The school bells have been ringing for more than a week at Hanson School in Alexandria, but so have the phones.  More parents are calling in to excuse their kids from school because of illness and it could mean the start of the flu season.

With 400 students, the Hanson School district is one that tends to have perfect attendance everyday. That hasn't been the case lately.  More than 20 students have missed classes, including one who has symptoms similar to H1N1.  Health officials haven't confirmed the diagnosis, but with so many kids out of class, the school district is one of the first to take action against it.

Class is back in session at Hanson School, but the classrooms are already a little less full than last week.

“Generally we have three or four gone but when we get to a level of ten, we become a little alarmed,” Hanson School Principal Kevin Lein said.

It's a problem that came just eight days into the school year. Earlier this week, a student brought a Doctor's note to school saying he had similar symptoms to H1N1: the high fever, cough and sore throat.

School officials immediately took action and alerted parents through a school-wide email. They also began offering tips over the morning announcement to remind kids about washing hands and staying healthy.

”We have added hand sanitizer anywhere, washing the desks as much as we can and just continually reminding the kids everyday,” Lein said.

Despite a tough attendance policy, school officials say they won't question if a parent chooses to keep their kids home this year.

“In case there would be anything that would cause it to rise to a level of critical, we want to make sure we're doing everything we can with every precaution to protect our students,” Lein said.

To keep students healthy and get them back to school.

The school Web site also has a health bulletin with tips for parents and students to use to make sure they stay healthy this flu season.