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Mayflower Elementary School to close due to sickness


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Contributor: Dustin Barnes
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Updated: 10/18/2012 5:44 pm Published: 10/18/2012 11:33 am
MAYFLOWER, AR – Mayflower Elementary School is set to close on October 22 due to illness, according to the Superintendent.

Superintendent John Gray issued the following statement:

”Our elementary school is experiencing a high amount of illness right now. It appears to be mainly a virus that is causing flu like systems. We have also heard reports of strep throat and nine cases of mono. These illnesses are now starting to spread to our other schools.

After consulting with medical advice I have decided to take the following actions to help stop the spread of illness:

1. All facilities will be disinfected
2. For tomorrow and Friday, children who have fever or feel sick should stay at home. Any absence will not be counted against a student and all work and tests can be made up.
3. School will be closed on Monday, October 22. This will help break the cycle of illness.
4. Information sheets on mono and taking care of students will be sent home.
I thank you for your co-operation, patience, and any inconvenience this may cause. I sure hope this helps stop the illness.”

Thursday's absences totaled 256 students.  The few that are there are building a defense against the germs. 

"I've just been sanitizing 24/7 and washing my hands," said Breana Hart, a fourth grader.

To prevent to potential spread of any more germs, school leaders have closed off access to the water fountains.  Students are drinking out of water bottles.

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TruthTeller - 10/19/2012 9:21 AM
1 Vote
@Butch54 - Way to go. It's called tough love. I hope you also remembered to tell her "By the way, if you don't get a good education, this will be the easiest, more fullfilling, highest paying job you'll ever get." But even more important than skipping school is her not being truthful. Many employers will tolerate lazy workers. Very few will tolerate dishonest ones.

ArkansasYankee - 10/18/2012 10:14 PM
1 Vote
Butch; Don't be too hard on her! How many of us faked being sick while we were going to school? I know I did a few times. Give her some credit; she saw an opportunity, and tried to make the most of it! Hat's off to her! I'll bet she does well on tests also. Dude; I didn't say anything about people being dumb. My concern is the continuing decline of our education system in relation to the rest of the world. We NEED to keep up! My sympathy to the young one's that are sick, and I hope the preventive measures work! They are young, and I presume most are in good health, so they'll get over it.

Dude III - 10/18/2012 7:42 PM
0 Votes
yank the average person would think that someone with a high IQ would at least post one line on the actual subject matter.........you really should stop worring about how dumb everybody else is....... i hope this don't turn into an epidemic ......

Butch54 - 10/18/2012 3:25 PM
1 Vote
Being a grandfather who takes his granddaughter to school in Mayflower I thought it stunk. Yes Mayflower is great when It comes to the safety of our children. Although my granddaughter was in perfect health when I took her and I couldn't figure out for a minute or two how she got rolling in the floor sick. I've been on the planet a year or sixty. She helped clean the yard all morning for trying to fool me. She is in middle school.

ArkansasYankee - 10/18/2012 1:16 PM
2 Votes
Snuggles; I wasn't making fun of the children. I was pointing out that our entire education system is "sick". I know a Sylvan Hills high school graduate that cannot read or write a lick, other than his name. Read my comments on PCSSD? Our country continues to lose ground in relation to the rest of the world as far as education is concerned. Busing kids for hours a day, to schools outside their neighborhoods, dumbing down tests to appease certain groups, schools full of kids that can't speak English; it's all taking it's toll on our country. The direction our education takes is also the direction our country will take; economy, jobs, future prospects for those that can't read or write; we are in a tailspin, and it needs to be corrected as quick as possible. I attended PTC in 2000. I was shocked at the number of recent graduates that had to take remedial classes before they could go into Comp I or College Algebra! It had been 30 years since I graduated from high school, and I went straight into Comp I without remedial classes. Math I was a little rusty on. Check out where we rank in math, science, and reading compared to the rest of the world, and tell me our education system isn't "sick".

snuggles2218 - 10/18/2012 12:45 PM
0 Votes
This has nothing to do with our education system. The children in the district are ILL. My doughter goes to Mayflower and was out last week due to this sickness. I'm glad they are taking extra steps to protect our children, so she doesn't get sick again.

ArkansasYankee - 10/18/2012 11:54 AM
1 Vote
According to a Harvard study, the U.S. ranks 25th in math, 17th in science, and 14th in reading. A 2009 study ranked the U.S. 25th out of 34 countries in math and science. It appears our entire education system is "sick". What happened to our education system?
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