Hi everyone. I am very frustrated right now. For the last three weeks, I have had at least 3-4 students absent everyday! One day it was 10 absent. Today, I had 7 absent and then two go home early. I can't take it anymore. I keep hand sanitizer and lysol in my room. Also, I have kids wipe down their desks everyday with disinfectant. I am running out of ideas. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to keep the germs away? I am in a portable classroom, so we don't have any air flow. I wonder if that is the problem. Thanks for your help!!
I am not in a portable and am having the same problem. It is awful trying to keep everyone caught up with so many missing. I think you have to let whatever is going around to run its course. I also sanitize and disinfect and it doesn't seem to help.
I am also having the same problems. Even the days when i have no students absent at least one or two of them are dismissed for being sick half way through the day. Some of them have missed so much school I'm having a hard time getting them to make up all of the things they've missed. I wish I knew of the way to get rid of all the germs!
***Live plants in the room. **A very small crack in the window, ****Wipe down the door knobs, inside and out and pencils. ***Have students bring a bottle of water with a pop up lid, to encourage drinking more water. They must take it home and get it washed with hot water and soap. ***Teach them to cough in their arm pits. ***Use the germ kill Kleenix. ***Encourage washing hands before eating and after going to the bathroom... You are probably doing all these things.
I agree with the above posts. Some days I feel like wearing a surgical mask to work, and giving my students each one. I hope the germs leave you soon.
I have a window open a bit, wash things down with bleach water or good soapy water, we all wash our hands fanatically, and I give the kids a lot of juice to drink.
GERMS--- sneeze and cough and about spreading germs. (Of course this is done in August when it's still hot!) I hold a misting bottle in my hand (they think I am taking care of the critters or plants) and start talking to them, suddenly I start sneezing and coughing. I squirt the misting bottle in the air as I do. I am walking around the room so I tag 'em all! I ask them what I should have done and of course they all yell "cover your mouth". So I "sneeze" and "cough" using the bottle in my hand. My hand gets soaking wet. I then walk around the room shaking hands, touching shoulders, pencils, desks, etc. They realize how far my "germs" spread. It leads to a really good discussion on how to prevent spreading germs. This another one of those things that I don't know where I copied it from, but maybe a quick germ lesson would help.......
Have you seen that new clorox cleaner? They were saying that it totally kills 99% of germs, but is harmless. I spray down with lysol 3-4 times a week- and my kids clean their entire desk (encluding rails and seats) with clorox wipes on Fridays. The plants are a good idea- I can't keep them alive in my room though! At least your parents keep them home sick- mine send them to school lol!
We clean with Clorox Wipes about 2 times a day. I spray everything about 1x a week, we wash our hands a lot and now I am sick!
My kids come sick all the time...then they will throw up and I will ask them if they were sick at home and they tell me , "Yes! I threw up in my bed!!!"
I am sick right now too... What makes me madder is when the parents refuse to pick the kids up- then I am stuck with their germ filled child. I end up giving some of my kids a peppermint to suck on and tell them to put their heads down b/c the parents won't do anything. Also have had the throw-up kids. Parents have told me they thought they were faking
Our secretaries call the parents. If a studeent is running a fever, they go to the office away from the other students.
We do that as well, but there are certain times when no one is in the office so we are stuck with a sick child laying on a sleeping bag until a parent arrives. However, it doesn't happen often....thank goodness.
I used to have that problem all the time when I worked at the after school program. I had one child in particular who got sick all the time. His mother doesn't work, but also doesn't have a car. She would never come get him. He'd be stuck with us all day during the summer until his bus dropped him off at 5:30 pm after throwing up at 9 am. It was awful. I used to get so angry at his mother...I mean, come on, she could've called someone to give her a ride or to pick him up for her. She's involved with social services (wonder why...) so she could've called her social worker to help her out.
Kids are going to get sick. You may sanitize your rooms but once the kids leave your rooms to move on to another room they are more suseptible to what is in other peoples rooms or places.
I once had a child vomit at school and the parent refused to pick her up!!! I had to call and explain that she was really sick. The parent had the nerve to ask if I saw the vomit because she thought the child was faking!!! I couldn't believe it! I did convince her to pick her daughter up but she only agreed if I gave the daughter all her homework and her test that was scheduled for that day. Who does well on a test after they have puked all morning?! Poor kid...I gave her a second chance on the test and told her she had NO homework...I think her mom would have made her do it while she was sick. Some of these parents make me angry!!! I wanted to take the little girl home and let her sleep and sip on ginger ale all day!
Pet peeve! I am having so much trouble this year with students missing! I have 4 students that have missed a combined amount of 52 days. Ouch. When there are so many out it is really tough to find the time to write out homework slips of missed work. Especially considering that the classroom is mixed ability and use different books. It seems it is either one way or the other. Last year my parents would send them in sick. This year they keep them home for EVERYTHING! I have one student who just missed her 18th day today. Accountability for testing??? Who is holding the parents accountable??
hescollin - I LOVE the "germ spreading bottle" - WOW what an impact that would make. We discuss germs almost daily but I don't think they "get it" - this just might help!!! For those of you that have major absences how do your school systems handle them? Is there a point where your schools retain them the next year for a major amount of absences?
Has anyone tried an air cleaner with ultraviolet radiation?? I know some teachers who swear by them. THey say they not only kill germs but they make your classroom smell better. I don't know first hand because I don't have my own room but it was just a thought. (I don't think the ion thing is as big a deal so I don't think I would waste extra $$ on one that decreases negative ions) Hope all your kids feel better soon!! Good luck!
