Urgent: Sunrise Elementary Closed Tomorrow / Urgente: Cierre de la Escuela Primaria Sunrise Elementary mañana
October 3, 2024
Dear Parents and Guardians,
In order to prioritize the health and safety of our students and staff, we have made the decision to close Sunrise tomorrow, October 4, due to a high number of student and staff absences related to illness. While the cause of the illness is not yet confirmed, we are working closely with Linn County Public Health to identify what is circulating in our school and take appropriate measures. While not confirmed, it is possible that we are experiencing a norovirus outbreak, which is a highly contagious, common cause of gastrointestinal illness in schools.
Students should stay home until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours (see below). Please emphasize to your students the importance of frequent handwashing and avoiding sharing food or drinks to prevent the spread of illness.
Remember these guidelines from our Communicable Disease Guidance:
- Fever: If your student has a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or greater, they must stay home until they have been fever-free for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
- Cough: If your student has a new cough, they should stay home until their symptoms have been improving for 24 hours.
- Difficulty Breathing: If your student has new difficulty breathing, seek urgent medical care and keep them home until their symptoms have been improving for 24 hours.
- Diarrhea: If your student has 3 loose or watery stools in a day or is unable to control bowel movements, they should stay home until their symptoms have been improving for 24 hours.
- Vomiting: If your student has one or more episodes of vomiting, they should stay home until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours.
We are closely monitoring the situation and working with Linn County Public Health to address the outbreak. We will continue to provide updates and information, if there is any. The district has already been performing deep cleaning and sanitizing protocols and will continue to do so to ensure a safe return to school on Monday.
We appreciate your partnership in helping us keep our school healthy.
Sincerely,
Bob Richards
Principal
Sunrise Elementary