Illness forces school to cancel day's classes
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on January 30, 2015 1:46 PM
Classes in the Lower School at Wayne Country Day School were canceled today after a 24-hour stomach bug made its way through the student roster.
"It comes on quickly and it goes quickly, but we can't afford for kids to lose this much school and it's affecting teachers," Pam Diffee, a teacher and publications manager at the school, said Thursday afternoon.
She said the sickness started the end of last week and rapidly spread. Absences this week rampant -- 19 were reportedly out Wednesday and by day's end, 11 more had left.
"I think we had like 38 out (Thursday)," Ms. Diffee said. "It's a lot for this little school. Plus seven or eight from the high school."
All told, considering there are only 97 students in grades 1-6, the decision to cancel school was justified.
Extra precautions are being taken while the school is closed, including disinfecting everything and steam cleaning the carpets.
The virus was not limited to the younger grades, she pointed out, also affecting high school students and teachers.
"It comes on suddenly," she said, adding, "Not many schools would do this."
Even Ms. Diffee took no chances.
"I wore a mask," she said, explaining that hers was a Christmas gift from some of her students from China.
"They wear them for air pollution and their flu situation," she explained. "So they brought me three."
On Thursday, it seemed appropriate to don one of the "designer masks," she said.
"I actually put it on today because I was worried," she said.
Some laughed at her fashion statement, but she said it was a precautionary measure, urging parents to follow suit.
"If your child is sick, keep them home until they're well," she said.