My name is Amanda Mitchell, and I am the school nurse at GMS. I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Bethel College in 2005. I am very excited for another school year and to get to know the students. I hope to have a fun & healthy school year!  

ILLNESS

Children that become ill, or complain of being ill, at school will be assessed by the school nurse. Our goal is to keep children in the classroom. However, if a child has made several complaints, does not appear well, or has a temperature of 99.6 degrees Fahrenheit or above with any symptoms of nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, headache, sore throat, or rash, they will be sent home. A child will be sent home with a temperature of 100 degrees or above whether they have additional symptoms or not.  I allow students to call home if they request, but that does not mean they are being sent home. I will let parents know if they are being sent home.

ANY CHILD SENT HOME with a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea must be kept home for a minimum of an additional 24 hours AFTER the last fever or episode of vomiting or diarrhea. They must remain symptom free without the use of fever reducers (Tylenol, Ibuprofen), or anti-nausea/diarrheal medications. It often takes at least this amount of time for the body to rid itself of viruses, and it is our goal to keep the exposure to healthy children and staff at a minimum.

Other circumstance in which a parent would be contacted to pick up their child:

• Pink Eye - students with pink eye shall be excluded from school until 24 hours after treatment has started.

• Head Lice - Parents will be notified if their student is found to have head lice and will be asked that their student be picked up from school and treated before returning to school. Current KDHE and CDC guidelines for individuals with head lice are no longer required to be excluded from school.

• Injury - that results in unusual swelling, discoloration or pain; any injury which appears to require stitches or dental injuries.

MEDICATIONS 
(All forms are located on the District Health Services Webpage, linked below.)

MEDICATIONS AT SCHOOL - Please instruct your child to bring any medications immediately to their School Nurse. Students may carry some meds with the proper documentation and preapproval arranged by the school nurse and a parent.

• Prescribed Medication - If your student takes a prescription medication at school (inhalers and insulin included), new paperwork must be filled out each school year.  Please use the link above to print a copy of the form for your child’s doctor to complete and sign. You must also sign the form yourself, as the legal parent/guardian. Once completed by both yourself and the physician, please send the form and the medication to the school, for your student to give to the school nurse.  All prescription medications must have a pharmacy label.

• Over-the-Counter Medicines - Cough drops, TUMS, Ibuprofen/Advil, Acetaminophen/Tylenol, and Benadryl are all over-the-counter medications that require a medication administration form signed by a parent/guardian.  You may download the form above, print it out, complete and sign, then return it to the School Nurse.  Any medications you send to the school must have a label/be in the original container.  No unlabeled medications are allowed.  If you would like your student to be able to keep these medications in their locker and self-administer, complete the Self Administering Medication Form.

• Diabetic Medication & Flowsheet - Please have your child’s physician complete, sign, and return the Medication Administration Form, along with their detailed care plans.  You, as the parent/guardian must also sign the form before returning it to the school nurse.  Please remember when sending medications to the school to include all emergency medications, as well as fast-acting carbs for hypoglycemic episodes, and glucagon for emergencies. 

 IMMUNIZATIONS

If your child has received immunizations in the past year, please send a copy of their records to the school.  The records may be hand-delivered to the office, faxed to the school at 316-794-4254, or may be scanned and emailed as an attachment to the nurse at amitchell@goddardusd.com. 

K.A.R. 28-1-20 defines immunizations required for any student who attends a public school. 

VISION & HEARING SCREENINGS 

Every new student to the district will have hearing and vision screens updated during the current school year. Parents/guardians of students not passing these tests will be sent a letter of referral, to which they must respond. Referrals may be returned to the school nurse with a signature of acknowledgement. Please contact the school nurse if you would prefer your child not participate in screenings, 316-794-4251, or amitchell@goddardusd.com.

Click the link below to access the school district's Health Services webpages which includes immunization, medication, and physical forms as well as documents for condition-specific care plans, along with annual notices and general information. Please contact the school nurse directly with any questions.