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Oct. 15, 2009
At the beginning of the school year, I sent home
a letter describing several steps taken in Schalmont Central
School District to prepare for this year’s flu season. As
expected, we have already had several students absent with
apparent “influenza-like illness,” a phrase now used by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to describe a
person who shows symptoms of having any type of flu. While we
have not had any confirmed cases of the
H1N1 influenza virus, it is important for parents and
students to remember what to do to prevent the flu and the steps
to take if a student has flu symptoms.
How to Prevent, Recognize and
Respond to the Flu
The state and local health departments have
advised that students can come to school as long as they are not
sick and do not think they have flu symptoms. Flu-like symptoms
include: fever (over 100°F or 37.8°C), feverishness, cough, sore
throat, runny nose, or stuffy nose. With H1N1, additional
symptoms may include muscle pain, fatigue, and sometimes
vomiting or diarrhea. The CDC now recommends that students with
influenza-like illness stay home and not attend school or day
care until at least 24 hours after their fever is gone. Their
fever should be gone without them having taken a fever-reducing
medicine. School nurses can assist parents in determining
whether or not a child is well enough to attend school.
In order to prevent the spread of the flu, please continue to
encourage your child to:
- Wash his/her hands often. Washing with
soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds is ideal (about
as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song
twice).
- Keep his/her hands away from the face and
avoid touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
- Cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or
by coughing into the inside of an elbow.
H1N1 Vaccinations
The CDC has recommended that people
aged 6 months through 24 years be vaccinated against the H1N1
virus. Schenectady County Public Health Services (SCPHS) will be
offering H1N1 vaccines for free to students currently enrolled
at the Mariaville and Woestina elementary schools on Thursday,
Oct. 22, as long as students’ parents provide their consent in
advance. Mariaville and Woestina parents will soon receive a
separate letter with information about the vaccine and a consent
form. SCPHS will offer H1N1 vaccines at additional schools in
the near future. For more information, please call SCPHS at
386-2824, visit
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/parents, or speak to your family
pediatrician/health care provider.
CA-MRSA
The district has also shared a great
deal of information about Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). The district was recently
notified of one confirmed case of CA-MRSA at Schalmont High
School. Since the diagnosis of this disease, the student has
seen a physician, been given antibiotics, and has been cleared
to return to school.
Schalmont schools take several measures to prevent infections
that may spread in public spaces. These measures include having
custodial staff regularly disinfect bathrooms, locker rooms, gym
showers, water fountains, lunch tables, athletic equipment, and
other such facilities. In addition, school nurses are well
informed about the H1N1 virus and MRSA, and students are
encouraged to engage in proper hygiene practices, such as
frequent hand washing. Please
click here for more information on these illnesses and what
you can do to prevent them.
Sincerely,
Valerie Kelsey, Superintendent
Sept. 14, 2009
In Schalmont Central School District, we have
taken several steps to prepare for the likely return of H1N1
influenza, also known as “swine flu,” during this year’s flu
season. You can also help prevent the spread of the flu virus by
reading the brochure
Seasonal and Novel H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Parents and by
discussing the information with your child.
Symptoms
As a reminder, the state and local health departments have
advised that students can continue to come to school as long as
they are not sick and do not think they have flu symptoms.
Flu-like symptoms include: fever (over 100°F or 37.8°C),
feverishness, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or stuffy nose.
With H1N1 influenza, additional symptoms may include muscle
pain, fatigue, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhea. For more
information, visit www.flu.gov,
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/,
www.nyhealth.gov, or call
(800) 808-1987.
When to Stay Home
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now recommends that
students with influenza-like illness stay home and not attend
school or day care until at least 24 hours after their fever is
gone. (Their fever should be gone without them having taken
a fever-reducing medicine.) School nurses can assist parents in
determining whether or not a child is well enough to attend
school. To contact a school nurse, please call a school’s main
office or visit www.schalmont.org and click on “School Nurses”
for more information.
How to Prevent the Flu
In order to prevent the spread of the flu, please continue to
encourage your child to:
- Wash his/her hands often. Washing with
soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds is ideal (about
as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song
twice).
- Keep his/her hands away from the face and
avoid touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
- Cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or
by coughing into the inside of an elbow.
As previously mentioned, the district has taken
several steps to increase staff members’ and students’ awareness
of how to prevent and respond to H1N1 and seasonal flu. District
administrators have been and will continue to be in regular
contact with the Schenectady County Department of Public Health.
