Our school nurses want to encourage you to make healthy decisions for your child and our schools. One of the best ways to help is by keeping your children (or yourself!) home during illnesses. Children who are ill should be kept home regardless of symptom severity, including cold or flu-type illnesses.
Please do not send your child to school when they are sick.
Illness continues to be prevalent in our community, and our school nurses observe respiratory illnesses in students arriving at school. Remember, illness is not solely determined by temperature and may present as a variety of symptoms, including congestion, cough, sniffles, and sore throats.
MLSD is required to adhere to WA State DOH Respiratory Guidelines. This means that if your student has ONE or MORE of the following symptoms, please keep them home and consult with your School Nurse or Health Care Provider on when to return to school:
- Fever/chills (≥100.4℉)
- Shortness of breath/breathing difficulty
- Body aches
- A new loss of taste/smell
- Cough
- Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Congestion/runny nose
It's up to all of us to keep our schools healthy and safe for students and staff. As always, you may contact your school nurse if you have questions. Thank you for helping us to keep our schools healthy!
Students and staff must stay home when they are not feeling well and stay home until they feel better.
24-HOUR RULE
Returning to school too soon may slow recovery and make others sick. If your student has a FEVER, please stay home until the fever has been gone without medication for 24 hours. Students who are VOMITING or experiencing DIARRHEA should remain home for 24 hours following the last time the student vomited or had diarrhea.
If your child has been sent home with any of these symptoms, we expect them to be absent the next day.
ONCE YOU FEEL BETTER
You may return once you are 24 hours fever, vomit, and diarrhea-free (without medication) and all other symptoms are significantly improved.
What to do if you have RESPIRATORY symptoms
Nursing Staff
Columbia MS
Penny Mayo: BSN, RN, CDCES, NCSN
pmayo@mlsd161.org
P: (509) 793-7577
F: (509) 793-7503 (secure)
Frontier MS / Garden Heights ES / Groff ES 2nd -3rd
Debbie Johnson: BSN, RN, NCSN
dejohnson@mlsd161.org
P: (509) 793-7575
F: (509) 793-7506 (secure)
Sage Point ES / Peninsula ES
Stephanie Bannon: BSN, RN
sbannon@mlsd161.org
C: 509-989-7948 (work cell)
F: 509-793-7501 (secure)
Park Orchard ES / Knolls Vista ES / Longview ES
Cindy Welsh: BSN, RN
cwelsh@mlsd161.org
C: (509) 793-5512
F: (509) 793-7511 (secure)
Moses Lake HS / Vanguard Academy / CBTECH / Digital / Open Doors / Summit
Courtney Russell: BSN, RN, NCSN
crussell@mlsd161.org
P: (509) 793-7579
F: (509) 793-7508 (secure)
Michelle Starnes: BSN, RN, NCSN
mstarnes@mlsd161.org
P: (509) 793-7548
F: (509) 509-793-7510 (secure)
Lakeview ES / Midway ES / PreSchool / Groff ES K-1st , 4th-5th
Liz Pray: MSN-Ed, RN, NCSN, LNC, SANE
epray@mlsd161.org
C: (509) 989-7985
F: (509) 793-7505 (secure)
North ES / Larson ES / Endeavor MS
Brittany Schmidt BSN, RN
bschmidt@mlsd161.org
P: (509) 793-7572
F: (509) 793-7512 (secure)