Dear Parents/Guardians,
As you prepare for your child’s first day of school on August 31, 2026 the MCSD School Nurses would like to provide you with information to ensure a seamless start to the new school year.
Immunizations:
Please ensure your child’s immunization records are up-to-date and on file in the school health office before the start of school. Students must have the required doses on file or risk exclusion from school on September 9, 2026. Exclusion will continue until compliance is documented or an appropriate exemption is submitted.
Please review this PA DOH link for school-required vaccinations:
Physical Examinations & Dental Examinations:
All students are required to have a private physical exam in kindergarten, 6th, and 11th grades. Physicals may be completed up to one year before the designated grade level. It is preferred that a private provider completes your child’s physical. However, our school physician offers basic school physicals in the Spring.
All students are required to have a dental examination in kindergarten, 3rd, and 7th grades. School dental screenings are offered in the Spring each school year if your child does not have a private dental provider.
Mandated Health Screenings:
Hearing, vision, and growth screenings are conducted by the Tuscarora Intermediate Unit (TIU) in the fall of each school year. Your school nurse will provide building-specific dates in the school newsletter, on school announcements, or Class Dojo. Please ensure your child attends school on screening dates and wears prescribed glasses, contact lenses, or hearing aids.
If your child fails a screening, the school nurse may retest them or send a referral home. Your child may need further evaluation by their primary care physician or eye doctor. Please return referrals to your child’s school nurse.
Occasional Use of Medications:
During the first few days of the new school year, your child will bring the Over-The-Counter (OTC) Medication Form home. If you want your child to receive occasional OTC medication at school, you must return this form to the school nurse. Your child cannot receive Tylenol,
Ibuprofen, and basic first aid medications at school without this form being signed each school year.
Prescription and Daily Medications:
If your child needs a daily, long-term or short-term prescription, or OTC medication to be administered during school hours, a physician and parent/guardian must complete and sign the Permission for Administration of Medication form. Once this form is complete, a parent/guardian or designated adult MUST transport and deliver all medications (in original and properly labeled packaging) to the school nurse to ensure secure storage in the school health office.
Per the PA Department of Health, students with diabetes, asthma, or a life-threatening all
