H1N1 closes Wheaton Academy for a day

With the halls already expected to be devoid of students next Monday and Tuesday for parent-teacher conferences, Wheaton Academy is closing Friday as well in the wake of a small outbreak of the H1N1 flu.

"Absentee rates haven't actually been as high as you'd think for something like this," said school spokeswoman Chrissy Little. "It's more of a precaution than anything else."

Principal Steve Bult said the extra day off for students was mainly to allow cleaners more time to come in and scrub the building down to prevent further transmissions of the disease.

"We've done this a couple time already where we just have the cleaners do a more extensive cleaning than they would normally do on the weekends," Bult said. "We're nowhere near the percentages that necessitate closing school down."

Bult said the school has experienced a higher-than-usual number of absences - but likely less than 10 percent - in both the faculty and students ranks recently.

"So we just saw a window of time where we had conferences and thought this extra day would be a good natural preventative measure," he said. "We thought it would be a good way to ensure people stay healthy."

No sporting events or other activities are being cancelled as a result of the school closing. The Wheaton Academy volleyball team's playoff games will go on as scheduled with the regional tournament that begins today at the school. The school's first ever football playoff game will also go on this weekend, school officials said.

Classes will resume Wednesday, Bult said.