🕶️ Sunglasses Day, a Simple “Too Sick for School?” Rule, and Brighter Bus Stops Coming Monday

by Tom Seest | Oct 28, 2026 | Announcements | 0 comments

🕶️ Sunglasses Day, a Simple "Too Sick for School?" Rule, and Brighter Bus Stops Coming Monday

Or: Wear Your Shades, Know the 100.4 Rule, and Get Ready for Lighter Mornings and Darker Afternoons

By Thomas Seest, Dunlap.Today · Wednesday, October 28, 2026

Good Wednesday morning. The sun comes up at 6:59 in Dunlap today. The National Weather Service says clouds first, then mostly sunny, with a high near 74 and a calm wind. Fitting weather, because at Griffith Elementary today is “My Future Is Bright” day, so don’t be surprised to see little ones in sunglasses at the bus stop.

The middle of a school week is like the middle of a long porch swing ride. You’ve got your rhythm, the hard push is behind you, and the fun part is coming. This week, the fun part is Friday.

Here’s the roundup: Red Ribbon Week has three dress-up days left, ending with costumes Friday. A Bledsoe County elementary school has shared a simple guide for when to keep a sick child home, a handy thing to have as flu season starts early in Tennessee. Clocks fall back Sunday, which changes the light at both ends of the school day. The Indians’ home finale with Giles County is listed for 7 p.m. Friday. Statewide, middle and high school teachers will take a free course on using AI in the classroom. Plus a youth Harvest Bowl in Pikeville Saturday and a bus-spotting game for the grandkids.

⏱️ What this means for you in 30 seconds
Griffith Elementary dress-up: Sunglasses and neon today. Grade-color shirts Thursday. Halloween costumes Friday, Oct. 30.
SCMS: $1 Halloween dress-down day Friday. No blood or gore, no full masks or face paint, no weapons.
Sick-day rule: Fever over 100.4, or throwing up twice in 24 hours? Keep them home.
Sun., Nov. 1, 2 a.m.: Clocks fall back. Monday’s sunrise is about 6:04 a.m. Sunset is about 4:45 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: Giles County at Sequatchie County, Indians Stadium. Second place is on the line.
Don’t forget: Early voting ends Thursday, Oct. 29.

🕶️ Red Ribbon Week’s Last Three Days: Shades, Colors and Costumes

Griffith Elementary in Dunlap posted its Red Ribbon Week schedule, and the best days are still ahead. Today, Wednesday, Oct. 28, is “My Future Is Bright”: wear sunglasses and neon colors. Thursday, Oct. 29, is “Color War on Drugs”, with each grade in its own color: kindergarten purple, first grade orange, second grade blue, third grade green and fourth grade yellow. Friday, Oct. 30, is “Say Boo to Drugs”, and students may wear their Halloween costumes.

Up the road at Sequatchie County Middle School, the cheer team is holding a $1 Halloween dress-up/dress-down day Friday. The rules are simple: no blood or gore, no full masks or face paint, and no weapons. SCMS is also selling Boo Grams for $2 each morning from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. this week.

What it means for you: Dress-up days are like Sunday-best for a cause. Kids remember the message better when they get to wear it. Tonight, set out a Thursday shirt in the right grade color, and check that Friday’s costume follows the school’s rules before it goes in the backpack. A cowboy is fine. A cowboy with a toy six-shooter, leave the six-shooter home. If you’re not sure of a color (Pre-K families especially), call Griffith at 423-949-2105.

🤒 Too Sick for School? A Simple Rule to Stick on the Fridge

Flu season is getting an early start in Tennessee this year. Axios Nashville reported that the state recorded 74 flu hospitalizations in the week ending Oct. 17, up 42 percent. That’s statewide, not a Valley count. But it means more mornings this fall when a child says, “I don’t feel good.”

Next door in Bledsoe County, Mary V. Wheeler Elementary in Pikeville has shared a clear guide for parents. In short:

Send them to school with a runny nose or mild cough and no other symptoms, a mild stomach ache without vomiting, a mild rash, or no fever overnight without fever medicine.
Keep them home with a temperature higher than 100.4, two or more bouts of vomiting in 24 hours, or watery stool that might not wait for the bathroom.
Call a doctor for a fever over 100.4 along with symptoms like ear pain, sore throat or a rash, or for trouble breathing or signs of dehydration.

What it means for you: This guide is like a good recipe card. You don’t have to guess at the measurements. The two numbers to remember are 100.4 and twice in 24 hours. One catch that trips folks up: a child who only felt fine because of a dose of fever medicine isn’t fever-free yet. When in doubt, the school asks you to call your child’s doctor, an urgent care or the school nurse. Those rules come from one Bledsoe school, so check your own school’s handbook too.

