On this page I will be providing information for parents and students, so that all students may have a safe and healthy school year. Much of this information will be provided in the form of links, beginning with the link to the Parent Handbook for the High School Health Office. This handbook details the Policies and Procedures of the High School Health Office, including forms which can be downloaded. Website:
http://www.wmtps.org/hs/Nurse/policies.html
From www.wmtps.org, click on the High School, then "Come Inside WMHS", then "Health Office"
The other links listed below will provide information on health issues that may impact the student during the school day. These topics include: Immunizations for Adolescents; Nutrition for Teens; Chronic Health Issues; Contagious Diseases; When to Call the Doctor; Adolescent Depression; etc.
If you would like me to provide information on a specific topic, please contact me via email at:
Jan.Cacciapuoti@wmtps.org
SUMMER 2008
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Another school year has been completed, and we are already preparing for the 2008-2009 school year. Please be watching for my summer mailing, which will include information and paperwork which should be completed by September 2008,to help insure a safe and healthy school year for your student(s). Specifically, the letter will include a SCHOOL Physical Exam form (not to be confused with a SPORTS Physical Exam Form), and a form for "Physician's Request for Medication to be Dispensed During School". Please have this latter form completed by your physician--even for OVER-THE-COUNTER Medications--if you would like your child to be able to receive medication during school hours. (Follow the instructions in the cover letter in the mailing).
If your child has a Medical Special Need (Asthma, Insect Sting Allergies, Food Allergies, Diabetes, a Seizure Disorder, Need for Daily Medication, etc.), you will receive appropriate paperwork in your mailing. Please have this completed and returned to the High School (ATTN: SCHOOL NURSE)by September 2008.
If you have any questions regarding the mailing or paperwork, please email me at:
Jan.Cacciapuoti@wmtps.org
If you require additional forms, please follow the link to the Parent Handbook above, or contact me via email.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation with my effort to insure that your student(s) have a safe and healthy school year.
Sincerely,
Jan Cacciapuoti
WMHS Certified School Nurse
SPRING 2008
NEW NOTES!!!!!
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHICKENPOX:
Dear Parent/Guardian,
We have arrived at the time of year when Chickenpox is prevalent. Chickenpox is a contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Chickenpox poses a high risk for the following persons if they are exposed:
1.) Persons who HAVE NOT HAD the chickenpox OR the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine
2.) Persons with an immune system disorder.
3.) Persons who are, or may be, pregnant.
Since cases of chickenpox may occur in the high school population, it is important that you are aware of the following signs and symptoms of this illness (especially if your child is in one of the above categories):
---Rash: small, red bumps, blistering over 3-4 days, then forming scabs
---Rash is more noticeable on the trunk of the body, then on exposed parts of the body
---Rash may also appear in the mouth, the ears, or also on the scalp or genital areas
---Rash MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY: Fever, a runny nose, or cough
If your child develops these symptoms you should contact your physician. If a diagnosis of chickenpox is made. PLEASE relay that information to the school nurse (ext. 237).
Chickenpox is communicated through exposure to airborne respiratory secretions (coughing or sneezing) from the infected individual, or by direct contact with mucous from the eyes, nose, mouth, or fluid from oozing blisters of the infected person. The incubation period is usually from 14 to 16 days after exposure, although it may be from as short as 10 days, or as long as 21 days. The most contagious period from one to two days before the rash appears until just after it appears. When all blisters have scabs and no new blisters are forming, the period of possible contagion has passed.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR ALL PARENTS!!!!!!!
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:
D U S T I N G -- Michon
First, I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name
is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its
crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were #2 in
the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He
was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because
he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train
with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way
to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on
you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.
I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at
least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won't.
I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one
in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They
were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3
pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a
computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all
used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on
their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting
the 10 dollars I paid for them.
On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the
3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust
Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer. On March 1st, I left
for work at 10 PM. Just before midnightmy wife went down and kissed Kyle
goodnight. At 5:30 amthe next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle
up for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his
legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to
get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend
he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his
arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off
Can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands.
Kyle was dead.
I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a
nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner,
after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust Off was in
his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnightand 1 AM. I
found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through
15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take off from the
Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes
them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do
this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was
cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed air. It can't hurt you.
His best friend said no.
Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a
propellant called R2. It's a refrigerant like what is used in your
refrigerator. It is a heavy gas, heavier than air. When you inhale it, it
fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out that's why you
feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart.
Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU!
The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level
that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go
randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you
die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later, or
not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you're
breathing it in, if not you die within 2 seconds of finishing 'the hit.'
That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes
were still open.
The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its
huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn't fit
here. And that's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical reaction, no
strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few
days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant
causes frostbite. If I had only known. It's easy to say hey, it's my life
and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always affected. This has
forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that
can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's
nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what
I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My kids are messed up. One
won't talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my
wife, I can't even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were
safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs
and talked to our kids about them.
After Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to
the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he
found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about
another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent
school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there.
They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell
everyone about this 'new' way of getting high they found, they hid it.
The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the
school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media
and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my house.
We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using
Dust Off isn't new and some 'professionals' do know about. It just isn't
talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it.
April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his
15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room
couch at 2:30in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I
know Kyle is in heaven but I can't help but wonder if I died and went to Hell.
This Officer is asking for EVERYONE who receives this email to forward
it to everyone in their address book, even Law Enforcement Officers. Even
if you do not have children, you can still forward this to friends & family who do
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