By David Harry
Staff Writer

Wash your hands. Block your sneezes.
Those six words are at the heart of efforts to prevent an outbreak of H1N1 flu virus in Scarborough schools in a common sense and cleanliness campaign praised by parents and officials this week.
But fears of the flu seemed minimal to parents, including Kathy Dion, who spoke as her son Simon scowled at the thought of returning to school.
“We will focus on the preventive,” Dion said outside Eight Corners School, where Simon is a second grader.
On Monday, when the intermediate, middle and high schools welcomed incoming freshman, district primary schools also welcomed parents and students for individual conferences.
While H1N1, sometimes known as “swine flu,” was sometimes a topic, parents who spoke said they were not overly worried about an outbreak.
Edette Flaker talked about the family’s approach to a possible flu outbreak as her sons Jarrett and Jayden emerged from Pleasant Hill Primary School and ran back and forth across the schoolyard on a recent sunny day.
“We are really hyped up on vitamins, get to bed early and watch what we eat,” Flaker said.
Pamela Gill, the nurse at Eight Corners, Pleasant Hill and Blue Point primary schools, said she learned a lot after attendingd the summit meeting for preparing and coping with H1N1 held last month in Augusta.
Gill said the meeting reinforced the vulnerability of those ages six months to 24 years old to the flu virus and that pregnant teachers may especially be at risk.
She said the summit also reinforced what the district already does to help keep students healthy.
“We are lucky in that we always stress hand washing, “ Gill said about combating the spread of the virus.
It is not just hands that are kept clean, she said. Door handles are also a focus because they can help transfer germs.
“We decrease exposure by one simple action,” Gill said.
The district will also follow the state plan to combat the flu virus by isolating students showing the symptoms, which Gill said can be “sudden and acute.”
Each school has rooms where students can be isolated as they wait for their parents, but the practice is not a new one, Gill said.
Gill praised teachers and students for being aware of the steps that can help prevent any outbreak.
“The teachers do a remarkable job,” she said. “They start from day one with hand washing. The students are so pliable and just like sponges.”
Scarborough School Superintendent David Doyle said the plans have been discussed since the H1N1 outbreak last spring.
Doyle said there were no reported cases in Scarborough schools “but we had a couple of possibles.”
The district will offer flu vaccines provided by the state and expects the Home Health Visiting Nurses to help administer the flu shots at clinics at the high school next month. Doyle said seasonal flu vaccines are expected to be available in early October and the H1N1 specific vaccines by the end of October.
Doyle said the clinics are part of a town-wide effort to help protect residents from the virus, but said getting the shots is voluntary.
“It is all the parents’ choice. Nobody is forcing anyone to do this,” Doyle said.
Parents Diane and Kelsey Cassellious are opposed to flu vaccines for their sons Ben and Sam, who attend Pleasant Hill Primary School.
Sam suffers from respiratory disorders, said Diane Cassellious, and he nearly died from a flu shot when he was 18 months old.
“I do think people should be aware of the adverse reactions people can have to the shots,” she said.
While the family will not get shots, she praised the district and school for the care it gives her son and the way teachers work with him.
“The school really has it covered,” she said.

David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219