H1N1


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H1N1 PLAN

Please click below to see a short video clip of a Fort Hill alumnus!

Dylan's Fever Rules Blues

updated: September 11, 2009

Vaccines

We encourage everyone to be vaccinated against the seasonal flu and H1N1 as soon as possible.

Health Policy - The existing health policy will be strictly enforced and we ask parents to please keep children home if there is any indication that a child may be unwell

The details of the health policy are available in the Parent Handbook on the website.
Children will be sent home at the earliest sign of illness.

A reliable contact number must be left every day for every moment of the day.
The child must be picked up within 30 minutes.
Please note that teachers may determine that children will be sent home if a child cannot comfortably participate in activities or if the need for care is greater than the teachers can provided without compromising the safety and health of the other children.
There are many other symptoms in addition to fever that may result in a child being sent home, including significant lethargy, uncontrolled coughing, persistent crying, inexplicable irritability.

Absentee log

All absences will be logged in the office
Please call the office, 585-3290, whenever your child is absent

We will ask why your child is absent, and if illness is the reason, we will also ask you to list the symptoms.
The log will include the dates of absences, the classroom, the symptoms and the date of return

Teachers please notify the office when a child returns to school
Teachers illnesses will also be logged with the same information
Higher than normal absenteeism will be reported to the local health department, 587-1214 and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health at 1-617-983-6800.

Sick siblings

Families are encouraged to call ahead if there is a sick family member in the car and we will meet you at the curb and bring the well child into school or out to the car.

Hand washing:

Families, teachers, students, and visitors will wash their hands before entering the classroom, after returning from outside, before and after visiting common spaces or other classrooms, after sneezing, coughing or blowing their nose.
Hands should be washed with soap and water for 20 seconds.
Dispensers of hand sanitizer are located at the entrance of the building and in each classroom and may be used by adults.

Disinfecting toys and equipment:

All toys and nap mats are bleached on a regular basis. Please contact your classroom teacher to learn the daily, weekly and monthly schedule.
There are alcohol wipes at each of the telephones and computer stations and the copier.

Gloves

are worn by teachers when preparing snack or assisting with toileting and personal hygiene.

Other illness

If a child or adult is ill with non-influenza symptoms, she should stay home at least one day to observe how the illness develops and until completely well for 24 hours.

Fever
- A fever is an arterial temperature greater than 100.1°, an oral temperature of greater than 99.5°, an axillary tempaerature of greater than 98.8° or a rectal temperature of greater than 100.3°
- A child or adult should stay home until s/he has been free from fever for at least 24 hours after your last dose of fever-reducing medicine (e.g., Tylenol, Advil, or Motrin. Each classroom will display a checklist that asks parents to confirm that the child has been fever-free for 24 hours and has not taken fever-reducing medication during that time.
- A doctor’s note is required if a child returns to school before 24 hours after taking fever-reducing medication.
Influenza-like illness

If a child or staff member has an influenza-like illness, they will be promptly isolated and sent home. All such students and staff should stay out of school for at least 24 hours after they have been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications.

Notification

If a Smith student is diagnosed with H1N1 influenza, the campus will be notified through the Smith website. If the student is a member of the Fort Hill community, we will notify families and teachers.

More Information

Changes in classroom configurations or opening of school

The number of teachers absent in each classroom may affect the operation of the school. There are two important factors in determining the structure and opening of Fort Hill.

Firstly, we are licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and we must adhere to the regulations for class size and ratios. For example, a room with infants cannot exceed 7 infants, or 3 infants and 6 toddlers. A toddler room may not exceed 9 children, even if some of them are preschoolers, and a preschool room is limited to 20 children. Infant ratios must be 1:3, toddlers 1:4 and preschoolers 1:10. There are also regulations about the qualifications of those teachers. If we do not have teachers qualified for a particular age group or would exceed class size or ratios, we will plan to close classrooms and will merge groups if possible. We will contact families if a classroom is unable to be staffed with regular staff.

Secondly, young children in group care present with unique needs and substitute teachers, even if they are familiar from other classrooms, may not be able to provide the same level of care as a regular caregiver. For this reason, we will notify parents when regular teachers will be out so that families can make decisions about whether to send their child to school on those days.

Decisions to close the school will be made in consultation with Smith College administration, Dr. Peter Kenny, our consulting physician, and the local board of health or Massachusetts Department of Public Health. If the school is closed, all Fort Hill-related activities will be cancelled and families will be encourage to avoid gathering outside of school. Decisions on reopening will be made in consultation with the above-mentioned as well as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. If the school is closed, a “School Closure Reporting Form” will be submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Infectious Disease Prevention.

Additional Information from the Department of Public Health:

FAQ for Parents (August 31, 2009)

Flu Symptom Check List (August 31, 2009)

Guidance for Schools (August 31, 2009)

Talking to Your Kids about Swine Flu (May 5, 2009)

Annual Calendar

Forms

Parent and Educator Evenings