Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Wait another week to do your Christmas shopping and get those Santa photos taken! Next weekend, December 7 & 8 , is the annual Fern Scooter Girl Shopping Event. Shop locally, don’t fight for parking, and the value of 15% of your purchases goes back to Fern! Then on Saturday, December 8, between 1 and 4, stroll down to Willem & Jools for our Meet Santa event. Your pay-what-you-can donation for a photo with Santa will go to Fern School Council! Look forward to seeing you there!

Would you like a Friday night to yourself this holiday season? A date night with your significant other? Perhaps some extra time to Christmas shop at the Fern Scooter Girl Shopping Evening? Well, you are in luck! We’ll take your kids off your hands for a giant Friday Night play-date in the Auditorium, you get to have an evening kid-less, and School Council raises funds for Programs and Playground. When: December 7, 2018, 6pm - 8:30pm . Where: Fern Auditorium Who: Brave School Council Volunteers How Much: $20 for one child, $10 for additional siblings. You can either arrange with Ferncliff for us to pick up your little one, or you can drop-off your kids starting at 6pm in the auditorium. We will take care of the rest! We will supply a cheese pizza dinner, juice or water, and some ornamental vegetables for your children to ignore. We will also supply the fun! Balls, hula hoops, and games! Please email Rhonda  OR Fern School Council   if you have any questions, and to

Here is the complete Me to WE update for September and October !

Come meet Casey Lyall, author of the Howard Wallace PI series on November 28 in the library. Please click here to RSVP. More details can be found here .

GIVING TUESDAY! You've heard of Black Friday, and Cyber-Monday, but what about Giving Tuesday? Now is a great time to make your charitable donation to Fern Ave. School Council to help us to continue to provided great Programs for your kids, and to help us build a new Playground. The graphic below shows you how we're spending your money this year. Go to Donatetofern.com for more details, or hit the School Cash online button on the blog to be directed to School Cash Online. Thank you for your continued support of Fern! School Council Executive

The Winter Holiday Concert will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2018 beginning at 6:30PM at Parkdale Collegiate Institute on 209 Jameson Avenue. The classes listed below will be involved in either a Drama/Dance or a Music Performance. Room 107 Madame Edelshtein Room 213 Mrs. Nitsis Room 105 Madame Nave Room 108 Madame Chiang Room 215 Madame Voicu Room 206 Madame Centeno Room  209 Madame Couture Room 208 Ms. Eyre Room 207 Ms. Mercuri The Kestrels, Strings and Senior Band will also be performing. Please check the Fern Blog daily for additional information such as arrival time, protocol, what to wear, etc. Thank you, Ms. Jolic and Mr. Nano

By now, you should have received many emails from us through your class rep. If you still are not receiving emails from time to time from a class rep, please email us at fernaveschoolcouncil@gmail.com and we'll connect you to your class rep.

'Tis the Season of Snot, and all through the school, kids blow their noses, they cough, and they drool..... You may not know this, but the TDSB and the school do not have a budget to keep Kleenex in all the classes. Your child's teacher has a classroom budget of $500 for classroom supplies, but that's for everything.... keeping up with the mountains of mucous is not a great use of that money. So please consider buying an extra box or two of Kleenex to donate to your child's class (and maybe a roll or two of paper towel to cleanup spills etc.) Collectively, we can stem the tide of runny noses. As always, please direct comments, questions, concerns, compliments to fernaveschoolcouncil@gmail.com

Principal Sardella has located logs, and now we are working on delivery options. Thanks so much to everyone who jumped in to help! The logs really struck a cord;) We are incredibly lucky to have such an engaged group of parents!

Mark your calendars: December 18 ! Movie! Popcorn! Pizza! Bake sale! The last week of school before the Winter Holidays is a bit of an ordeal for many families. Last minute shopping, holiday planning....So take a night to watch a movie with your friends and neighbours, eat some pizza, snack on baked goods, and maybe win the 50/50 draw to offset the cost of your Christmas shopping. Wins all around! Hope to see you there!

The Primary Holiday Concert will be held in the lovely auditorium of Parkdale CI on December 13 (Grades 1-3, plus [probably] choir, Sr. Band). For the Junior Division Spring concert last year, we ended up inadvertently forming a parade through the neighbourhood as families walked together down to Parkdale C.I.. So let's organize it this time! We will meet in the Primary Yard (Time TBD), and take a festive walk through the neighbourhood down to Parkdale C.I.