⏰ Sunday’s Time Change: Lighter at the Bus Stop, Darker After Practice

We’ve been reminding you that clocks fall back this weekend. Here’s what that actually looks like on a school day. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1. Based on timeanddate.com’s sun table for Dunlap, sunrise this week is right around 7 a.m. On Monday, Nov. 2, it jumps to about 6:04 a.m., so the morning bus stop will be in daylight. The trade-off: sunset moves from about 5:50 p.m. today to about 4:45 p.m. Monday.

What it means for you: It’s like rearranging the furniture. Same room, same amount of daylight, but you’ll bump your shin a few times until you’re used to it. Mornings get easier. The trip home from ballgames, practice and band gets darker. Tuck a small flashlight or a reflective strip in the backpack of any child who walks home or waits for a late ride. And drivers, look twice around 5 p.m. next week. Kids aren’t used to it being dark that early, and neither are we. Set the clocks back Saturday night so nobody’s an hour early to church.

🏈 Friday’s Home Finale: 7 P.M. Kickoff Listed for Giles County

We’d flagged that kickoff had been posted two different ways. Dunlap.Today’s game preview now lists kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Indians Stadium in Dunlap. Both teams are 3-1 in Region 4-3A. Giles County is 6-3 overall and the Indians are 5-4. The winner takes second place in the region.

What it means for you: Think of it as the last cake in the church bake sale. Everybody wants a slice, so come early. The forecast for Friday is mostly sunny, near 79, with a mild evening around 54, about as good as football weather gets. Bring a cushion for the bleachers. If anything changes, the school’s posts will have it first.

🤖 Statewide: Teachers Will Take a Free Course on AI in the Classroom

This one is statewide. A Tennessee law signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 22, 2026, now Public Chapter 1056, tells the state Department of Education to offer at least one free, take-it-on-your-own-time course on using artificial intelligence in the classroom. Every teacher in grades 6 through 12 must finish an approved course by Aug. 1, 2028, or within two years of getting a Tennessee teaching license, whichever is later. It passed the Senate 32-0 and the House 88-0. An education news site, Formative Spaces, wrote about it this past week.

What it means for you: Remember when calculators came to class and folks worried kids would forget how to add? Teachers learned how to use them well, and kids still learned their times tables. This is the same idea. Your grandkids are already bumping into AI on phones and computers. This makes sure their teachers know the tool, its good uses and its pitfalls, before telling students how to use it. Nothing changes in your child’s classroom overnight. A good question for the next parent-teacher talk: “How does our school handle AI on homework?”

🏆 Neighbors: A Youth Harvest Bowl and Cheer Competition in Pikeville Saturday

Dunlap.Today reports that the 2026 Harvest Bowl Championship & Cheer Competition comes to Bledsoe County High School in Pikeville on Saturday, Oct. 31. It’s a day of football and cheer, and a local barbecue vendor, Big Man’s Meat Shack, plans to be there serving food. We didn’t see game times or admission posted.

What it means for you: Youth championships are where future Friday-night stars learn to hold on to the ball and to their tempers. It’s like a county fair ribbon for the little ones, and it means the world to them. If you’ve got a young player or cheerleader in the family, or you just love a good Saturday in the stands, check with the organizers or your youth league for times before you drive over. The forecast calls for a high near 73, with only a slight chance of a shower after 1 p.m.

🚌 A Bus-Spotting Game for the Grandkids: Look for the “-P”

Here’s a fun one we hadn’t passed along yet. Sequatchie County Schools says its transportation department landed a $62,000 rebate from the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition toward two new propane-fueled buses. That makes three propane buses on county roads. The Dunlap-Tribune first reported it in August, and it’s still featured on the district’s news page. You can spot them by the “-P” in the bus number or a green Bluebird emblem near the top front on either side.

What it means for you: It’s like the old license-plate game on a road trip. Next time you’re waiting on a bus, see who spots the “-P” first. Behind the game is some good penny-pinching. Transportation supervisor Scotty Holland told the Tribune that time will tell on savings, but the district expects lower parts and service costs on these buses.

🗓️ Dates to Pin

Today, Wed., Oct. 28: Sunglasses and neon at Griffith. Vanderbilt visit at SCHS, 9 a.m.–noon. Early voting, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., 68 Spring St., Dunlap.
Thu., Oct. 29: Last day of early voting. Grade-color shirts at Griffith. Bledsoe County early release at 11:30 a.m. SCMS varsity basketball at East Ridge, 5 and 6 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 30: Costume day at Griffith. $1 dress-down day at SCMS. Giles County at Sequatchie County, 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 31: Halloween. Harvest Bowl Championship & Cheer Competition at Bledsoe County High.
Sun., Nov. 1, 2 a.m.: Clocks fall back one hour.
Mon., Nov. 2: TN Promise deadline for seniors. Sequatchie County school board regular meeting.
Tue., Nov. 3: Election Day. No school in Bledsoe County.
Tue., Nov. 10: TCAT Upper Cumberland College Preview Day in Pikeville.

