Professional Development Day, Friday, October 2 The entire staff will be taking part in the annual EBISA (East Bay Independent School Association) professional development day on the topic of DIVERSITY: Essential Conversations for Inclusive Schools. There will be no school on this day for all student bk through grade 8. Holiday Camp will be offered at a cost of $30 per child for the day. Holiday Camp organizes special activities for holiday camp and they should have registration forms available for parents soon. You will also be able to pick up a registration form from Thursday Notes or the school offices. Staffing is _base_d on the number of children who are registered and therefore, there is no drop in to holiday camp. Parents asked and Bev Wanlin responded Parents asked for more variety in the photo packages being offered on school photos. Bev agreed and her new form was in last Thursday Notes. If you missed it, you can pick one up from the offices. Diversity Committee Recruitment Meeting Announcement The Diversity Committee (DC) is working with Parkıs admissions staff to support efforts to increase the number of students and families from underrepresented groups at Park. This is part of the DCıs mission to build an inclusive and welcoming community at Park that reflects the diversity of our region. On Oct. 6th, from 7:00 to 9:00 at the Matilda Brown building, we will have a planning session on how parents can support the schoolıs efforts.  The goal of the meeting is to plan concrete, pragmatic, and do-able steps for this school year.  We will present information on the current status of diversity in our school community, the progress that has been made, what has worked and not worked, and what we can do this year to work towards out goals. EVERYONE is welcome.  Please come share your ideas and sign up for small, do-able tasks that anyone can do to help this effort.   If you have any questions, please contact Carol Zabin at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it <mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  or 510 666-9348. The REVISED Lice Policy at Park Day School There are a few changes to our lice policy here at Park Day, please note the changes in blue. €       Park Day will send children home who are found to have live lice and they must be checked in the office before returning to their class. It is assumed that parents will take responsibility for prompt and proper treatment. €       The school will notify the parents of all the children in the class and encourage that all children be checked at home and treated to remove lice and nits before returning to school the next day. €      Children who have nits will be allowed to remain in school ONLY if they undergone             treatment within the last two days. Treatment means removal of all live lice and nits         and can involve a variety of methods including chemical, herbal, and oil treatment. €      Park Day will bring the folks from Nit Wits to check studentsı hair five times/year: at         the beginning of the school year and after every break. Background Information Head lice are small parasitic insects mainly acquired by direct head-to-head contact with an infested personıs hair. Lice cannot fly or hop; they crawl. Lice cannot survive for mare than a day or so at room temperature without ready access to a personıs blood. A nymphal louse hatches from its egg after about 8 days of development, and begins to feed, grow and develop until it attains the adult stage about 9-12 days after hatching. Generally, an infested person has fewer than a dozen active lice on the scalp at any time, but may have hundreds of viable, dad, and/or hatched eggs. The gold standard for diagnosing head lice is finding a live louse on the head. Nits are viable only when they are within 1 cm. of the scalp. It is probably impossible to totally prevent head lice infestations. Young children come into close head-to-head contact with each other frequently. It is prudent for children to be taught not to share personal items such as combs, brushes, and hats. In environments where children are together, adults should be aware of the signs and symptoms of head lice infestation, and affected children should be treated promptly to minimize spread to others. Treatment There are two dominant camps regarding the proper course of treatment. One involves chemical treatment of the hair combined with daily combing with a _meta_l nit comb. The other calls only for daily combing with a _meta_l nit comb. Our families have suggested other forms of treatment for kids including herbal and oil treatments. All methods require removing the lice and nits from the hair shafts-either with a nit comb or by hand. Chemical treatment for head lice should be considered only when active lice or viable eggs are observed. Itching of the scalp or the perception that something is crawling on the head does not warrant treatment for lice. Nit removal can be difficult and tedious. Fine-toothed nit combs make it easier. Studies have shown that lice removed by combing and brushing are damaged and will not survive. Campaigns that have been effective include everyone shampooing hair twice a week for two weeks and then vigorously combing out wet hair each time with a nit comb. The wet hair seems to slow down the lice. Combing dry hair does not seem to have the same effect. Only live lice cause an infestation. An infestation may be eliminated by combing each day to remove the live lice (including those that have hatched since the previous day). Comb daily until no live lice are discovered for about two weeks. Use illumination, magnification and a good louse or nit comb to locate and remove the offending insects. Although the hair may appear peppered with eggs, there generally are fewer than a dozen active lice on the head at any time. Hair should be cleaned and well-combed or brushed to remove tangles before attempting to use a louse comb. Clean the louse comb frequently to remove any caught lice or eggs. It may take several hours each night for several nights to tackle the problem. Repeat until no more active lice are observed. All household members should be checked for head lice by thorough combing with a nit comb. Only those with live lice or nits within 1 cm of the scalp need to be treated (if chemical treatment is the protocol being used). It is prudent to clean hair care items and bedding of the individual with infestation. Only other items, clothing, furniture, or carpeting that have been in contact with the head of the person with infestation in the 24-48 hours before treatment should be considered for cleaning Washing, soaking or drying items at temperatures greater than 130°F will kill stray lice or nits. Furniture, carpeting, car seats, and other fabrics or fabric-covered items can be vacuumed. Pediculicide spray should not be used because exposure cannot be controlled. Nits are unlikely to incubate and hatch at room temperatures; if they did, the nymphs would need to find a source of blood for feeding within hours of hatching. Summary Head lice are acquired from other infested people. Parents are asked to focus energy on treatment and education rather than on tracking down the source of the lice. Parents are likely to benefit more by ensuring that all children and adults in the home are inspected and treated as appropriate. Because a child with an active head lice infestation has likely had the infestation for a month or so by the time it is discovered, there is relatively little new risk to others. If a child is assessed as having head lice, the childıs parent will be notified that day and the parents must take responsibility for prompt and proper treatment The school will notify the parents of all the children in the class and encourage that all children be checked at home and treated (thorough combing with a nit comb - definitely; chemical treatment if so determined by the parent) if appropriate before returning to school the next day. Justine Polevoy, MFT #36954 Embodied Psychotherapy 2824 College Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705 (510)888-4151