Medication Pick Up
It sure does feel like this year has flown by! It's time to make arrangements to collect your child's emergency medications from the clinic. Designated times are as follows
- 8th Grade and Pre K only: Monday, June 5th from the clinic (8th) or the classroom (PreK)
- 8th, Pre K and Kindergarten: Tuesday, June 6th from the clinic following graduation/reception
- Everyone: Dates below
Wednesday, June 7th at Hot Dog Bash (at the beverage tent)
Thursday, June 8th 10am-1pm in the front office
Monday June 12th-Thursday June 15th in the front office
Medications left in the school after June 15th will be sent for disposal.
Remember to Wear Sunscreen
As a member of the class of 1999, times of transition and graduation will always make me think of the Baz Luhrman hit Everybody's Free...you know, that spoken word song giving sage advice to people too young to know to listen? That one. Well, it remains great advice! Make sure you are covering up, using sunscreen and doing outdoor activities in the hours where the sun is less intense.
Final Thoughts
Dear Intrepid STM Parents,
It's been a wild ride as a school nurse at St. Thomas More Cathedral School. When I started in the clinic in the summer of 2018, I was 7 months pregnant, and thus very eager to no longer be working night shift (and to be closer to my then 1st and 3rd graders). I (very incorrectly, it turns out) thought I was taking a great "lean out" position wherein I would merely check over health records, apply bandages, dispense ice packs, and hug my own kids from time to time.
No earthly being could've predicted what my school nursing "career" had in store.
As we wrap up the 2022-2023 school year, I'm reflecting on what being a school nurse in a pandemic, in a school that possessed the audacity to fling its doors wide open in September of 2020, really meant. For certain I know it's proof of God's abiding presence in the life of my family as we very quickly saw the wisdom in our choice to make the sacrifices necessary to keep our kids in Catholic school (where they will stay, even with my departure). During those pandemic planning weeks and months my skin got thicker in some places (if I never hear the word gaiter again, it will be too soon), and thinner in others (as I continued to work on weekends and evenings as a nurse in the hospital and watched what Covid was doing to vulnerable people).
I am proud of the accomplishments I made at STM-- rolling out Magnus, helping organize and then chair the RAMP committee, writing a new Wellness Plan, updating policies to ensure they were evidence-based, and generally keeping kids safe and healthy at school. I can't imagine I will ever again have a job that will reach the size and scope that this role has over the course of the last five years. Suffice it to say, there was very little "leaning out" to be done for this school nurse.
That person who started at STM as a fetus (and spent the past 5 years being the mascot in all kinds of clinic memes and at countless CYO basketball games) will proudly march through the doors at 105 N. Thomas Street in the fall, alongside his brother and sister (who are much less eager for hugs from mom in the hall these days), so it is time for me to lean in to a new opportunity. As excited as I am about my new job in hospital administration for its overall lack of standing in the rain to wave at cars, I will absolutely miss partnering with you as you shepherd your marvelous little people into adulthood. I will always be grateful for the privilege of caring for your most precious treasures.
God bless you all,
Chandra