Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Pelléas et Mélisande Saturday, May 3, 2008 Student dress rehearsal performances are an exciting and inexpensive way of introducing students to the wonder of opera. A full synopsis for the remaining opera is available at www.coc.ca The performance begins at 7:30 pm, at the Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts. If you would like to order tickets, please contact Karen Mondok at karenmondok@hotmail.com . Tickets are $14 each and are sold in a 1:2 adult to student ratio (i.e. each ticket order must be for 3 tickets; 1 adult chaperone and two students).

The following information is provided by parent council, which received it from the office of TDSB Trustee Irene Atkinson: Let's Make Waves & Save our Pools! Save Toronto Pools Rally - May 1st 4:15-6:15pm at Queen's Park (front lawn) If you can swim, or you ever want to learn to swim, this rally is for you! We need YOUR help to save Toronto pools for all the citizens of this city. We want them open so all children can learn to swim and stay safe, youth can train and compete, and adults can stay fit and healthy. Come out to show our elected officials that this is an important issue for the people of Toronto! We want the Province, City, and TDSB to work together to find a sustainable long-term solution. Make the rally a fun event with friends and family. Make signs. Wear your swim suit, bathing cap, and goggles. Bring your life jacket and water wings. Wear your swim team track suit!!! Please do what you can to attend and make a difference. Come after school, leave work a

Thursday, April 24, 2008 7:00PM Auditorium – Fern (1) Approval of Agenda (2) Adoption of Minutes – February 21, March 27 meetings (3) Chair’s Report – John Richmond - Update: Save our Pool Campaign (and discussion - what next?) - Update: French Immersion at Fern - Homework Survey – Report (4) Treasurer’s Report – Amy Stein (5) Committee Reports: - Greening/Gardening (ACTION: Compost Plan, Gardening Schedule) - Arts (ACTION: New Volunteers needed for this committee) - Science and Technology - Fundraising (ACTIONS: Magazine Drive. Paula Larrondo will report on planning for the Fern Fun Fair) *Please note – the May Council meeting (May 22nd) will be dedicated to Fundraising and planning for next year’s budget (5) Ward 7 Report – Cathorine Marjoribanks - TDSB budget update (6) Lise Snelgrove – French Immersion Parents’ Alternate Rep, Ward 7 - Report: Work of French Immersion Parents’ Group (7) Principal’s Report – Craig Tsuji Other Business

The Ward 7 Education Council is a forum for all the schools in our area to meet with our trustee, bring forward issues from our schools, and offer our recommendations concerning matters before the Board. For information on the most recent meeting of the Council, click here to download a PDF of the latest Ward 7 Update document. The next Ward 7 meeting is on May 27, and if you are interested in attending along with Fern's Ward 7 reps, please contact Catherine Marjoribanks at wordplay@sympatico.ca

When: May 10, 2008 Where: Fern Ave P.S. Auditorium Time: 8:00 am to 2:00 pm Admission: One Dollar Tired of living in clutter? Looking to clean out that basement or attic just in time to get out and play in the garden? We are currently looking for donations of gently used household items (furniture, clothing, appliances, books). All funds raised will go towards funding school programs for 2008/2009 school year! Items may be dropped off in the school auditorium , beginning the week of April 14 and ending on Wednesday, May 7. Monday 8:30 am – 9:00 am Wednesday 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Friday 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm If you would like to volunteer, or need a special pick-up of a larger item, please contact Lisa Dooher at ldooher@rogers.com or call at 416-533-4824.

