Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Are you too busy running your kids from soccer to baseball to their friends’ homes that there’s no time to pack their lunches? Sign up for Fern’s May lunch program and you’ll be giving yourself some extra time and your children yummy and healthy meals.   Save even more time and sign up for June too! Download the order form and submit it with your payment in the secure mailbox beside the Ferncliff Daycare office (Room 103). The deadline for May lunch registration is  Monday, April 15 .   Check out the May menu on the School Calendar on the right-hand side of Fern’s website pages or click here . Hard copies of the order form and menu are also available on the bulletin board outside Room 103. Many thanks go to all the energetic and enthusiastic students who are helping with the kitchen cleanup (if only that happened at home!) and the dedicated parent volunteers who help serve, post web communications and run the lunch program. Fern Food Committee

Dear Parents and Guardians, Toronto Public Health will be at Fern Avenue Public School on Wednesday, May 01, 2013 in the morning . The following vaccines will be given: Second dose of hepatitis B to grade 7 students Third dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) to grade female students Catch-up doses of meningococcal, hepatitis B and HPV vaccines to students who missed their earlier scheduled doses. More immunization resources are available at http://www.toronto.ca/health/immunization_children/index.htm . Or please feel free to contact Vera Ciric at 416-393-9130 should you have any further questions or concerns. Thank you, Vera

The Staff Appreciation Luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, June 6. The event is being organized this year by Evangeline Adams. More information will be posted on the Notice Board and the newsletter in the coming weeks.  We look forward to contributions of your favourite dishes. 

Click here to view our Fern Avenue April 2013 Newsletter

Thanks to the continued support of the Fern community, Room 211 sold out of “We Are Love” buttons in just three days!   The 300 buttons, with popular “Love” messages, raised $642.45.   The money raised will go to Fern’s Health Care project in Kenya, bringing our total to $2378.95 for our community of Eorewuaso!!   Remember, LOVE IS A CURE for one billion people around the world without access to health care.

The “Francofête ” is underway from March 18  to the 22 at Fern .   La francofête  is celebrating it’s 17 th  year.    This festival began in Québec, in order to celebrate francophone communities and culture.    It is linked to “ La journée  Internationale  de la francophonie ” which is celebrated by many francophone countries on March 20 th  of every year.    Many events, celebrations, contests and activities occur in various communities to celebrate the willingness, the pride and the joy of living with the French language.    This week once  again, the Fern French Team of teachers will be hosting activities in their classrooms.  Larger division events such as the French spelling Bee are also planned. The following is a list of some of the activities for this year’s Francofête .    Monday March 18   Tell me a French Joke - Tongue Twisters Thème :  Raconte  moi  un blague  en français , r/cite moi  un virelangue Tuesday March 19  Dress in the colours of a francophone spea

Friday March 22  will be the first of three Pizza Lunch fundraisers hosted by our Grade 8 classes to help raise money for their Graduation. Once a month in March, April and May the senior students will be selling pizza at lunch outside the cafeteria doors.  It’s a delicious way to end the week and support our Grads!    Mange, Mange! 1 slice + drink = $4.00 2 slices + drink = $6.00 Everyone is welcome, serving starts at 11:30. A B IG   t hank you to  Pizza Flora  for contributing to this great cause!

Wine Raffle Fundraiser Donate a bottle and then try your luck at winning a case!! This year, we’re trying something new for the Grade 8 Graduation fundraiser.   Just donate a bottle of wine (minimum value $15-20) and drop it off at the office (please respect office quiet times).   This is a great way to make a contribution towards your child’s graduation. Wine donations will be accepted from April 2 nd until the Friday, April 19 th .   All donations will be assembled into cases to be raffled off at the SPRING FLING.   For your chance to WIN a case of wine, plan to buy a raffle ticket from Grad Committee members beginning APRIL 23 rd .   We will be selling more tickets at the SPRING FLING on Saturday, May 11 th .   More questions?   Contact Vera Ciric by email: vera.ciric@tdsb.on.ca

1. Trustee Atkinson presented a report on the TDSB budget. Highlights include: a. Reports that TDSB funding is up while enrollment is down are misleading. Gross funding is up, but net funding is down. This is due to the fact that all of the additional funding goes to: class caps, full day kindergarten, literacy and numeracy initiatives, staff pay increases, and inflation. b. Net funding is down $450/student/year from 1998 to 2009. In a secondary school of 1,000 students, this means a reduction of $450,000/year. c. For this present year gross funding is down $12 Million. d. There are no definitive numbers yet, but the TDSB will likely have a total shortfall of between $30 and $90 million. f. TDSB has a significant shortfall in the capital budget. In 2000 we had a backlog of $960 Million. By 2010 this had grown to $3 Billion.

Just a reminder that  Monday, March 18th  is the deadline for signing up for the April lunch program. Click here  to download the order form and drop it off in the secure mailbox just outside Room 103. 

Due to the many activities Parent Council volunteers are currently working on, we will not be holding a School Council meeting on Tuesday, March 19 th as previously scheduled.   Our next meeting will be on Thursday, April 18 th at 6:30 pm.  

On Wednesday March 13th at 11:00 am  Bosley Real Estate  will be hosting a FREE screening of Disney's Wreck it Ralph at the Revue Cinema.  Treats and drinks will be provided.  All parents and children are invited to attend - there is no cost to come! Click here for more information and to RSVP.  

FRIDAY, MARCH 8 th is our annual Dance-a-thon Fundraiser! Put on your dancing shoes and help raise funds to support Fern School Council’s annual DANCE-A-THON.  This is one of our main fundraisers of the year and we need everyone’s support to make it a success. All classes will be dancing at different times throughout the day and parents are welcome to join in the fun.  Check out the laser show in the auditorium and try out some new dance moves with our friends from Broadway Arts Centre.  DJ James will be spinning the tunes and students will help compile the playlists.    Donation Sheets were sent home Tuesday Feb. 26 so please check your child’s back pack.   If you would like to help out, please email Pamela –  wilson.pamela@sympatico.ca .