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Letter to Parents Regarding H1N1 (Swine Flu) |
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Dear Parent, As you may know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, George Washington Academy is taking steps to reduce the risk and possible spread of flu on campus. We hope to keep our school open to students and functioning normally during this flu season. But we need your help.
We are closely monitoring updates from the Southern Utah Public Health Department to follow flu conditions in the county and to help us make decisions about the best steps to take if an outbreak occurs. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available. If the flu becomes more severe, we may take additional steps to prevent the spread such as: - conducting active fever and flu symptom screening of students and staff as they arrive at school
- making changes to increase the space between people such as moving desks farther apart and postponing class trips
- dismissing sick students from school until their symptoms have dissipated
For now we are doing everything we can to keep our school functioning as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help. Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself. Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or unwashed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand offers better protection from the spread of germs. Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea. Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected. Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.
For more information, visit www.flu.gov, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu. For more information about flu in our community and what our school is doing, visit the Southern Utah Public Health Department web site at www.swuhealth.org. We will notify you of any additional changes to our school’s strategy to prevent the spread of flu. Sincerely, Administration and Staff of George Washington Academy |
