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National School Nurse Day

Commemorative · The Wednesday after May 5

National School Nurse Day recognizes the nurses who care for students during the school day, from scraped knees to daily medications.

National School Nurse Day falls on Wednesday, May 12, 2027. That is 197 days away.

School nurses are the registered nurses and health staff who work inside schools, looking after students while they are away from home. The office is usually small, with a cot, a sink, a locked cabinet and a box of ice packs that never seems to run out.

The work is broader than it looks from the hallway. A school nurse might clean a playground scrape, call a parent about a fever, give a student a scheduled medication, and keep track of allergy and immunization records, all before lunch. Many also help plan for students with ongoing conditions so they can stay in class. In some districts one nurse covers several buildings and spends part of the week driving between them.

Students tend to remember the nurse's office as a calm place. It was where you went when something felt wrong and someone took it seriously, even if the answer turned out to be a glass of water and ten minutes of rest.

The day is usually marked quietly. Students make cards, parent groups drop off notes or snacks, and staff find a moment to say thank you between the morning rush and the afternoon bell. Former students sometimes think of a nurse from years back and the particular way that office smelled of rubbing alcohol and peppermint.

A handwritten note goes a long way in a job where most of the visitors arrive with a problem.

Ways to celebrate

• Write a thank you note to your school's nurse.
• Help a child make a card for the nurse's office.
• Share a memory of a school nurse who helped you.
• Ask the nurse's office if it could use donated supplies like tissues.

Dates

All national days on May 12

Also on May 12

• National Nutty Fudge Day
• Limerick Day
• National Odometer Day

Categories: Commemorative days