Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Our annual DANCE-A-THON is on Tuesday February 14 . What a fabulous way to celebrate Valentine's Day and help support your school. This event is run by the School Advisory (Parent) Council and is one of our major fundraisers of the year. Money raised will help support additional programs at Fern (Arts, Science, Sports and Special Events). All classes will be dancing for a designated period of time in the auditorium and parents are welcome to come and help out. If you are available to volunteer, please email Pamela - wilson.pamela@sympatico.ca . The class that raises the most money (in each division) will be rewarded with a Pizza Party. We also have a GRAND PRIZE for one individual student that collects the most money, a unique opportunity to step in to Mr. Moy's shoes and be Principal for a Day. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you ON THE DANCE FLOOR! The Dance-a-thon Committee

Looking for a summer camp that includes sports, drama, arts & crafts and nature and is close to home? Check out the TDSB Island Summer Camp on Centre Island. Camps are offered in July 2012 for ages 9-13. Check out the TDSB website for additional information.

Help support a local school and vote for the Perth Ave Public School/St. Luigi Catholic Schoolyard Project to win 1 of 4 $50,000 grants through the Team Up Foundation Fund. Voting Starts January 30th until February 20th, 2012. One vote allowed per day. Click here to vote .

Dear Parent/Guardians, Our Itinerant Music Instructor for Band, Mr. Mills teaches band to our students on Days 1 and 3 from 2:30 pm to 3:15pm. If you have any questions please feel free to contact our main office. Thanks.

Dear Parent/Guardians, As mentioned in a previous blog graduation pictures for grade 8 students will take place on Thursday, February 9th at 9:00am. GRADUATION PHOTO TIPS: Graduation gowns, props and school colours will be provided at our school on photo day. For your graduation photos, the photographers recommend a white blouse for the girls and a white collared shirt and dark tie for the boys. PLEASE remember if you wish to purchase a 11x14 Graduation Class Composite with a vinyl folder please send $20.00 with your child in the envelope provided. If you have any questions please feel free to call Vera in the main office at 416-393-9130.

This year’s Holiday concert was an amazing show! We were so pleased with all the kids who sang and performed. We were also very lucky to have Katherine Wheatley come out and lead her students in an inspiring performance of the songs they wrote in her "Youth Songs" program that came to Fern in December. We had 12 classes (302 students) write, sing and record eight amazing songs. Katherine’s enthusiasm, patience and teaching skills made this possible. Our students and teachers really enjoyed working with Katherine and we hope she will come back again next year to work with the rest of the school. With Katherine's help we have put together a CD with all eight songs, sung by our very own Fern students! The CDs are only $5.00 and include the lyrics to all the songs so kids can practice at home! Look for order form envelopes coming home this week so you can order your very own FERN FEST 2011 CD! Orders are due by February 1st.

Are your children on Facebook?   Did you know that most students in Grade 5 & up are on Facebook and their average "Friend List" count is 175?    If you would like to learn more about Facebook and how to manage your child's Facebook use, attend the session at Humberside Collegiate Institute on February 1st and review these Privacy Tips .   Additional information can be found at this link .  

Spidey is trying to “catch” new Parents. We need you at the next School Council Meeting!      Thursday, January 26th—6:30 PM      Room 216 Please join us this coming Thursday as we celebrate the start of 2012 and review plans for our: Annual Dance-thon on February 14 Winter Art programs Future live productions Spring Fling Get involved and help build a stronger Fern Community. We look forward to seeing you there!

Maggie’s delicious and nutritious lunches have been receiving rave reviews since October, thanks to a partnership between Ferncliff Daycare and the Fern Food Committee to run the hot-lunch pilot program. In order for the Food Committee to better assess and improve the program and carry out its commitment to the school board to undertake a program review, we would appreciate your feedback. With this information we will be able to examine if we are able to continue the lunch program next school year. We are asking all Fern families to share your thoughts regarding the lunch program, whether you are participating in it or not. We would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to answer our survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3B2VJ7C by Monday, February 6. Thank you. The Fern Food Committee

The guitar club will begin on Monday January 23 from 3:30 to 4:15. If you wish to join you need to come and get a permission form from Mr. Cline or Mr. Morra and bring in your guitar for next Monday. The club will be running every Monday from 3:30 to 4:15 and meeting in Room 205.

Click here to download the February newsletter.

The Fern Arts Committee is thrilled to announce Fit2Dance will be facilitating the awesome Groovin’ Kids Workshop at Fern Ave. P.S. on Wednesday, January 25th. They will be giving workshops in the auditorium throughout the day to all the grades. Fit2Dance’s Groovin’ Kids is a high energy dance party. The Fit2Dance Group combines simple, fun and funky moves that everybody can follow in a safe and inclusive environment. The students will get lost in fitness and fun while building self-esteem and flexing their creative minds! Groovin’ Kids is designed for all K-8 students and features cross curricular connections in music, drama, social studies and more. Fit2Dance will provide post-workshop activities, assessment tools and music playlists featuring a variety of popular music and dance styles from around the globe including Hip Hop, African, Bollywood to name a few. The Fern Kids and teachers will be gettin’ down while getting fit and having fun!

In honour of National Family Literacy Day, MPP Cheri Di Nova will be reading a story in our Parenting Centre on Wednesday the 25th of January at 11:15am. We look forward to her visit.

High Park Alternative School is hosting an open house on January 26.   Additional information can be found by following this link .

