Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Dear Parents/Guardians, The Downtown Vocal Music Academy of Toronto is hosting a OPEN HOUSE on.... DATE:   November 10, 2016 at 6:30PM              January 12, 2017 at 6:30 PM WHERE:  96 Denison Avenue                  Toronto Learn more about the DVMA! Take a tour, meet staff and students. Building Community Through Music! Email:  DowntownVocalMusicAcademyofToronto@tdsb.on.ca

Dear Parent/Guardians, Student Information Night for KKSA Arts-Integrated Middle School will take place on: DATE:  Thursday, November 10, 2016 TIME:  6:00 PM AT:  John English Junior Middle School         95 Mimico Ave, Toronto, ON M8V 1R4 FOR:  All interested parents/guardians of students entering Grade 6 in September 2017. The application process is open for Grade 5 students only. Learn more about the school, curriculum and application process---students are welcome to attend too! Find out more about admissions at: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/karenkain/Admissions.aspx

QSP Campaign EXTENDED to October 31 st !  Although prize eligibility will end on Monday, any orders made throughout the year will still be allocated to Fern! Looking for the perfect gift that is delivered for free anywhere in Canada?  Choose a magazine subscription from the 500 choices available – great deals! We all know that kids love to receive mail and you'll be encouraging reading at the same time.   Every subscription order generates an average of $11 profit for Fern School.  Not interested in a subscription but still want to support our school campaign?   There are hundreds of other products available and 40% of your purchase cost goes back to Fern.   Just click http://www.qsp.ca/4713723   to support our children. Click  here  for information for more information.  F antastic student rewards can be found  here .

Sign up for December hot lunch! Orders are due by Thursday November 17th. The Lunch Fall menu can be found here .

The Kindergarten classes will be parading across Wright Avenue, down Roncesvalles and back to Fern Avenue. We will leave shortly after morning recess, around 10:30am. In the spirit of Halloween, we hope that everyone will join us, either to cheer us on or to parade with us.

There is a Senior Halloween Dance on Monday October 31 from 1:00 to 3:00 in the Auditorium.

Find the scheduled team sports practices and gym house league games for November-December here .

Many of the students will benefit from using Google Talk which will transform their speech to text.  I t can be used at both home and school. Below are the steps of how to install google talk feature. Google Voice to Text Open or create a Google Doc file. Under the TOOLS menu, select  VOICE TYPING. Allow access to your computer’s microphone (all laptops have built-in mics, but if you have a desktop, plug in a USB microphone or headset). Click the Microphone icon, and speak your sentence. You can choose the language of your choice (English or French or other) in the menu above the Microphone icon. Happy Writing! 

Our next School Council meeting is on Wednesday November 2nd from 6:30pm to 8:15pm in the Staff Room on the 2nd Floor.  Draft agenda below.  C hildcare is available.  Proposed Agenda: Call to Order (2 min) Review Agenda (3 min) Review Minutes (re-attached for reference) (10 min) Principal's Report (10 min) Student Council Report (20 min) Budget Approval (50 min) Interactive Brainstorming Activity: Building Community at Fern Ave PS (9 mins) Co-Chair Update and Housekeeping Items (1 min) Next Scheduled Meeting Adjournment

Parents/Guardians of Children in Junior Kindergarten, You have a choice to make about French programming for your child.   Senior Kindergarten is the ONLY time your child can begin the Early Immersion Program. Applications to the Early French Immersion program are made the year your child is in Junior Kindergarten for entry in September of Senior Kindergarten.  It is an entirely online process. All communication will be sent via the email address you provide.  Please check this email regularly. Please visit the application site www.tdsb.on.ca/pars You will need your child's date of birth and OEN.  The OEN is a 9-digit number found on any report card from the TDSB. For non-TDSB students, please select the "Non-TDSB Student" option and follow the steps to generate an identification number.  You must them return to the PARS site and follow the application procedure with this number, Please select Early French Immersion from the drop-down menu and ...

