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McMeen Elementary
First Weekly McMeen Nurse Update of the 2023/2024 School Year!
08/23/23, 1:50 PM
Greetings McMeen Families!
For those of you who do not know me and/or are new to my messages, my name is Miriam Cavender and I am the fulltime school nurse here at McMeen. I absolutely adore your children and love working with them in order to help keep them safe, happy, and healthy.
As we begin this 2023/2024 school year, there are some important reminders on our McMeen/DPS policies regarding ill individuals.
1. If your child has a fever (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher): The child must stay home until they are fever-free (100.3 degree Fahrenheit or
lower) for at LEAST 24 hours WITHOUT fever reducing medications. ***If you are giving your child fever-reducing medications such as Tylenol or
Advil in order to bring their temperature down, then your child is most likely still contagious and not feeling well. They should remain home until
they can stop taking medication and have a normal temperature for at least 24 hours.
2. If your child is sent home from school with a fever and returns to school the following day, I will call home to ask that your child is picked up
immediately due to the policy outlined above.
3. Even if your child does not have a fever, there are other illnesses/symptoms that children may be experiencing and should not be at school.
Please refer to the following link with guidance on determining of How Sick is Too Sick?
How Sick is Too Sick? in English
How Sick is Too Sick? in Spanish
4. COVID-19: If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please contact me, as this illness is still an illness being tracked for trends/exposure data.
Your child must stay at home, in isolation, for at least 5 days. Day 0 is the first day of either symptoms or a positive Covid test, which ever is
detected first. Your child may return to community contact/school after Covid isolation on day 6, as long as they are fever-free for at least 24
hours without fever reducing medications and overall symptoms have improved. Once your child is no longer isolating, your child should continue
to wear a face mask for 5 days. To read the district, DPS reminder of our Covid policy and protocol, please click on the link below.
5. Last but not least, don't forget, even if your child is well enough to attend school (fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever reducing
medications and/or no symptoms seen on the How Sick is Too Sick? list that would indicate staying home), does not have Covid, but may still
have a cough/sneeze/runny nose, it's always best practice to have your student wear a face mask at school until their symptoms subside.
As a school/community nurse, my two main goals/expectations are:
1. To keep our students and staff safe and healthy
2. To keep our students in school as much as we can
I look forward to continue supporting you and your children throughout your elementary school experience.
In Health,
School Nurse Miriam Cavender BSN RN NCSN
