October 2023 Newsletter
Dear Jack & Jill Families,
Happy October! We hope that you have taken advantage of the weather over the month of September as the much cooler October weather is one its way!
Jack & Jill is excited to host the following events in October below.
Fall Dress Up Days!
Friday, October 13th: Flannel Friday!
Friday, October 27th: Border Battle Day! Vikings vs Packers! Wear your Favorite Sports Gear!
Tuesday, October 31st: 4:00 pm Costume Parade!
Family Fall Harvest & Staff Meet and Greet
Fall is a special time of year, and we celebrate it annually with our Family Fall Harvest. We are excited to invite families back inside for our Fall Harvest this year as a chance to meet the teachers.
Wednesday, October 25th St Anthony Site
Thursday, October 26th Blaine Site
During the Fall Harvest, there will be a scheduled time for you to meet the teachers and play the games for each age group. The schedule is below:
4:00-5:00 PM: Infant & Toddler Families
5:00-6:00 PM: Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, & School Age Families
Families with children in more than one age group may attend during both time frames. Families may stay for the entire duration of the time or partial amount, whatever works best for you! More details to follow prior to the event.
Game include: Ghost Velcro Toss, Monster Can Bowling, Candy Corn Toss, Spider Hula-Hoop Toss, Coloring Contest, Sticker Tattoos, Spin The Wheel for Prizes, Arts & Crafts activities, Pumpkin Sheet Decorating, Scratch Art, Pin The Nose on the Pumpkin, and more! Games and activities will be enjoyed by all throughout the day.
Fall Harvest Parade - Tuesday, October 31st at 4:00 PM
The Fall Costume Parade has become one of our favorite Family events!
The Costume Parade is a special day for the kids to wear their costumes to school and to share treats with their friends. The kids will parade throughout the building corridor in their designated classroom and proceed outside. The parade will conclude by 4:30 pm and parents are welcome to bring a lawn chair to see the parade go by outside! Parents can arrive by 4:00 and set up lawn chairs on the grass outside Jack & Jill to watch the parade and take their children home with them at the end of the parade! If you choose not to attend the parade, please plan to pick your child up by 5:00 pm as the program will be closing early this day.
What to Bring:
Your costume! Please make sure costumes work for potty training if applicable.
Change of clothing for the day.
Store bought individually packaged, Peanut and Tree Nut free treat to share (optional). Treat exchange will take place during the day. Shared items will be bagged and stored in each child’s locker and sent home at the end of the night and will not be consumed during the day due to allergies, etc.
Quantity of Treats (optional): If you would like to bring treats, please bring 12 treats if your child is an infant and 20 treats if your child is a toddler or preschooler so there are enough treats for everyone. Thank you.
Preschool Fish, Frog, Tree Frog, Pre-Kindergarten and School Age Children may wear their costumes throughout the day. Infants and Toddler age children will be changed into their costumes prior to the parade.
Fall Illnesses:
We are starting to see some RSV along with some vomiting and diarrhea along with continued COVID and Strep Throat
Strep Throat: We have seen unusual symptoms this year for strep, including a stomachache or headache. We are also seeing strep being diagnosed with a rash as the only symptom. Please remember, a child will be excluded from care with an undiagnosed rash until you are able to consult with health care provider for a diagnosis.
Covid: We have seen COVID cases in the past month. The MDH Covid Guidelines have not changed and are linked below:
https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/case.pdf
Change of Seasons
With fall comes more erratic weather and greater variability in outdoor temperature. Some days can be warm and sunny and other days may be a chilly 50°F or below. With this, please remember to dress your child in layers so that clothing can be removed or added incrementally to accommodate subtle changes in weather conditions. Remember, no drawstrings on hooded sweatshirts and that children must wear close toed shoes. In addition, fall brings the transition away from the use of sunscreen. Once children start to wear more clothing to cover their skin, there is no longer a need to apply the protective sunscreen barrier. We will eventually send home unused sunscreen or discard if a small amount remains. Please remember to send hats, mittens, and seasonal fall and winter jackets as the temperatures change. As the cooler temperatures arrive, please remember your child’s winter clothing items (boots, jackets, snow pants, hats and mittens) will need to go to and from school with your child daily to accommodate our cleaning protocol. Please be sure your child has a bag or backpack adequate to hold the winter gear and it is properly labeled with your child’s first and last name.
