Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Neighbourhood Get-together MEET SANTA brought to you by Fern Ave Events: When:  Saturday, December 3rd from 2-5 pm Where:  Willem & Jools (125 Roncesvalles Ave) What:  Meet Santa and take a picture with him. Hang out with people in the community while eating homemade cookies and warming up with fresh steaming cider. Beautiful Willem & Jules trees for sale and chances to win local product from Early Bird & Worm. Come one, come all!

Thank you to everyone for supporting our school! We raised $2167 for our children at Fern. You can order all year long and earn more money for our school by going to http://www.QSP.ca and entering our online ID: 4713723. There are lots of ideas for great holiday gifts! (Please click here for more information)

Our Fern Avenue ONLINE STORE will remain open for three more days....your last chance to buy the Fern Hoodie and surprise someone with a special gift has been extended. Shop and order online here , store closes on Monday, November 28, 2016 . We will be back again in March. Thank you everyone for your on going support! Vera

At the November 6th Annual OSCA conference, our Itinerant Guidance Counsellor, Ricardo Rodriguez, received the Marion Axford Award for Outstanding Contributions to Elementary Guidance in Ontario. The OSCA, (Ontario School Counsellor Association), confers this award. Mr. Rodriguez was nominated with 8 letters of support from Teachers, Principals, Parents and Students. We are proud of our Itinerant Guidance Counsellors and the great work they do for our students in preparing for secondary school.

Dear Parents/Guardians, Winter is coming and so is the Fern Winter Concert. The Junior students as well as the Senior Band and Strings students will be showcasing their talents on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 beginning at 6:30 PM . All students involved in the concert are asked to please be at Fern at 6:00 PM. The Kindergarten Concert will take place on Friday, December 16, 2016 from 2:15 to 3:15 PM. Spring hopefully won't be too far behind and we would love to welcome it with our Spring Concert. The concert will take place on Wednesday, March 8, 2017 beginning at 6:30 PM.  Our PRIMARY students who are taking part are asked to please meet at Fern at 6:00 PM. Thank you!

Fern P.S School Council is proud to bring you this video featuring students and teachers thanking parents for their continued support of programs not funded by the TDSB. What makes Fern so great is the community that surrounds it, so please watch and share. Oh, and don't forget to donate ;) 

Join us for a Holiday Concert on December 11 at 4pm. Tickets are only $15 and a portion of the admission will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society and Fern Avenue Public School.

Toronto Police has vacancies near your school at either Waller Avenue and Windemere Avenue (Swansea P.S.) or Roncesvalles Avenue and Howard Avenue. Please click here for more information.

Our first Fern Avenue Public School  ONLINE STORE offering Fern hoodies, hats, t-shirts is now available online. Please click here and place your order. Not sure about a size, colour come this evening Thursday, November 17 beginning at 5:30PM and check out our samples.  If you can't make it this evening, not to worry drop by and visit Vera in the main office. Thank you!

At Fern Ave PS some of the enriching activities and resources that benefit our school are funded by the School Council, and more specifically, by you, the parents.  Please help us keep these programs alive by making a direct donation to the school. You can either write a cheque payable to Fern Avenue PS or you can donate online here . Donations by cheque must be received by November 30, 2016 and those greater than $25 will receive a tax receipt. Donations made online must be submitted by June 30th and those greater than $5 will receive a tax receipt. Thank you, Vera

Dear Parents and Guardians, Please read the attached letter regarding an upcoming facilities project at Fern. There is an information meeting for the community on Monday November 21 from 5:30-6:00 pm in the staffroom to speak with TDSB Facilities staff involved in the project. Thank you, Principal Szonyi

Progress Reports for SK students-Grade 8 are being distributed today and you may notice that the envelopes are different this year. As Fern is an Eco School, we hope families will support our Eco initiative by signing and returning the envelope. This way it can be reused for the next round of reports coming out in February. Thank you.

On behalf of the Caring and Safe Schools Committee, I am pleased to announce that we have opened up three single stall washrooms in the school and designated them as All Gender Restrooms‎. One stall is at the front doors, another is on the main floor in the newer wing and the third is in the newer wing on the second floor. All three washrooms have the signage indicated here . Fern values all students regardless of their gender identity or gender expression and seeks to provide a safe space for them. The committee has taken this measure in an effort to ensure that Fern is a safe and caring school, and because we want Fern to be positive space. Principal Szonyi

Dear Parents/Guardians, Should you need to pick up your child during the instructional day kindly notify the teacher in writing ahead of time. This will avoid any interruptions to the student learning time. Thank you for your cooperation.

Fern spirit wear is now available for sale. You can purchase your items online in 3 easy steps. Click here to check out the great merchandise and place your order. The online store is open until November 25th . Please order your size carefully, there are no exchanges. Item pick up with Vera in the office will be on December 14, 2016. Click here for the flyer.

Save December 14th in your calendars for the Fern Winter Concert. Junior grades and senior strings and band will be performing. Further details to follow.

Hello I am the Yukon director of the feature documentary film All The Time In The World - an inspiring, humorous and family friendly film that explores the theme of disconnecting from our hectic and technology laden lives in order to reconnect with each other, ourselves and our natural environment. The film chronicles life's natural unfolding when a family tries to let go of the control that is required in our time-based world and live by the seasons, rather than by the clock. Featuring the insights of three children (aged 10, 8 and 4), the family spends 9 months living in the remote wilderness of the Yukon - leaving modern conveniences and digital technology, including all clocks and watches, behind. All The Time In The World will be having a special screening at the Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles Ave) on Nov 15th at 6:45 pm (doors open at 6:15) followed by a conversation/Q&A with myself (coming from the Yukon) and Toronto author Christina Crook ("The Joy of Miss

High School Soccer Team sends thanks to Fern Avenue!  You may remember that Room 202 organized a mini-carnaval for Primary students in June.  We raised $816, and donated it to a high school team who was planning a trip to Attawapiskat. We received a letter of thanks in July, and the above certificate of appreciation just last Friday Nov. 4th at a celebration held at the high school. Here are some highlights from the letter, written by teacher and coach Paulo Pereira: "On behalf of our Attawapiskat team of staff and student-athletes, I would like to send you many thanks to all involved  . . . (on our trip) we made amazing connections and new relationships. We worked with over 200 children and youth every day, running three sessions per day at the elementary school, one session at the high school, and then worked with the community until way past bedtime. . . Our next step is to bring 12 youth from Attawapiskat to Toronto at the start of 2017 and, in May or June, return there

This year each class has a representative responsible for communications from the parent council. Click here for the list of class representatives. If you have not heard from your class rep as yet, please feel free to reach out to make sure you are on the class distribution list. If your class does not have a representative yet and you are interested in taking on the role, contact Denise Figueiredo at denise.priya.figueiredo@gmail.com.

We are launching a Fern Ave Events Facebook page to share information about school events and local happenings through a new channel. LIKE our page:  https://www.facebook.com/fernaveevents/   and get the latest news.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2106 IS SPIRIT DAY AT FERN AVENUE PS Support the spirit day and our Senior Student Council by dressing like a twin, dress alike with a friend or somebody you just would like to be a twin with for the day.

The Fern STEM Committee is compiling another list, this time of parents who may be available to help with tech setup and support during school hours. This could range from unpacking, inventorying, and wiring up new tech, to setup of LEGO Mindstorms, to training or one-on-one support for staff. We hope to have a list of parents to contact as these issues arise, and a STEM Committee member will act as coordinator between parents and staff. Please email to add your name and contact info to the list!

Take a look at the visual minutes to find out what happened in today's school council meeting!

Bloor will be holding its Grade 8 Open House on Wednesday, November 9. In order to accommodate the growing interest in the school and its programs, the evening will go as follows: The school will be open for self-directed tours from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Students will be hosting various events and activities in different areas of the school. This is a great time for grade 8 students to ask questions about our programs, the school culture and extra-curricular programming. Families are encouraged to attend information presentations in our Auditorium: New this year, we will be hosting an “early” TOPS on Bloor presentation, starting at 5:30 p.m. Mainstream Program Presentation 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. 2 nd  TOPS on Bloor Presentation 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. The 2 TOPS on Bloor presentations will be identical and families should only attend ONE of the sessions. We encourage families that are able to arrive at the school earlier to attend the first TOPS on Bloor presentation. The families