Student Health

Influenza Update

SPCPA has seen an increase in the number of students who are out sick with flu-like symptoms since the start of the school year.  The flu can be easily spread from person to person.  Please help us prevent the spread of illness to other students and staff by keeping your child at home if your student has flu-like symptoms.  Students who have these symptoms at school will be sent home.

Symptoms of Influenza-Like-Illness are a fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, with a cough and/or sore throat.  Other symptoms that may occur include body aches, fatigue, headache, diarrhea and vomiting.   Sick children should stay at home for at least 24 hours after their fever has been gone, without the use of fever reducing drugs, usually 5 to 7 days.

The Minnesota Department of Health is requiring school districts to report to the state when the number of students absent with flu-like symptoms reaches 5 percent of the student population.  To help us monitor flu conditions at SPCPA, please remember to let the attendance office know if your child is home with flu-like symptoms or has been diagnosed with a different disease, such as strep, when reporting absences.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends four primary steps you and your family should take to keep from getting sick with the flu at school and at home:

• Practice good hand hygiene by washing hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.  Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective when soap and water are not available.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.  If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow – not into your hands.
• Keep your child at home if they have symptoms of the flu.  Keeping sick students at home means they keep their viruses to themselves rather than spreading them to others.
• Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available.

SPCPA plans to keep the school open to students and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season.   Any decisions to dismiss students in the event of a large-scale flu outbreak will be made by school officials in consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health.  Our aim is to balance the goal of reducing the number people who become seriously ill from influenza with the goal of minimizing the educational and academic disruption to students.

Additional Resources

Click the following for informational PDFs.

Parent Letter October 2009
Influenza-like Illness Symptom Screening Tool for Parents and Caregivers
MDH Guidelines for how long a person should stay home with influenza-like illness