11.02.09 Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School in Atlantic City has notified school families that the elementary school will be closed for the remainder of the week, as flu-like symptoms today kept more than half of the school’s faculty and students out sick. All school activities are likewise suspended until school reopens Monday, November 9.
After contacting city and county health departments, local school officials, in conjunction with the diocesan superintendent of schools, made the decision to close the school to give sick students, faculty and staff time to recuperate and to give school maintenance staff time to disinfect school facilities.
Sister Mary Shamus Zehrer, R.S.M., school principal, announced the precautionary measure in a letter sent home with students this afternoon. Teachers, meanwhile, are phoning families whose children were absent today to inform them of the decision.
97 students called in sick today and another 15 students were sent home during the school day. The 112 absences represent 57 percent of the school’s 195 pre-K through grade 8 students. Eight of the school’s 19 teachers and aids and 5 staff workers also were out today.
The students, faculty and staff have reported flu-like symptoms, including elevated temperatures (101-103 degrees), sore throat and cough. According to school officials, several students have been tested by family physicians and received positive results for the H1N1 virus.
Today’s school closing is the first for the 36 Catholic elementary schools in South Jersey. All of the Catholic elementary schools in South Jersey have been taking precautionary steps in the wake of the H1N1 virus. A flu Management Plan was distributed to all schools before the start of the school year, with planning materials, preparedness procedures, and preventative steps to reduce the spread of the virus.
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