Reporting a Student Absence
Student absences of any kind may be reported using the Absence Reporting Form. A separate form must be completed for each child in your family who will be absent. If you are reporting an appointment and plan to pick up your student within the next hour, please contact your student’s school.
Guidelines For Keeping Students Home From School
Students should remain home when sick. Parent(s)/guardian(s) are requested to keep children home if they show signs of fever, illness, infection, or contagious disease (see Common Child Illnesses and Exclusion Criteria for Education and Child Care Settings).
COVID-19 Advisory
Students with any high-risk symptom or two or more low-risk symptoms for COVID-19 are recommended to stay home and are advised to seek an evaluation by a health care provider. For added convenience, the school has created an online Absence Reporting Form (insert link) to easily report a student absence.
COVID-19 High Risk Symptoms
- New cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
-
New loss of taste or smell
COVID-19 Low Risk Symptoms (2 or more symptoms)
- Fever 100.4
- Headache
- Muscle and body aches
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Congestion
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
When can the child return to school?
For Non-COVID-19 Illnesses :
- Return to school after 24 hours with no fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine) and symptoms improving.
Child has a Negative COVID-19 Test AND no close COVID-19 contacts:
- Return to school after 24 hours with no fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine) and symptoms improving.
- Students testing negative for COVID-19 infection and who ARE close contacts of a confirmed case are advised to consider to continue to self-quarantine until 14 days after their last exposure to the confirmed case.
Positive COVID-19 Test:
- Return to school after at least 10 days since symptoms started, and improving symptoms, and 24 hours with no fever (without the use of fever-reducing medicine).
- If people test positive for COVID-19 infection and never get sick (asymptomatic), assume that they could pass it to others from 10 days before they were tested until 10 days after they were tested.
Please make sure your phone number and contact information is up-to-date in Infinite Campus.
If a Student Becomes Sick at School
If a student becomes ill while at school, the student must see the nurse for assessment. Students must not call or text parents. The nurse will determine if the student needs to go home and will contact the student’s parents. Unless the nurse recommends that the student go home, the student’s absence will be unexcused.
For specific medical concerns contact your building’s School Nurse listed below.
School Medical Requirements From the Iowa Department of Public Health and School Health Office
All students entering 7th grade for the 2021-2022 school year must have proof of having both the Meningococcal and the Tdap vaccines before school starts in August unless the student has a Certificate of Immunization Exemption. Please drop off, mail, fax or email a copy of the documentation that the vaccine was given or an exemption form from the vaccine signed by your child’s doctor.
Annual Health History Form: Spanish
Annual Health History Form: Chinese
Annual Health History Form: Arabic
Contact
Nursing Staff:
- Josie Lemke RN, BSN
- Anna Metcalf – Health Associate
For Ames Middle School Student Medical and Nursing questions contact Josie Lemke josie.lemke@ames.k12.ia.us