December 7-8 is the time to stay on Roncy, shop local, and support Fern. The wonderful people at Scooter Girl, a locally owned, independent toy store that just happens to be the best anywhere, are graciously hosting our annual Fern Scooter Girl Shopping Event December 7 & 8. Tell them you are a Fern parent, and they'll donate 15% of your purchase back to Fern School Council! While you're on the strip, swing by Willem & Jools between 1-4, Saturday December 8 to meet Santa. Along with the beautiful array of flowers, plants, and home decor, Joanne will also be carrying freshly cut Ontario Christmas trees. All proceeds from your pay what you can Santa visit will go to Fern School Council!

The shouts of "Hooray! The pool is back!" may have already been drowned out by the despairing cries of "WHERE IS YOUR BATHING CAP???" It's been a long time. Lost over the summer? Melted on the rad? Used as part of your child's Blue Man Group Halloween costume? We can help. School Council has ordered some fine Fern Falcons branded swim caps. We expect them to arrive this week, just in time for actual swimming lessons to start the week of December 3 (the first week is usually safety rules). We're just ironing out some last minute details of how we can sell them through the Office now that Fern has gone cashless. We've also ordered some skookum Fern Falcons string pack-sacks that would make great swim bags, along with some fantastic Fern branded coffee mugs, toques, and bracelets. Watch this space for more details on how and where you can buy your Fern swag....

BIG NEWS! It just got that much easier to donate to Fern Ave School Council. You know that website where you pay for your child's field trips? Well now it's your one stop shop for donating to Fern Ave P.S. to support School Council's great Programs, and the Playground Revitalization. Click the "School Cash Online" button on the blog, OR go to " donatetofern.com " for details like where your money goes, and information about future fundraising initiatives. Donate now to get a tax receipt for 2018!

Skip Black Friday! Head to Scooter Girl for Fern Friday (and Saturday too!) December 7 & 8 for your Holiday Shopping. Support a locally owned business, and Fern school. Tell them you’re a Fern parent and 15% of your shopping trip will go to Fern! Win, win, win. Click here for more details!

Parent Workshop : Nov. 21st from 6:30- 7:30 pm in the Staff Room Helping Small People Cope with Big Feelings: Fern PS invites our parents, families, and friends to join us for a free talk by Dr. Paul Szego, a school psychologist with the TDSB for nearly a decade. Dr. Szego will discuss one of the most difficult aspects of parenting: dealing with an emotional child who's exhibiting challenging behaviours. The talk will help parents gain a better understanding of their child's feelings and behaviours, and will offer some practical strategies to help our children ( and ourselves!) better cope with our emotions in calmer and healthier ways. About the Speaker: DR. Szego, Ph.D.,C. Psych. is a developmental psychologist who has been working in the TDSB for nearly a decade. His work focuses on understanding and addressing children's emotional, academic, and social challenges. We look forward to seeing you all here! Rosanna, Tricia, Renu

December is SPIRIT WEEK at Fern Avenue PS. The student council has planned some spirit days for the last week before the winter holidays, starting on December 17th . The days are as follows: Monday, December 17th– Twin Day Tuesday, December 18th – Creative Hat day Wednesday, December 19th- Beach Day Thursday, December 20th – 80's Day Friday, December 21st – Pajama Day

Dear Kindergarten Families, As you know the TDSB is focusing on Bullying Awareness this week.  This is a timely topic that affects all age groups, even Kindergarten.  Last year we wanted to contribute and make a difference for a local organization.  We decided to hold a dance-a-thon and raise money for a group called "Kill it With Kindness."  This grass-roots organization works with schools to talk about issues related to bullying and they raise funds to build friendship benches (a safe space for students to go). Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 20 is Universal Children's Day.  It is a day for children to recognize the importance and to help build a world where every child is in school, safe from harm and can fulfill their potential.  This year the United Nations is asking everyone to wear BLUE (#GoBlue). We are asking you to go online (see back), make a donation and support our initiative.  On behalf of the Kindergarten students thank you. We will be holding the dance-

The latest October news from the Me to WE club can be found here .

