Children learn ways to halt germ spread

By D.a. Wilkinson

COLUMBIANA — Sing along: “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear [insert a name], happy birthday to you.”

Now, repeat the song once. That’s how long a person should wash his or her hands.

Leslie Costal, the registered nurse for Columbiana schools, has been teaching students at the Joshua Dixon Elementary School the proper methods to avoid getting or spreading the germs and viruses that experts say might plague everyone this winter.

On Friday, Costal asked the students how long they should wash their hands.

One little girl said 10 minutes.

“Not that long,” Costal said. “It takes about 20 seconds,” which, she added, is about how long it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.

Kim Sharshan, the principal at Joshua Dixon, said the district got involved after seeing a School Tube video public-service announcement, “Stop the Spread: The Proper Way to Sneeze.”

The video pans the notion of sneezing into one’s hands. The video shows people spreading a gooey substance by touching items, such as money and elevator buttons, that will be passed to someone else.

Costal told the students that hand washing includes “The back of our hands, fingers and under our nails.”

To highlight the correct way to sneeze, Costal put a little bit of dry, brown cocoa powder on a little boy’s hands to illustrate germs, then added more powder to illustrate more germs with more punch.

Rather than spread cocoa all over the classroom, Costal sprayed a little bit of water on the hands of the youths and told them to touch the tables and seats to illustrate the spread of germs.

And when is the best time to wash your hands?

“After going to the bathroom,” the students said in a chorus.

The students then watched the video and practiced covering their sneeze with their elbow.

Costal also recommended friction when washing hands in order to, “knock those germs into the sink.”

Sharshan said, “We just felt it was really important.”

Everyone, she said, is in a hurry these days and may not take time for proper hygiene.

The district is enacting other measures. Students who buy their lunch can use sanitizer located at the start of the lunch line. Pack a lunch? There is a huge jug of sanitizer in the middle of the lunchroom.

Sharshan said the district is putting more effort into sanitizing. One new step will be that computer key boards will be wiped with towelettes regularly to help fight the spread of germs.

To view the commercial, visit www.schooltube.com/video/40784/Sneeze-PSA.

wilkinson@vindy.com