EMS

April is here and the school year is moving along. We only have nine weeks left in this school year! I hope all of you had a great spring break and are ready to focus and get back to work as we move through the last term. Over spring break we added some ELKS graphics to the main stairwell beside student services. I hope our students enjoy the continued improvement to our hallways with bright colors and school spirit!

At school, we really start to be busier than ever as students are preparing and focusing in on academics before the SOL tests with extra practice and tutoring. Attendance at school is essential for overall student success.

This month we are enjoying the track season and seeing our students grow as student athletes. Come out to support our students at our home track meets! We also have our Annie Jr musical led by Mrs Angie Deane and Mr. Josh Holsinger. Our musical students are busy with afternoon and weekend rehearsals to ensure the best performance for all of you!

As I shared last month, spring weather tends to bring excitement in students making it harder to focus on school and academics. We also tend to see an increase in behavioral concerns. Please remind your child of the importance of school and respect for all!

Emily Holloway, Principal

Attention 8th Grade Families! The BRCC Exploring College Field Trip has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 11. If you gave permission for your student to attend this trip already, then we have that on file and plan for your child to attend on April 11 unless we hear from you otherwise. You can reach out to Laura Ogden (logden@rockingham.k12.va.us) with any questions!

Attention all 7th Grade Parents!

Applications for the Valley Scholars Program were due March 22, 2024.

Please reach out to Ms. Ogden with any questions.

Nelli Bogdanov

Alex Lin

Sydney Hensley

Will Goodrich

Jack Schaeffer

Lillybelle Allen

Quorra Pugliese

Zane Breeden

Ayden Lam

Kaylee Weigand

Brooks Baker

Valentina Gomez Garcia

Makayla Poore

Cohen Cushman

Ryelea Moubray

John Dibb

On we roll to April! Time really is flying. So they say March winds and April showers bring us May flowers, so let's see if this month does bring us some wet days! I love flowers, they bring me so much joy. I love to see all the beauty in waiting for them to grow and seeing all the new things coming to life this time of year. So even though it does bring a little work with it, the beauty that comes makes it all worth it.

As we move on into April please continue doing all the things that I’ve continued to share with you each month as a reminder to help your family stay well. Make sure to continue checking your child before sending them to school if they are not feeling well. Check temperatures and keep them home if they truly are sick due to some illnesses. If it’s your normal seasonal issues (because it's that time of year, if you have allergies it's time to start taking those medications daily and getting that on board) please be sure to treat your child at home so they can be ready for their day once at school and ready for class. If they need to see their doctor please make an appointment and take them in to be seen. Hopefully with getting out in the fresh air a little more now with some pretty days coming, outdoor sports and activities happening it will rid us of some of these viruses that have been rearing their ugly heads. Make sure they are getting plenty of rest, staying hydrated and eating well so once they are at school they're ready for learning and not exhausted from their after school activities.

MEDICATION

OTC medication is the same policy as last year. All parents have to bring in what they want their child to take and fill the “permission to give medication” form out. The bottles have to be brand new, sealed unopened and brought in by the parent/guardian. I do not have many who have done this yet. Per policy we are not allowed to keep what was brought in last year so that has been discarded. I still have many students coming wanting to take things and I don't have anything unless a parent/guardian has supplied it for them.

LUNCH TIME

I have a lot of medical needs this school year. We have numerous students with health needs that need to be in the clinic at certain times for assistance, numerous daily medications and other health emergencies that can arise. So they do take priority. Lunch time is super busy with these daily medical needs, so I do ask that unless a student is actually physically sick or has an emergency during the time of 11-1pm that they’re not sent during those lunch shifts. Please understand why that time is allotted for this and know that emergencies will still be addressed as needed for ALL students.

CARE PLANS

Care Plans and knowing things about our students. I am still continuing to work on putting all care plans into the system as I get information from you, making teachers/admin aware of needs. As a reminder if you do not make us aware of your child’s medical needs, we are not aware of them! If they have asthma, allergic reactions, are diabetic, take daily medication and so on we will need paperwork from their physician with orders regarding this and how they are to be treated at school. The parent/guardian is to bring this information from the doctor along with the emergency medication and talk with me so we can get things updated for your child. PLEASE DO NOT EVEN ASSUME WE KNOW FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR! Things MUST be updated each year as information can change over the summer. **Please continue to do this as things change and need to be updated throughout the school year as well!**

PHYSICALS AND IMMUNIZATIONS

This is your reminder to start thinking about any physicals you will need for sports. For all rising 7th graders you need to have those immunizations done or if you choose not to vaccinate to have the paperwork filled out for your other options. **We must either have the vaccination record for your child or the proper paperwork for your child if your choice is not to vaccinate.** NOW is the time to be scheduling those appointments. Please do not wait or you will not get an appointment in time and be at the last minute trying to get things done before registration for next year.

**VACCINATION CLINIC AT ERHS FOR RISING 7TH GRADERS ***

The Virginia Dept of Health will be hosting a vaccine clinic for RCPS middle and high schools to help ensure students rising 7th and 12th graders have the required vaccines prior to the start of the new school year. Rising 7th graders will be transported to and from their respective high school for the vaccines.The vaccination clinic for ERHS & EMS will be on Friday, May 3, 2024 beginning at 1:10pm

EMS students will go first and should plan to arrive at ERHS between 1-1:10.

The information for the vaccination clinic is as follows:

* Consents are attached. Please click the button below for vaccination clinic information!

Rising 7th graders will need the Adolescent Screening Form, Adolescent vaccine consent form (1 form lists all the required vaccines), and VIS form for each vaccine offered (vaccine information sheet) sent home to parents.

* Consents are due by Monday, 4/15; per VDH they will not accept late consents due to ordering the vaccine.

There is no cost to parents/guardians for the required vaccines. The consent has an area on page 2 for parents/guardians to fill out your insurance information. Parents/guardians must complete the forms in their entirety, however, VDH will only bill insurance for the administrative fee and regardless of payment, VDH will not bill parents.

Please let parents know this IS NOT a catch up vaccine clinic so their student will ONLY receive vaccines required that are specific to their grade assignment next year (7th graders for middle schools)

We realize we are going to miss some students due to a variety of reasons. Parents/guardians please know that our local health dept has vaccine clinics each Wednesday and Thursday to accommodate student needs. Required vaccines for school are free. Parents should call early as they are currently booking into late April (540-574-5100).

During the summer, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Health Department will have expanded Wednesday evening hours to help parents who work daylight. Also during the two weeks prior to school starting, the health department has blocked off each day for vaccine appointments. Parents should call now to schedule appointments if they choose to wait or their student cannot attend the vaccine clinic at their school.

As always thank you for hanging with me through all of the information.

If you have any questions about any of the above please feel free to call the school and ask for me, Nurse Julie between the hours of 8-4. If I am unavailable please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. If you need to drop off medication for your child and would like to work a time out with me to do so around schedules just give me a call and we will work together to figure something out. (p) 540-298-1228.

You may also email me @jshifflett@rockingham.k12.va.us

Blessings,

Julie A. Shifflett
Nurse (Elkton Middle School)