Health Services

Welcome to Weatherly Area School District's Health Department

Welcome to the website for the Weatherly School District Health Services Department. Mrs. Rebekah McFadden and Mrs. Tracy Blackwell are the nurses in the Weatherly District. We are here to remove health related barriers to your child's learning, in addition to meeting the day to day health needs of our students and staff. Please feel free to contact either school nurse at 570-427-8687 or via e-mail at mcfaddenr@weatherlysd.org or blackwellt@weatherlysd.org. We welcome your involvement in the health and well being of your child.

The primary purpose of school health services in the Weatherly Area School District is to protect, promote, and improve the health status of students and staff, enabling them to optimize their educational experience. The school health program, through health services, health education, and a healthful environment, provides a learning experience for students and encourages a positive attitude toward inpidual and ultimately community health. Mrs. McFadden is a full-time certified school nurse. Mrs. Blackwell is a part-time registered nurse. Both school nurses work together to meet the health needs of the students and staff in the three schools within the district.

School Nurse

Mrs. Rebekah McFadden

Assistant School Nurse

Mrs. Tracy Blackwell

About your Nurses

Mrs. Rebekah McFadden graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a BS in Nursing. She earned her school nurse certificate from Kutztown University, and a Master's Degree in Nursing from Bloomsburg University. She has been the certified school nurse in the Weatherly School District since 2001. She lives in Jim Thorpe with her husband and 2 daughters. Mrs. Tracy Blackwell is a graduate of the Reading School of Nursing. She graduated with a BS in Nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing in 2012. She has been working as a part-time school nurse in Weatherly since 2007. She lives in Weatherly with her husband and 4 daughters

Mandated Screenings

PHYSICAL EXAMS

A physical examination is required for kindergarten, 6th grade, 11th grade and new students entering the district who do not have a physical examination on file in their PA school health record. The district will accept reports of privately conducted physical examinations completed within one (1) year prior to a student's entry into the grade where an exam is required. For a detailed examination, including genitalia, it is highly recommended that your child see his/her family physician. A general physical examination, excluding genitalia, (except for hernia checks) is offered in the school setting at no charge to the parent or guardian. Examinations are completed in groups of 4-5 students by the school physician, Dr. Childs. If you would like your child examined individually, please contact the school nurse.

DENTAL EXAMS

A dental examination is required for kindergarten, 3rd grade, 7th grade and new students who do not have a dental examination on file in their PA school health record. The district will accept reports of privately conducted dental examinations completed within one (1) year prior to a student's entry where an exam is required. Dental examinations are offered in the school setting at no charge to the parent or guardian. Examinations are completed by the St. Luke's Star Wellness mobile dental service.

HEALTH SCREENINGS

Mandatory health screenings including vision, hearing, height and weight are conducted within the school setting. Vision screening, height and weight measurements are required annually for each student in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Hearing screenings are performed in pre K, kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 11th grades.

School Medications

The administration of prescribed medication to a student during school hours in accordance with the direction of a parent/guardian and licensed prescriber, will be permitted only when failure to take such medicine would jeopardize the health of the student or the student would not be able to attend school if the medicine were not available during school hours.

All medication shall be brought to the nurse’s office, or the main office if the nurse is in another building, by the parent/guardian or by another adult designated by the parent/guardian. All medication shall be stored in the original pharmacy-labeled container

The school nurses are able to administer acetaminophen and an antacid, if medically indicated, per a standing medication order signed by our school physician. Parental consent to administer these medications shall be renewed at the beginning of each school year, per the annual health update form.

When to keep your child at home

A child should stay home from school if he or she has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher. If a child is treated by a medical provider for an illness, where an antibiotic is prescribed, the child should have received 24 hours of the antibiotic before returning to school. The child should be fever free (less than 100 degrees) for 24 hours, without the use of a fever reducing medication, in order to return to school.

Star Wellness Mobile Dental Clinic - St. luke's Pedicatrics
The Star Wellness mobile dental van is a full service dental facility that travels to area schools and provides dental services to children ages 3-18 with or without insurance. The dental van provides FREE dental services to eligible children while they are in school. If you are interested in registering your child, please contact your school nurses, Mrs. McFadden or Mrs. Blackwell at 570-427-8687 for a registration form.

Call 484-526-2106 if you have any questions about the Star Wellness Dental Van services.

school immunization icon

Required Immunizations

The Pennsylvania Department of Health establishes guidelines for all students regarding immunization requirements. New regulations were implemented in March 2017, beginning the 2017-2018.

Students have a provisional enrollment of the first 5 days of school, in order to complete all required immunizations or a parent or guardian must provide a completed medical certificate indicating the dates immunizations will be received.

The new guidelines do not change the requirements allowing a child to obtain an exemption from immunization requirements for either religious or medical reasons.

For entrance into kindergarten the following immunizations are required:

4 doses TDap, 1 dose given on or after the age of 4
4 doses Polio, 1 dose given on or after the age of 4
3 doses Hepatitis B
2 doses MMR
2 doses varicella or evidence of immunity

The TDap and meningitis vaccine are required for students entering7th grade.

A second Meningitis vaccine is required to students entering12th grade. Your school nurses will communicate what your child may still need for school enrollment.

Weatherly Wellness Council

Who We Are:

The Weatherly Wellness Council is an organization made up of parents, teachers, school nurses and outside health agency educators.

When:

This group meets the third Thursday of every month in the Weatherly Middle School. from 8am to 9am.

Parents are welcomed and encouraged to attend!

Our Mission:

Its mission is to promote health and wellness within the school environment by evaluating and revising policies and procedures within our schools. The Wellness Council also organizes fun supplemental activities regarding nutrition, physical activity and health promotion.

Activities:
In collaboration with many community health and wellness agencies, the Wellness Council sponsors many age appropriate health related activities throughout the school year such as -
Sixteen Candles - Driver Safety Program for students turning 16.
Germ City - education teaching the importance of hand washing, provided by Geisinger
Safety Town - mini town showcasing safety measures within the community, provided by Lehigh Valley Hospital
Dental Education - provided by Geisinger

The Weatherly Area School District is committed to promoting health and wellness within our school environment. This commitment is documented in the School Board Policy, #246, “School Wellness”. The downloadable document below (Wellness Policy Assessment Form) is an assessment of the WASD Wellness Policy. It measures the extent to which the Policy is being implemented. Parents and community members are invited to join the Weatherly Wellness Council. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month at 8am.

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