Fern Ave. Public School Blog

You’re Invited to the Ursula Franklin Academy Spring Gala 2010 Tuesday May 4th , 2010 Doors open at 6:00 PM. Show starts at 7:00 PM. $20 for adults, $5 for students & $40 for a family five pack (any 5 combination of adults and students/children). Funny man Scott Thompson (from The Kids in the Hall), fresh from the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, will be joined by the exciting new band Low Level Flight (with Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm), as well as Alex Bello and his soulful Latin tunes, UFA idol winners, UFA alumni Michael Laviola and Graham McLaughlin, and Lorraine Linton. The gala also features the calypso of Leslie Carrabon, drumming, a silent auction for Guatemala, student art show and so much more. Don’t forget to get your tickets today and remind your friends and families! All for a good cause—the UFA landscaping initiative. Visit the UFA website for more information.

Each year parents, teachers and staff participate in fundraising activities to support and enhance our children’s experience at Fern. The money raised during a school year is spent on activities for the following year. The activities funded each year are decided by the parent body at the School Council meeting in June based on a proposed budget developed by the Council Executive. This year the Council is asking that you submit any funding requests by  May 19, 2010 for discussion at the May 20th Council meeting. Following the May 20th council meeting, the School Council Executive will review and assess the proposals looking at fairness/diversity; value for money; resources required, etc. The executive will also look at possible duplication and opportunities for combining requests. Click here to download the the request form , or you can pick up a hard copy from the office. When completed the form should be sent to fernnoticeboard@gmail.com or dropped off at the office. Again

All of our Junior Division students are in the midst of an 8-week create-an-opera program with the Canadian Opera Company. Professional artist-educators have been guiding our students in creating an original opera with an environmental twist. Artists are working with the classes to teach libretto writing, music creation, set and costume design and staging. All this hard work will culminate in a dazzling performance for parents on Thursday, May 13 , at 6:15 p.m.! Teachers are looking for help with costumes, stage design, donating materials or props and helping out during the performance. Please let your child's teacher know a.s.a.p. what you can do. We are also looking for someone with video expertise to film the production for posterity and make copies for parents. Let the teacher or Gillian Arnold ( grun.stein@hotmail.com ) know if you would be able to do this.

Program funded by the Fern Avenue School Council are the result of several key fundraising activities or events. For two weeks every September the Council sells magazines subscriptions through QSP Inc. This is the Council’s largest fundraising activity. Without this source of funds many of the programs sponsored by the Council would not take place. Each year the magazine subscription sales are coordinated by a parent volunteer or a team of parents. For the September 2010 magazine subscription drive the School Council is looking for volunteers. Duties include: Collecting the subscription forms and money Coordinating morning announcements and in-school promotions Processing student awards Processing administrative sales records For more information about this opportunity to provide a helping hand please contact me at abeau1@bell.net Andre Breau School Council Chair

ADVANCE NOTICE OF MEETING Ward 7 Education Council Budget Consultation Meeting Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Presentation by Executive Superintendant Don Higgins followed by a question and answer session. The purpose of the consultation is to solicit your opinions on priorities for the use of our limited funds. To facilitate the consultation process, each school may send up to 8 representatives. to be held at: Runnymede PS Senior Gymnasium 357 Runnymede Rd The entrance to the Gym is south of the parking lot or one door north of our usual entrance to the Library.

Fern's Primary Track and Field Day- Thursday, Apr.29 9:50-11:30 (Rain date Friday, April 30)Grade's 1, 2 & 3 students will participate in the annual Primary Track and Field Day. The purpose of the day is: 1. To promote healthy lifestyles by having students try various events and activities, which will be a part of the Physical Education program 2. To promote healthy competition with each student trying do their personal best at each event 3. To gather results to assemble a Grades 2&3 Fern Track team for the regional meet on May 28 (There are no Grade 1 events at the regional meet). The team will be comprised of students with 1. good results 2. follow school and class rules and 3. can be a supportive team player who attends most practices, which will be a lunch recess. Students are encouraged to wear appropriate clothing for this event, such as running shoes, a sun hat/sun screen, and comfortable clothing. There will be freezies for each student, and the school will be

The Fern Ave. Ecoteam is proud to offer the following events for Earth Day on Thursday, April 22. The Primary Division will learn about the Iroquois tradition of three sisters planting - planting beans, corn/sunflowers and squash in a circle. These plants all nourish and support each other. The prickly squash stems and leaves around the circle helps deter bugs from feeding on the plants, as well as the sunflower or corn supporting the beans. The Junior Division will be given the opportunity to clean up the garden beds around the school. Garbage will be sorted and recycled/composted. Some classes may even get to the local parks. Some classes from the senior division will do a clean-up in High Park. This message was sent by a Fern parent volunteer.

Ferncliff Daycare, located within Fern Avenue Public School, is once again offering a series of special weekly programs during the summer holiday. Download our flyer to learn more, or contact me for more information. Submitted by: Tracy Spence Supervisor, Ferncliff Daycare and After School Group 416-588-1463

Parent Satisfaction Survey As part of the process to improve parent engagement, a Parent Satisfaction Survey is being conducted across the TDSB beginning on Tuesday April 6, 2010. This is an opportunity for parents to provide valuable feedback about our schools. Each and every one of you is asked for your support and help with promoting the survey to parents. The survey is available in 22 languages and can be accessed at www.tdsb.on.ca/parentsurvey . Our goal is to have a survey completed by each and every parent at every school. Great things are happening across our school board and we all look forward to the valuable feedback and input our parents will provide.Promotional MaterialsPlease use the resources provided below to help with promotion of the Parent Satisfaction Survey: Key Messages Questions & Answers - For Principals to address questions from staff and parents Promotional Poster List of Strategies for Parent Engagement Letter from the Director - To all parents (to be

Our fifth newsletter of the 2009-2010 school year is now ready to download . Submitted by Glenn McFadden, Acting Vice Principal