H1N1 Virus

With the marvels and convenience that comes living within the "information age" also comes a great deal of responsibility and rationality. Never before has it been so easy to acquire virtually any type of information about any subject at such a great rate. Additionally, never before has it been so easy to create crisis, epidemic and hysteria. Swine flu is a perfect example. Upon its identification, people were quarantined, confined to their houses for weeks on end and entire schools, offices, maybe even some gated communities, were shut down and identified as modern day leper colonies.

Based upon the assumption that lobbyist for the pork industry objected to the moniker bestowed upon the virus, swine flu has been re identified as the H1N1 virus, and the thinking regarding reaction to it has become more level-headed. We don not have the ability to stop the virus, particularly in environments that are most susceptible to passing germs, but we can control it to some degree.

The flu can be easily spread from person to person. Therefore, we are taking steps to reduce the spread of flu in Holy Angels School. We want to keep the school open to students and functioning in a normal manner during this flu season. But, we need your help to do this.

We are working closely with the Arcadia Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Health Department to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning schools. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available.

If the flu becomes more severe, we may take additional steps to prevent the spread
such as:

conducting active fever and flu symptom screening of students and staff as they arrive at school,

 making changes to increase the space between people such as moving desks farther apart and postponing class
trips, and

 dismissing students from school for at least 7 days if they become sick.

For now we are doing everything we can to keep our school functioning as usual. Here are a few things you can do to help.

Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an
alcohol-based hand rub. You can set a good example by doing this yourself.

 Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food or un-
washed utensils, and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up
their coughs or sneezes using the elbow, arm or sleeve instead of the hand when a
tissue is unavailable.

 Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever
(100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8 degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a
runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people
may also vomit or have diarrhea.

 Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever
or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever
at home will reduce the number of people who may get infected.

 Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are deter-
mined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

I have been told that the reality is the H1N1 virus is really no more dangerous than any other flu virus. While I don't know the accuracy of this statement, it seems like we should go about our daily lives with a bit more attention to hygene and not let a media -fueled hysteria become a rationale for making reactionary decisions

The New Year

Remarkably, summer is quickly coming to a close, and with it, a flurry of activity is taking place as well. Some of it is very good for Holy Angels, while other occurrences are a bit more concerning.

we have accomplished a significant amount of physical plant upgrade throughout the school. Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of several parents, we have completed the construction of a new lunch structure; we have re-slurried and painted the playground, and we replaced the carpet in both the pre-kindergarten and seventh grade classroom. We are also in the process of renovating our lower grade bathrooms, thanks to the generous support of Murray Plumbing.

A bit more troubling is that, like most Catholic schools, our enrollment will be down this coming school year. While the numbers are far less than what many schools are experiencing, and a final number is still not known (we still get calls daily about enrollment) we will be down.

We are excited by the recent hiring of Ms. Kathryn Di Pietro as our new sixth grade teacher, as well as alumni Sara Canzoneri to help teach math in our 5 through seventh grades.

Finally, we are awaiting word on our WASC outcome, although we have great expectations for our results. Our teachers will soon begin training to use a computerized grade book, and the the eight grade grades will be posted online as an experiment for future grade postings.

As you can see, we have a great deal going on at the school, but most importantly we will be entering another school year where our students education is of primary importance and we will begin to institute the change we identified in or school self-study. I am excited about the upcoming year, as I feel that we continue to fulfill the promise and the mission of Catholic schools. As always, first and foremost I attribute this to the parents of our school who are the primary motivators of all we do at Holy Angels. In particular, we must acknowledge Rudy Castillo for his efforts and dedication to the lunch structure, Clare Maher and Kim Collins for their motivation behind all our development efforts, and Tim Tomko for acting as the conduit between Holy Angels School and Murray Plumbing. They are examples to all about the impact parents have on the quality of our school