All nurses and staff members have received educator-specific
information and guidelines provided by the CDC. Administrators
and nurses have developed a response plan to handle safety and
education issues that could arise from an especially severe flu
season. Posters describing steps to prevent the spread of germs,
such as the flu virus, have also been posted in all Schalmont
schools.
Thank you for your continued support of the
effort to keep our students healthy.
Sincerely,
Valerie Kelsey, Superintendent
June 15, 2009
Dear Schalmont Parent:
The Schenectady County Department of Public
Health has informed Jefferson Elementary School that the student
who was previously believed to have H1N1 influenza actually had
seasonal flu. According to the health department, the student
did not have what has been called “swine flu.”
The student has since been cleared to
return to school, but I still urge everyone at all of our
schools to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of the
flu virus. As a reminder, the state and local health departments
have advised that students can continue to come to school as
long as they are not sick and do not think they have flu
symptoms. Flu-like symptoms include: fever (over 100 degrees
F.), feverishness, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or stuffy
nose. With swine flu, additional symptoms may include muscle
pain, fatigue, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhea.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
recommends that students with influenza-like illness should stay
home and not attend school or go into the community except to
seek medical care for at least seven days even if symptoms
resolve sooner. School nurses can assist parents in determining
whether or not a child is well enough to attend school. To
contact a school nurse,
click here or call a school’s main office.
Please also continue to encourage your
child to:
-
Wash his/her hands often. Washing with
soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds is ideal (about
as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song
twice).
-
Keep his/her hands away from the face
and avoid touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
-
Cover coughs and sneezes with tissues
or by coughing into the inside of an elbow.
Thank you for your continued
support in keeping our students and our schools healthy. For
more information on seasonal flu, please visit
www.cdc.gov/flu/whatyoushouldknow.htm. For more information
on H1N1 influenza, visit
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/,
www.nyhealth.gov,
www.schoolhealthservicesny.com, or call (800) 808-1987.Sincerely,
Valerie Kelsey, Superintendent
April 30, 2009
Gov. David Paterson recently announced that
he has activated New York State’s health emergency preparedness
plan in response to the
H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) virus, which is making people
sick in several U.S. states and in Mexico. Locally, swine flu
has only been officially diagnosed in New York City as of today,
and only mild illness has occurred there. We are, however,
closely observing this situation and continuing to take steps to
prepare for a possible health emergency.
The state and local health departments
have advised us that students can continue to come to school as
long as they are not sick and do not think they have flu
symptoms. Flu-like symptoms include: fever (over 100 degrees
F.), feverishness, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or stuffy
nose. Additional symptoms may be experienced with swine flu,
including muscle pain, fatigue, and sometimes vomiting or
diarrhea.
Flu spreads easily. If you suspect your
child is getting the flu, it is important that he/she does not
attend school or go anywhere else—such as group childcare, the
mall, or sporting events—where other people would be exposed to
flu germs. It is also important to teach your child how to
reduce his/her risk of getting the flu and protect others from
infection. Please encourage your child to:
-
Wash his/her hands often.
Washing with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds is
ideal (that’s about as long as it takes to sing the “Happy
Birthday” song twice).
-
Keep his/her hands away from the
face and avoid touching the mouth, nose, or eyes.
-
Cover coughs and sneezes with
tissues or by coughing into the inside of an elbow.
Schalmont schools take several measures to
prevent infections, such as the swine flu virus, that may spread
in public spaces. These measures include having custodial staff
regularly disinfect bathrooms, locker rooms, gym showers, water
fountains, lunch tables, athletic equipment, and other such
facilities. The district also has an emergency preparedness
plan, which is regularly reviewed and updated, that can be
implemented in the event of a local health emergency. District
administrators are working with school nurses and county health
officials to monitor the situation here and will make decisions
related to any health emergency in consultation with them and
state officials.
School nurses are well informed
about swine flu and can assist parents in determining whether or
not a child is well enough to attend school. To contact your
school nurse, call a school’s main office or
click here. For more
information on swine flu, please visit
www.cdc.gov/swineflu,
www.nyhealth.gov, or
www.schoolhealthservicesny.com, or call 1-800-808-1987.
If you haven’t already done so, please also sign up for the
Schalmont School News Notifier (SNN) e-mail notification system
at
www.schalmont.org/District/SNN/snnhome.htm.Click on the links below for additional information:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/press_0426091.html
CDC Travelers' Health Web site
CDC Travel
Notices
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