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Health Office

Home > Student Life > Health Office

The goal of the school nurse is to help students stay in school and minimize absences whenever possible.

Student health is a team effort between students, parents/guardians and the health office. The nurse looks forward to caring for all our students’ healthcare needs both big and small. The nurse is at TA Monday-Thursday. Please don’t hesitate to call or email.

Resiliency

Students and parents/guardians recently science has shown that improving resiliency helps decrease anxiety and increases success in school. One helpful way to learn about resiliency is a helpful Australian app which provides a resiliency program for families, https://www.smilingmind.com.au/resilient-families-program. This app also includes tools to help students manage: anxiety, sleep issues, and helps with mindfulness.

Student Illness

What to do when your student is ill:

  • If your student is sick, please let the Main Office or School Nurse know what symptoms they are having when you call in. If your child has: a fever over 100.0 degrees, vomiting, headache, sore throat, nausea, diarrhea, significant congestion (that’s not allergies), communicable rash (scarlet fever, impetigo) they must stay home.
  • If there is a concern that a student might have Covid, please contact the School Nurse and follow the Covid exposure procedure outlined below.
  • If your child is ill or injured and not able to attend school, please contact the School Nurse.
  • Take home Covid test kits and N95 masks are available in the Health Office and TA’s Main Office.

Medications and Health Conditions

Prescription medications:

  • Must be kept in the Health Office.
  • Parents/guardians must get a current medication order to the School Nurse before medication can be given at school.
  • The student’s provider must send in permission (to the Health Office) to self-carry an inhaler or epi-pen.

Over-the-counter medications:

  • A student needs written parent/guardian approval to take over-the-counter medications at school; students can bring a written note or have parents email permission to the School Nurse.
  • Approved over-the-counter medications will be administered in the Health Office or in the Main Office (in the event that the School Nurse is unavailable).

Field Trips and Sports:

  • Parents please remember that you are responsible for making sure your student has their medication (rescue inhaler/epi-pen etc.) when going on a school-sponsored field trip or athletic event.
  • Students, please remember you are asked to get the medicine to your teacher or coach at the start of the field trip or game.

Covid Information for Families

When a student has Covid:

You can go back to your normal activities after at least one day (24 hours) if:

  • Your symptoms are getting better overall and
  • You have not had a fever for at least 24 hours (and are not using fever-reducing medicines).

After returning to normal activities, take extra prevention steps for the next 5 days. 

Any of these prevention steps can help limit the spread of respiratory viruses. The more steps you take, the lower your risk of getting others sick.

  • Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands often with soap and water or use hand sanitizer, cover your coughs and sneezes, and clean and disinfect surfaces as much as possible.
  • Keep physical distance with other people as much as possible.
  • Improve air quality. Take additional steps for cleaner air such as bringing in fresh outside air, using an air filter, or gathering outdoors.
  • Wear a mask. Look for a well-fitting, high-quality mask, or a disposable mask under a cloth mask.

When a student is exposed to Covid:

  • If they have fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, sore throat or headache consider testing for Covid.

Covid Testing:

  • In-school Covid testing and at-home Covid tests are available from the Health Office.
Gnaedinger, Ellen

Ellen Gnaedinger

School Nurse

802-785-4805 x226

Important Links

2023-2024 Health Card

Covid-19 Vaccine Clinics: Vermont Dept Health

Prescription Medication Order & Permission Form

Religious Immunization Exemption Form

Recent Health Office News

  • Dental Care this Winter will be Jan. 27th -Feb. 6th: Students will get their teeth cleaned next week & the beginning of the following week. Please remind your children. • The HealthHub dentist is at the Chelsea Health Center & does fillings there. • Please call or email Nurse Ellen with any......

    23 January, 2025

  • Dental Care this Winter: Please, please, turn in your student’s enrollment form as soon as possible. You can take a photo of the forms & email them back & I can get them to our hygienist. Please see attached forms. • The HealthHUB dental hygienist will be doing dental cleanings......

    16 January, 2025

  • Dental Care this Winter: A great opportunity: if your student usually sees the Ronald McDonald Van for dental care and you would like to have your student’s teeth cleaned please return the attached forms as soon as possible.  • The HealthHUB dental hygienist will be doing dental cleanings at TA starting......

    09 January, 2025

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Excellence

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Commitment

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Diversity

We respect differences among people. We welcome the contribution of varied perspectives to a rich and flexible school culture.