The Saco Schools' Nurse Team will use this page to keep families informed of health-related information (immunization requirements, medication administration, protocols around illness, and more).  Thank you for your assistance in assuring the safety of all of our students, and we appreciate you putting your trust in us to care for your child. We welcome communication from home so we can work together to provide the best care to your child.  Please be sure to have up to date contact information on file with the school so that you can be reached in the event your child is sick or injured at school. Thank you!

Maine law around immunizations has removed the philosophical and religious exemptions from school immunization requirements.

As a result, unless your child has laboratory evidence or reliable documentation from a healthcare provider of immunity or a medical exemption completed by a qualified healthcare provider, all students MUST receive the required vaccines* below prior to the start of school:

• Required for PreK entry: 

  • 4 DTaP (3 DTaP if 4th is given on or after 4th birthday) 

  • 3 Polio (2 Polio if the 3rd is given on or after the 4th birthday) 

  • 1 MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) 

  • 1 Varicella (chickenpox) or reliable history of disease 
    

• Required for Kindergarten entry: 

  1. 5 DTaP (4 DTaP if 4th is given on or after 4th birthday) 

  2. 4 Polio (3 Polio if the 3rd is given on or after the 4th birthday) 

  3. 2 MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) 

  4. 2 Varicella (chickenpox) or reliable history of disease 

• Required for 7th-grade entry: 

  • 1 Tdap

  • 1 Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4) 

• Required for 12th-grade entry: 

  • 2 MCV4, only one dose is required if the 1st dose is given on or after 16th birthday

* Each immunization entry must include: vaccine type, date administered, and the name of the provider.  Please call your doctor's office today to prevent a delay in starting school.

Should your child need medication at school, please contact the school nurse, and we will be happy to assist you.  Please review the district policy on medications.

Please note the following medication guidelines:

• The school nurse will receive ALL medications. Medications should not be accepted by the main office, teacher, or any one else.

• The school nurse and the student’s parent/guardian shall account for all medication brought to school. The number of capsules, pills or tablets, and/or the volume of liquid medications brought to school shall be counted, confirmed, recorded at the time of medication drop off,  .

• Physician offices can fax ALL medication, procedure orders, and action plans (Seizure, Allergy, Asthma) to your student’s school nurse.

• Medications will not be administered without a doctor’s order

• All medication to be in original container with pharmacist label that includes: child's name , name of the medication, dosage to be given, time medication should be given, route of administration, prescriber's name, and prescription date, and medication expiration date.  

  Expired medications will NOT be accepted.

• The nurse will inform the parent/guardian when the count is down to a few days. It is the parents responsibility to provide a refill to the nurse.

• The nurse will NOT administer any medication, perform any procedures (catheterizations, blood sugars, tube feeds, NG tube fluid boluses, etc) without current doctor’s orders.

• Children are not allowed to carry any medications (prescription or over-the-counter) at school without a physician, school nurse, and/or parent authorization. In the case of emergency medications, such as inhalers and EPI PENS, that determination will be made by your child's healthcare provider and school nurse. 

• Parents/guardians will pick up all remaining medications at the end of the school year. Otherwise, medications will be wasted by the nurse and administration.  No medications will be kept over the Summer break.

  
  

• Asthma Action Plan    

• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan

If your child has a food or insect allergy, please discuss this with the school nurse. It is important for us to have a treatment plan at the start of each school year by a physician and medications (if needed) on file in the event of an emergency.

If your child plans to take part in school-sponsored athletics, he/she must have a physical on file with the School Nurse from their Health Care Provider stating the date of the physical and that they are cleared to participate in Athletics . Physicals are valid for 2 years from the date of the physical. Please make sure a copy gets to the School Nurse so that it can be kept on file in their school health record.

• Concussion Information Sheet

• Academic Expectations during post concussion recovery

• CDC Concussion Information Website - Heads Up

 Encourage children to stay home if they are sick to help prevent illnesses in the school setting. Please refer to the chart below for guidance:

When we send children home and when to stay home:

• Any symptom listed above. 

• Injuries that may require further medical attention or parent instruction.

• Chronic medical conditions that may require further evaluation or parent instruction. 

• Any other condition for which the health staff determines a medical evaluation is necessary.

Returning to school after illness or injury:

• When returning to school, students must be well enough to participate in all activities and be fever free with symptoms improving for 24 hours. If there is a specific restriction from some activity, there must be a note from the student’s health care provider stating the restriction and the expected duration of the restriction.

If Ill or Injured at School:

• If your child is ill or injured while at school, they must be seen by the school nurse before being sent home.

Please check your child’s hair frequently throughout the year. If your child has head lice, please treat them and comb their hair with a lice comb (metal lice comb is recommended) daily for four (4) weeks after initial treatment and notify the school nurse. If your child will be absent, please notify the office.

Clothing can become wet from spills, the playground, or bathroom accidents. Children are not allowed to stay at school wearing clothing contaminated with blood or body fluids. Please provide an entire change of clothes that is seasonally appropriate for your child.

We are partnering with MaineHealth to provide flu clinics to our students this year (see the dates/times for your child’s school). Please print the consent form (linked here) and return the completed form to the School Nurse as soon as possible. If you need a copy sent home, please contact the school nurse directly.

• Pre-K - November 5 (8am-10:30 am)

• Young School - October 6 (8am-10:30am)

• Fairfield School - November 10 (11:30am-2pm)

• CK Burns School - November 10 (8am-10:30 am)

• Saco Middle School - October 6 (11:30am-3pm)

Parents must complete all fields on the form, so please use NA if it doesn’t apply. Although the vaccine is provided at no charge for children under the age of 18, there is a cost to administer the vaccine so please include accurate insurance information if available. There is no out-of-pocket cost for children; those without insurance will be vaccinated with the appropriate form completed. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine.