Nurses, students join
forces to teach about
importance of hand
washing in battling
illnesses
Always wash your hands.
Sneeze into your elbow.
Don't touch someone else's
open wound. Those are just
some of the lessons
delivered Thursday during a
skit of students and nurses.
As a result of the new
emphasis on good hygiene
driven home by the MRSA
scare, 5th
grade members of the RCS
Young Scholars program
joined forces with A.W.
Becker Elementary School
Nurse Patti LeFevre in
creating and performing a skit emphasizing the
importance of hand washing as
means of killing germs.
LeFevre, who dressed as
Zappo the Germ Killer, was
part of the skit that
included students dressed as
hand sanitizers, soap and
bacteria.
Another part of the lesson
plan was a song - titled
Scrub, Scrub - written
and performed by music
teacher Ben Hoeprich.
“We try to make it fun so
they understand the message
and pay attention,” LeFevre
said.
Mulligan said that in
preparation for the lesson,
the Young Scholar students
“researched on their own
time, the flu season,
prevention methods, and how
to be safe in your
environment, and the
consequences of not washing
hands properly.”
Making it fun and
understandable for the
younger students includes
advising the students to
sing Happy Birthday to
themselves twice each time
they wash their hands.
LeFevre said that if
students follow that advice,
they will have washed their
hands the recommended amount
of time.
Other advice offered
includes washing your hands
after blowing your nose, as
well as before and after
meals. And, LeFevre said,
when washing your hands,
make sure to rub between the
fingers.
Proper hand washing has been
identified by physicians as
the best way to prevent the
spread of the MRSA Staph
bacteria.
