GISD Prepares for Upcoming Flu Season
Article Date: September 1, 2009
GISD has prepared all summer to meet the challenge of this upcoming flu season. Both seasonal flu and H1N1 flu are expected to continue spreading throughout every community and school this fall and spring. It can be expected that all GISD campuses will have students and staff experience some type of flu.
The Dallas County Health Department is stating that school closure has not shown to be an effective way to prevent the spread of the flu bug. In the event large numbers of absences effect school operations, GISD will work with local health authorities to take effective and appropriate measures.
School nurses are sending daily surveillance reports to the Dallas County Health Department regarding the number of students who are home ill with flu- like symptoms. Please help by keeping your child home if they have fever, cough, or sore throat. Students cannot return to school until they are fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine such as Tylenol or Motrin. Do not use aspirin.
School Facilities will continue to thoroughly clean all campuses on a daily basis. Hand sanitizer dispensers have been placed in all classrooms. Your child may also carry his/her own personal bottle of hand sanitizer.
Teachers will be teaching and modeling healthy habits such as hand washing and coughing into the elbow.
The GISD website will provide information on flu, including the location of flu shot clinics on the Flu Information page in the Health Services section of the website. Seasonal flu shots are available starting this week. H1N1 flu shots will not be available until mid to late October. Continue to check the Flu Information page for updates.