1. A minimum of four doses of DPT are required. One dose must have been administered on or after the 4th birthday.
2. A child with any total of five valid doses of DTP, DtaP, DtaP/Hib, DTP/Hip, or DT will also be in compliance.

1. A minimum of three doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) or enhanced IPV (if medically indicated) is required. One dose must have been given on or after the 4th birthday.

1. Two doses of a measles- containing vaccine administered on or after the first birthday is required; vaccine doses must be separated by at least one month.
2. Children vaccinated before their first birthday must be revaccinated, unless documented laboratory evidence of measles immunity is provided.

1. All pupils must have had the rubella vaccine administered on or after the first birthday, unless documented laboratory evidence of immunity is provided.
2. Children immunized before one year of age must be reimmunized, preferably with MMR.

1. All pupils must still have one dose of mumps vaccine administered on or after the 1st birthday.
2. Children immunized before the 1st birthday must be reimmunized, preferably with MMR.

1. All pupils must have received three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine prior to Kindergarten entrance.
2. Children presenting documented laboratory evidence of Hepatitus B immunity or a physician's written certification of past Hepatitus B disease constitutes a medical exemption and shall not be required to receive Hepatitis B vaccine.

1. All pupils must have had one dose administered after the 1st birthday or proof of disease immunity will be required.
   
   

*Proof of dental and medical exams are also required and must be submitted prior to September 1st in order to attend school.

All school vacations and other dates of district-wide significance are indicated on the school calendar, which is distributed to all parents at the beginning of the school year. Your child's teacher will notify you of any other changes on the school schedule.

If it is your first child who is entering kindergarten you will be sharing his/her school life for many years. You can become much better informed about school and school programs by attending meetings of the Parent Teacher Association and Board of Education.

"New and Notes" are distributed to all parents monthly and news releases are sent to local media as part of the ongoing communications program of the school district.

If you have any questions that pertain to your child or his/her school, please contact the teacher of school administration.

The Washington Township Board of Education's policy regarding alternate route requests is intended to reduce, as much as possible, potential errors of dropping students off at incorrect locations where they have no adult supervision. In this regard, only permanent route changes will be considered. Requests must be submitted in writing. Parents or other designated individuals are required to meet a kindergartener's bus. If another perosn meeting the bus is different than the parent, notification must be sent to the office before the bus leaves the school.

A. Occasional Requests from parents to have their children dropped off at a location other than their own home will be accommodated only under the following circumstances:

B. Permanent requests from parents to have their children picked up or dropped off at a location other than their home, including babysitter, will be accommodated only under the following circumstances:

In order to insure adequate coverage of the schools, the Board of Education employs the services of two (2) full-time school nurses.

If a child is absent from school, the nurse must be notified as to the nature of the absence. A message may be left on the nurse's absentee line 24 hours a day, 689-1188, option #1.

Our provisions for your child's health, including local and state regulations, are described on the following pages. Your cooperation will help keep your child and other children well.

For the protection of your child and his/her classmates your child should be kept home if he/she has been ill during the night or shows any of these symptoms of illness:

• Sore throat

• Chills

• Runny nose

• Fever

• Severe coughing

• Diarrhea

• Inflamed eye

• Red or swollen joints

• Ear ache

• Skin rash

• Discharging ear

• Flushed face

• Enlarged glands

• Unusual paleness

• Nausea or vomiting

• Over-fatigue

Sending a child to school when he/she is ill may delay his/her recovery, spread infection to other children and necessitate a trip to school by the parents to take the child home. The temperature should be normal for 24 hours before the child returns to school.

When the child returns to school following an absence for illness, he/she should bring a note stating the reason for the absence and the inclusive date or dates.

In accordance with New Jersey State Law (18A:40-7,8), a pupil may be excluded from school when he/she has symptoms that indicate a serious infection or illness and/or his/her condition endangers the health of other pupils. The parent will be notified of the reason. The child will be re admitted when the condition is no longer present and a doctor's note verifies that the child may return to school.

Please secure a docctor's note for the nurse if you child has any surgery, i.e. tonsillectomy, ear tubes, etc. and/or treatment for a broken bone or laceration. Please have the doctor indicate the name of surgery or procedure and whether or not it will affect school/recess activities.

