Tag: Influenza

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Swine Flu IQ

There are many rumors circulating about the H1N1 influenza virus.  Because of this, I appreciate news coverage that works to sort out fact from fiction.  Morning Edition brought together specialists to answer common questions about this flu virus that is helpful to read.purel

My daughter is home recovering from the H1N1 virus.  She has been very ill and as the article explains, children and young adults are being hit the hardest.  If your child has flu like symptoms it is the swine flu because this is the only flu around right now.   The “normal” flu season has not yet begun—which means we will continue to focus on PREVENTION at school this fall and winter.

Please make sure that you keep your child home from school if there is a fever and/or sore throat, and chronic dry cough.  If your child develops a fever at school, we will call and ask that you pick up your child up as soon as possible.

Thank you for help as we all work hard to keep our kids healthy.

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Georgetown Germs

If you take a walk through our building, you will hear lots of coughing and sneezing…and see children with runny nose and red eyes.  The seasonal type viruses have arrived sooner and many of our students and staff have picked up one or more of the viruses already.

To help us keep everyone healthy, please keep your children home until they are FEVER FREE FOR 24 HOURS. This fever free time  =  fever free with no medication to keep the fever away— a 24 hour period in which the child has not had motrin, advil, tylenol  AND they have been fever free during this time.  This is key to preventing the spread of these viruses to other children.

Mr. Rob, his custodial staff and the teaching staff at our school are doing all we can to disinfect door knobs, working surfaces, and school utensils.  We need your help in keeping your children home if they do not feel well.illness, virus, flu

Finally, we have had parents contact us to share that their children were diagnosed with the flu.  We are monitoring these reports and we continue to urge parents to not send children back too soon.  The CDC has helpful answers to common questions regarding the H1N1 virus.  For more information, click on the link in the upper right corner of this blog.

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Preparing for a Healthy School Year

handwashingIf you have been following the news since last spring, you are aware that a new virus has been mutating and spreading, world wide. This new virus, H1N1–also called the Swine Flu,  was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. This virus is spreading from person-to-person in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.

As a district, we have been watching the reports predicting the spread of the H1N1 will increase as soon as school resumes.  Mr. Nick Ceglarek, our superintendent, has asked that we share two documents regarding this virus.

The first, H1N1 Parent Letter sept 09, is a letter for parents from our local Ottawa County Health Department.  I encourage you to read this so that you are informed about symptoms, treatment and precautions.

The second document, CDC H1N1 Tips, is similar but has more specific preventative strategies to share with family and friends.

If your child develops a cough or fever, PLEASE be on alert and keep your child home from school.  Children should not return to school until they are SYMPTOM FREE FOR 24 HOURS.  Your help with this protocol will help to prevent others from getting sick.

We will encourage handwashing just as we always do and focus on a healthy learning environment that is clean and safe.  Please know that we are also going to be calm and supportive,  working to not raise children’s anxieties about flu worries.

If you would like to know more about the CDC tips for all health issues, visit the live CDC link on the upper right corner of this blog.

Also, if you would like to help your own children learn how to wash their hands properly, listen to the CDC’s kid friendly podcast below.  Here’s to clean hands and good health!

kidtastics cdcCDC Kidtastic Podcast:

How To Wash Your Hands

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