Hello, Roos!

I am so excited to be a part of the Uhland Roo family! I have been a nurse for 26 years with the last 5 years as a school nurse. My experience ranges from Oncology, Labor & Delivery, Hospice, Pediatric Psychiatry, and now School Nursing. I am truly honored to be providing your children with healthcare while they are at school.

Nurses monitor required immunizations, perform mandated health screenings, track communicable diseases, plan for emergencies, and provide direct care to students. As your School Nurse I will be identifying, assessing, trying to prevent, and intervening to remedy or modify students' health needs. The school nurse's goal is to promote the optimum health of students and the students' abilities to achieve their individual educational goals. I want your student to be at school so that she or he can learn and be successful.

Hays Student Health Services would like to assure you that medical information about your child is treated as confidential by the nurses and all school staff. We do not share information about your child with outside parties, nor can we discuss health concerns of any other student with you.

Tips for a Healthy School Year

• Every child from Prekindergarten to 5th grade should have a change of clothes in

  their backpack. All sorts of accidents happen at school. I am not guaranteed to

  have your child’s size in the spare clothes closet. I don’t want to have to call you

  to bring extra clothes to school.

• Every child needs to have a water bottle at school. Many minor ailments can be

  cured by keeping hydrated throughout the day.

• Practice handwashing and covering your cough at home. Handwashing should

  happen after bathroom use, before and after eating, after coughing or sneezing,

  after playing outside, and any other time hands are dirty. Please include cleaning

  under the nails. Make sure you are covering coughs in the crook of your elbow,

  like a vampire.

• Keep your child home if he or she is sick. When children come to school sick,

  they spread germs to everyone they meet, even when they have gotten medicine

  before coming to school. Over-the-counter medicine will not make them well. It

  will mask the symptoms for a few hours. The sickness germs are still present

• Take a look at the district Student Health Services website. There are multiple

  links to helpful information, including what to do if your child needs medications

  at school or if your child has a health condition that requires extra care.

  https://www.hayscisd.net/page/student-health-services

Health Screenings for the 2026-2027 School Year

Texas law requires schools to conduct hearing, vision, spinal, and Acanthosis Nigricans (AN) screenings to help identify potential health concerns early. Legislation now requires parents to opt in for these screenings. You have provided consent when you registered your child for school.

Required grades for Vision and Hearing screening are: PK, K, 1, 3, 5, and 7. Required grades for Spinal screenings are: 5th and 7th grade girls and 8th grade boys. In addition to these required grades, all new to district students are required to be screened for vision and hearing regardless of grade. Some students may need to be screened during the year for special programs like special education as well as a concern for vision or hearing in the classroom. Your child will only be screened if they fall in one of the above categories. Parents will be notified of any screenings that are not passed for follow up care referrals. No news is good news.

Uhland Elementary screening is currently scheduled for November. Keep a look out for more information

Stephanie Keith Kalk, BSN, RN
Uhland Elementary School
(512) 268-8503 ext. 42905
Email Stephanie Keith Kalk