Dear Parent/Guardian:

We wish to inform you that the Dr.Cleveland Steward, Jr. Elementary School has its first confirmed case of H1N1 Flu. Our nursing staff continues to work with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) to monitor the flu situation in the county and work on the best practices to keep students healthy during this school year.

H1N1 flu symptoms in humans are similar to those infected with other flu strains and include fever (100.5-101ºF or higher), cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhea, and vomiting. H1N1 flu symptoms develop three to five days after you have been exposed to the virus and continue for about eight days.  Call your doctor immediately if you develop H1N1 symptoms.

H1N1 Flu Reminders:

• Do not send your children to school if they are sick. Any child determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

• When sick, keep your children at home at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or do not have signs or symptoms of a fever without using fever-reducing drugs. If your child or a family member has H1N1 flu, they can give it to others starting about 24 hours before they develop symptoms and ending about eight days later.

• Do not to share personal items such as drinks, food, or unwashed utensils, and always cover your mouth and nose with tissues when sneezing or coughing.

• Throw tissue in trash after use.

• If you do not have a tissue, cough into your elbow.

• Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Flu viruses can survive for two hours or longer on surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops.

• Avoid personal contact. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Stay away from crowds, if possible.

In order to help combat the H1N1 flu, GatewaySchool District custodians continue to clean with a special disinfectant to reduce germs in our schools. Also, we have installed hands free paper towel dispensers in the lavatories, and we have gel hand sanitizers installed in the front offices and the computer labs of every building for students, parents, staff, and visitors to use to clean their hands.

Gateway will continue to monitor the flu situation within our schools, and we will let you know if the situation becomes more critical. For continued updates on the H1N1 flu at Gateway, please visit our District web site at www.gatewayk12.org. Together we can work to weather this flu season.