St. Mary Catholic School to open Monday

St. Mary Catholic School in Elgin is scheduled to reopen Monday after it was closed midweek following a large number of suspected flu cases, Principal Barbara Colandrea said.

The school, in the 300 block of Fulton Street, sent 70 sick students home Wednesday and decided to close the school through the weekend as a precautionary measure. The school also canceled all after-school activities and sports.

"Nothing has been diagnosed, we're just assuming it's the stomach bug," Colandrea said Friday afternoon. "(We) wouldn't close the school for anything but a serious reason. We just wanted to make sure that the kids were safe."

The school hired a cleaning service to scrub the building from top to bottom Friday, she said.

The cleaning staff targeted door knobs, water fountains, walls, floors, desks, chairs, railings and more.

"Yes, it's a very clean school right now," Colandrea said.

Parents were also urged to disinfect all surfaces and school supplies in their homes.

Nearly 200 students attend the elementary school on the city's east side.