May 5, 2009
Dear Parents,
Just as I was about to send out this letter (below), we received information from the Newton Health Department and Superintendent of Newton Schools that there has been a confirmed case of an individual in Newton with H1N1 swine flu. However, that notice also stated that there is a major rethinking of the implications of this flu, since it appears that it is similar in manifestation to most other strains of flu. Hence, the likelihood of shutting down schools may not be as imminent. Under such fluctuating information, I think it wise to adhere to our regular policy for children with illnesses/temps in general, i.e., if your child has a temperature and flu-like symptoms, please do not have your child attend school until at least 48 hours after the temperature/symptoms have subsided. I would also recommend that you contact your doctor as soon as possible to see what s/he advises regarding testing for the flu. We will also remain vigilant here at Plowshares and should any child come down with such symptoms and temperature, will do as we have always done, and contact parents to come and pick up the child. We would then ask that you be sure to let us know what your doctor says or diagnoses. Subsequent updates will be posted here.
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Dear Parents:
As there are now over two dozen confirmed cases of the swine flu (H1N1) here in Massachusetts, we have been advised by the Department of Early Education and Care and the Mass. Dept. of Public Health to share information with families and encourage families to become aware of health prevention procedures and to think about contingency plans should a documented case of the H1N1 flu occur in any of our students or staff or any of the other staff or students within the public school buildings in which we are housed . In order to prevent the spread of this flu and hopefully curtail a pandemic, we and/or the Newton Public Schools would likely have to close our center/school for at least a week should a confirmed case of this flu be documented. As such, you should be thinking of your contingency plans and arrangements. We will also post updates and information on our website: www.plowshareschildcare.org and on each of our center telephone answering machines.
If you or any of your family members should contract this flu, then it is recommended that you follow the CDC’s/DPH’s medical precautions (see websites below), and not attend schools or other public places and try to remain as isolated as possible in your home, under a doctor’s guidance and contact, of course.
As the primary means by which the flu virus spreads is through the air from sneezing and coughing by infected individuals and/or direct hand to mouth contact, the staff at Plowshares will be instructing the children on preventative hygiene procedures. We will encourage them to sneeze into tissues and/or their elbow, limit touching their hands to their mouths, and to frequently wash their hands, especially after sneezing. We will, of course, share this information in a supportive, non-alarming and matter-of- fact way.
For further information, you might check out the following sources of information:
DPH Flu info hotline: dial 211
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu
Mass DPH: www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu
