By Kayla Bear Intern
NAPPANEE — No, it cannot be contracted by eating pork. Yes, it is dangerous. No, it is not more benign than regular seasonal flu. Yes, people have died from it. No, a seasonal flu shot does not protect from it.
Eighteen percent of students absent in a given week, 300 immunizations administered and one particular student documenting more than two weeks’ worth of absences could only add up to one thing: H1N1.

H1N1, or swine flu, has swept the nation. People all over the world have been hospitalized, and everyone was strongly encouraged to take caution. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported 32,814 national confirmed cases of swine flu as of Oct. 31, and strongly recommended going to the doctor if any symptoms occurred. The climactic point of this epidemic began in early August and moved into November. In that time period, the CDC reported 672 laboratory-confirmed deaths associated with the H1N1 in the state.
Students were encouraged to stay home if they experience any of the symptoms, which included fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills, fatigue, and vomiting. With so many symptoms that seem easy to “fake” in order to skip school, it still was not a concern for assistant principal Jay Olson.
When asked if he thought students may fake symptoms in order to get out of class, he replied, “I think that everyone is just erring on the side of caution. Parents are doing a great job of communicating with us.”
During this pandemic, rumors stirred that the school would close down. Students were asking around, wondering if the rumors were true. Would the school close if the absentee rate rose high enough?
“No,” Olson said, “We never considered closing the school.”
With the new PLC structure in full swing, students were required to have fewer than three absences in a 12-week trimester in order to be exempt from the weekly study hall, which began at 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday. Students with greater than three absences were required to stay until 3 p.m.
“We never considered extending the amount of absences allowed for PLC exemptions due to swine flu,” Olson said, “We expect students to be here at school every day until three. We are not making them stay later than normal for their absences. They don’t have to stay until 3:15 or 3:30. We are not penalizing them by making them stay until three.”
In hopes of controlling and preventing this virus, Wa-Nee schools offered students a chance to have a free flu shot during school. Permission slips in hand, students wandered to the gymnasium and waited in line to receive their vaccination on Nov. 10. More than 300 students were given the shot.
With the immunizations behind them, the school attempted to prevent its students from contracting the virus; had attempted to stop the quickly rising number of confirmed cases.