|
Dear Parent,
As you may know, flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu in Southwest Independent School District. We want to keep the school open to students and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season. But, we need your help to do this.
We are working closely with the Texas Education Agency and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning schools. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.
For now we are doing everything we can to keep our school functioning as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help.
- Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. 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 (covering up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.)
- 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.
- Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever without using fever-reducing drugs.~ Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may become infected. Please report any absences to your child’s campus principal/nurse.
- Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.
While taking these precautions will decrease the likelihood of illness in your family, it is important to take the following steps to prepare for the possibility of illness:
- Plan for child care at home if your child gets sick or their school is dismissed.
- Plan to monitor the health of the sick child and any other children in the household by checking for fever and other symptoms of flu.
- Identify if you have children who are at higher risk of serious disease from the flu and talk to your healthcare provider about a plan to protect them during the flu season.~ Children at high risk of serious disease from the flu include: children under 5 years of age and those children with chronic medical conditions, such as asthma and diabetes.
- Identify a separate room in the house for the care of sick family members.
- Update emergency contact lists.
- Collect games, books, DVDs and other items to keep your family entertained if schools are dismissed or your child is sick and must stay home.
For more information, visit www.flu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu. For more information about flu in our community and what our school is doing, visit the Southwest ISD website ( www.swisd.net) or call 622-4300. We will notify you of any additional changes to our school’s strategy to prevent the spread of flu.
Sincerely,
Velma Villegas, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools |
