September 2009

Dear Spencer Butte Parent,                         

As you may know, flu can easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu at Spencer Butte. We want to keep our school open and functioning normally during this flu season. But we need your help to do this.

Public health officials recommend four main ways to help keep you and your family from getting sick with the flu at school and at home:

•Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, alcohol-based hand cleansers also are effective. Avoid other ways viruses can be easily transmitted, such as sharing personal items (e.g. drinks, food, utensils).

•Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.

•Keep children at home if they are sick with flu-like illness. Stay home for at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medicine. Symptoms of the flu are a fever (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) along with symptoms such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. A little sniffle is not a reason to stay home, but influenza is! Keeping sick students at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than sharing them with others.

•Get your family vaccinated for both seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available. Seasonal flu vaccines are available now, and H1N1 flu vaccines are expected to be available to priority groups beginning in October. Watch for flu clinics at your doctor’s office, clinic, pharmacy or elsewhere, and take advantage of them as soon as available. If you are not sure about whether or not you should get the vaccine, call your healthcare provider for advice.

Other recommended steps to prepare for the possibility of flu include: update your emergency contact information at your schools; plan for child care at home if your child gets sick or their school is dismissed; and identify if you have family members 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.

We are working closely with Lane County Public Health and the Oregon Public Health Division 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, and the district’s website at www.4j.lane.edu will be updated regularly. If you want to learn more about influenza, visit flu.oregon.gov or www.flu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu.

Sincerely,

   BJ Blake

   Principal,   Spencer Butte Middle School