Lakeside School

Hello from Nurse Joy and Nurse Alexis!

As we prepare for the 2025-2026 school year, please review these important health-related updates and reminders. Ensuring our students’ safety and well-being is a top priority, and your partnership is crucial for a smooth start to the school year.

A Second School Nurse

We are excited to welcome Alexis Mee, our new Middle School and after-school nurse, to the Lakeside team. Alexis will be primarily based at the Middle School, and Joy will focus on the Upper School. With both nurses on board, we will have a health room open every school day at both campuses to support our students.

August Schools

Accessing August Schools: Your login username and password are the same as those used for Veracross and the Family Portal. Access Veracross Family Portal | Access August Schools

Reminder emails: Please take all reminder emails from August Schools seriously, as they indicate an action item needing your attention. Ignoring these can result in incomplete health records, which are crucial for your child's safety and may affect your student’s eligibility to attend school. August Schools is reviewed daily to ensure accuracy and reduce unnecessary notifications.

Annual renewals: Each of the following need to be completed every year. 

• Electronically Signed Documents: These need to be signed each year.
• Action Plans: Complete and submit Action Plans for asthma, severe allergies, diabetes, and/or seizure disorders.  Please note that emergency medications must be in the building or designated as self-carry on or before the first day of school, with the proper documentation submitted. Medications included in a completed Action Plan do not need to be redundantly included in the “Medication at Lakeside School” form. Additional Action Plan information is located on the website (under the medication tab).
• Medication Forms: Complete the “Medication at Lakeside School” form for each medication, including any over-the-counter drugs that you anticipate your student may need during a school day or on Lakeside-sponsored field trips or overnight events. This must be signed by both you and your child's healthcare provider. Your child cannot take any medication in the health room or on Lakeside-sponsored trips without this authorization. Access the form through your student’s  August Schools profile.

Renewals every two years:

• Upper School Athlete Pre-Participation Physicals: These are required for 9th-12th-grade student athletes. They are not required for any other grade or non-athletes. For more information, read the tab about Lakeside Athletics physicals on our webpage.

Medication policy

• Ensure all medications are in original containers with pharmacy labels. 
• Check expiration dates and try to get medications that last the entire school year. 
• All medications, including over-the-counter drugs, require parent/guardian and physician authorization. For more details, review the medication policy.

Illness policy

• We expect that all students, employees, and visitors stay home if experiencing symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or contagious conditions like strep throat or flu. Please review our new and detailed illness policy. 
• For any student with symptoms, COVID or otherwise, we request masking to minimize transmission and protect the school community.

Emergency contact information

Ensure your emergency contact information is up-to-date in Veracross. We require at least FOUR emergency contacts, including parent/guardian(s). Update emergency contacts here.

Immunizations

Please make sure that your child is up to date with all the required immunizations for school. You will receive an email or August Schools message if any are missing. Immunization requirements can be found on our health and safety webpage.

Flu shots help save lives!

Schedule COVID and flu shots for your students and family members to protect our community. Get vaccinated! Here's how:

• Visit your healthcare provider. 
• Go to your neighborhood pharmacy. 
• Attend Lakeside’s COVID and Flu Vaccination clinics:
  • Upper School: Friday, Oct. 3 from 1-6 p.m.
  • Middle School: Friday, Oct. 24 from 1-5 p.m.

New this year: Students can receive their COVID and flu vaccines during the school-day clinics without a parent or guardian present if:

• Permission has been granted in the August Schools health packet. 
• And, the student is enrolled in the clinic through the SVNA registration link (coming soon). 

More details and sign-up information will be shared soon.

Screenings

Look out for information about preseason cardiac screenings and cognitive baseline testing used for our concussion protocols for Upper School athletes. Contact Head Athletic Trainer Antonio Gudiño at LakesideAT@lakesideschool.org for more information.

Supporting students’ health and learning includes early identification of hearing and vision needs. While vision screenings are not yet available at Lakeside, we hope to implement hearing screenings for 5th and 7th-grade students in the upcoming school year. We are actively exploring options and will share updates as plans develop.

Thank you for your partnership in looking out for your child’s health and safety at school. Please make sure to review the updated Family Handbook when it’s released later this month and look out for new Inside Lakeside articles throughout the year for important health updates. We look forward to a healthy and successful school year!

Joy Irvin, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC (she/her)
Lead School Nurse

Alexis Mee, BSN, RN (she/her)
Middle School Nurse

nurse@lakesideschool.org 
Phone: 206-440-2906 (Joy) and 206-440-2924 (Alexis)
Fax: 206-360-5092