Salem Lutheran School in Stillwater has been shut down through the rest of the week because of a high number of students sick with the H1N1 flu.

"Basically, for the last three weeks we've had high numbers during the week," said principal Terry Graf. "Not as high as yesterday. We were up to 27 who were out absent, and for us, that's a good chunk of our school. We did this as a precaution because we were concerned about it being such a big jump."

Graf announced at the end of the school day Tuesday that school would be closed for the rest of the week, and would open again Monday.

"Hopefully, it gives a chance for everyone to get better," he said.

Staff at the school will be sanitizing and disinfecting classrooms and common areas during the three-day break.

The school, which has 144 students, had averaged about 10 to 18 absences during the last few weeks, he said. He said students in lower grades have been most affected.

"We don't know that they are all H1N1," Graf said. "But we do know that we have a number of confirmed H1N1 cases from our kids."

He said the state also requires schools that aren't able to confirm if cases are H1N1, to count them as cases, to be safe.