What it means for you: If you only remember one thing today, make it this: vote by Thursday, costumes Friday, clocks back Saturday night.

🌤️ Sunny and Mild Through Friday, Then Halloween Showers

The National Weather Service forecast for Dunlap: clouds giving way to sun today, near 74, and a clear, cool night around 46. Thursday is sunny, near 76. Friday is mostly sunny, near 79, with a mild Friday night around 54. Halloween Saturday has a high near 73, with a 20 percent chance of showers after 1 p.m. Showers become likely Saturday night (60 percent), and Sunday looks wet, with an 80 percent chance and a high near 65.

What it means for you: Jacket at the bus stop, short sleeves by lunch. Trick-or-treat early Saturday evening, and keep the umbrella by the door for Sunday.

✅ Your Wednesday Fridge Checklist

✅ Tonight: lay out a Thursday grade-color shirt for Griffith students.
✅ Check Friday’s costume: no blood or gore, no full masks or face paint, no weapons.
✅ Write “100.4 / twice in 24 hours” on a sticky note by the thermometer.
✅ Vote early by Thu., Oct. 29.
✅ Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: home finale vs. Giles County.
✅ Set clocks back Saturday night. Put a flashlight in the backpack for darker afternoons.

Practical rule: When the light changes, change the plan, not the kid. A flashlight in the backpack beats a worry in your head.

— Dunlap.Today

📚 Plain-English School Glossary

Red Ribbon Week: A national week, held each October, that teaches children about healthy, drug-free choices.
Dress-down day: A day students may skip the usual dress code, often for a small donation to a school club.
Boo Gram: A small Halloween greeting students buy and send to a friend, usually as a fundraiser.
Fever-free: No fever without the help of fever-reducing medicine, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Daylight saving time: The months when clocks are set one hour ahead. It ends the first Sunday in November, when clocks “fall back.”
Region standings: Win-loss records against teams in the same region. They decide playoff spots and seeding.
Public Chapter: The number Tennessee gives a bill once it becomes law.
Asynchronous course: A class you take on your own schedule, usually online, instead of at a set time.
Propane bus: A school bus that runs on propane gas instead of diesel fuel.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Red Ribbon dress-up days at Griffith Elementary?

Wednesday, Oct. 28: sunglasses and neon. Thursday, Oct. 29: grade-level colors (K purple, 1st orange, 2nd blue, 3rd green, 4th yellow). Friday, Oct. 30: Halloween costumes.

What are the costume rules at Sequatchie County Middle School on Friday?

The $1 dress-up day allows costumes, but no blood or gore, no full masks or face paint, and no weapons.

When should I keep my child home sick?

Under the guide Mary V. Wheeler Elementary shared: a temperature higher than 100.4, vomiting two or more times in 24 hours, or watery stool that may not wait for the bathroom. Check your own school’s handbook, and call the school nurse or your doctor if you’re unsure.

Is flu worse in the Valley right now?

The early-start numbers Axios reported are statewide, not a local count. It’s simply a good season to get a flu shot and keep sick children home.

What time will the sun rise at the bus stop after the time change?

About 6:04 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, in Dunlap, according to timeanddate.com. Sunset that day is about 4:45 p.m.

What time is Friday’s game against Giles County?

Dunlap.Today’s preview lists a 7 p.m. kickoff at Indians Stadium on Friday, Oct. 30. Check school posts for any last-minute change.

Will my child’s teacher start using AI in class because of the new law?

The law requires teachers in grades 6–12 to take a free course on AI in the classroom by Aug. 1, 2028. It’s training for teachers. How AI is used in class is still guided by each district’s own policy.

How can I tell which school buses run on propane?

Look for a “-P” in the bus number or a green Bluebird emblem near the top front of the bus.

🔗 Other Resources

🏠 Keep Learning — Stay Calm

Sunglasses today, costumes Friday, a home finale under the lights and an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning. None of it calls for worry. It just rewards a little planning: a shirt laid out, a thermometer handy, a flashlight in the backpack. Do those three things and you’re ahead of the game.

For more calm, practical Valley news you can use, keep reading Dunlap.Today.

Know about an upcoming event or story in the Sequatchie Valley? Submit it here.

← 🍗 Homemade Chicken & Dumplings Special at Off the Farm Barbque in Soddy Daisy 🔍 What's Hiding Below: Why Sewer Scope Inspections Matter for Homebuyers →

Written By Tom Seest

undefined

You Might Also Like

🧟 Zombie Ice Cream in Jasper, TN Sets Winter Hours Starting Sunday, November 15 ❄️

Nov 15, 2026 | Announcements