Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Get your dancing shoes on for our annual Dance-a-thon fundraiser! Thursday March 12 Feel free to come and dance with your child’s class. The dance schedule will be sent home in a few days. In the meantime, we need volunteers for the day of the event. Please contact Liz Leason at  liz.leason@rogers.com if you can help.

Junior Badminton tryouts have begun.  Students can get permission form from Ms. Hall. Practices will be Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8 am sharp. Thank you, Ms. Hall

We have started a Ward 7 Council Facebook group. The group is designed for the Ward 7 community to discuss and keep up to date on issues relating to our schools in a more informal setting than the monthly Council meetings. Moreover, unlike Ward Council meetings, any parent in our community is invited to join the group, not only those who sit on their respective school councils. The page may be used to post announcements, notices and information regarding events and activities at individual schools and within the Ward, generally. Questions and comments with respect to education and the Ward may also be posted. The sharing of ideas and best practices is encouraged. This is a closed group, with posts only visible to group members. That said, existing members may add or approve new members. You can find the group by searching “TDSB Ward 7 Council” on facebook or by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TDSBWard7Coucil/ Robin Pilkey, CPA, CA Trustee – TDSB Ward 7, Park

Please click here for the letter sent home regarding parking at Fern Avenue Public School.

As some of you may know, City Planning is in the process of undertaking a study of Queen Street West from Bathurst Street to Roncesvalles Avenue. For more information on the study, please see the attached Council direction as well as the following status report that was adopted by Council in August: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-71561.pdf With respect to community engagement, we had a kick-off community meeting in July and a pair of walking tours in November. There was excellent turnout at all events and we received lots of good feedback. You can have a look at the presentation from the July meeting as well as summaries of feedback received on the project website at www.toronto.ca/planning/westqueenweststudy

Please note that the Planning and Priorities Committee date has been changed from Feb. 25, 2015 to March 3, 2015 . Attached is the revised parent notice reflecting this change. Click here for the revised letter from the Ward 7 Superintendent.

Mark your calendars! The next Parent Council Meeting is on Tuesday March 10 at 6:30pm in the Auditorium across the hall from the office. Childcare is provided at each of the meetings. Spring is an exciting time with much going on. We are looking for many hands to assist with the important fundraisers that are coming up. Please see details below. Thursday March 12 – Annual Dance-a-thon We are looking for volunteers to assist during this day event. Event runs 9:15am – 3:00pm We require a volunteer to assist with the music. Playlists are provided. We have a great local sound and lighting company that generously supports this fundraiser. We now need music! Volunteers also required to assist with the water tables and other light duties. Shifts are 1-2 hours. Spring Fling - Saturday May 23 – High Park Curling Club This exciting night of fun for Fern Parents gets bigger and better each year. We are looking for parents to join the organization committee. The first pla

Please click here for information on the upcoming Special Education Conference on March 28th.

Dear Parents and Guardians, Graduation Photo Re-Takes will take place on Wednesday, February 25th beginning at 9am. Please note the photographers have asked that this day and time be used ONLY for those students who were absent on the day the original photos were taken. If you were not happy with your  child's  photo and wish a re-take, a written request is being asked by the company, as well as the original proofs.  Please feel free to contact Vera in the main office should you have any questions or concerns. Thank you! GRADUATION PHOTO TIPS : Graduation gowns, props and school colours will be provided at our school on photo day.  For your graduation photos,  the photographers recommend a white blouse for the girls and a white collared shirt and dark tie for the boys. PLEASE remember if you wish to purchase a 11x14 Graduation Class Composite with a vinyl folder please send  $22.00  with your child in the BrightPICS order form previously sent home.   Payment will need to be provide

Please click here for information on upcoming Families in Transition Programs.

Please click here for a Letter to Parents from Toronto Public Health. Click here for information on Immunization from Toronto Public Health.

The School Council has received a grant for the purpose of engaging a speaker, and we would appreciate your input as to which topics might be of interest to you. To that end, we hope you can take a few minutes to complete the following QUICK survey: Click here to start the survey . Your input is valuable, and so we thank very much for taking to the time to complete this.  The School Council will use best efforts to ensure “majority rules” in the selection of topics, speakers, and sceduling.

Click here for the January Newsletter.

TDSB Nutrition Services has been serving hot lunches to Fern students and Ferncliff participants for a month now. The Food Committee has heard from students, parents, teachers, lunch monitors and others and has been closely working with district manager Shelley and head cook Sally on revising and improving the lunch program. Tracy from the Food Committee has been frequenting the cafeteria to monitor, trouble-shoot and get feedback, and has been coordinating communications between TDSB, Fern, and lunch participants and their families. One of the comments we’ve been hearing is that “Maggie’s food was better,” however some of the students telling us this haven’t even tried the new lunches! Tracy and some lunch monitors have observed lunch participants pick up their food and head directly to the garbage. As Dr. Seuss suggests in Green Eggs and Ham, “You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may ….” Tracy stopped a student from immediately throwing out her lunch

When it’s cold and snowy outside a hot lunch can really energize the body. Why not nourish your child(ren)’s with a hot lunch every school day in March? Also next month includes March Break so why worry about finding that lunch bag after the holiday? Check out the menu on Fern's calendar or click here . Ready to sign up? Please fill out, detach and submit the order form with your payment in a sealed envelope. The wall-mounted black secure deposit box is conveniently located outside the Ferncliff Daycare office (room 103). The deadline for your order is Tuesday, February 17 to begin lunch on Monday, March 2 . No extensions will be given!