SAGE - Shenendehowa Advocates for Gifted Education Website
SAGE sponsors Saturday Scholars, a program of mini-courses designed to provide challenging enrichment opportunities for academically, creatively and artistically talented children.
 

A PM kindergarten student at Chango was diagnosed with the MRSA staph infection. The student is undergoing treatment and is not in school.

Please use this as an opportunity to stress and encourage your child to practice good basic hygiene. The difficulty with staph is that it is present everywhere and, while students have the commonality of being in school, it is never certain where the exposure took place. We strongly encourage parents and students to contact their school physicians if they suspect any signs or symptoms of MRSA.

Below is some information prepared by a group of pediatric doctors:

Staphylococcal aureus is a common bacteria which lives normally on human skin. MRSA is a type of Staphylococcal aureus which has several unfortunate characteristics – it is resistant to many of the common antibiotics used for skin infections and it has the tendency to progress (worsen) rapidly. Here are facts regarding MRSA:

• MRSA is not a new infection! Current press reporting leads one to believe MRSA is a new phenomenon. In fact, MRSA has been present in our communities for years. Your health professionals have been aware of MRSA for years and have adapted their diagnosis and treatment of skin infections accordingly.
• MRSA is not exclusively a school problem as news reports seem to indicate. In fact, MESA is common throughout our local and national communities. Taking this into account, the reaction of the school district in Virginia (closing and cleaning the schools) makes no medical sense. People carry MRSA on their skin – sterilization of the school will interrupt education of our children but will not eliminate the presence of MRSA infections.
• There is effective antibiotic treatment for MRSA, though choices are limited. Most MRSA infections are treated successfully without need for hospitalization. It is true that in some cases, some of these infections can rapidly progress and require hospitalization. The few cases involving death reported in the media is very unusual – this is not the norm for this type of infection.
• People who have MRSA and are being adequately treated do not need to be restricted from work or school.
• If a person has signs of a skin infection that seems to be worsening rapidly despite good hygiene and topical antibiotic use, they should seek evaluation by a medical professional. This medical advice does not differ from what you already know.

For more information, go to:

• Center for Disease Control
• NYS Health Department
• Brochure for athletes on how to avoid MRSA

Our utmost concern is your child’s welfare and that is why, as a precaution, we are providing you with this information. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the principal.

• Elementary Handbook
• Volunteer Handbook
• Curriculum brochures: Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade