Dear Parent/Guardian,
It has been reported that the flu is spreading easily from person to person, and school-age children are among the groups most affected. The school district is utilizing the guidelines and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control, and Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, to limit the spread of H1N1 in our schools. The goal is to work closely with public health officials for the duration of the global pandemic and flu season. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to sustain a safe and healthy learning environment for all students.
In addition to following the guidance of public health officials, the school district will act responsibly and follow our pandemic flu plan in the event of a heightened level of alert. We want our schools to remain open and functioning as normal as possible. We need your help to limit the spread of flu in our schools.
The following are recommendations from the Department of Health and Social Services:
- Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water. 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. If they don't have a tissue, they should cough or sneeze into their upper sleeve, not their hands.
- Encourage your children not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth.
- Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
- Don’t send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are sick at school will be sent home. Staying home when sick will allow your children to rest and allows you to monitor their health closely. Keeping your sick child home is the responsible thing to do. It protects fellow students and school staff, especially those who are at higher risk of severe illness from the flu.
- Extend the time sick children stay home – keep your child who becomes ill home, even after the symptoms have gone away, until at least 24 - 48 hours of being fever free without the use of fever-reducing medication.
- If a household member is sick, closely monitor any school-aged brothers or sisters – closely monitor all family members for fever and other symptoms of the flu.
Below are strategies being used in our schools’:
- Conducting more active fever and symptom screening – for students and staff who request fever checks or screening or who exhibit symptoms suggestive of a respiratory infection such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches and fatigue. Any student who has at least 2 of these symptoms will be separated from others, offered a surgical mask, and sent home as soon as possible. Any staff member who becomes ill during the day will be sent home as well.
- Considering 10-day attendance notices – during this time of an increase in the number of absences due to illness, we will take that into consideration when making decisions about next steps for students who have been absent for 10 days. This will be noted on attendance letters in the future during the flu season.
- Continuing to educate children on hand washing – teachers and administrators will continue to emphasize the importance of washing hands with soap and water well and often. We are also in the process of obtaining hand sanitizer for every classroom.
- Prioritizing work orders for soap dispensers – our custodial work order system will allow for prioritizing work orders for equipment associated with good hygiene (e.g. soap dispensers).
I recently discussed a shared concern with the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (a valued school business partner). The hospital has had a long-established culture of “open visitation” for school age children in the hospital public areas (lobby, café, hallways). Considering the current national health concerns, please ask your children to refrain from visiting the hospital for non-medical reasons during the flu season. We encourage you to ask your children to not:
- Use the hospital as a shortcut to their destination
- Use the hospital as a meeting place or wait for rides or friends
- Visit the hospital café for snacks during the school day or on the way home from school.
For additional information related to H1N1, use the following links:
You can send school related questions to flu@northstar.k12.ak.us or call the school district Nurse at 452-2000 ext. 253. We will notify you of any additional changes to our district’s strategy to limit the spread of the flu.
Nancy Wagner
Superintendent of Schools
