Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Help! The Arts Committee is seeking donations of paint. The grade 7 and 8's are beginning murals next week - they need primer for plywood and any colours of water-based / acrylic paints. Please check your basements and bring in to the school asap. Submitted by a Fern parent volunteer

Hi all, Two parents from the Executive School Council have volunteered to help with this process. Please read the information below and if anyone would like to get involved with the "school organization process", please contact me as soon as possible. Thanks, Craig Tsuji Principal PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT In SCHOOL ORGANIZATION Experience at schools where parents have been involved with the planning of program models strongly suggests that an inclusive and co-operative culture among administration, teachers and parents is achieved. Parents who understand the constraints under which the school staffing committee must operate and how difficult it is to create the models are more supportive and less critical of the final result. To that end it is recommended that the T.D.S.B. work toward this collaborative culture. For the 2009/10 staffing year, Principals are asked to work toward ensuring that a parent group of at least two parents, identified by the School Advisory Council,...

Message from the Director of Education, Dr. Chris Spence: Earth Hour at the TDSB Friday, March 26 from 2 - 3 pm Friday, March 26th, 2:00-3:00 pm is the TDSB Earth Hour for all schools and offices. The official global Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 27th between 8:30-9:30 pm. This year again we are asking all schools and offices to use as little electricity as possible between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Earth Hour Friday. People have been very thorough and creative in the past in finding ways to accomplish this. Many schools go well beyond the single hour, and even start “warming up” by holding an Earth Hour once a week. To see what our schools are planning, refer to the link below: \ http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=207&menuid=28668&pageid=24627 Past results have been amazing, with electricity use reduced by 27.8% on March 27th 2009, besting our very impressive 2008 results of a 22% reduction. So… let’s exceed expectations and reduce our use by more than 27.8%, bet...

Dear Parents/Guardians/Caregivers: We have a new program starting at Fern. It is called the "GoBeTweens" an afterschool program that focuses on Tutoring/homework, Creative Arts and Lifeskills. Registration is ongoing at the Fern school. For more information contact Teresa at 647-292-7170 or email: thegobetweensmail@gmail.com Program duration: March 29th to June 18th. Open HouseMonday and TuesdayMarch 29th and 30th3:30 to 5:30pm at Fern school, room 305Parents and students Welcome! Program Available for grades 4-6 and 7-8 Cost: 20$ per day

On Friday, April 9, 2010 nurses from Toronto Public Health will be in our school to provide the third dose of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to grade 8 female students and the second dose hepatitis B vaccine to grade 7 students. Students who missed a previous dose of any of the HPV, hep b or meningococcal vaccines may also catch up on these by attending this clinic. Your child will need a signed consent form to be vaccinated. Visit the Toronto Public Health website at: http:www.toronto.ca/health/immunization_children/index.htm or call the immunization information line at 416-392-1250 for more information or to obtain vaccine fact sheets or consent forms. Our school office also has vaccine consent forms and fact sheets for our students.

We have added the draft minutes from the last School Council meeting to our School Council page, or you can click here to read them online.

This message is being sent on behalf of Cindy Burley, Central Co-ordinating Principal, Special Education: Special Education will be hosting an information session for parents/guardians of TDSB students. The session will focus on effective communication, negotiation and conflict resolution in a special education context. Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Location: North York Memorial Community Hall 5110 Yonge Street, Lower Level Burgundy Room Please note that this information will be posted on the TDSBweb and on the Special Education intranet site; it will also be shared with members of the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) and members of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC).

Last night's meeting was well attended and after listening to parents concerns, Fern Ave Public School has decided not to go ahead with the water vending machine pilot project. The minutes will be posted soon for more details on the meeting. Another important issue that was discussed was we need more parents to attend school council meetings so we can have a broader sense of Fern's community and their views. Also, we need more ideas as to how we can engage more parents through other means. We need your voice, your energy and your volunteer time, however big or small. Thank you and hope to see you at our next meeting April 15, 2010 at 7:00 PM.

In preparation for the upcoming School Council meeting, you can click here to read the minutes from the last meeting. See you Thursday.

