student health record. A separate Diocesan Accident Report Form (see Appendix F-7) is completed for all significant accidents or injuries that may require treatment outside of school. A copy of the accident report is retained as a separate, internal school record, with the original forwarded to the Diocesan Insurance Risk manager at the Chancery within 72 hours of the accident or as soon as possible in the case of major accidents and/or injuries.
Illness
Our school provides a health office, apart from the student population, where children who become ill or injured can be cared for following Virginia School Health Guidelines. Children with fevers, contagious, or infectious diseases will be sent home promptly and excluded from school while in that condition, per Virginia Department of Health regulations. Once the student is confirmed to be free of communicable illness by a healthcare provider or is fever free/symptom free for 24 hours without taking anti-fever medications, the student may return to school. When a student is requesting a waiver from participating in Physical Education classes and/or recess, parents are required to submit a written statement from their child’s physician which states any activity restrictions with regard to participation in Physical Education classes and/or recess. The statement is expected to include a specific time frame for the activity restrictions.Medication Administration Overview:
Medication Administration Overview Detailed Diocesan medication policies and procedures can be accessed on the Office of Catholic Schools website, in the school clinic and in the appendix of this document. All school clinic, administrators and staff are required to administer medication within the framework of the procedures outlined in Diocesan policy and summarized here. All prescription and over the counter (OTC) medications may be administered during the school day under the following conditions: When the need for administration of medicines during school hours has been confirmed by the school nurse/health assistant (or the school administration)
- After the first dose of any medication has been given at home;
- When the parent / guardian provides and transports the medication to and from school and the medication is given directly to the school nurse/health assistant, or a senior member of the school administration;
- When there is a health care provider’s written order signed by the parent / guardian requesting the school to administer medication or to permit the student to self-administer the medication;
- When the medication is brought to the school in its original container stating the name of the student, the dosage and method of administration prescribed by a physician. It is the parent’s or guardian’s responsibility to notify the school of any changes to the original prescription. The new prescription must also be brought to the school in the original container as stated above;
- When the appropriate medication authorization form (Appendix) has been completed, signed and accompanies the medication;
- For any medication, parents must document the number of tablets or dosages to be secured for administration by authorized school personnel. If tablets are to be divided, the parent or guardian is responsible for dividing the tablets that are to be divided in order to achieve their child’s proper dosage.
All OTC and prescription medications are to be kept locked in the clinic/school office and be administered by the school nurse, clinic aide, principal or trained designee. No student is to carry/possess medications, without appropriate medical authorization. No medication will be administered unless the school has received a signed copy of the Medication Authorization Form (Appendix). OTC medications do not require a health care provider’s signature unless the medication is required for four (4) or more consecutive days. It shall be the student’s responsibility to come to the clinic/school office at the appropriate time for medication unless a health care provider or parent indicates in writing that the student cannot do this. Students are NOT permitted to self-medicate. The school does not assume responsibility for medications taken independently by the student. Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis for students who demonstrate the capability to carry and self-administer emergency life-saving medications (e.g. inhaler, Epipen. 49 Within one week after expiration of the effective date on the order, or on the last day of school, the parent guardian must personally collect any unused portion of the medication. Medications not claimed within that period will be destroyed.
Important Forms:
Please see SJS home page for forms