H1N1 School Outreach
With the concern about the H1N1 strain of flu and the impact it can have on school children who are together every day in the classroom, the Bay County Health Department (BCHD), in collaboration with MSU Extension - Bay County and the American Red Cross (ARC) East Shoreline Chapter, are offering all Bay County schools educational and age-appropriate classroom program materials and assembly-style presentations on hand washing, hygiene, general H1N1 information, disease transmission, and the importance of receiving the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine.
The programs include the American Red Cross "Scrubby Bear" program for grades K-2 and MSU Extension - Bay County's "BAC" program for grades 3-5. Both programs reinforce the importance of good hand washing habits and germ and disease prevention. For 6-12 grade teachers, educational materials on broader topics like hand washing, hygiene, disease transmission, flu prevention and preparedness are available on CD. Reinforcement materials for the assembly-style presentations will be supplied to participating schools, as well as take-home materials for parents.
The Bay County Health Department, MSU Extension - Bay County, and the American Red Cross are focused to provide your school the information needed to aid our community to protect itself from getting sick this school year. Because children being out of school places a great burden on their ability to learn, teachers ability to effectively teach, and a financial burden on local school districts.
To schedule an educational session or receive educational materials for your school, please contact:
MSU Extension - Bay County
(989) 895-4026 or E-mail: h1n1schooloutreach@baycounty.net
The 2010-2011 edition of Bay County Health Department's Flu Season newsletter is available by click here.
Teacher Resources Available:
Kindergarten - Fifth Grade
Letter to Teachers
Evaluation form for school assembly programs (Michigan State University Extension)
Handwashing poster (Michigan State University Extension)
Scrubby Bear handout and certificate (American Red Cross)
Soapy Solutions 7 experiments (The Partnership for Food Safety Education)
Grades 6-8 and 9-12 resources coming soon!