22

Oct

2009

H1N1 Flu Update Print
Written by Carl Ladd, Superintendent   
As I hope everyone is aware, the school district has been diligently monitoring the spread of the H1N1 flu virus both regionally and locally.  The central office has been in daily contact with the building level nurses to monitor student and staff absences so that we can try to obtain the most accurate, up-to-date information as possible.  This is why we have been requesting that parents notify their child’s school if they are exhibiting flu-like symptoms so that we can continue to accurately monitor the situation. As of today, we have 2 students and 3 staff members who have been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms in the district, all at the elementary level.  The staff members did what they were supposed to do and have since returned to work with a clean bill of health.  There is no wide-spread flu-like symptoms being reported across the district, nor has the absence rate been any higher than normal for this time of year – we have experienced no spikes in student or staff absence that would raise our level of concern at this point in time.
We have posted information from the Department of Education and Department of Public Health on our website, www.gmrsd.org, regarding what symptoms to look for and instructions for parents in dealing with sick children.  We initially reported that we were going to have a vaccination clinic on November 13th but that date has been postponed due to the lack of vaccine.  We will be contacting parents as soon as we have a new date.
I understand that rumors can sometimes get ahead of factual information, so I want to make sure that everyone has the most up-to-date information we have. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and if there is any cause for concern in the future please rest assured that we will contact you as soon as we possibly can.  If you have any questions or would like more information please contact your child’s school nurse or their building principal.