Brooke County school registration to begin

WELLSBURG - Kindergarten and preschool registration for children in the Brooke County school system for the 2010-11 school year will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and Nov. 10 at all of the county's primary schools.

Joyce Rea, Brooke County schools' special education director, said the registrations have been moved up because the school board will be required by the state to issue Reduction in Force notices to school staff earlier next year.

The registrations help school board officials to determine the need for staff for preschool and kindergarten, she said.

Children must be 5 years old on or before Aug. 31 to enroll for kindergarten and 4 years old by that date for preschool.

Children currently enrolled in kindergarten will automatically be enrolled in first grade.

A certified birth certificate from the state where the child was born and Social Security number and immunization record should be presented when registering.

West Virginia birth certificates cost $12 each and can be obtained by writing to: Vital Registration Office, Capitol Complex, Building 3, Room 516, Charleston, WV 25305.

Ohio birth certificates cost $16.50 each and can be obtained by writing to: Bureau of Vital Statistics, Ohio Department of Health, P.O. Box 25098, Columbus, OH 43215-0098.

For information about preschool registration, call (304) 527-1410, extension 3600.

For information about kindergarten registration, call the child's respective future school: Beech Bottom Primary School, (304) 394-5341; Colliers Primary School, (304) 748-8188; Franklin Primary School, (304) 737-1760; Hooverson Heights Primary School, (304) 527-2458; Jefferson Primary School, (304) 527-2250; L.B. Millsop Primary School, (304) 748-7760; or Wellsburg Primary School, (304) 737-0133.

At the time of registration, parents or guardians of children enrolling in kindergarten will be given an appointment for hearing, vision, speech and language testing required by law.

Screenings for speech, cognitive, motor and other skills for Brooke County children, ages 3-4, will be given on Nov. 13. Parents should call (304) 737-3481, extension 26, to make appointments. A certified copy of the child's birth certificate and a complete immunization record should be presented at that time.

A health assessment by a licensed health care provider and the following immunizations are required of students entering preschool:

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertusis, four minimum doses, with at least one dose after the child's fourth birthday.

Polio, oral or intravenous, three minimum doses, with at least one dose after the child's fourth birthday.

Rubella (three-day measles), two minimum doses after the child's first birthday.

Rubeola (nine-day measles), two minimum doses after the child's first birthday.

Mumps, two doses, both after the child's first birthday.

Varicella (chicken pox), two doses, one after the child's first birthday.

Hepatitis B, three doses, the last after 6 months of age.

Tuberculin skin test, required only of students enrolled in a program or school outside West Virginia and within four months before entering school.

Health records will be checked by a school nurse. Immunizations may be provided by a family doctor or the Brooke County Health Department, which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesdays. No appointment is necessary. For information, call (304) 737-3665.