Dear parents/guardians/Caregivers: Many of you will recall a student-initiated campaign that began at Fern more than a year ago with a goal to reduce the use of plastic water bottles at the school. The students started by selling reusable stainless steel water bottles printed with the slogan "Students Making a Difference." The campaign was a tremendous success and more than 300 bottles were sold. I am very proud of our students for initiating such a worthy and successful campaign. The next step in the student plan was to secure a filling station for the school. At several school council meetings this year, the idea of filling stations or vending machines was discussed. The school council has been receptive to this idea. The vending machine would offer a single serving (500 ml) of either filtered tap water (fast-chilled) for 50 cents or a water/juice blend for $1.00. The juice is from concentrate with no sugar added and conforms to Ministry of Education nutrition standards. Yo...

Spirit Week continues at Fern: Wednesday is Mythological Creature Day. Thursday is Celebrity Day. Friday is St. Patrick's Day. Plus hot cocoa in the schoolyard! And on Friday, March 12 at 12:30 in the hockey court, you'll be able to purchase a cup of delicious hot cocoa for $1.00 a cup. This is an initiative by the Free the Children's Club in support of Toronto's Homeless—Out of the Cold Shelter.

Fern Avenue Public School is running a fundraiser with Mabel’s Labels! Please visit  www.fernave.mabel.ca   to place your order and support our school! Personalized sticky labels, clothing labels, shoe labels, bag tags and more!  Perfect for school, camp and daycare.  1-866-30-MABEL (62235)

The installation of the water vending machine has been postponed pending the results of the School Council meeting on March 11, 2010. Please join us at 7 pm in the auditorium . Childcare will be provide. You may also e-mail me at abreau1@bell.net or drop a note in the office concerning this issue.

Fern School Council Meeting Agenda Thursday March 11, 2010 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. School Auditorium 1. Approval of Agenda 2 min 2. Approval of Minutes from December 9, 2009 2 min 3. Chair’s Report 5 min 4. Treasurer’s Report 5 min 5. Ward 7 Report 10 min 6. French as a Second Language Advisory Committee 5 min 7. Committee Reports 5 min a. Eco Schools b. Arts Collective c. Canadian Opera Company d. Food 8. Fundraising 20 min a. Magazine Drive b. Dance-a-Thon c. Fun Fair 9. Other Business 10 min 11. Principal’s Report a. Vending Machine

Fern Public School is involved in a pilot using a water and flavoured water despenser. If you have feedback, please send an email to craig.tsuji@tdsb.on.ca or your School Council Chair abreau1@bell.net . Thanks, Primary Objective of the Trial Learn if the sale of single serve bottle-less water using municipal water, which is filtered and chilled by a specialized vending machine, can be successfully implemented in the Toronto District School Board. Goals of the Trial 1. Provide an alternative method of hydrating students through the use of filtered and chilled municipal water at a price which is cheaper than current bottled water options. 2. Learn about consumer acceptance of a healthy alternative to high sugar and aspartame sweetened drinks. We will provide filtered and chilled water ($0.50 per 500 ml) and flavoured water (from concentrate) at $1.00 per 500 ml. 3. Address the environmental concerns of single use plastic bottles which end up in land fill sites as consumers will pro...

Our fourth newsletter of the 2009-2010 school year is now ready to download . Submitted by Glenn McFadden, Acting Vice Principal

Fern School Single Serve Bottleless Water Trial Primary Objective of the Trial Learn if the sale of single serve bottle-less water using municipal water, which is filtered and chilled by a specialized vending machine, can be successfully implemented in the Toronto District School Board. Please note students must supply their own water bottle to participate in this program. As part of our Eco school initiative refillable water bottles are available at a cost of $10.00 each. Order forms for bottles are available in the school office. The unofficial launch of this initiative will occur next Thursday March 11, 2010. Goals of the Trial 1. Provide an alternative method of hydrating students through the use of filtered and chilled municipal water at a price which is cheaper than current bottled water options. 2. Learn about consumer acceptance of a healthy alternative to high sugar and aspartame sweetened drinks. We will provide filtered and chilled water ($0.50 per 500 ml) and flavoured wate...

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010. PHOTOGRAPHERS WILL BEGIN TAKING PHOTOS AT 1:00 p.m. FOR THE BEST RESULTS THE GIRLS SHOULD WEAR A WHITE TURTLE NECK OR A WHITE BLOUSE. THE BOYS SHOULD WEAR A WHITE SHIRT WITH A TIE.

Hi all, The Second Term Report Cards go home today, March 1, 2010. There is a PA day Friday, March 5th for interviews. Interviews are available upon request by the teacher or parents/guardians. These interview are typically for students who made marked change in their progress. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher.