It’s a great time of year to enjoy the outdoors but we need to be aware and careful in areas where there may be blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks). These are very small ticks – sometimes as small as the period at the end of this sentence. They can carry the germ that causes a bacterial infection called Lyme disease. Deer ticks are found across Nova Scotia, so it’s important to be vigilant and take simple preventative measures.

Follow these steps to help protect against ticks, especially in grassy, wooded or shrub covered areas:

 Apply insect repellents containing DEET or Icaridin to exposed skin and clothes. Follow directions on the package carefully.

 Wear light colored long sleeved shirts and pants, closed-toed shoes, and tuck shirts into pants and pant legs into socks.

 Keep lawns mowed short.

 Put playground equipment in sunny, dry places away from wooded areas, yard edges, and trees.

 Check your whole body for ticks and, when possible, take a bath or shower within two hours of coming indoors. This makes it easier to find ticks and washes away loose ones.

If you find ticks, here’s how to remove them safely:

o Carefully grasp the tick with tweezers as close to the skin as possible.

o Gently and slowly pull the tick straight out. Do not jerk, twist or squeeze it.

o Clean and disinfect the site with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.

o Dispose of the tick in a sealed plastic bag and put in the garbage.

o Do NOT burn, squeeze or coax a tick’s mouthparts from your skin using other methods.

The first symptom of Lyme disease is usually a rash that may look like a bull’s eye target near the tick bite. The rash can appear anywhere from 3-30 days after the bite. Symptoms such as fever, headache, tiredness, stiff neck, pain and swelling in the joints and general body aches and pains may develop. Symptoms may appear over a period of months. If symptoms appear, it is very important to contact a health care provider. Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics.

To access a great educational video for kids about how to protect against tick bites, and to learn more about Lyme disease and blacklegged ticks, visit http://www.novascotia.ca/hpp/cdpc/lyme.asp - or call your local Public Health office at the number listed below.

Dr. Ryan Sommers, MD CCFP FRCPC(PHPM)

Medical Officer of Health Northern Zone

Hants North and Kennetcook District

PowerSchool app vs Computer

It has come to our attention that many parents and students are using the PowerSchool app to track student progress. When you are using the app you will not have access to view all information. If the teacher is marking by outcome you will not be able to view the marks of the outcome or outcomes if more than one is accessed. To have full viewing right please use the web version of PowerSchool. The app is not made by the company that owns PowerSchool and has limited functios.

Attendance and Engagement Policy

This policy, put in place by the province, took effect on Monday, October 2nd, 2017

This Policy can be found at the website below, or you can find a link to it

under the Document Depot heading above.

https://goo.gl/1uUVgj

BOSTON PIZZA - TRURO

When you visit the new Boston Pizza in Truro - write on the back of your receipt Hants North Athletics and Boston Pizza will donate 5% of all the sales back to the school. Tell all your friends and family - any receipt with Hants North Athletics will be eligible towards the donation!

Important Notice to Parents:

Students are responsible for their electronic devices - phones, tablets etc.

Students are expected to keep these items secured at all times. Lockers are available for all students and we encourage students to secure valuables in them when not in use.

Valuables should not be left unattended at any time.

Debit Machine

We now have a debit machine in the office for students who need to pay for student fees, sports fees, Yearbooks and other items that have fees that would normally be paid for by cash or cheque to Lisa in the office!

Zip Thru

The Zip Thru service at our cafeteria is now available!

For more information on this service go under DOCUMENT DEPOT to ZIPTHRU CARD.

File Attachments: