Fern Ave. Public School Blog

The Fern community is working hard to "be the change" as 292 Fern students (and one teacher!) took the Vow on November 30th. This year 126 Junior and Senior students took the Vow for the school day or a more ambitious 24 hours. They were joined by 166 students in JK to Grade 3, who took mini-vows in their individual classes, with the support of their teachers. When reflecting on the day, students talked about how difficult it was not having a voice for a day, let alone a lifetime. So far the students have collected $1,674.50 for our Health Care Project in Kenya. Here are some of the Vow Participants' testimonials: “This morning when I remembered it was the Vow, I started to feel like I couldn’t breathe” “I think that it is an amazing experience to step into another’s shoes and I cannot imagine being silent for my whole life.” Abby “I think that we are blessed to live in conditions like (in Canada).” Athanasia I feel like no one understands me. It’s li

General interest classes for adults are now available in our neighbourhood! NEW this winter, West Toronto CI, located at 330 Lansdowne Avenue just north of College Street, is hosting Toronto District School Board Learn4Life programs. There are a number of courses offered including Bridge, Egyptian Belly Dancing, French, Painting, Digital Video, Interior Design, Sushi Making, Yoga, and Zumba, to name a few. Parents/guardians and any adults 18 years and older are welcome to join us. Classes run during daytime hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and begin the week of January 9, 2012. This program offers you an opportunity to relax, get fit, create a work of art, or learn a new skill or language. It's a great way to have fun and meet new people. Visit: www.learn4life.ca to register online or call 416-338-4111 for more information. West Toronto CI is once again offering Adult ESL Classes! Beginning January 9, 2012 the Toronto District School Board is offering an ESL Literacy Cla

The Fern Arts Committee would like to invite everyone to come out and see our special guest Katherine Wheatley at this year’s Holiday concert on Thursday, December 22 at 6 p.m. Katherine is a singer songwriter who works with students to compose and record songs over a one-week period. She brought her Youth Songs program to Fern for the last week in November and worked with 12 classes (302 students) to produce 8 songs. The students practiced the following week and then, in early December, the students recorded their songs. They were edited and mixed to produce our very own Fern music CD! You may have heard your children singing their song at home and so can share in our excitement about having it recorded. We will be selling the CDs in January for $5.00. The response the arts committee has received about Katherine has been amazing. Her patience and expertise made it a pleasure for the teachers to work with her. Her inspiration and enthusiasm made it fun for the students. We hope

Click here to download the January newsletter.

Please note that a REVISED holiday flyer was sent out Tuesday December 6, 2011 promoting the upcoming Holiday Swing Concerts. There will be two concerts: Kindergarten Concert 5:30pm, Auditorium Tuesday December 20, 2011 and Primary/Junior/Senior, Band Concert 6:00pm, Auditorium Thursday December 22, 2011 With special guest Kathrine Wheatley. Leading the" Youth Songs" workshop students in a performance of their own written and produced songs !!! We look forward to having you celebrate the holiday season with us.

Please note that our Grade 8 girls will recieve their HPV vaccinations on January 30, 2012 during the morning of the school day. A third clinic for Hepatitis B-dose 2, and HPV-dose 3 will be scheduled between March and June 2012. Only students with parental consent will receive these vaccinations. If you have any questions related to the vaccinations, you can contact Toronto Public Health at 416.338.7532.

Dear Parents/Caregivers, Our Fern Falcons grade 7/8 hockey team is geared up to play another great hockey season. This hockey season we were lucky enough to get free ice time for our practices at MasterCard Centre (located at 400 Kipling Avenue in Etobicoke). Please note intially we were to practice on December 12th from 9-10am this time slot has now been changed to THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15th from 9 to 10am. Below is a list of other practise times... Monday, Decemeber 19, 2011 from 9 to 10am Monday, January 16, 2012 from 9 to 10am Monday, January 30, 2012 from 9 to 10am Our games will be played on the following dates... Thursday, January 12, 2012 from 2 to 3pm Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 2 to 3pm Thursday, January 26, 2012 from 2 to 3pm Thursday, February 9, 2012 from 11am to 12 pm. If possible we are asking as many parents to assist us with driving to and from MasterCard Centre during our practises and hockey games. All help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Coach Vera

This year’s Arts Committee is made up of all new members. This year with the support of the Parent Council, the Arts Committee has been able to hire in-classroom artists for every class. Many of these artists come from the Artist in Education Program subsidized by the Ontario Arts Council . There are two songwriting artists, a visual artist, poet and a textile artist booked. We are bringing in the Fit 2 Dance program, a one-day dance workshop for the whole school. To read more on the Arts Committee and other upcoming activities in the spring, please visit the School Council page. We would love to have you join or support the Arts Committee at Fern: Join our committee!   Volunteer your artistic skills on a project or in a classroom.   Ask artist friends (musicians, potters, painters, photographers, graphic artists, etc.) to volunteer their time.   Let us know if you have any supply contacts (printing, building and paint supplies, craft supplies). Taya Kozak-Goebel Ch

Come celebrate the specifically Kindergarten sights and sounds of the season at Fern Avenue Public School on Tuesday, December 20, 2011, beginning at 5:30 pm .  For children in Grades 1 and older, join us for the swinging sounds on Thursday night, December 22, beginning at 6:00 pm .  In both cases we will gather in the auditorium on the first floor. Our hope is that this way, we will be able to accommodate our school community’s enthusiasm more effectively than last year. Look out for information from this year’s School Advisory Council when you are in the auditorium. We are requesting a non-perishable food donation , if at all possible, from our guests which will be forwarded to the food bank. Many thanks!

Information from the last Ward 7 Parent Council meeting; http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=174&menuid=4645&pageid=3973 Next meeting will be sometime in February. Highlights include Budget consultations regarding how the TDSB will cover its budget deficit for next year.

If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to sign up for January’s menu of hot lunches. To order your lunches for January, download the application form and drop off your payment at room 103 by Monday, December 12th.  If you have already signed up for three or more months, there is no need to do anything more. We will e‐ mail you a reminder when your child’s last paid month is approaching. To check out our menu, download it here , or browse through it on the online School Calendar. To learn more about Fern’s in-house lunch program, click here .

The minutes for meeting of the School Council that took place on November 24th are now available for download from the School Council page.

Please note that a REVISED holiday flyer was sent out Tuesday December 6, 2011 promoting the upcoming Holiday Swing Concerts. There will be two concerts: Kindergarten Concert 5:30pm, Auditorium Tuesday December 20, 2011 and Primary/Junir/Senior,Band Concert 6:00pm, Auditorium Thursday December 22, 2011 We look forward to having you celebrate the holiday season with us.

Is your child an elite athlete? Do they perform at the provincial or national level in their sport? St. Andrew’s JHS offers a High Performing Athletes program for Grades 5 to 8. The HPA program is an academic program designed to accommodate athletes with heavy training schedules. The program features a supportive learning environment, full core curriculum including optional courses, flexible timetables, a chance to work with other athletes from a variety of sports and online contact with teachers to allow for lessons during out of town training or competitions. Interested parents and students should attend the information evening to learn more about the program. When: December 8, 2011 Where: St. Andrew’s Junior High School 131 Fenn Ave., Toronto Time: 7 p.m. Location: Library Applications for 2012/2013 will be available at the information night. For further information please contact: Michael Drukarsh at michael.drukarsh@tdsb.on.ca or 416-395-3090.

Shopalicious just got BIGGER and BETTER! Now over 12 STORES along Roncy will contribute a portion of their sales to our school, so shop along Roncy this Friday and Saturday (December 2nd and 3rd) and tell them you're a Fern parent. Support the community, support your school! Our Wonderful Supporters! Another Story, Balluchon, Frock, Green Light, Lit, Imelda's, Mabel’s, Mercantile, Pizza Flora, Planet Kid, Rowe Frams, Scooter Girl, Sweet Thrills, and Sweetpea’s