It’s that time of the year again, shoved into a building full of peers and teachers. It’s also the beginning of everyone’s favorite school pass time, getting sick. Eventually getting sick during school is a given, it’s going to happen at some point in time no matter how many vitamins you take.  Whether it’s a sibling, teacher, or just a random student in the hallway, the virus is going to spread.

“Once one person gets sick it gets to everyone, no one is safe,” junior Maddie Harris said.

Some common things to prevent catching a cold or the flu:

• Wash your hands constantly (if there isn’t water and soap, hand sanitizer helps).
• Try to stay away from people that are already infected.
• For the flu, get a vaccine shot.
• Keep your surroundings clean. If you have been sick, wash everything!
• Eat healthy.
• Just getting plenty of sleep. 

In the United States, students lose an average 164 MILLION school days each year with students ranging from kindergarten to grade 12, that’s at least 4.5 sick days per student.