SPECIAL ISSUE OF E-NEWS
FLU SEASON UPDATE #2

November 3, 2009


Dear Parents,

I promised to keep you updated on any changes here at school with regard to the flu, so I want you to know that approximately 20 percent of our students have been absent from school this week, many with flu-like symptoms. I also want to share with you the answers to some questions you may have.

1) Will we be closing school?

We would close school only if we were no longer able to deliver a valuable educational experience for our students. This would most likely be a result of teacher illness/absenteeism.

2) How can parents help?

• If your children develop flu-like symptoms, please keep them at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever (without use of fever-reducing medicines), whether or not they are taking antiviral drugs.
• Please notify the front desk each day your child is absent.
• When your child does return to school, please remind him or her to check in with the nurse before going to the classroom.

3) What about the ERBs?

We have decided to go ahead with the ERBs. Although a large number of students will miss them, the drawbacks of changing the testing dates at this time outweigh the benefits. We are looking into making up the ERBs, but please note that these tests are given for practice, and the scores will not be included on students' transcripts. Our top priority is to help students make up their school work.

Best regards,


Carol Maoz