October 2026 Newsletter
Dear Jack & Jill Families,
Happy October! We hope everyone has been enjoying the nicer weather we have had this week! We wanted to share more information on our upcoming events.
Exclusion of Sick Children Reminders
With fall officially upon us so is cold and flu season. We want to share some reminders regarding illness protocols and the exclusion of sick children at school.
If a child becomes ill and is excluded from the program per the center’s exclusion policy, the parent, guardian, and/or emergency contact is required to pick up the child within one hour from the time the individual is notified.
Parents are asked to notify the center within 24 hours if their child contracts a communicable disease.
If your child requires the use of a fever reducing medication in the morning to attend school, they are not well enough to be attending that day. Since these medication mask signs and symptoms of illness we are unable to properly evaluate if a child is well enough to be in care for the day and can create potential risk of illness to the other children.
Any child sent home with a fever must remain fever free for 24 without the use of fever reducing medication before returning to care.
Please see below for more of our exclusionary guidelines below.
Fall Dress Up Days!
Tuesday, October 13th: Favorite Sweatshirt and Jeans Day – join our teachers in wearing your favorite sweatshirt and jeans today!
Friday, October 23rd: Flannel Friday!
Friday, October 30th 4:00 pm Costume Parade!
Wednesday, November 4th: Favorite Color Day: Wear clothes of your favorite color!
Jack & Jill is excited to host the following events in October below.
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 for a fun family event for and chance to meet your child's teachers. UPDATE: The Date for the St Anthony Fall Harvest celebration has been moved from Wednesday, 10/21 to Tuesday 10/20 due to parking availability with our adjoining neighbors.
Tuesday, October 20th St Anthony Site
Thursday, October 22nd Blaine Site
During the Fall Harvest, there will be a scheduled time for you to meet the teachers and play games for each age group. The schedule is below:
4:00-5:00 PM: Infant & Toddler Families (All infant rooms, Toddler rooms: Penguins and Ladybugs; SA: Lil Fish
5:00-6:00 PM: Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, & School Age Families (Preschool Classrooms: St Anthony: Blue Fish, Red Fish, Frogs, Tree Frogs, and Pre-K Pods; Blaine: Fish, Frogs, Tree Frogs, and Pre-K)
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.
Games Include: Monster Can Bowling, Candy Corn Toss, Spider Web Toss, Tattoo Station, Beanbag Pumpkin Toss, Feed the Moster, Bobbing for Apples, Halloween Golf, Arts & Craft activities, Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin and More!
Fall Costume Parade - Friday, October 30th at 4:00 PM
The Fall Costume Parade has become one of our favorite Family events! It's a special day for the kids to wear their costumes to school and 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.
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.
Change of clothing for the day.
Optional Treat Exchange: If you want to bring a treat to share in your child’s classroom, please bring a non-food treat such as stickers, crayons, cards, etc. Shared items will be bagged and stored in each child’s locker and sent home at the end of the night.
Quantity of Treats (optional): If you would like to bring treats, classrooms should bring the following amount so there are enough for everyone.
St Anthony Classrooms:
Bebe A: 6 Treats
Bebe B: 8 Treats
Baby A: 12 Treats
Baby B: 12 Treats
Big Bear A: 14 Treats
Big Bear B: 13 Treats
Penguin A: 15 Treats
Penguin B: 15 Treats
Ladybugs: 19 Treats
Lil Fish: 21 Treats
Blue Fish: 24 Treats
Red Fish: 19 Treats
Frogs: 19 Treats
Tree Frogs: 20 Treats
Pre-K POD 1: 26 Treats
Pre-K POD 2: 27 Treats
Blaine Classrooms:
Baby Bears: 6 Treats
Big Bears: 13 Treats
Penguins: 9 Treats
Ladybugs: 14 Treats
Fish: 16 Treats
Frogs: 19 Treats
Tree Frogs: 20 Treats
Pre-K: 18 Treats
Change of Seasons
The fall season brings a weather pattern that experiences cooler temperatures quickly. 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 non-plastic 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-Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026, 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.
Looking Ahead... Closed Center Days
Thursday, November 26th: Thanksgiving Holiday
Friday, November 27th: Thanksgiving Holiday
Thursday, December 24th: Winter Holiday Break
Friday, December 25th: Winter Holiday Break
Thursday, December 31st: New Year’s Holiday
Friday, January 1st: New Year’s Holiday
Continue to enjoy the wonderful fall weather! Thank you for your continued support.