| HEALTH SERVICES: General Health Information
HEALTH SCREENINGS
The NNPS health services program provides the following health
screening for students:
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Vision and hearing: First Step, Kindergarten, and new
students, if there is no documentation. Screenings are required
for students in grades 3, 7 and 10.
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Dental: Kindergarten, if there is no documentation on
physical, and grades 3, 7 and 10. In grade 2, the school division
coordinates the sealant program with the Peninsula Health District.
Permission forms are sent at the time of the program.
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Height and weight: Grades 3 and 7; 10 is optional.
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Blood pressures: Grades 5, 7, and 10
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Scoliosis: Scoliosis screening is available if requested by parents of students in grades 5 - 10. Click here for educational information.
If parents do not wish their child to participate in any part of
the health screening programs, they must send a written request
to the principal of the child's school.
Emergency Data
Every year we have children with high fevers or injuries which
require us to contact the parent. There are many parents whom we
cannot contact by telephone. Please provide us with the telephone
number of a neighbor or local friend or relative who will take care
of your child in the event that we cannot locate either parent.
Please contact the office if there is a change of address or telephone
number. Pagers and cell phone numbers are very helpful. In the event
of a medical emergency, the Newport News Rescue Squad may be called
to transport your child to the hospital. If possible, we will notify
you before sending your child to a hospital. If not possible, we
will notify you as soon as possible thereafter. In most cases, parents
are responsible for all costs incurred.
Medicines at
school
Parents should ask the doctor to schedule medication doses other
than during school hours. When this is not possible, the school
will cooperate with parents to see the medication is given as prescribed.
Below you will find the Newport News Public Schools policy that
must be followed if your child is to be given medication during
school hours.
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All medication, prescription and over-the-counter, can only
be administered at school, with a physician's order.
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Non-prescription drugs (over the counter) will not be dispensed or administered
by the school staff.
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Students must not be given medicines (prescription or nonprescription)
to transport to and from school.
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Medications must be brought to school by parents or a guardian
in properly labeled, original prescription bottle or container.
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Written orders from the physician must detail the name of the
drug, dosage, and time interval medication is to be taken. Forms
are available from the school nurse (or
click here to download form).
- Contact the school nurse about the procedure to carry medication
at school.
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School nurses will contact prescribing physicians as necessary
to clarify orders.
Student Accident
Insurance
Accidents to students are not unusual and generally require unexpected immediate expense to the family. Low cost student medical accident insurance is a means of defraying these expenses. The insurance program authorized by the School Board through First Service Insurance Company offers a policy underwritten by Markel Insurance Company. Enrolling students in this low-cost insurance program will ease concerns in the future should an injury occur. The School Board does not carry an accident insurance policy for students.
The current student accident insurance rates are as follows:
| Coverage |
EXPANDED
|
BASIC
|
| School-Time |
$21.00 |
$19.00 |
| 24-Hour |
$83.00 |
$75.00 |
| Add-on Dental |
$10.00 |
The insurance program is voluntary. Application forms are sent
home with students at the beginning of the school year with open
enrollment during the entire school year.
Family Life Education
Family Life Education Philosophy
The Newport News Public Schools Family Life Education program is
based on the premise that parents should be the primary providers
of the information and values of family life and human sexuality.
We recognize, however, that changes in our society have placed a
high premium on providing adequate information so that every child
can make wholesome decisions in life. Accordingly, we believe that
this need for information can best be met through a partnership
among students, parents, schools, and the community. The Family
Life Education program ensures that Newport News Public Schools
do their part in this important partnership.
We believe that the content of the Family Life curriculum should
be age appropriate and sequential. In addition to anatomy and physiology
of reproduction of plants, animals, and humans, the curriculum includes
many other important issues. These include self-esteem, self-control,
positive decision-making, goal-setting, family values, peer respect,
communication skills, and responsible parenting. We emphasize the
family values of caring for one's self and one's family, and teach
the value of recognizing the worth of every individual and of being
honest. We believe that sexual relations are best delayed until
after marriage. Therefore, our curriculum emphasizes abstinence
from premarital sex.
The assistance of the Family Life Education Advisory Committee
(made up of representatives of health, medical, religious, and community
agencies and groups) has been invaluable in the development of the
current Family Life Education program. We recognize the need for
community input to be an ongoing component of the program as it
is modified and revised. It is our hope that the program that has
been implemented in the Newport News Public Schools will enrich
the lives of our students and aid them in achieving their full potential
as individuals and as members of families and the community.
In the event a parent does not want his or her child to participate
in the program, an "OPT OUT" form or letter must be completed
by the parent/guardian and returned to the school at least a week
before the classes begin.
Parents seeking Family Life information may contact the Health
Services Office (591-4646).
FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION TOPICS BY GRADE LEVEL
FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION FOR GRADES K - 2
The following lessons and/or videos are provided by the Family
Life Education Specialists for the classroom teachers.
Grade K
Grade 1
- Germ awareness and appropriate actions.
- The privacy of one's own body and awareness of the differences
between good and bad touches.
Grade 2
- Germ awareness-HIV/AIDS information.
- Assertiveness, safety skills, and stranger awareness. This includes
awareness and strategies needed to avoid exploitation and abuse.
The following topics will be included in grades K-5 in health education,
science, and/or guidance, as appropriate:
- The importance of a family, responsibilities of family members,
and how to be a good family member.
- The family unit and changes within the family, activities they
can do together, and how they can help each other.
- Positive personal feelings and attitudes, and respect for others.
- The importance of being a friend, how to make friends, and
behaviors that might lose friends.
- Responsibilities, what they are and why they are important
in work and play.
- Social awareness and responsibility for one's own behavior.
- The importance of rules in families and society.
- How and when to use emergency numbers and to find help when
needed.
- The importance of telling parents or teachers if strangers
offer favors or rides.
- Assertiveness, safety skills, and stranger awareness.
- Safety and health rules for the family.
- Growth and change that take place constantly with all living
things.
- Plants and animals produce offspring that are alike in major
ways, but vary enough to be individuals.
- Mammals require a male and a female to produce offspring.
- Germ awareness and appropriate actions.
- Proper First Aid for cuts is a way to protect oneself from
infection.
- Germs, including HIV, that live in blood and other body fluids.
- Substance abuse and its effect on the body.
- Making healthy decisions.
FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION FOR GRADES 3 - 5
The Family Life Education Specialists provide the following lessons
and/or videos to the classroom teachers.
Grade 3
- Germ awareness-HIV/AIDS information.
- Awareness and strategies needed to avoid exploitation and abuse.
Grade 4
- Awareness of "stranger danger" and ways to stay safe.
- Awareness of and responding to various types of harassment.
Family Life Specialists present the following topics. Boys and
girls are separated for these classes.
Grade 3
- Correct terminology for private body parts.
- The privacy of one's own body parts.
- It takes both a mother and a father to make a baby and babies
are born after developing inside their mothers for nine months.
- The importance of healthy nutrition.
Grade 4
- The physical and emotional changes associated with puberty.
- Reproductive anatomy and functions.
- The body's defense against diseases and germs.
- How HIV enters the body and breaks down the immune system.
- Understanding how HIV/AIDS is and is not spread.
Grade 5
- Review of puberty and reproductive anatomy and functions.
- Reproduction of animals and humans.
- Heredity and its basic principles.
- Fetal development.
- Sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.
- Responsibility and abstinence.
FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL
Grade 6
- Anatomy and physiology of the reproductive system
- Changes experienced in puberty
- Correction of myths about puberty and reproduction
- Transmission and prevention of STDs and HIV/AIDS
- Benefits of abstinence
- Communication with parents and other trusted adults
- Respect for self and others
- Awareness and prevention of sexual harassment and abuse
- Good hygiene and health practices
Grade 7
- Review of puberty and reproduction
- Transmission and prevention of STDs and HIV/AIDS
- Benefits of abstinence
- Developing healthy decision-making skills
- The effect of media and peers on relationships
- Appreciation of individual differences
- Respect for self and others
- Awareness and prevention of sexual harassment and abuse
- Developing positive relationships with family and friends
- Communication with parents and other trusted adults
Grade 8
- Self-awareness and developing personal identity
- Appreciation of individual differences
- The effect of media and peers on personal identity
- Risk-taking and its impact on life choices
- Personal responsibility
- Respect for self and others
- Awareness and prevention of sexual harassment and abuse
- Communication with parents and other trusted adults
- Communication in relationships
- Benefits of abstinence
- Transmission, prevention, and treatment of STDs and HIV/AIDS
- Methods of contraception
FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL
Health I
- *Male and female reproductive systems
- *Breast self-examination/Testicular self-examination
- Respect and responsibility in a relationship
- Benefits of abstinence before marriage
- Family planning and contraception
- Human development from conception to birth
- Responsible parenthood
- Issues regarding teen/single parenthood
- Transmission, prevention and treatment of STDs and HIV/AIDS
- STD/HIV/AIDS statistics and prevalence
- Local, national, and global impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic
- Medical resources
- *Boys and girls will be separated for these sessions
Health II
- Respect, responsibility and goal setting
- Communication and relationships
- Benefits of abstinence before marriage
- Emotional maturity in dating, engagement, and marriage
- Characteristics of successful marriages
- Planning for children in a marriage/responsible parenthood
- Prevention of emotional/physical/sexual abuse
- Legal issues relating to marriage and the family
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