Playground Fund! It's Not Too Late to Donate!
October 1 is right around the corner. The money we have in the bank on October 1 is the Playground Revitalization we will get.
Your school community needs your help! We have $160,000 in our playground fund, but our goal is $200,000 We’ve come a long way, but we need your help to get us over the top! Every contribution helps.
HOW CAN I DONATE?
The easiest way to donate is to go to School Cash Online and click the “Donate” button. Search for Fern Avenue Junior and Senior Public School. Any donors who give $25 or more will be issued a tax receipt by email automatically. To make it even easier, here's the link! https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com
We also accept cheques to Fern Avenue Public School. Tax receipts will be issued from the TDSB for donations of $25 and more, but it will take a few weeks.
Donations of $500 or more will be offered the opportunity to have the family, individual, or company name on our plaque wall. Donations of $1000 or more will be offered the opportunity to have a plaque on a bench.
If you're considering a larger donation, check out our revamped website at donatetofern.com for information about corporate sponsorship and recognition of large donations.
WHAT WILL THE MONEY BUY?
On the advice of the TDSB, we have divided the playground project into four buckets:
1. Primary Yard Revitalization: $85,000
We will reconfigure the Primary Yard with a new accessible play structure aimed at kids grades 1-6, an outdoor mud-kitchen, and an outdoor classroom.
Bucket 1 is full! This part of the project will go ahead!
2. Basketball Court: $50,000
We will build a new basketball court, including a painted court surface.
Bucket 2 is full! This part of the project will go ahead!
3. Outdoor Storage and Stage: $40,000
The East end of the existing field will be reconfigured to include tree plantings, and an outdoor play storage unit and wheelchair accessible stage.
Bucket 3 is approximately 62.5% full. We need at least another $15k for this part of the project to go ahead.
4. Improvements to Daycare/Kindergarten enclosure: $40,000
We plan to improve the surface of the daycare/kindergarten closure, improve the drainage, and add natural landscaping elements.
We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Ferncliff towards completing this part of the project. Details to be announced soon!
OTHER FAQS
Here are some things we're asked pretty frequently.
WHAT ABOUT THE FIELD? I HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT TURF?
Fern has been identified as one of the schools in downtown Toronto that cannot sustain grass over the long term because of the soil composition, drainage, and number of kids per square meter. The TDSB has pledged to replace the field with artificial turf along with replacing the pavement of the track, the pavement adjacent to the Senior doors, and with rebuilding drainage and sewage lines under the field. The construction will involve excavation of the whole West portion of the yard and a commitment of $500,000. The TDSB is on track to start that construction, together with the parent funded Playground Revitalization, in 2020.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE TDSB PORTION DOES NOT GO AHEAD?
The TDSB tells us it WILL go ahead. But if something unforeseen happens with respect to TDSB budgeting, the parent funded portion of the Playground Revitalization will still go forward.
WHY NOW? WHY IS OCTOBER 1 THE DEADLINE?
We have been working on this for a few years. We are one of a dozen or so other schools in the TDSB doing the same thing and the TDSB has Fern scheduled for construction for 2020. In order for us to be prepared for the tendering and construction phase, we have to finalize our design plans. To do that, we have to know exactly how much money we have. The longer we put off the fundraising deadline, the longer it takes to finalize the paperwork, the further down the queue we end up, and the later our construction starts. We do not want to miss our construction window by extending our fundraising infinitely.
WHY DO WE NEED ALL THE MONEY AT ONCE?
We only get one shot through the TDSB tendering and construction process. No, we cannot build this ourselves, or hire our own contractors. Any improvements made to TDSB property have to go through the TDSB’s process. Any additional build would have to go back through the process, and could take years to come to fruition. And, as above, we cannot provide a design for the construction phase without confirmed funds in the bank. The TDSB will not tender our project for construction on wishful thinking -- they need to see how much money we actually have in the bank to proceed.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
We've been working with a parent volunteer to improve our website, donatetofern.com. Check it out for more information about the playground and details about upcoming events.
If you have any further questions, please contact us at fernaveschoolcouncil@gmail.com
Thank you for your continuing support!
School Council Exec