From the Nurse’s Office:
Happy Spring everyone! We know this year has brought so many challenges for so many and we are thankful for your continued diligence and compliance as we continue to navigate safely through this COVID pandemic. We so appreciate all the generosity of the lunches for the faculty and staff that we have been included in! Just a couple of housekeeping issues as we move into the warmer weather: please make sure your child has a water bottle with them each day & a spare mask to replace those that get wet/sweaty. For our younger students - please have a full change of season-appropriate clothes in their cubby/classroom for the occasional accident.
Thanks for your cooperation to make sure our students were up to date with their Immunizations, Physicals, and Dental Exam Reports! If you had some doctor’s appointments over the break or coming up soon, please send in those reports. Any examinations dated from August/September 2020 forward will suffice for next year’s requirements. The State of Pennsylvania requires that all required immunizations must be documented within the first 5 days of the start of school. The West Chester Area School District requires that the required Physicals and Dentals from a licensed Health Care Provider are received within the first 60 days of the start of school. If the plan is not followed, the student will be excluded from school. Please note that The Archdiocese of Philadelphia does not permit religious or philosophical exemptions from vaccination. Below are the requirements:
Preschool students must receive all immunizations for which they are eligible (by age)
Kindergarten through 8th-grade students must receive:
4 DTaP (diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
4 IPV (polio) with the last dose given after the child’s 4th birthday
3 Hepatitis B
2 Varicella (chickenpox)
2 MMR (measles/mumps/rubella)
**Students must be up to date with all immunizations by the 5th day from the start of the school year. AOP and Saints Peter and Paul do not permit students to be on a delayed immunization schedule unless medically necessary. In this case, a note from a licensed doctor must be provided to the school nurse prior to the 1st day of class.
7th-grade students must receive the above plus the following:
Meningitis vaccine
Tdap booster
Physical Exams are required for Kindergarten and 6th graders, as well as any new students, regardless of the grade they are entering.
Dental Exams are required for Kindergarten, 3rd, and 7th graders, as well as any new students, regardless of the grade they are entering.