WINDHAM – About 150 students and 15 staff at Windham High School were out with the flu or flu-like symptoms in recent weeks, according to Principal Chris Howell.

The outbreak coincided with the national and statewide trend that decimated school attendance in the weeks following Christmas break.

Howell said of the school’s 1,078 students, nearly 200 students were out at the peak of the outbreak about two weeks ago, with 157 students of them reporting influenza.

“We definitely had a slew of kids out for a couple of days, and it all seemed to hit hard at once,” Howell said.

The peak of the outbreak was in mid-January. By the end of the month, school attendance, Howell said, “had gotten a whole lot better, so it seems like most of it has run its course here within the building.”

With so many teachers out, as well, Howell had to get creative with substitutes. Administration, himself included, covered some classes, he said.

He said no sporting events were canceled, although teams, including those from opposing schools, were barely able to post the minimum number of players for some games during the height of the outbreak.

Custodians performed some extra cleaning, as well.

“There were some extra cleaning measures with custodians making sure that anything that receives frequent hand contact was receiving some extra cleaning,” Howell said, adding that the custodians do an “outstanding job cleaning this building” and that Windham’s woes were shared by schools around the country.