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News and Announcements

H1N1 Notice

Dear Parents/Guardians:

This is fall and winter months bring on the likelihood of increased influenza illness in San Diego County. We need your continued cooperation to keep your student and your family healthy. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that nearly all the circulating influenza virus right now is pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza.

School absenteeism is an important gauge of the impact of pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza on the community and serves to help us identify if our learning centers are being adversely affected.

IMPORTANT
We request your assistance with the following --
• Students who are NOT sick should continue to attend school.
• Notify your student’s teacher if your student is experiencing any flu-like symptoms/illness and will be absent for school. See guidelines below.
• Notify your student’s teacher when the student is able to return to school.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please call the Site Coordinator for your school:
Audeo Charter School, Tim Tuter at (858) 678-2051)
The Charter School of San Diego, Debbie Giaquinta at (858) 678-2043
School Nurse, Eleanor Pe at (858) 678-2036.

For more information, visit www.flu.gov or call 211

KEEP SICK STUDENTS AT HOME. If your student is sick with flu-like symptom, the student should stay home and avoid contact with others. Keeping children with a fever at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected. Children who are determined to be sick will be sent home.

The symptoms of H1N1 influenza are similar to the seasonal flu. You may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms:

• fever of >100 degrees F (not everyone with the flu will have a fever)
• coughing
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• body aches
• headache
• chills and fatigue
• diarrhea and vomiting may also occur.


Returning to School.
• Stay home for 24 hours after fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medications, examples include Tylenol, Motrin, etc. (CDC guidelines)
• Notify your student’s teacher when ready to return to school.

Medical Care

Most people with 2009 H1N1 have had mild illness and have not needed medical care or antiviral drugs and the same is true of seasonal flu. However, some people are more likely to get flu complications and they should talk to a health care provider about whether they need to be examined if they get flu symptoms this season. Also, it’s possible for healthy people to develop severe illness from the flu so anyone concerned about their illness should consult a health care provider.

Call and Notify Your Physician about Flu Symptoms if you have the following conditions
-Asthma, diabetes and other metabolic conditions, heart disease
-Neurologic disorder or neuromuscular disorder
-Pregnant
-Younger than age 5 or older than age 65
-Lives in a household with someone with one of the above conditions or with an infant under age 6 months.

Consider seeking URGENT medical attention, including calling 911, for persons with these symptoms:
-Breathing quickly or trouble breathing from the chest, shortness of breath
-Bluish or gray skin color
-Severe or persistent vomiting; not drinking enough fluids
-Sudden dizziness
-Confusion
-Not waking up or interacting
-Severe abdominal pain or chest pain or pressure.

Preventing Illness
Information from the County Health Department for employees, families and students to prevent the illness:
• If you are sick, stay home: do not go to school and do not travel.
• Wash your hands and your children’s hands often, and use hand sanitizer.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with your sleeve or a tissue, and then throw the tissue away and wash your hands.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Stay away from those who are sick.
• Obtain the H1N1 vaccine and the regular flu vaccine when it is available. (This will be especially important for those at higher risk for H1N1 complications such as pregnant women, children less than 5 years, and people with chronic medical conditions like asthma, heart disease, or diabetes.)

I want to reassure you that we are doing everything necessary to protect the health and safety of our students and staff.

Sincerely,

Charlotte G. Fajardo
Director, Organizational Effectiveness