When a child has been confined because of a communicable disease, it is necessary for the parent to bring the child to the school nurse to be examined before re-entering school. The minimum time that shall elapse before he/she returns to school is prescribed by the State Board of Health as follows:

• Measles - 5 days after rash appears, skin must be clear

• German measles - 3 days after rash appears, skin must be clear

• Chicken pox - 6 days after onset of rash, all lesions must be dry

• Mumps - at least 6 days, all swelling must be gone

• Scarlet fever - 24 hours after initial dose of antibiotic

• Whooping cough - 21 days after onset of paroxysmal cough

Health records are maintained by the school nurses for every child in the Washington Township Schools. During the kindergarten year your child will have his height and weight checked and will receive screenings for vision and hearing. Health screenings will continue throughout the elementary grades.

The nurse notifies parents of any defects that are found during the screening. Parents are advised to consult an appropriate practitioner as soon as possible and are requested to inform the school of any corrections that are made.

A Board of Education policy requires that whenever it is necessary for a child to be medicated during school hours, the medication must be prescribed by a physician and arrangements for dispensing said medicine must be made through the office of the school nurse.

The physician must send written orders stating the name of the medication, the dosage, the reason for its use and the time it is to be given. It must also be sent in the original drug store container. *This applies to prescription and over the counter medication as well. Children are not permitted to transport medication on the school bus. In addition, the school must also have a note from the parent giving permission for the medication to be administered as prescribed by the physician. Medication forms can be picked up in the Health Office.

PROTECTION DURING THE SCHOOL DAY

If a child becomes ill or is injured at school, he/she will receive first aid and will be kept at school until you are notified and can come to take him/her home. It is most important that the school have an up-to-date emergency number to call if you cannot be reached by telephone.

Your child's kindergarten assignment will be confirmed by mail before school opens. You will be notified of his/her school, teacher, hours and transportation information (if he/she is eligible for transportation at the expense of the Board of Education). This is a good time to familiarize him with the route, by walking with him/her to school or to the bus stop several times. You might also want to make plans for him/her to go to and from school with other children who live on your street.

Be sure that your child can be identified. Young children sometimes forget their name and address! The child should be "tagged" with a card showing his/her name as well as bus number (if he/she is a rider). All outer garments (coats, jackets, hats, boots and sweaters) and lunch and snack boxes should be labeled with a name tape or marking pencil.

If your child is transported by bus, please let him use the bus from the first day. Your confidence in his ability to be "on his/her own" will speed his adjustment to school.

Clothing selected for school wear should be simple, comfortable, sturdy, easy for the child to manage, and washable.

Tapes or loops will make it easier for the child to hang up his/her clothing. Markings will make it easier for the child and the teacher to identify individual garments.

Boots should be large enough for the child to put on and take off by himself/herself.

Your child will need a smock for various activities. (A large, old shirt with sleeves cut short will suffice.) Please put the child's name on it.

Regular attendance is required except when a child is ill, absent for approved religious holidays, or for emergency reasons. A note stating the reason for absence is required on the child's first day back at school.

Punctuality is expected. Please see that your child has enough time to get to school but that he is not on the school grounds more than ten minutes before the sessions begins. If it is necessary for your child to arrive late, he/she should bring a note to give to his/her teacher.

It helps to establish a routine well in advance of the opening of school so that the child will have plenty of time to wash, dress, and eat an unhurried breakfast or lunch (depending upon his kindergarten schedule), put on outer clothes suitable to the weather and leave home early enough to arrive at school on time.

If you wish your child to share a birthday with classmates, please check with the teacher before the birthday date.

Each day your child will have a snack time. Please send in a snack (not a lunch) and a drink. at school.

Please note that the school may not grant permission for your child to ride the bus if he/she is not regularly transported in that manner. Also, children are not permitted to ride a bus other than the one to which they are assigned, except in emergency situations.

If there is any change in your child's pattern of going home such as: (a) early dismissal or (b) if you wish your child to go home with another child please send in a written note to the teacher. All children who are dismissed early must be discharged from the school office.

• Drawstrings

• Backpacks

• Baggy Clothes

Drawstrings on jackets, sweatshirts and other clothing items as well as backpack straps pose a danger to your child. These items have become snagged on school bus doors and playground equipment. Incidents of snagged drawstrings have resulted in injuries and even deaths.

The most effective way to prevent these hazards is for parents and caregivers to ensure that their children do not wear or carry anything likely to become entangled. The simplest solution is to either remove or cut all drawstrings from clothing and shorten book bag/backpack straps.

We look forward to an "incident free year."