BATON ROUGE — Sacred Heart of Jesus School was closed Monday after more than 40% of students and 41% of staff members reported that they were sick or caring for someone who is sick, a letter sent to teachers over the weekend said.

The data on sick staff members and students came from a Google Form sent out to parents assessing the health of the student body. 

"With these numbers, it is clear that we need to pause and allow our community time to recover," the email sent out Sunday afternoon read.

The school was closed on Monday, and all after-school activities were canceled. A volleyball practice scheduled for Monday afternoon was moved to Tuesday, while other sports are working to confirm new practice dates with coaches. 

"We will use tomorrow to conduct a thorough deep clean of the building and give our students and staff an additional day to rest and heal. Our hope is that this extra time will help slow the spread of illness and allow everyone to return healthier and stronger on Tuesday," the email continued.