My old high school made the news (972 sick with flu)

[the kid 05]

School To Shut Down After Major Flu Outbreak

972 Students At St. Charles East Call In Sick; School To Close Tomorrow And May Not Reopen Until Monday

ST. CHARLES, Ill (CBS) - A suburban high school is shutting down after more than 900 students were out sick with flu-like symptoms on Tuesday, school officials said.

St. Charles East High School will be closed, starting Wednesday and won't re-open until Monday at the earliest. All extra-curricular activities and athletic events have also been canceled beginning Wednesday.

More than 700 students called in sick on Monday. The school enrolls about 2,100 kids, meaning about 40 percent of the student body stayed home from class today.

Administrators do not know if the students are suffering from H1N1 or some other virus because they do not ask specifically about symptoms when students or their parents call in sick.

It is believed to be the biggest outbreak of flu-like illness in the Chicago area since the school year began.

"The high level of absences is beginning to impact normal school operations," the school said on its website.

"Extra-curricular activities for Tuesday, October 20th will go forward as scheduled. All athletic extra-curricular and parent night activities scheduled Wednesday through Friday are postponed until further notice."

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley spoke with some of the sickIt is believed to be the biggest outbreak of flu-like illness in the Chicago area since the school year began.

"The high level of absences is beginning to impact normal school operations," the school said on its website.

"Extra-curricular activities for Tuesday, October 20th will go forward as scheduled. All athletic extra-curricular and parent night activities scheduled Wednesday through Friday are postponed until further notice."

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley spoke with some of the sick students.

Brittany Brueske, 17, a senior, has been home sick for two days, missing her senior year classes.

"I started getting a cough and fever. My mom didn't want me to go to school with a fever, so I stayed home," said Brueske.

Freshman Amanda Mueller went to school, but didn't stay long. She was sent home with a note from the school nurse.

"I didn't think it was that bad this morning, but the nurse said that I have to go home., that my fever's too high. It's just above 100," said Mueller.

"We want parents to make the choice of keeping their child home if they're running a fever or have flu-like symptoms," said Dr. Don Schlomann, superintendent of District 303 schools.

It was Dr. Schlomann who made the choice to shut the school for the rest of the week because it was tough to schedule classes with so few students around.

"My algebra class had seven people in it," said Mueller. "It normally has 15."

"Yes, because so many people were missing, we weren't getting anything accomplished," said student Bridget Mitchell.

Sick cases range from colds to bronchitis to flu.

"It's not only about protecting everybody, but it's also about reducing that ability to spread," Dr. Schlomann said.

One of the few staffers who was in the building Tuesday night said they're bringing in crews from other parts of the district to clean the school, all in the name of safety, even though something like flu lives just hours outside a host.

St. Charles East played its homecoming football game this weekend in rainy, cold weather. And the homecoming dance was this weekend, too. Officials believe these mass gatherings may have helped spread the bug.

Sophomore Nick Gruffino was at the game but left sick, after just 10 minutes.

"I was sweating, overheating and my mom was worried. No one leaves a high school football game because they're a little sick," said Gruffino, who missed school Monday and Tuesday.

The flu has spread so fast, entire St. Charles households are affected, with several families feeling the effects on the Brueske's block alone.

"I never thought I was gonna get, but I guess I was wrong," said Gruffino. "Now almost half our school has it."

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports that the St. Charles East High School campus was busy Tuesday evening with soccer. They got the games in just in time.

"When tonight's event is over, we're gonna shut down," said Jerry Krieg, St. Charles East's Athletic Director.

Parent Janet Lyon who came out to watch her healthy son play soccer Tuesday night thinks the school has to do what it's doing.

When asked if there has ever been a time when this many students called in sick, Lyon said, "Not even close. This is definitely unchartered territory."

Could some of the sick calls be part of a student prank?

"If you would have been with me this afternoon and walked into the health department, you would have concluded that it's probably not a prank," Dr. Schlomann said.

One junior was so concerned, he got flu vaccinations this morning.

Other District 303 schools remain open. Only St. Charles East will be closed Wednesday through Friday.

Friday night's football game featuring crosstown rivals St. Charles East and St. Charles North has been postponed, a casualty of the flu wave.

The school will be calling each and every student over the next three days to gauge general health.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley and Kristyn Hartman contributed to this report.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/flu.school.sick.2.1259960.html