Fern Ave. Public School Blog

    It's that time of year again! The louse are back in the house and they like to socialize...Got a letter from your kids' class? Heard on the grapevine about head lice? Families are wondering  how to find it, treat it, and avoid it! First,  don't panic .  This is  not unusual .  It happens every year in the winter and in almost every class of small children.  Most of us will have a bout or two over our public school years, and the more kids you have, the chances are the more times you will see it.  We had a brief reprieve from lice when our behaviour changed during the pandemic, but now that kids are back to their mostly normal routine, our friend the louse has made a comeback.   Second,  anyone can get them ! And it is not a matter of hygiene and it is no reflection on your parenting.  It can be harder to find and control if you have kids with very light coloured hair, long hair or thick hair.  It's also harder to manage when you have multiple kids because the kids c

Grade 8 families are invited to attend Parkdale Collegiate Institute’s Open House on November 12th at 7:00 pm.  Link to Flye r .

Help out your friends and neighbours this Thanksgiving season!   Fern Ave. P.S. will be collecting non-perishable items for Parkdale Community Food Bank  starting Friday, Oct 4 until Thursday, Oct 10  -- just in time for Thanksgiving.  You can drop off the items in bins in front of the office in the front foyer until  1 pm on  Thursday, October 10 .   Priority items include pet food, lunch bag items, toiletries, canned protein, menstrual pads, dairy free milk, tea, coffee, sauces,  Please ensure that the items are not expired.  Check out the list of suggested items here:  https://www.pcfb.ca/food-drives Or, if you prefer, donate cash directly to the food bank here:   https://www.pcfb.ca/donate Thank you for your support! If you or your children are interested in learning more about the importance of food banks,  here  is a 3-minute British video made for children and  here  is a quick 90-second video from TVO for slightly older viewers. They might inspire some important conversations a

Reminder: The race is on Thursday, October 10 at Winston Churchill Park. By now, your child's homeroom teacher will have emailed those students who registered for PCCR on EMA requesting they complete a Google Doc to indicate how they are getting to and from the race. Please fill this in for your child as soon as possible.  It is a huge undertaking as we have a team of over 90 students to organize for Primary alone.   If you did not get an email please make sure you have registered on EMA and if you have, then contact your child's teacher or email kerry.heller@tdsb.on.ca .   Please make sure the medical form on EMA has been completed as well.   I put a note beside student names on the Google Doc for those who are incomplete. If your child no longer wants to be on the team please email me and let me know. If your runner needs to borrow a Fern t'shirt for the race please email muriell.castillo@tdsb.on.ca . Thanks.  We have 4 more practices.  Please make sure your runner attend

  **Welcome Back BBQ Canceled Due to Weather... Curriculum Night Still On** Thank you to all of you who volunteered your time and baked goods, but as of this morning, it doesn't look like the weather will be on our side Wednesday night.  We had to make the decision today or be stuck with a thousand hot dogs, so we are canceling the event.  Have a great Curriculum Night, and we look forward to another chance to connect with the community soon.  

 Primary Cross Country Running has started.  We meet on Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 on the school track and an optional practice on Friday at Sorauren Park.  If your child is interested please sign them up on EMA under Athletics and look for your child's grade and team.  The running meet will be held on Thursday, October 10 at Winston Churchill Park on St Clair at Spadina Rd.  A letter will be personally delivered to each runner that has signed up on EMA next week with details about the event.   We would like all runners to wear a Fern t'shirt.  Please go to this link:  https://fernxcountry2024.itemorder.com/  for more information.   All orders must be in by Sunday, September 22. Kerry Heller and Muriell Castillo 

We are looking for students who like to sing and want to be in one of our Fern choirs.   Primary students (grades 1, 2, and 3) will meet on Wednesdays from 12:15 to 12:45 in the music room.  Students will be picked up from the lunchroom.   Junior/Intermediate students (grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8) will meet after school on Mondays in the music room.  If your child is in Ferncliff Daycare please inform staff that they have permission to attend.  Please see one of us if you have any questions. Kerry Heller, Madame Meghan, Andrew Ullmann

 The Fern Junior (grades 4, 5, and 6) Book Club has now started.  We meet every Monday at lunch from 12:15 to 12:45 in the library.  We are asking members to get a copy of the book "Elephant Secret" by Eric Walters for next Monday and read chapter 1.   If you are having difficulty getting the book on time you can read the first chapter online for free.  New members are still welcome. The Fern Intermediate (grades 7 and 8) Book Club has now  started.  We meet every Tuesday at lunch in the library.  We are asking members to get a copy of the book "Baboon" by David Jones for next Monday and read chapter 1.  Talk to Mr Enticknap if you are having trouble getting a copy.  New members are still welcome. Kerry Heller and Chris Enticknap

Hello Fern F am. T o help the School Council communicate with you better, we'd like to get a parent rep from each class to facilitate communication. We've had great uptake so far, but a few classes are still short a rep. It's primarily a communications function -- you help us reach out to your class -- but we'd love for people to also participate in our School Council meetings to provide us with insight into what you are hearing from parents. Please email us at  fernaveschoolcouncil@gmail.com  if you are interested in being a class rep for any of the classes below. New folks to Fern, this is a great way to get involved! Eng JK/SK A-1 Ms. Spinel Eng Gr 3/4 Mr. Bennett FI Gr 4 Jonathan McArthur Eng Gr 7 Nansy Matijevic Eng Gr 8 Libby McGrory