Health Services

Students who visit the Nurse's Office must wait patiently and fill out a visit form with their name and the reason for their visit. The nurse will examine the student and update the visit form to reflect the treatment provided to the child for their symptom(s) or complaint(s). The nurse will then notify the child's parents using the information provided on the visit form.

School nurses will not contact parents by phone for minor cuts, scratches, bruises, or complaints. They will, however, call parents if the child has severe injuries or persistent symptoms that may require further medical attention.

According to the Brazilian Federal Nurse Association (COFEN), nurses may administer medications such as simple pain relievers if a doctor's prescription with an official signature and stamp specifying the medication is presented.

Deciding whether to keep a child home from school is not an easy decision. Children need to be in school. However, when a child is sick, it is important to keep them at home under an adult's care to recover and avoid spreading the illness to others.
The following is a list of situations in which Graded recommends keeping your child at home. The list is not exhaustive, and as always, we strongly advise you to get medical attention from your child's healthcare provider if they display any of these symptoms.

• Asthma symptoms that do not respond to medication
• Chickenpox
• Conjunctivitis
• Diarrhea
• Fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit/37.8 degrees Celsius
• Lice
• Moderate to severe flu-like symptoms
• Rash, especially when accompanied by a fever
• Serious accident/injury
• Severe cough
• Severe sore throat or white spots on the back of the throat
• Signs or symptoms of acute illness
• Vomiting

It is recommended that your child be symptom-free for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

The school may decide to send a student home if the student's continued presence in the classroom is detrimental to their education and/or poses a risk to the safety and wellbeing of others.

Conjunctivitis 
If your child has conjunctivitis, he or she will need a doctor's note to return to school. The note must be handed to the school nurse upon your child's arrival. We strongly advise you to check all members of your family for conjunctivitis symptoms and take them to the doctor for adequate treatment. For further information and recommendations, please read the document below.
Health Services Recommendations - Conjunctivitis

Lice
"There is a lack of evidence showing that routine class or school-wide screening reduces lice infestation rates" (Frankowski, 2010). Therefore, class screenings will not be routinely done at Graded. Parents should periodically check their children for lice. If crawling lice are discovered on a student at school, the parents will be contacted to pick up the child and will be provided information on head lice and its treatment. Parents should treat their child overnight. The next day, the child will be re-examined and admitted to class. If he or she is still contaminated, the parents will be notified again. All household members must also be screened for head lice at home. For further information and recommendations, please read the document below.
Health Services Recommendations - Head Lice

Graded's COVID-19 protocols are guided by:

JOINT ORDINANCE MUNICIPAL HEALTH SECRETARY - SMS; MUNICIPAL EDUCATION SECRETARY - SME NO. 377 OF JUNE 20, 2022 and ANEXO ÚNICO Portaria nº 377/2022.

Based on these protocols, we will abide by the following:

• If two or more students in a lower school classroom contract COVID, the entire class, including teachers, must wear masks indoors for 14 days. (Masks are not required outdoors.) 
• COVID-positive individuals must remain at home for at least five days following their positive test result, with the test date considered day zero. After five days, they may return to school upon testing negative. 
• If a student is asymptomatic after close contact with a COVID-positive individual (including a household member), they may continue to attend school. 
• Individuals who are COVID-positive or have two or more COVID symptoms may not enter Graded’s campus until they test negative or become asymptomatic.
• Graded will accept COVID antigen tests administered at a pharmacy or lab-based PCR tests. The school will no longer be partnering with Mendelics for COVID testing. 

If you have any questions concerning the new protocols, please email Head Nurse Rita Lupo at rita.lupo@graded.br.

Parents are legally required to update their child(ren)'s health information—including vaccination records—annually.

Required immunizations may be found here.

Please fill out the following forms and submit them to the Nurse's Office within the first two weeks of school:

• Diabetes Medical Management Plan (DMMP) Form
• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan
• Health Form