Dear SSD Families:
The peak of the cold and flu season is upon us. As you may already know, two of our secondary campuses have experienced a spike in flu cases this week. So far, we have not seen a significant increase in absences at our other campuses.
We are doing everything possible to protect the health of our students and limit the spread of the flu. For the past three weeks, our custodians have been taking extra precautions to disinfect our buildings and buses. We are also ensuring that we have soap and hand sanitizer in all dispensers and encouraging everyone to remind students about the importance of hand washing.
To prevent widespread flu in our schools, we recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu symptoms. To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines.
Consider keeping your child at home for rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:
- Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough
- Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)
- Headache
- Stomach ache
Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:
- Fever (greater than 100 degrees and your child may return to school only after his or her temperature has been consistently below 100 degrees, by mouth, for a minimum of 24 hours)
- Vomiting (even once)
- Diarrhea
- Chills
- General malaise or feelings of fatigue, discomfort, weakness or muscle aches
- Frequent congested (wet) or croupy cough
To help prevent the flu and other colds, teach your children good hygiene habits:
- Wash hands frequently
- Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth
- Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
Your child should be physically able to participate in all school activities upon return to school. Keeping a sick child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom.
Thank you in advance for helping make this year at school as healthy as possible. Please be assured that the health and well-being of our students is our top priority and we are doing everything possible to address this situation.
Sincerely,
SSD Communications