Writer: Sofia

Editor: Erich

You’re most likely acquainted with a fellow Bearcat who has fallen ill. In fact, within the five classes you have every day, there’s bound to be at least one student who has taken an absence due to sickness.

Throughout the past few weeks, there has been an increase in the number of sick students, teachers, and staff in the ISM community. While there’s typically the occasional empty seat or two in class, the rampant spread of sickness within ISM has caused a noticeable uptick in the number of absences. Even if a student is not sick enough to the degree of needing bed rest, there always happens to be that one person in class who is coughing, sneezing, or may have a runny nose. 

Ever since the school year started, students and staff members alike have gotten a case of ‘ISM-fluenza.’ That being said, this upsurge in influenza-like illness is not just exclusive to ISM. According to the Department of Health, there has been a 45% increase in the number of flu-like cases this season compared to last year. This significant increase may be attributed to several factors such as rainy weather and the growing leniency towards mask-wearing.

‘ISM-fluenza’ was even felt during the HS Play showings. This year’s HS Play, ‘The Addams Family,’ premiered from October 19th to 21st. During that time, many students in both cast and crew fell ill. For instance, cast member Gaayathri who plays Grandma Addams got sick and could not perform in the last two shows. 

“It was pretty devastating… You put in a lot of work into something then you get sick and have to miss it,” she remarked. Group activities like the HS Play enable illnesses like ‘ISM-fluenza’ to spread rapidly, largely due to the large number of people who need to gather in preparation for such an event. Gaayathri added that the seasonal changes along with liberal mask protocols are probably the main reasons why many are catching this illness.

On the academic side, the bug has impacted the ability of students to complete assessments, especially MAP testing for freshmen and sophomores. “I was sick for a couple of days during the week of MAP testing so I had to reschedule to take both my MAP tests the week after,” a sophomore shared. He explained that he had to even make up for several missed assessments that week, further delaying his MAP tests and increasing the burden of his workload. 

Furthermore, seniors have been experiencing senior-year stress from the demands of the IB curriculum and college applications, resulting in a tendency for many seniors to skip meals and pull all-nighters just to finish all of their requirements. Seniors even had an advisory session discussing different aspects of health such as proper nutrition, sleep, and meditation for mental clarity just to address the adverse effects of senior-year stress. 

Andre, a member of the senior council, commented that “the advice was good but isn’t something we actively recall or use on the daily following that day.” He added that although the information given to them was helpful, it was more of a re-teaching of what they already knew, and it’s challenging to implement these tips in reality because of the heavy workload.

Students who have taken several absences due to sickness are worried about how the ISM-fluenza may impact their academic performance, especially given ISM’s policy that dictates that students cannot exceed eight absences in a class per semester. In the chance that a student misses more than eight classes, they will not receive credit for said class. 

According to Ms. Angel, Ms. Thompson has already sent out emails to students who have five or more absences in a class to remind them of this policy. At the end of the semester, the HS Office will evaluate students who have exceeded the allowed number of absences to check their situation on a case-by-case basis.

When asked about the admin’s plans to handle this situation, Ms. Angel affirmed that both the HS Office and clinic are monitoring it. She explained that the percentage of absent students must exceed the 10% threshold before the HS Office can officially implement policies on handling the sickness. It’s important to emphasize that this 10% does not include students who are sick but still attending classes. According to the HS Office, out of 827 high schoolers, there has only been an average of 50 absent students per day in the last week; thus, this does not meet the 10% threshold required before any serious action is taken.

Overall, the recent wave of sickness among the student body has raised concerns about health and well-being. Knowing that there is a bug spreading in ISM, everyone must prioritize taking care of their health and preventing the spread of germs. Make sure to eat healthy foods, be active, and rest enough to have a strong immune system. Remember also to practice good hygiene such as washing hands and covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing. Stay healthy, Bearcats!