Dear families:

Welcome back to the 2009-2010 academic year! 

While we are planning an exciting number of on and off campus events for your children, we are also taking great care to be well prepared for the H1N1 virus. We have developed plans to cover most imaginable contingencies and are busy organizing the materials and cleaning supplies needed for the coming year.  We plan to keep our school open and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season.

We work closely with the San Francisco Office of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning our school. We will keep you updated - through emails and voicemails when needed - with new information as it becomes available.

For now we are doing everything we can to get our school prepared for any episodes of the flu during the year. Here are a few things you can do to help.

• 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.
• Teach your children to wash their hands often, with soap and hot water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Remind your children not to share personal items like drinks, lunch or snacks, utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues.
• Show them how to cover up their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.
• 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 get infected.
• Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick while at school will be isolated and then sent home.

If the flu becomes more severe, we may take additional steps to prevent the spread such as:

• conducting active fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), and flu symptom screening of students and staff as they arrive at school;
• postponing class trips; and
• dismissing students from school for at least seven days if they become sick.

To further ensure everyone’s health, all children returning to school after being ill must stop by the health office, next to the Hickory Street entrance, to have their temperature taken. (Parents may wish to accompany their child to the office and wait until the child is cleared to return to class. Additionally, please let the teacher know if your child is ready for all activities at school.)

For more information, visit www.flu.gov, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu. We will notify you of any additional changes to our school’s strategy to prevent the spread of flu.

Jane Camblin
Head of School / Proviseur