Nominations are now open for the Premier's Awards for Teaching Excellence. Parents, students, educators and community members can nominate an outstanding educator or support staff member for an award. Two new awards have been created this year to recognize the unique role that registered Early Childhood Educators play in supporting children and families: Early Childhood Educator of the Year and Full-Day Kindergarten Team of the Year. The deadline to submit a nomination is February 6, 2012. To learn more or to download a nomination form, click here .  

When: Thursday January 26th, 2012 – 7pm To apply to City View, applicants must follow this 2 step process: 1. Attend the Jan. 26, 2012 Open House at 7:00pm 2. Complete Optional Attendance form and application package, remembering to include your child’s Progress Report Card. Return to us by February 1, 2012 by 3:00pm CITY VIEW’s PROGRAMME: • Offers enriched academics and excellent preparation for high school • Is committed to equity and social justice • Places a strong emphasis on the arts • Provides students with a global perspective • Fosters a strong student voice and community involvement

In our effort to reduce the use of paper at our platinum ecoschool, we no longer will be distributing monthly photocopied order forms or menus to every student.  Instead, we will be posting them on Fern's community notice board  and e-mailing them to Fern families. If you would like a hard copy, please let us know ( tracykett@rogers.com or 416-535-0205) and we will send one home with your child. February lunch orders must be received by Monday, January 16th. You can download the order form here and the February menu here. The menu can also be found on the school's online calendar. Later this month we will be conducting a school-wide survey about the lunch program so we can better assess and improve this pilot program. More details will follow shortly and we would greatly appreciate it if you can find the time to fill it out. And finally, not just Fern parents and students are talking about our lunch program, it's been blogged. The program has been praised by author-te...

Do you have a child who will be 4 years old by the end of this year? If yes, they are eligible for enrolment in junior kindergarten for September 2012. Children who will be 5 years old by the end of this year are eligible for enrolment in senior kindergarten for September 2012.  Registration at Fern Avenue Public School is occurring February 6-10.  Click the following link for details on how to register your child for 2012  Kindergarten .

PROJECT LOVE Returns this month to Fern Ave. School…. $3.00 will help send school supplies to a student in Ethiopia January is your child's opportunity to act as a global citizen through Project Love, a national award-winning program of CODE that supports literacy and global education. This year, Fern's senior ESL students and Free the Children Club will be leading our efforts to give school supplies to children in Ethiopia. Students will also learn about Ethiopian life and culture. Your child is encouraged to do some extra chores and earn $3.00. This donation is used to make up kits of reusable plastic bags with notebooks, erasers, pencils, and rulers. Shipping costs to Ethiopia are also covered by these donations. Basic learning materials are often difficult and expensive to obtain in many developing countries such as Ethiopia. To date, CODE has sent more than 1.5 million Project Love Kits to students in Africa and the Caribbean. These basic school materials we take for...

Are you looking for an alternative? Horizon Alternative - Open House The program at Horizon offers: • Enriched, quality programming in all subject areas • Student responsibility and time management skills • Real-life and simulation based teaching • Teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills • Diversity • Lots of trips and special events When is it? Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 6:30 pm Where is it? Kensington Community School gymnasium 401 College Street (right near College and Bathurst) The Open House will offer prospective families a chance to hear current students talk about the program, to ask questions of staff and students, and to pick up the application package. Contact information: Phone: (416) 393-1298 Email: horizon_alt@hotmail.com Fax: (416) 393-1214 Website http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/horizon

Dear Parents/Guardians, Please note our first hockey game will take place this Thursday, January 12th at MasterCard Arena...Games will take place from 3pm to 4pm on January 12, 19, 26th, however we are asking all volunteers to be in the main foyer at Fern by 2pm. The February 9th game will take place from 12pm to 1pm, for this game we are asking volunteers to be in the main foyer at Fern by 11am. Practices will resume at MasterCard on January 16 and January 30th as previously indicated. Thank you for your on going support. Coach Vera

Mme. Mably and Ms. Chakungal's grade 4 classes are beginning an art project that requires MAGAZINES. If you have old magazines that you are willing to part with, please drop them off to the office or directly to room 102.

Not only Fern parents and students are talking about the lunch program, the program has been praised by author‐teacher‐parent Karen Le Billion on her blog . We are still also looking for parents to volunteer one hour to help serve lunch (11:20‐12:20) or to be on the food committee. Your own children do not have to be ordering a hot lunch for you to be a volunteer. This is a fun and easy way to help the school and stay connected to the Fern community. Please contact Carole Angus at for more info and to sign up. Finally, in order for the committee to better assess and improve the program, we will be undertaking a school‐ wide survey in January regarding the lunch program, which we hope you will find the time to fill out. We will send you the link as soon as it is posted on Survey Monkey.

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to sign up for February’s menu of hot lunches. To order your lunches for February, download the application form and drop off your payment at room 103 by Monday, January 16th.  If you have already signed up for three or more months, there is no need to do anything more. We will e‐mail you a reminder when your child’s last paid month is approaching. To check out our menu, download it here , or browse through it on the online School Calendar. To learn more about Fern’s in-house lunch program, click here .

Topics: The Individual Education Plan (IEP) & The Identification, Placement and Review Com ite (IPRC) Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Locations: EAST REGION 140 Borough Drive Council Chambers, Main Floor WEST REGION Bloor C.I. 1141 Bloor Street West Auditorium Registration: NOT required Parking: Limited at both locations If an interpreter or child minding is required, contact the number indicated at least one week prior to the event: East: 416-396-9039 or 416-396-9003 West: 416-394-3754 or 416-394-7413