Student Illness

Kristin Piotrowski

Student absences due to illness at Sparta High School this year have been many and often. Many students have been absent due to all types of illnesses such as influenza, most types of cold, streptococcal pharyngitis also commonly known as strep throat, and H1N1. Although many students are actually sick there have been quite a few trying to play sick as well. "A few, I can't tell yet." Emily Merow, Sparta High's temporary receptionist, quoted on students trying to excuse themselves. Merow also said, "I get about twenty phone calls on average in the morning from parents calling in their children."

The students that are gone for a full week have a lot to catch up on, and usually when they are gone for that amount of time they have homework collected for them. "Two weeks ago there were a lot of kids out with H1N1, I believe on average there were 100 students out for the whole week." Merow stated. A student who misses and is in a math usually have a difficult time because they miss the notes and examples and the assignment. Ed Flasch, math teacher, stated, "My classes have not been hit that hard by the sickness." Flasch also talked about what its like when a student is gone, "It is a little extra work to go back and look at the assignments but I put a lot of it on them too, to get the notes from another student."

A student should stay home when they are sick because it is important for them to get well and to keep any other students from getting sick. "Even if it is more work to be gone and you really are sick then you should stay home." Flasch said. To avoid missing school and being sick there are many things that you can do without coming to school in a mask. Washing your hands can be the most helpful. You should wash your hands when ever you sneeze, cough, touch anything that many other people touch, and of course when ever you use the rest room. Washing your hands is not always an option, so you can use hand sanitizer. Other things you can do to prevent getting sick are keeping your immune system high by eating heathy foods, and avoid touching your face as often as possible. To learn more about preventing the flu you can visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm.