HAMMOND- Hammond Westside Montessori School is closed Friday, March 24 due to students developing symptoms of the Norovirus.

School officials said Thursday that more than 300 students were not in class due to the virus. Entire classes have been missing class since last Friday. 

Superintendent of the Tangipahoa Parish School System, Mark Kolwe, announced the closure Thursday afternoon.

The Norovirus is commonly known as the winter vomiting bug. School officials say the closure will allow for the facility and buses to be sanitized in preparation for school to reopen on Monday, March 27 in an effort to break the cycle of the virus.

"At first they really didn't do anything, but sent a note home to warn parents, so now I hope they are doing the right thing," Tia Mangiaracina, parent of a fifth grader at the school, said. 

A second school in Hammond, Courtney Christian School, also decided to close for three days due to a flu outbreak where about half of the 300 students were out sick. The school reopened on Thursday. 

"It was a difficult decision to make, but the best decision I have made because it enabled us to disinfect the entire campus," Principal of Courtney Christian School, Sue Courtney, said. 

School officials say none of the students at Courtney Christian were infected with the norovirus.