Sending Sick Children to School

Community Day School has been kind enough to provide everyone with guidelines about how to send children to school when they’re sick. 

As cold and flu season is in full swing and the weather changes drastically from day to day, we wanted to send a quick reminder of the guidelines to use for deciding whether to send your child to school or not. 

Deciding when a child is possibly contagious and too sick to go to school can be a difficult decision for parents to make. When trying to decide, please use the guidelines below to help you. 

GO to SchoolIf your child has any of the following symptoms, they should probably go to school:

• Sniffles, a runny nose and a mild cough without a fever (this could be an allergic response to dust, pollen or seasonal changes).

• Vague complaints of aches, pains or fatigue.

• Single episode of diarrhea or vomiting without any other symptoms.

STAY at HomeIf your child has any of the following symptoms, please keep your child at home or make appropriate child care arrangements:

• EYES – thick mucus or pus draining from the eye or pink eye. (With pink eye (conjunctivitis) you may see a white or yellow discharge, matted eyelids after sleep, eye pain and/or redness.)

• FEVER – temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Remember that a child must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medicine such as Tylenol or ibuprofen before returning to school.

• STREP THROAT – the child may return to school after 24 hours of antibiotics.

• VOMITING OR DIARRHEA – vomiting or diarrhea two (2) or more times within the past 24 Hours.

• If you are unsure of the need to keep your child home, please feel free to contact the school nurse.

Click here for more from Community Day School.

iQ:smartparent event: "Girls Growing Up With Media"

“Girls Growing Up With Media,” the second episode of iQ: smartparent, explores how girls are portrayed in the media and how that portrayal impacts their decisions, behaviors, and sense of self. Experts will offer parents advice on how to talk with their children about the media’s portrayal of gender inequity and inequality. The program is rated TV-PG and children who are 12 or older are welcome to attend if accompanied by an adult.

The event will be held on March 19. Seating begins at exactly 6:30 p.m. and the show will tape from 7-8 p.m. Parking is available in the WQED lot. This show will premiere on WQED-TV on Thursday, April 25, at 8 p.m.

iQ: smartparent is an institute created by WQED to empower parents with new tools, knowledge, and abilities that they can use to guide their children through the use of technology and digital media. Experts and iQ: smartparents form a community in order to understand challenges of the media and opportunities regarding their children’s development.

Follow this link for more information and to register for the event: http://iqsmartparent2.eventbrite.com/

Achievements at North Allegheny School District

The North Allegheny School District has boasted some high educational achievements within the past few years. School directors had wanted the district to be more than just “good.” They wanted to be in the top 100 districts in the country. 

To do this, they increased the number of advanced placement (AP) courses and scheduled regular curriculum reviews. The result is a great increase of students who are outperforming their peers on state and national levels.  

Other achievement highlights include:

• An average score of 1705 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SATs), a district record
• On the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests, students in every grade outperformed the state averages in both reading and math
• On the PSSAs, more than 90 percent of fifth-, eighth- and 11th-graders scored advanced or proficient on the writing exam.
• The Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores both outperformed national averages and exceeded expectations.
• There were 208 advanced placement scholars last year.

Congratulations to NA students! To read more information about these advancements, follow this link.

Best Ways to Help You Smile in the Morning

You’ve always heard people tell you to smile. It’ll make you happy, it’ll reduce stress, it’ll strengthen your health. But no matter how old you are, real life gets in the way and sometimes it’s hard to smile, especially in the morning.

So! Here are a few methods you can use to smile in the morning and watch how that smile affects the rest of your day.

1. Place traveling accessories in one easy, open spot to find so you can just grab them and go in the morning. This includes keys, purse, glasses, lip gloss, homework, backpack, etc. You’ll save time and hassle when you’re not scouring your home for them, and you’ll smile at how quickly you got out the door.
2. If you have any chores that must be done, do them before you go to bed. That way, you’re not being yelled at (either by yourself or someone else) to get them done before school or work. You’ll smile at how much calmer and less rushed your mornings are.  
3. Prepare your outfit. Some people are blessed with the ability to grab whatever clothes and head out the door. Others need a little more time and effort put into their wardrobe. Precious minutes are wasted comparing jeans, sweaters, shirts, and whatever else. If you plan ahead then you, too, can grab your clothes in the morning and walk out looking exactly the way you like to without the hassle.
4. Charge your devices the night before. You won’t have to worry about dallying before the bus or a few minutes before you’re due to leave just because your phone needs a few more bars. After a while, you won’t even think about your phone in the morning because it’ll be charged, with your travel items, and ready to go.
5. Believe it or not, some of us still pack our lunches. This also takes up precious time in the morning, time we could put to better use. Having your lunch picked out and prepared for you the night before makes your morning that much easier. And who wouldn’t smile at that?
6. Check the weather before you leave. Nothing puts a frown on people’s faces faster than when they get caught in the rain without an umbrella, especially later in the day.

Follow this link for more information.