Time Change
“Fall back” or Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 5, 2023, as we turn our clocks back one hour. As the seasons change, please take caution as you enter and exit our parking lots in the morning and afternoons. Some of our afternoon playground times may change with the change of seasons.
Absentee Notice
There are a variety of ways families can share with us that their child will be late or absent.
Families can email us at info@jackandjilledu.com
Families can send a message through ChildPilot by using the Messages feature on ChildPilot. These messages will get sent to all admin staff.
Families can call us at 612-455-8955 for St Anthony and 763-784-1451 for Blaine.
Please note that St Anthony and Blaine do share a phone system so even if your call is picked up by a staff at the other center, they will be able to transfer you where you need or take a message for you to pass along.
Kindly remember children arriving after 10:00 am without advance notice will be marked absent for the day.
Child Pick Up due to Illness
If your child becomes ill during the day, parents/guardians will be contacted to pick up their child. If a parent/guardian cannot be reached, an alternate authorized person (as listed on your emergency card) will be called to pick up the child. Kindly remember a sick child will need to be picked up within 60 minutes of receiving notice.
Child Exclusion Policy:
Upcoming Closed Dates:
Thursday, November 23rd: Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday, November 24th: Thanksgiving Holiday
Monday, December 25th: Winter Holiday Break
Tuesday, December 26th: Winter Holiday Break
Monday, January 1st: New Year’s Holiday
Nutrition:
Jack & Jill prides itself on its nutritional and quality meals served out of our commercial kitchens on-site at each location. We meet all five food groups required for a complete and healthy meal in our weekly menus as Children need a healthy, varied diet to promote growth & development. Below are examples taken straight from our menu's which highlight a selection of our offering in each food group.
Fruits: We serve a variety of fresh fruits along with frozen berries & other canned fruits. These include:
Pears
Peaches
Pineapple
Unsweetened Applesauce
Bananas
Apples
Blueberries
Vegetables: We cook and serve fresh & frozen vegetables daily at Jack & Jill. These include:
Broccoli
Peas
Green Beas
Carrots
Cauliflower rice
Grains: We serve a variety of grains at Jack & Jill, including many whole grains. These include:
Whole grain Goldfish
Whole wheat tortillas
Whole wheat bread
Whole grain breadstick and Shubert rolls
Rice
Whole grain pastas
Whole grain oatmeal
Potatoes, including homemade baked French fries
Protein Foods: We serve a variety of protein foods including a variety of meats, seafood & beans throughout the week. These include:
Ground beef
Ham
Chicken
Turkey
Tuna
Bean (black, pinto, and refried)
Dairy: We serve Milk at both breakfast and lunch every day as well various other dairy products at mealtimes. These include:
Unflavored 1% Milk for children 16-months and older. Unflavored whole milk for children 16-months and younger.
A variety of cheeses
Low fat yogurt
Cottage cheese
Tuition Changes as of January 1st, 2024
Starting January 1, 2024, our tuition prices will increase to continue to provide the best care for your family.
We continue to make investments in providing the best education and environment for your child. We consistently attend to building and playground improvements. New buses for school age transportation were purchased this year. The infrastructure of our technology has expanded. Staff receive steady pay increases and bonus opportunities. Our curriculum continues to be enhanced to align with the Minnesota Early Childhood standards. We have newly implemented preschool and Pre-Kindergarten STEAM learning activities, including Makerspace, an Art Program, and a physical education program.
We have worked hard these past few months towards getting our programs Parent Aware rated and are excited to share that we have submitted all of our rating documentation as a part of this last cohort. We have also gotten both our curriculum and assessments approved by Parent Aware. Many of our staff underwent significant training to get Parent Aware lead teacher qualified and we are happy to have been able to support our staff through this process and reward them for their dedication and hard work. We continue to invest in continuing education for our staff, which included these lead teacher trainings as well as partnering with outside trainers to ensure our staff are receiving high quality training and mental health support, to help them provide your children with the best possible care.
We continue to attract quality new staff and retain staff by supporting their needs to provide your child with the best care and education. We are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished so far this year and are excited for what we have in store for the rest of this year and beyond and thank you for your continued support.
Please follow the links below for pricing information.