Health & Safety

School District 63 (Saanich) Staff

For information on the school district's health and safety program, including; forms, incident reporting, emergency preparedness, etc., please log in to your SD 63 Zimbra email account, click on the "Briefcase" tab at the top of your email and then click on "District Forms" (to the left within your email) and select the "Health and Safety" folder."

Get the Facts about Flu and Stay Healthy

Influenza is caused by viruses and is generally spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Here are six simple common sense precautions that can help safeguard everyone’s health:

1) Stay home when you’re sick or have influenza symptoms. Get plenty of rest and check with a health care provider as needed.

2) Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you are sick! keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick.
3) Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and throw the tissue away immediately. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
4) Wash your hands. Washing your hands often will help protect you from getting sick. When soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers.
5) Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. You can become ill by touching a surface contaminated with germs and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
6) Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage stress, drink plenty of fluids, eat nutritious foods and avoid smoking, which may increase the risk of serious consequences if you do contract the flu.

If you have a fever or cough illness, regardless of where you have travelled, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
See a health care provider if your symptoms become worse but call ahead of time to let them know you have fever or cough illness.
You can call www.healthlinkbc.ca [1] HealthLink BC at 24 hours a day, seven days a week to speak to a nurse if you have more questions or if feeling ill.
For more steps on how to protect you and your family visit www.fightflu.ca [2].
From the Government of BC Swine Flu Information page at H1N1 Flu Virus Information.

H1N1

What is SD63 doing?

1. Every elementary school classroom in the district has hand washing facilities with running water, soap and paper towels.
2. Three hand sanitization stations have been installed in each school to supplement standard hand washing facilities.
3. All washrooms have been provided with paper towel dispensers (in addition to air dryers).
4. Disinfectant wipes (0.5 % Hydrogen Peroxide) and spray bottles with non-toxic cleanser have been distributed to schools for daytime cleaning of high- touch surfaces.
5. Secondary and middle schools have alcohol-based hand sanitizer pump bottles to supplement existing hand-washing facilities.
6. Brightly coloured hand-washing reminder posters have been posted in all schools.
7. Bus drivers disinfect high-touch surfaces on buses daily and thoroughly clean all buses weekly.
8. Bus drivers have alcohol-based hand sanitizer pump bottles.
9. The District has an H1N1 Pandemic Response Committee and a Pandemic Response Plan (see H1N1 Information link above).
10. The District provides staff with seasonal flu vaccination shots at reduced cost.
11. All Bus drivers and Custodians have received H1N1 awareness training.
12. Custodial cleaning / sanitization practices have been reviewed and updated.

Caution! - Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are flammable and moderately toxic

The hand sanitizer Purell and similar products contain 62% ethyl alcohol (drinking alcohol) and a small amount of Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). As such this product is both flammable and and moderately toxic. Keep this product out of reach of children, if swallowed this product is likely to cause upset stomach and nausea - call poison control 1-800-567-8911.
Although supplementary wall mounted instant foam hand sanitizer has been made available in all schools, Elementary schools should focus on having children use soap and water at existing hand washing facilities. Do not provide unrestricted access to individual pump bottles in the elementary classroom.
See Material Safety Data Sheet for this product [3]
For more information, please go to the H1N1 Directory in the Health & Safety Files on the top of the left sidebar under Main Menu.