CORNELIUS – In a Monday, May 16, letter to Cornelius Elementary School parents, Principal James Garvin reported the school has had several cases of head lice during the school year.

The letter asked parents to check their children for signs of lice and to:

• Take note of head scratching or intense itching of the scalp.

• Look at the hair and scalp under a bright light. When hair is parted, lice, which are very small gray bugs, will run from the light.

• Keep in mind that lice begin as nits, tiny white or brownish oval-shaped eggs that stick to the individual strands near the scalp. Nits will hatch into lice in about a week.

If parents find that a child has lice, the student must get treatment before returning to school. Lice do not spread diseases but can spread quickly from person to person if treatment measures are not taken as soon as lice, or their eggs, have been detected.

Cornelius Elementary parents with questions should call the school at 980-343-3905.