HOW TO HANDLE the heat wave this week (Weather.gov/heat).

And the heat goes on.

Temperatures in the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach-Westminster area continued to hover in the high 90s and low triple figures on Wednesday but there is some hope of relief by Thursday.

The thermometer is expected to show a drop to the mid-Eighties by Thursday and continuing through Saturday. The real cooling off should take hold on Sunday and fall to as low as 72 degrees by Monday.

Until then, residents, businesses and especially schools work to cope with the unseasonably hot weather. Some high schools have cancelled outdoor sports practices or moved them indoors.

In the Garden Grove Unified School District, the administration swung into action on Sunday night, sending voice-mail and e-mail messages to parents. According to Abby Milone, public information officer for the GGUSD, parents were advised how they could help their children stay cool,  “including ensuring students wear loose-fitting clothes, stay hydrated, and notify an adult if they feel ill.”

Schools were advised to “avoid strenuous outdoor activities, adjust schedules to rotate students in non-air-conditioned schools through air-conditioned portables on campus, consider moving lunch to shaded outside areas or to classrooms/areas, with AC, and authorize the use of empty, air-conditioned classrooms/computer labs/libraries/etc. for teaching, help keep students hydrated, and monitor students for signs of heat exhaustion.”

The GGUSD, which serves most of Garden Grove as well as parts of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster, has 67 schools, of which 48 have air conditioning. That’s an increase of 33 schools over a year ago, and plans – and funding – are in place to introduce A/C to additional schools.