The latest media reports (as of today, April 16) indicate no progress has been made by the TDSB, City of Toronto and the Provincial government in saving the TDSB school pools slated for closure in 2008 and 2009 (including our pool here at Fern). Parents have been asking what else can be done to save the pool. A number of parents have made suggestions such as partnerships with outside organizations and a fundraising campaign. The issue of the pool will be on the agenda for our next meeting, Thursday, April 24, at 7:00 pm. Everyone interested in this issue is encouraged to come out and join us for a discussion. John Richmond , Chair, Fern School Council

Dear Fern parents and Fern community, just a few quick updates: Cyber-Bullying: Thanks to the parents who came out for the info night on cyber-bullying. I was not available that evening but Mr. Tsuji reports it was both informative and interesting. This is an important topic for parents, teachers and students and is rapidly developing into a major problem for high school students. We are looking into posting some info links on the web site. Parent council campaign to save Fern pool: As you will see from the TDSB posting, the School Board has decided to proceed with closing our pool. A number of parents have asked me what the parent council is doing to save our pool. We are the in the process of lobbying the provincial government to save the TDSB pools and change the funding formula - as was recommended in the Rosanski Report on the funding for public education and as was promised by the provincial government several years ago. Changing the funding formula to recognize the unique ne

The Canadian Council on Learning is pleased to inform you that the fifth speaker of the Minerva Lecture Series will soon be visiting Toronto. On Monday, April 14 , Dr. Fred Genesee will be giving a free, public talk at the Toronto Public Library’s Deer Park Branch, at 7:00 PM . The title of his lecture is “Early childhood bilingualism: Perils and possibilities”. We believe this presentation will appeal to anyone interested in issues pertaining to bilingualism in education, second language learners, immersion, and the challenges associated with accommodating the varied needs of learners from varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Dr. Genesee is a world-renowned scholar of bilingualism, language development and language immersion programs, a Professor of Psychology at McGill University and the author of numerous scientific research books and reports on language learning in children. The Minerva Lecture Series was created by the Canadian Council on Learning to foster discussion betwe

TDSB Closes 23 Pools in June 2008 to Fund Other Priorities Toronto, ON, April 4, 2008 – Effective June 2008, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) will be closing 23 school pools. Additional pools have been identified to close effective June 2009 (see attached list). The pools where the City runs community programs, as well as pools that are needed for Special Education programs, will remain open. The estimated cost savings of $4 million can be applied towards the Board’s budget shortfall or used to fund new investments such as the increased number of ESL teachers approved by the Board for 2008-09. The decommissioning of these pools is a result of a previous Board decision, made by Trustees, in June 2007, stating, “if, by February 1, 2008, the provincial government does not agree to fund Board unfunded pools either through operating or capital grants or through a specific education mill rate, that the process of decommissioning all school-based pools effective June 1, 2008 be implem

All parents of students from JK–Grade 6 will be invited to complete a Parent Survey from April 21–May 5, 2008. This research project will give us very important information about our students that will help us in our mission to enable all students to achieve high levels of success. The Parent Survey for JK-Grade 6 students will be sent home to each parent/caregiver. Translations of the survey will be available. If you require assistance with completing your survey, please contact the TDSB Student and Community Equity department at 416-397-3138. The survey is voluntary, but we encourage all parents/caregivers to complete the survey. The survey is confidential and only the staff of the TDSB Research Department will have access to the information. Please return your completed survey(s) by May 5th. Please visit the TDSB equity in education website: www.tdsb.on.ca/equity .

We would like to inform the Fern community that on April 3, we unfortunately had several students’ personal expensive items stolen from the girl’s change room. There is some security as the doors were locked but unfortunately incidents like this do occur. We do take this seriously and we have reported it to the police. To protect all students from loss, disappointment and heartache, we suggest that valuable items such as jewellery, money, expensive toys and electronics be left at home. We strongly recommend that students keep personal audio devises, such as Ipods, MP3 players and cell phones at home. Cell phones should be turned off in school and they should stay in your backpacks or lockers during the school day.

Western Tech School Council is hosting a workshop for parents. This year there will be a representative from the Parent Education Network present on the topic of “How to Cope with the Stressful Teenage Years.” The workshop will give parents strategies on how to deal with difficult situations they face at times raising teenagers. The session is being held at Western Techs library on Thursday April 3 at 7:30 pm . Submitted by Irene Atkinson , TDSB Trustee.