Dear Parents/Guardians, Claude Watson School for the Arts is a TDSB grade 4-8 school focused on the arts. Each year they audition Grade 3 students for entry into their Grade 4 program.  Parents of students who are interested in auditioning for CWSA are encouraged to attend one of the information sessions. Claude Watson School For The Arts  Parent Information Sessions  Monday, November 7, 2016                      or  Tuesday, November 8, 2016. 130 Doris Avenue (Yonge and Sheppard) 7:00 PM Please Note:  Parking is limited.

Our fifth annual food drive, We Scare Hunger is just around the corner! Your children can drop off canned goods to the box in their classrooms,  starting Monday October 24th running to Monday October 31st . Food Banks Canada has suggested a few key items: •canned fish •canned meat •canned stew •canned soup •canned beans •canned fruit •canned vegetables Food banks are an important method of addressing hunger in Canada. Each month, close to 850,000 people turn to food banks for help; more than one-third are children and youth. The class that collects the most canned goods will receive a movie and popcorn in their classroom. Thanks for supporting We Scare Hunger! Members of Fern's FTC

Dear Parents/Guardians, The Grade 7 staff and students returning from Pinecrest Camp are scheduled to arrive at Fern Avenue PS anywhere between 4:20pm and 5pm this afternoon Friday, October 21st. Thank you, Vera

Click here for information on an upcoming 2-session program that helps parents better understand stress in children [for ages 4-9]. Space is limited so please contact Principal Szonyi on 416.393.9130 to hold your spot.

Click here for information on Garden Avenue Public School's Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser this Saturday October 15th from 10am to 3pm.

Click here for information on a Fern Avenue fundraiser offering magazines and more! Our goal is for each student to sell three items. Information on fantastic student rewards can be found here . Shop now - sale ends October 28 2016! Thank you for your support, The Fern Fundraising Team

Dear Parents/Guardians, Do you have a little or big refrigerator lying around the house or cottage and would like to donate to our school.  We would be happy to take it and provide a good home for it here in our staffroom. Please contact Vera Ciric at 416-393-9130. Thank you!

Dear Parents and Guardians, Our Pinecrest overnight trip for the Gr. 7's has been confirmed and a package has been sent out this afternoon (October 6th).  If your child has been away you can pick up the form this Friday from the office or next Tuesday. The trip is from Oct 19 to Oct 21st. 

A Ward 7 update letter from Trustee Pilkey can be found here .

Phew! Has your family finally settled into a routine? School, homework, hockey, gymnastics, music lessons….Let us take care of one meal for you with a heathy, nutritious - and delicious - hot lunch every day. The Fern Food Committee has been receiving positive reviews from the lunch program participants, after some menu changes took effect this Fall. Items such as vegetarian pita pizza, chicken cacciatore, and cod fish nuggets have been popular. Simply sign up for Fern’s hot-lunch program for lunches starting in November. To save even more time, sign up for the rest of the year right now! Click here to download the order form and here for the menu. Hard copies are also available on the bulletin board outside of room 103. The deadline for your order is Monday, October 17th to begin lunch on Tuesday, November 1st . If you’d like to learn more about Fern’s lunch program, click here or contact fernlunchprogram@gmail.com .

The document found here indicates all information meetings for all secondary schools. Our Learning Centre is LC4. Please note the Parkdale and the Bloor meetings in October are general information meetings for grade 8 students from the surrounding schools – Queen Victoria, Fern, Parkdale. The meeting dates in the document under Learning Centre 4 are specific information nights for the respective schools. More information will be coming to all our grade 8 students through the Itinerant Guidance Counsellor Mr. Rodriguez and their classroom teachers. The 8 to 9 Transitions Information Evenings will be at: Parkdale CI December 6, 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm and Bloor CI November 9, 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm .

Dear Parents/Guardians, PHOTO RE-TAKE DAY will take place on Wednesday, November 2, 2016 beginning at 9:00 am. Due to re-organization in the French classes this will also be an opportunity for the new class to have their "new" class group photographed. Please feel free to contact Vera in the main office if you should have any further questions.