Welcome to Health Services

Student health and safety is a cooperative effort between home and school.

The health and safety of all students at ICS is of utmost importance and is a cooperative effort between home and school. We rely on families to make sure that each child has a good night’s rest and is healthy enough to be at school. We encourage families to contact our school nurse, Rosa Tomlinson at rtomlinson@internationalcharterschool.org, or 401-721-0824, ext. 115 if you have any questions or concerns.

ICS COVID-19 Plan

School Guidance for COVID-19 outbreak
English • Español • Português

If your child has symptoms:

Communication is important. Report symptoms to the school nurse to determine if COVID-19 testing is needed
If illness occurs outside of school hours, email the school nurse at rtomlinson@internationalcharterschool.org

If your child tests positive for COVID-19:

Please notify the school nurse and teacher
Isolate at home for 5 full days from symptom onset
May return to school on day 6 if fever free for 24 hours and other symptoms have improved
Wear a high quality, well-fitting mask through day 10
May discontinue wearing a mask with two consecutive negative tests on day 6 and day 8. Tests must be 48 hours apart.

IF your child is exposed to COVID-19:

Please monitor your child for symptoms daily
Keep your child home and get tested if they are ill
Test for COVID-19 on day 6 if asymptomatic
Students and staff who are exposed to COVID-19 should wear a high-quality, well-fitting mask for 10 days after exposure
If living with a positive household member who is unable to isolate, re-testing on day 11 and extending mask use for 15 days after exposure is recommended

COVID-19 testing at ICS:

Symptomatic children who are exhibiting new onset of symptoms can be tested with parent permission
Asymptomatic testing will occur with parent permission when there is a cluster at school (5 or more cases or 20 percent of a group/class)
Positive results are entered into the RIDOH portal and parents will be notified

Vaccination:

Vaccination remains the most powerful strategy to keep children and families healthy
ICS strongly encourages all eligible students, staff, and families to get vaccinated
Information about COVID-19 vaccines can be found HERE

Rhode Island Department of Health COVID-19 Resources:

COVID-19 Useful Info and Links

10 Tips for At-Home Quarantine or Self-Monitoring

10 consejos para hacer en casa, cuando esté en cuarentena o monitoreándose los síntomas

Health Questions?

Contact our School Nurse:
Rosa Tomlinson

Illness or Injury

In the event of illness or injury:

No child should be sent to school if he or she has symptoms such as severe cold, fever, sore throat, diarrhea, red itchy eyes with any drainage, vomiting, rash, or any other symptom of a contagious disease.
If a child is well enough to return to school, he or she should be able to participate in all activities.
If a child has an injury that requires crutches or a cast, etc., he or she should return to school with a note from the parent and/or doctor citing limitations, if any, and procedures for going home.
Students who are sent home from school with a fever should not return to school until they are free of fever (<100) for 24 hours without the support of fever-reducing medication. This policy is in place to protect both the child recovering from an illness who has a weakened resistance and is susceptible to other illnesses, and other students from any lingering illness the child may have.

Please review the Guidelines for Keeping Sick Children Home.

Medical Emergencies

If an illness or injury requires treatment at a hospital, ICS’s school nurse or other staff member will call the paramedics and the student will be transported to the hospital. This is EMT policy. Every attempt will be made to contact the family as soon as possible. A school representative will always accompany the child to the hospital and await the arrival of a family member.

School Medications

If your child has medication prescribed by a physician, arrangements must be made with the school nurse for dispensing during school time. State law requires a Medical Authorization & Consent Form be completed and signed by the doctor and the parent. Children are not allowed to carry medication to school to take on their own (e.g., Tylenol, throat lozenges). All medications must be given to the school nurse with the signed consent form. A parent or guardian must supply the medication (prescription and nonprescription) in the original properly labeled pharmacy bottle with the child’s name. The school nurse will then make arrangements regarding the time the student will come to the health office to receive the medication. Parents are welcome to come to school to administer the medication. Epi-pens, Inhalers, and injectable medications require a separate authorization form. All medications must be hand-delivered to the health office by the parent/guardian.

Allergies

Please notify our School Nurse if your child has any allergies/reactions to food or medications. Certain classrooms at ICS are designated as peanut/tree nut-free classrooms. Even though your child may or may not have a peanut/tree nut allergy, your child may be placed in a peanut/tree nut-free classroom and you will be notified. Once you are notified please do not send snacks into the classroom for the safety of the child with an allergy.

Please review the guidelines that are in place to ensure the safety of all students:

Please do not send any peanuts, tree nuts, peanut butter, or foods containing peanuts or peanut butter to be eaten as a snack in the classroom. Check the ingredients listed on all food labels to be sure. If the label says “manufactured on equipment that processes peanuts/tree nuts” this cannot be sent in for a classroom snack. It is fine to send these products for lunch, which is eaten in the cafeteria.
ICS provides a peanut/tree nut-free table table in the cafeteria for those students with a peanut/tree nut allergy.
ICS will request that all children in school who eat peanut butter or tree nut products for lunch/snack wash their hands with soap and water. Similarly, if your child ate these products for breakfast at home, please make sure their hands are washed before leaving for school. Hand sanitizer and water alone does not remove the allergen.