Parent Information

VISION AND HEARING SCREENINGS

2025-2026 school year: SWM will conduct our mass hearing screenings on Tuesday, December 2nd, and vision screenings will be ongoing throughout the school year. If you would like to opt your child out of screening, please call or email Nurse Jacobs. We routinely screen all 7th-grade students, all students new to Parkway Schools, any students with IEP or 504 plans, and any students identified by a teacher as having a potential hearing or vision problem.

Illness Guidelines

Students should stay home from school if they have any of the following symptoms:

Fever of 100.4° or higher in the past 24 hours
Bad or persistent cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing
Vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours
Sore throat, with fever or swollen glands in the neck
Undiagnosed rash with a fever or severe itching
Symptoms of being sick, such as body aches, being unusually tired, and/or having a severe headache

Your child should also stay home if they are diagnosed with strep throat, bacterial conjunctivitis ("pink eye"), or another bacterial infection, until they have been taking antibiotics for 24 hours and their doctor/ healthcare provider permits the student to return to school. We encourage you to seek medical attention when your child is sick and to follow your healthcare provider's recommendations about returning to school and other social activities.

If your child will be absent from school for any reason, it is important to call and notify the school office/attendance line of the reason for the absence. This helps us track illnesses among our students and assures us that your child is safe at home.

Health Issues

Please notify the nurse if your child has

been diagnosed with a contagious disease (such as influenza, COVID, or strep throat),
a health issue that may affect school performance (such as a concussion),
had an injury, and has PE restrictions or needs temporary accommodations,
had a follow-up appointment, and has new or ongoing recommendations from their doctor
or has a new diagnosis or started a new medication

The school nurse would be the coordinator for developing an appropriate accommodation plan and sharing information with staff when it is needed.

Rules and Policies for Medication at School

We would need a completed medication authorization form and adherence to these rules and policies, which are designed to keep all students safe, if your child needs to take any medication, including over-the-counter medicine, at school.

Parent authorization forms must be completed for all medications.  Physician authorization is also required for all prescription medications, as well as for all over-the-counter medications given for longer than 5 days. If needed, the school nurse can assist by faxing the medication authorization, after the parent portion is completed, to the student’s physician.

Medications must be brought to school in their original bottle or container by the parent/guardian or their designated responsible adult. Middle school students are NOT allowed to carry any medication, including over-the-counter medicines such as Tylenol, Advil, and allergymedications.

All medication should be delivered to the nurse’s office for secure, locked storage. No medicine should be carried in a student’sbackpack, purse, locker, or pocket.

Prescription medications must be in a prescription-labeled container, with the label stating the child’s name, current date, medication name, and directions for administration.

Over-the-counter medications must be in their original, non-expired containers.  Only FDA-approved medications will be administered by Parkway school nurses or staff. Therefore, we cannot administer vitamins or supplements.

A parent-only, Short-Term Over-the-Counter medication authorization form may be completed for OTC medicine to be administered according to the label dosing for 5 days or less.

If your child has asthma or a life-threatening allergy, and you and your child’s physician believe it necessary for your child to carry a “rescue” medication, as opposed to keeping it in the nurse’s office, please call your school nurse. Authorization forms will be provided for you and the physician to complete.

At the end of the school year, any remaining medication stored in the school health office must be picked up by the parent or legal guardian. No remaining medicine will be sent home with students. Any medicine not collected by a parent/guardian will be disposed of on the last day of school.

Medication Authorizations are good for the current school year only. New medication authorizations are required each year.

Authorization Forms: Medication Authorization Forms, Asthma Action Plans, Food Allergy Action Plans, Diabetes Medical Management Plans, and Seizure Action Plans are available from your school nurse or can be downloaded from the following links

Medication Authorization Form

Short-Term OTC Medication Authorization Form

Inhaler Self-Carry Authorization Form

Epinephrine AutoInjector Self-Carry Authorization Form

Diabetes Self-Carry Authorization Form

Allergy Action Plan

Asthma Action Plan

Seizure Action Plan

6th Grade Outdoor Education-Important Info. from the school nurse (rev.4/23)

6th Grade Camper Permission and Emergency Information (rev. 4/23)