Coeur d’Alene School District reports absence rate of 10 percent

Teachers in the Coeur d’Alene School District are seeing a drop in students in their classrooms as the flu season sets in. According to a press release on the district’s Web site, schools were seeing a 10 percent decrease at several Coeur d’Alene schools, as of last Monday.

At Canfield Middle School, 80 out of 798 students were absent, according to the release. Lakes Middle School had an absentee rate of more than 10 percent, as did Woodland Middle School, Project CDA Alternative High School, Hayden Meadows Elementary School and Sorenson Elementary School. As of Sept. 25, seven out of the 17 Coeur d’Alene schools had one or more confirmed cases of H1N1, or swine flu.

Updates are being posted on the district’s and individual schools’ Web sites.

The district has requested that students with fever or flu-related symptoms stay home and not come back to school until they have been without a fever and medication, such as acetaminophin or ibuprofen, for 24 hours.

For updates and more information, visit www.cdaschools.org.

Fernan collecting donated blankets

The students and staff at Fernan Elementary School, 520 N. 21st St., are asking the community to help them to collect new and gently used blankets to help keep the more than 800 homeless people in the Coeur d’Alene area warm as the weather continues to get colder.

Sleeping bags and tents can also be donated.

A collection box will be in the foyer of Fernan Elementary through Thursday.

For more information, call (208) 664-2659.