Read on for the latest from the school's medical professionals on care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families can help the USN Health Team by updating their students’ Magnus Health records to include any known chronic health issues, allergies, and medications. Simply log into usn.org, click Resources, and click Magnus Health.
By Jennifer Aaron, N.P., USN Health Team Member
Greetings from the USN Health Team. We’ve had a few weeks’ experience adjusting to life on campus amid a global pandemic. Understandably, this period of time has come with many opportunities for learning and improvement.
One of our greatest challenges thus far has been evaluating students with chronic conditions that have overlapping symptoms with COVID-19, such as allergies, asthma, gastrointestinal issues and migraines, to name a few. Based on the protocol we’ve adapted from the Tennessee Department of Health, several of these related symptoms will prohibit students and faculty from attending school in-person, require that they be sent home during the day, and may necessitate further evaluation, including COVID-19 testing or a doctor’s visit. Something as simple as congestion or as common as a headache can also be the presenting symptom for COVID-19. This adds to the challenge of managing what appears to be the usual diagnosis.
We realize that our requirements can present inconveniences for students and families. Each time a student comes to us with even one low- or high-risk COVID-19 symptom for the first time, he or she will be treated according to the protocol as presented on page 10 of Responsible Restart: USN's Back-to-School Guide. For students with chronic conditions, we are working with families and primary care providers to establish a baseline set of symptoms and physical exam findings. We are documenting this information in the medical record and will refer to it when a student presents to us, looking for a deviation from what they normally experience. When possible, we will use this baseline to help decide whether absence from school or further evaluation is needed.
Parents and guardians, you can help us by updating your students’ Magnus health record to include any known chronic health issues, allergies, and medications. When possible, physician documentation of a diagnosis and typical symptoms is helpful. It helps us take better care of your children when we know about their health.
Lastly, the members of the Health Team appreciate the cooperation, patience, and understanding from our USN families. Your commitment to the daily health screening has resulted in fewer sick children coming to school. You have been responsive to our calls and shown flexibility when a departure from school at midday is required. We are all working towards a mutual goal, so thank you for your commitment to keeping USN healthy. If you have any questions, we encourage you to reference our Health Team FAQ.
USN Evening Classes, our one-night classes that benefit our need-based scholarship endowment, were recently featured on the City Cast Nashville podcast. Visit usneveningclasses.org to view the fall catalog.
Students in grades 5-8 and their families can take USN Evening Class 702: Mah and Pah Jong and Me to learn to play a board game together while benefiting USN's need-based scholarship endowment.
The Helen Meador Summer International Fellowship funded a summer of professional development in South America for Lower School Naturalist Carrie Riley. Through this profound experience, she said she plans to bring these lessons into her teaching, grounding her voice in wonder, joy, and a commitment to protecting the natural world, which she loves.
Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
Middle School volleyball and tennis teams are nearing the final games of their seasons, with the competition heating up while the Tigers play to determine their HVAC rankings. Cross country was finally able to race at the River Campus despite the heat, and our mountain biking team traveled to Oakfield, Tennessee, for a high-temperature race weekend.
The MTB team returned to the the twisty trails of tranquil Oakfield, TN on Sept 13th to take part in the second race of the season, as part of the 5-race series hosted by the NICA/TICL League.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.