WATERVILLE -- Students in Kennebec Valley Consolidated Schools who thought they had to wait several weeks to be vaccinated against the H1N1 virus may instead be vaccinated Nov. 30.

The free clinic for the vaccine will be held 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Waterville Junior High School, according to Ann Bouchard, school nurse at Waterville Senior High School.

Nov. 30 is the Monday that students return to school after the Thanksgiving break.

Bouchard said Wednesday that the clinic is for students at Waterville junior and senior high schools, George J. Mitchell School, Vassalboro Community School and students ages 20 and younger who are registered with Mid-Maine Adult & Community Education.

Four-year-olds from Mid-Maine Technical PreSchool Lab also may receive vaccines Nov. 30, Bouchard said.

The clinic replaces those that had initially been scheduled for December and January, she said.

Parents need to know about the new schedule because they must bring permission forms to their respective schools for their children to be vaccinated. Since Nov. 20 is the last day for students to attend school before the clinic, it is important that consent forms be returned to schools by Friday, Bouchard said.

"We want this to fill the need still existing in the AOS (Alternative Organizational Structure 92) for students whose parents want them immunized against H1N1," Bouchard said.

MaineGeneral Health, Delta Ambulance and AOS 92 worked together to make the clinics possible, she said. AOS 92, or Kennebec Valley Consolidated Schools, includes Winslow, Waterville and Vassalboro.

"(MaineGeneral) has gone above and beyond to ensure the health and well-being of our students," Bouchard said Wednesday.

"Their staff has invested an incredible amount of people power for this huge community effort that benefits everyone by minimizing the likelihood of young people becoming ill with H1N1."

Children are asked to wear short-sleeved shirts the day of the clinic. They will be bused to the junior high school.

Flu clinics already have been held in Winslow schools, as well as at Albert S. Hall School, Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers and the Waterville Alternative Education school, all in Waterville.

Bouchard said immunization is not mandatory, but it is important in helping to prevent spread of the virus.

"Mass immunization is a valuable thing," she said. "Mass immunization keeps all of us healthier."