Fern Ave. Public School Blog

The International Day of Pink is a day of action, born when a youth in a high school in Cambridge, Nova Scotia was bullied because he wore a pink shirt to school. His fellow students decided to stand up to bullying; hundreds of students came to school wearing pink to show support for diversity and stopping discrimination, gender-based bullying, homophobia and transphobia. We invite everyone to make a difference and participate. The goal of the International Day of Pink is to bring this message across the world, through an international day of action that anyone can take part in. Across the world discrimination continues to be the leading source of conflict. Discrimination includes ableism, ageism, classism, heterosexism, homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia, among many other forms. Stereotypes (ideas) may lead to prejudices (attitudes/feelings) which may lead to discrimination (actions)and affect how we work, study and treat one another; they create barriers, bullying, harassme

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT FUNDRAISER featuring beloved 80s classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Thursday, April 10th! The Fern Arts Collective Fun Flicks organizers have joined forces with the Grade Eight Student Committee to bring you Spielberg’s 1982 family favourite, E.T.! Proceeds from the April 10th event will go towards the grade eight’s graduation and end of year trip. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial MOVIE NIGHT FUNDRAISER Thursday, April 10th @ the Fern School Auditorium Doors Open at 6pm Movie at 6:30pm

Click here to review the March 2014 Fern Newsletter.

Click here to review the January 2014 FTC Newsletter.

Please click here for the job ad for an exciting opportunity to work with the school community as an assistant in the kitchen for the school hot lunch and kinder-snack programs. Applications can be dropped off or faxed to the school office by April 28 .

Join us for the 4th Annual Spring Fling – Auction and Dance Party : High Park Curling Club on Saturday May 10th! We have a wealth of talent and resources in the hood. We are looking to secure donations of any number of services and items. Are you an artist? Architect? Photographer? Music instructor? Please share your talents and help make the Spring Fling a great success! Please contact Liz Leason : liz.leason@rogers.com if you would like to donate to the Auction. Looking forward to a fun filled evening for the Moms and Dads!

Although we’d like to receive responses from everyone in your household, some people are already reporting that Survey Monkey will only let them take the survey one time. The problem is that each response is recorded on a “cookie” in your browser. To work around this, you have several options: — Clear your cookies and reload the page before starting the survey again. — Use a different browser or a different computer account for each respondent. — Start a private browsing session. Click here for more information or click  here  to take it. Thank you in advance for your participation.

What is your favorite game to play at school? What features would you most like to see in a revitalized schoolyard? Take our survey and tell us! The Power of Play is a recently formed Parent Council Committee. Our goal is to blend opportunities for play into the overall school day to promote greater academic, social, emotional, physical and creative-well being among Fern students. But before we do, it is important to us that we know what you, Fern Students and Parents, think. Take the Power of Play survey between now and April 13th. It should take you about 10 minutes to fill out. Your feedback will help identify what opportunities for play we consider. Results of the survey will be made available at the May 2014 Parent Council Meeting and on the Fern school blog. Thank you in advance for your participation. Your input is important and highly valued! Together, let’s play! Important Update Although we’d like to receive responses from everyone in your household, so

Fern Avenue Public School Council invites parents and members of the community to attend a free parenting workshop “Entrepreneurial Skills for Kids & Teens” presented by Rob Stringer of Youth Coach Global. Thursday April 3, 2014 6:30 – 8:00pm During the 90-minute workshop we will learn some of the skills and ideas that parents can use to encourage and engage kids in school by linking subjects to small business. We’ll also gain insights into ways to introduce our budding entrepreneurs to great life skills such as “giving back” and managing finances. Topics include: Reasons to start a small business Skills needed to run a business Types of businesses and business ideas Starting a business Finances and Marketing 101 Tips to get started Q&A This will be an informative and interactive workshop for parents looking for ways to support the potential within their children. All are welcome and free babysitting will be available.

Please click here for the Fern Eco Club newsletter. An upcoming event of note: On April 3rd and 4th, the Eco Club will be holding an Eco Fair! We are asking parents and students to donate gently used items such as books, CDs, magazines and DVDs, starting on March 28th until April 2nd. The drop-off will be in the front of the music room, Room 104, located on the main floor. Thank you!

Please click here information on a program at Dundas West Animal Hospital. Although it mentions Howard PS students, the program is also extended to Fern PS and Garden PS. "The program is called Kitty Litter-a-ture. Students are invited to visit Dundas West Animal Clinic at a specific time to spend 30 minutes reading to rescue cats who are awaiting adoption. Our goal is to enrich the students in a number of ways. We wish to nurture a love of reading, to teach pet care and empathy, to promote a community where volunteerism is valued, and to show the children that they are also helping these cats to feel comfortable with human contact. All pets will be healthy (our location is an animal hospital) and qualified vets will ensure that they are safe to be with children. Adult supervision is provided by either myself (co-creator of this program), Dr. Scott Bainbridge or an adult member of his trained staff. All parents will be asked to sign a waiver in order for their chil

PART 1 – PRESENTATION Associate Director of Finance and Operations, Carla Kisko, gave an outstanding presentation on the challenges facing the School Board and City around capital planning and space issues.  The following main points were discussed;     •    No reduction to TDSB operating grants        •    Increase in capital funding     •    Access to development levies from condos & new construction     •    Creation of a dedicated City tax levy for the school board     •    Selling properties is short sighted and bad planning     •    Speed up and simplify Municipal Planning process     •    Share responsibility for TDSB school sites with the City People agreed that these issues must become election issues.  Once an election is called, an all candidates meeting will be arranged. PART 11: TRUSTEE REPORT:     •    Operating Budget:  a recommendation for a balanced budget will be going to March 5th Board for approval.  No school based staff reductions, any reductions result o

Dear Parents/Guardians, The Fern Avenue Grade 8 Graduation will be held on  Tuesday, June 24, 2014 . The graduation ceremony will take place at Parkdale Collegiate time to be announced followed by a dinner dance reception at LULA LOUNGE. Please note all times will be announced shortly, should you have any further questions please feel free to call Vera in the main office at 416-393-9130. Thank you!

The Spread the Net Student Challenge closed on February 28 and Fern students did an amazing job raising money to support this great cause. Unfortunately Fern didn't make it as the top school, but we still raised an incredible $6,637! In total, 63 schools across Canada raised over $170,000 for lifesaving anti-malaria bed nets, which will help protect thousands of children and their families in Africa from malaria-infected mosquitoes. Thanks again to everyone who contributed and especially to the students at Fern who participated in this event.

The Fern Food Committee has updated their list of Frequently Asked Questions on the Lunch Program page to include information for children who will be in full-time kindergarten starting in September.