Parent Workshop : Nov. 21st from 6:30- 7:30 pm in the Staff Room Helping Small People Cope with Big Feelings: Fern PS invites our parents, families, and friends to join us for a free talk by Dr. Paul Szego, a school psychologist with the TDSB for nearly a decade. Dr. Szego will discuss one of the most difficult aspects of parenting: dealing with an emotional child who's exhibiting challenging behaviours. The talk will help parents gain a better understanding of their child's feelings and behaviours, and will offer some practical strategies to help our children ( and ourselves!) better cope with our emotions in calmer and healthier ways. About the Speaker: DR. Szego, Ph.D.,C. Psych. is a developmental psychologist who has been working in the TDSB for nearly a decade. His work focuses on understanding and addressing children's emotional, academic, and social challenges. We look forward to seeing you all here! Rosanna, Tricia, Renu

Fern was selected to participate in the Family Channel's Stand UP! rally tour hosted by network stars Josh Bogert (Miles, Backstage) and Alexandra Chaves (Piper, The Next Step). The Family Channel will be coming to Fern on Monday November 19th . 9:15 - 10:15 - grades 1-5 10:35 - 11:30 - grades 6-8 Kindergarten - visit in classroom Click here for more information about this amazing opportunity for Fern!

Dear Parents and Caregivers, Our Lost & Found box and table are located outside of Room 107 & 108. Please have a look either before or after your Parent/Teacher Interviews on Thursday evening or Friday morning. Thank you Everyone!

Click here for information on the upcoming grade 8 Open House at Parkdale CI on December 5th at 7pm in the Parkdale CI Auditorium.

Do you want to help kids prepare for a world where technology has an even more profound effect on their lives? Help them understand the natural world and explore their curiosity? Give them an edge in learning science, technology, engineering and math? Look no further! Join Fern stem club as an adult volunteer. People contribute however they can, from attending the club Thursday afternoons from 3 to 4:15 and directly helping the kids with their projects, to writing up exercises, giving talks, or sourcing materials. We can use it all! If you have a technical or scientific background, great! If you don't, great! Learn with us! We are setup to work with computers, 3D printing and robotics, but are game for anything in the STEM purview, including basic science. We're having an orientation meeting on Thursday, November 22nd . Contact Toby ( toby.riddell@prevtec.com ) or Rick ( rkogucki@gmail.com ) for location and any other information.

Come meet Casey Lyall, author of the Howard Wallace PI series on November 28 in the library. More details can be found here .

A reminder to join us in the Library for the Fern Book Fair on  November 15 and 16th ! More information can be found  here .

Wanted: Drama boxes to be used for platforms and stage props. Made of timber/wood, hollow, some with holes/handles at sides for easy lifting; Some are covered with some sort of light carpet. Ultimately, a size big enough for two or three small students to sit on, though any size is acceptable. Donations are appreciated, or, if you know where we can buy them second hand, that can be an option. Thanks V. Jolic Drama and Dance

You may have noticed that the much loved logs along the Wright Ave fence have drifted away. After years of being a seat in the shade for hundreds of kids, a great place to jump from, and the best hiding place in the yard, the mostly rotten logs have gone to the great chipper in the sky. Unfortunately, the logs had become so rotten after so many years of use, they were starting to pose a hazard. Kids were tearing them apart and throwing the bits at each other, or falling into holes in the logs. This now leaves Fern log-less. The Principal is eager to acquire replacement logs as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it turns out that logs aren’t easy to come by. We’re stumped. So, if you have a line on a log, please let us know. Best, School Council Exec

When: Saturday, December 8th from 1-4 pm Where : Willem & Jools (125 Roncesvalles Ave) What : Meet Santa and take a picture with him. Hang out with people in the community while eating homemade cookies and warming up with fresh steaming cider. Beautiful Willem & Jools trees for sale and chances to win local product. Come one, come all! All proceeds go to Fern - all the donations and anything made on the raffle, goes straight back to Fern! Also, don't forget to LIKE Fern Ave Events on Facebook!

