Updated December 2025
SunGarden Health & Safety
Illness at SunGarden
According to the State of Oregon regulations, we cannot accept ill children into SunGarden's care. Children benefit most from the program when allowed to attend consistently. However, if your child is not feeling well or is showing signs of a contagious illness, please make arrangements for them to be at home. We cannot provide the level of comfort and care that you can. A child on the mend should remain at home, receiving care and rest until his energy is back to normal. Oregon Law requires us to send children home rather than set up an infirmary. The following table explains when they should be kept home from school and when they may return.
Children will not be permitted at SunGarden with any of the following symptoms:
Student Exhibits Symptoms or Diagnosed Illness
Fever greater than 100.4 (checked by ear)
Fatigue that prevents participation in regular activities
Hand, Foot and Mouth (HFMD)
Rash or rash with fever—when new or with a sudden onset
Non-Bloody Discharge
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea, with two loose or watery stools in one day
White, clay-colored, or bloody stool
Yellow color of skin and/or eyes
Brown or bloody urine
Sore throat
Strep throat diagnosed by a health care practitioner
After an illness of two or more weeks, surgery, or other change in health status
Skin lesions that are severe, weeping or pus filled
Eyes are red, inflamed, watery or have a discharge
Difficulty breathing or wheezing
Complaints of severe pain
A known communicable disease
Head lice
Student May Return to School When:
Temperature stays below 100.4 (ear) for a minimum of 24 hours without use of Tylenol or other fever-reducing medication.
Child is back to normal activity level
Blisters must be scabbed over before returning; no fever; no 'uncontrolled drooling' + mouth sores; and feel well enough to participate in normal activities.
Rash disappears or with a written consent from a health care practitioner.
Discharge has to be gone or the student has been on antibiotics for 24 hours and you have a written consent from a health care practitioner.
Symptom-free for 24 hours.
Symptom-free for 24 hours.
Symptom-free or written consent from a health care practitioner.
Symptom-free or written consent from a health care practitioner.
Symptom-free or written consent from a health care practitioner.
Diagnosis by healthcare practitioner that it is not strep throat or symptom-free for 24 hours
Must have been on antibiotics for 24 hours or have written consent from a health care practitioner.
Written instructions from a health care practitioner and parent regarding medication or special health needs must be provided.
Symptom-free or on medication for 24 hours or have a written consent from a health care practitioner.
Symptom-free or on medication for 24 hours or have a written consent from a health care practitioner.
Symptom-free for 24 hours.
Symptom-free for 24 hours.
Symptom-free for 24 hours or written consent from a health care practitioner
After they have completed treatment and are free of lice.
The following terms used in the table above are defined as follows:
“Consent may be written by a health care practitioner”
The school office must receive this prior to the child’s return to the classroom. Parents can bring written consent to the Office on the morning that the child returns to school or have it emailed to hello@sungardenmontessori.org“Symptom-free for 24 hours”
This time begins when the last symptom disappears and extends for a full 24 hours from that time. For example, a child has nausea and vomiting in the middle of the night. The child must stay home the next day, even if they have no more episodes of vomiting. The child should be able to rest and recover at home for a full day before coming back to a busy day at school.“On medication for 24 hours”
This time begins with the first dose for any medication that must be in the child's system for 24 hours before returning to school. For example, medication that is started in the afternoon needs to have been administered up to and including the afternoon of the next day before the child can return. The child is considered contagious and may not return earlier unless written consent from a health care practitioner is provided.
Children returning to campus after recovering from a communicable illness (HFMD, pink eye, strep throat, lice, etc) must arrive at school after 9:00 am and go to the office to be checked by an administrator before returning to the classroom.
If your child becomes ill while at SunGarden, we will attempt to contact you immediately. If we cannot reach you, we will contact your designated alternative(s). In the meantime, your child will be kept as comfortable as possible in the office and away from other children to protect against contagious illnesses.
Sick children must be picked up within one hour of receiving a call from the school.
If we cannot reach you in extreme medical emergencies, we will call 911, and your child will be taken to the nearest medical facility for treatment. All efforts will be made to reach you and inform you of the nature of the emergency and its action.
Communicable Disease Policy (added 09/16/2025)
SunGarden follows the guidance of the CDC and OHA. We have also checked with Clackamas County Public Health as well as our Licensor at DELC.
At this time, COVID-19 is classified as a communicable and respiratory disease like the flu. In the spirit of transparency, we ask that families notify us if a child has been diagnosed with a communicable disease. We will notify the SunGarden community, and we will notify OHA as required by our Licensor.
Public health policy has shifted towards a prevention-focused approach. Here are the Core Prevention Strategies that help our community stay healthy:
Communicable Disease Policy (added 09/16/2025)
SunGarden follows the guidance of the CDC and OHA. We have also checked with Clackamas County Public Health as well as our Licensor at DELC.
At this time, COVID-19 is classified as a communicable and respiratory disease like the flu. In the spirit of transparency, we ask that families notify us if a child has been diagnosed with a communicable disease. We will notify the SunGarden community, and we will notify OHA as required by our Licensor.
Public health policy has shifted towards a prevention-focused approach. Here are the Core Prevention Strategies that help our community stay healthy:
Stay up-to-date with immunizations, which are available for all three major fall and winter respiratory virus diseases – flu, COVID-19, and RSV (for eligible groups). Talk to your doctor or trusted healthcare provider about what may be recommended for you and your family.
Practice good hygiene, like washing your hands and cleaning commonly touched surfaces.
Take steps for cleaner air— bringing in fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors—as possible in the places where people live and work.
When sick, use precautions to prevent the spread of disease and seek healthcare promptly for treatment if you are at higher risk for getting very sick from respiratory diseases.
Additional prevention strategies are extra measures you can choose that can further reduce your risk of respiratory disease. They can provide an extra layer of protection and can be especially important in certain settings or when diseases are increasing in your community.
The CDC recommends:
Stay home until you have not had a fever for 24 hours without using fever reducing medication and other COVID-19 symptoms are improving.
Avoid contact with high-risk individuals like people who live in congregate care facilities or people with immunocompromising conditions for 10 days.
Mask when you are around other people in the 10 days after you become sick or test positive.
In keeping with these recommendations, SunGarden’s Communicable Disease Policy is the following:
Required:
Any member of the SunGarden community who has been diagnosed with a communicable disease must remain at home, receiving care and rest until their energy is back to normal. The person may return to school once they are fever-free and symptom-free without medication for 24 hours.
Children returning to campus after recovering from a communicable disease must arrive after 9 AM to be checked at the Office for symptoms and fever by an administrator before returning to the classroom.
Highly Recommended:
We highly recommend that once the person returns to school, they should wear a mask for five days after testing positive for COVID-19 and then for five additional days (total of 10 days) when around other people, according to Oregon's guidance.
KF94 masks have been shown to have a better fit on children and small face size. Below are a few options.
SANITATION
SunGarden follows the cleaning and sanitation guidelines as outlined in the Health and Safety Guidelines by the Early Learning Division of the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority. See chapter 10, Cleaning and Building Maintenance, p 35.
Allergies at SunGarden
Please note that SunGarden Montessori is a Peanut and Tree Nut Free facility.
Nuts include but are not limited to the following:
peanuts,
almonds,
cashews,
pistachios,
walnuts,
pecans,
macadamia nuts,
hazelnuts,
Brazil nuts,
pine nuts.
Some families have had great success swapping peanut butter with sun butter.