October 23, 2009

Dear Parents,

This purpose of this letter is to update you on the status of the current flu outbreak in our area. Every year some people get sick with the flu during the fall and winter months. This year there is a new flu virus that is making many people in the area sick (H1N1). Health officials call it a “pandemic flu.”

So far this year, only a small percentage of Fulton’s students and teachers have been sick with the flu. At this time, our local public health department tells us that students who are not ill can safely attend school. We will keep you updated with any important, new information.

To keep the flu from spreading to more people, we ask you to keep sick children home. Students who attend school with symptoms of the flu (fever, body aches, headache, exhaustion) will be sent home.

Public health officials want you to protect yourself and your family against pandemic flu. Here are some ways to stop the spread of germs and sickness:

• Keep children who show flu-like symptoms at home, do not send them to school. Children should be fever-free for 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medicine, before returning to school.

• Teach your children to wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the bathroom and before eating.

• Teach your children to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues or with the inside corner of their elbow. Do not share drinking cups, food or silverware. All used tissues should be thrown away promptly.

• Teach your children to stay at least three feet away from people who are sick.

• People who are sick should stay home from work or school and avoid other people until they are feeling well.

Additional information is posted at:

• Mid-Michigan District Health Department: www.mmdhd.org for Gratiot County

• The Fulton Website at www.fulton.edzone.net

We appreciate your cooperation with our efforts to protect our students.

Sincerely,

Raymond C. Mungall

Superintendent