Email Update--and Pirate Ship Visit!

We have our class Halloween parties this Monday and Tuesday.

• Monday: Miss Didi's class, Mrs. Heebner's class, and Mrs. Anderson's class
• Tuesday: Miss Heather's class, Miss Deborah's class, Mrs. Knudsen's class, Miss Emily's class, and Miss Jaycie's class

Our parties usually start between 11:00 and 11:15. (Check with your child's teacher if you're not sure of the time.) Everyone is invited to attend--we love company! We ask that you park in a marked space in the front parking lot because we do still have carpool on party days! We try to finish up by 11:35, so we can get all of our guests out before carpool starts.

Our school will be collecting unwanted/extra Halloween candy again this year to donate to the troops through Operation Gratitude. If you would like to contribute any wrapped candy, just send/bring it in on Wednesday 11/1 or Thursday 11/2. We'll drop off everything on Friday to be mailed off.

Starting the week of November 6th, we'll be collecting canned/boxed goods to donate to Second Harvest for their Thanksgiving food drive. We'll send more information home on that this week.

We've been relatively lucky so far this year with illnesses at school. We've had a couple of cases of the stomach bug, some kids out with the respiratory infection that's going around, and a few isolated cases of strep. Below is a recap of the preschool health guidelines from the handbook. Please make sure we have a phone number for you where we can always reach you or an emergency contact if your child gets sick. It's distressing when we have a little one who doesn't feel well and is tearful, asking for mommy or daddy, and we we can't get a hold of anyone. If your contact information changes, please let the office and your child's teacher know so we can update everything. We also appreciate the heads up on any illnesses your child has so we can stay on top of things!

For the health and well-being of your child and of others at school, please keep your child home for the following reasons:

1. Fatigue (for any reason), lethargic behavior
2. A fever (a child should remain at home for 24 hours AFTER the fever is gone and/or until prescribed antibiotics have been administered for 24 hours)
3. Sore throat
4. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (child should remain home for 24 hours after the last episode)
5. Red, crusty, or itchy eyes (conjunctivitis or pink eye is very contagious). The child must be kept at home for 48 hours while being treated with antibiotics and should only return to school if there is no discharge from the eyes.
6. A runny nose if there is colored nasal mucus**

A parent or person on the emergency contact list must always be available by phone during school hours. It is the parent’s responsibility to have someone available who can come to the school for emergencies or for a sick child.

**Yellow or green mucus is often a sign of an infection. If we notice this in your child, especially if it's accompanied by other symptoms, we will call and ask you to pick him/her up in an attempt to keep illnesses at a minimum in the classroom. At this age, many of our students are still learning to cough into their elbows, use a tissue to blow their noses, and keep things out of their mouths. We need all of the help we can get to keep everyone well!

Thanks to the Martorells (Ultimate Martial Arts Studio) for bringing their pirate ship (and pirate!) to visit us on Friday!