Mark your calendars! Send in your questions! RSVP!  Our newly re-elected school trustee and chair of the TDSB Robin Pilkey will be attending our School Council meeting on Tuesday, November 20 6:30 to 8:30.   Let’s fill the auditorium!  It will be a great opportunity to hear about the goals of the TDSB going forward, any new initiatives or changes we might expect from the TDSB, and to show support for Fern’s ongoing infrastructure issues and playground revitalization.   If you’ve never been to a School Council meeting, you may not realize that even though we have a student body of over 700, we are lucky if we get 30 parents attending a meeting.  We’d like to change that, and show the Trustee how much you care.   Pizza and child care available. If you know you need childcare, please RSVP by November 19 at the latest. It also would be really helpful if you RSVPed so we know our numbers for the pizza! Finally, if you have questions for Robin Pilkey, please email fernaveschoolcou

Dear Parents/Guardians, It has come to our attention that most of you are unaware that the SAFE ARRIVAL and/or school is trying to reach you. This may be because your phone display is showing a toll-free number from the United States. I have been told that the “United States” is coming from your phone carrier, thinking the toll-free number is a US number for some reason. Apparently this is not effecting all carriers. Please feel free to call me should you have any further questions; our first priority is the safety of our students. Vera

Join us in the Library for the Fern Book Fair on November 15 and 16th ! More information can be found here .

Parents/Guardians of Children in Grade Three, Applications to the Junior Extended French program are made the year your child is in Grade 3 for entry in September in Grade 4. It is entirely an online process. All communication will be sent via the email address you provide. Please check this email regularly (including junk mail) 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 Junior Extended French from the drop-down menu and complete the application process. On-time applicants must be offered a placement online via the email address you have provided. You MUST take action to accept this pl

Dear Parents/Guardians, Grade 7 Extended French programs are intensive French programs developed for students who do not speak French at home. They are designed to provide more experience in the French language than offered in the Core French program but less than total immersion. The Extended program includes French and additional subjects taught in the French language. Students enrolling in the Extended French program are expected to have successfully completed the Grade 6 Core French program. After Grade 8, students continue the Extended French program at designated secondary schools. Students who successful complete the secondary program will receive a Certificate of Bilingual Studies in Extended French. To find the Extended French school for your area, please visit the following website and enter the name of your English school in the designated search window: www.tdsb.on.ca/ElementarySchool/SchoolChoices/FrenchPrograms How Do you Apply? · Locate your designa

PLAYGROUND UPDATE AND FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES: UNITED WAY! DIRECT APPEAL!  FUTURE EVENTS!    Big Playground news! WE ARE HALF WAY THERE!!!   With the Playground fundraising from last year, together with contributions by parents in the past, and our top-up from this year’s budget, our Playground Fund has reached the milestone of  $100,000!   Congratulations to Bliss, Dave, and all the volunteers who have worked so hard to reach this fundraising goal.  We are planning a Playground Open House and Information Night for January/February, as well as the launch of a Playground Blog to provide you with the details of the revised plan, but we know your might have some questions now: Q -- “HOW MUCH MORE MONEY DO WE NEED, AND WHAT’S THE DEADLINE?” Two big changes from the original plans that have dropped the price tag significantly: 1. the TDSB has acknowledged that we do not have to pay for infrastructure such as asphalt, and 2. The TDSB has committed to pay for tu

It has been a great year so far for sports and athletic competitions for our students at Fern P.S. A large number of our students had a chance to participate in cross country, meeting individual challenges, and competing with peers. Eighteen junior and senior students, our largest number ever, competed in the city finals for cross country, with most finishing in the top third of their races. Fern teams also did well in soccer this fall, as both junior and senior teams won most of their games at their respective tournaments. Finally our junior boys’ football team made it to the conference championships for their division. Congratulations to everyone for their athletic successes, individual and team! Late fall sports involve boys volleyball and girls basketball. As our gym is currently under renovation, our senior boys’ volleyball team is practicing at Howard P.S., and our senior girls basketball team is practicing at Garden P.S. These teams switch in January, with girls playing v

Fern Sports 2018-2019   INTERSCHOOL SPORTS                     TEAMS DATES JUNIOR BOYS JUNIOR GIRLS SENIOR BOYS SENIOR   GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY SEPT.- NOV. Sarantos Katsihtis Sarantos Katsihtis Erica Cameron Erica Cameron Soccer SEPT.- NOV. Meghan Hulsman Sarantos Katsihtis Bogdan Nikolajevic FOOTBALL SEPT.- NOV.       Chris Ciric BASKETBALL ** NOV.- DEC.   Sarantos Katsihtis   Brian Shreve Brian Shreve VOLLEYBALL  ** JAN.- MARCH   Sarantos Katsihtis Josh Dumont ICE  HOCKEY   JAN.-   FEB                       Junior     Tricia McGovern   Team Tricia McGovern                     Senior Sarantos Katsihtis    Team Sarantos Katsihtis    BADMINTON MARCH- APRI