Fern Ave. Public School Blog

Dear Parents of Grade 7 & 8 Students, The end of year means the senior yearbook can now be ordered via Cash Online or with cash directly given to Vera in the office. The cost is $18 and available for all grade 7 and 8 students. Deadline for payment is Monday June 4th at noon . Unfortunately, NO ORDERS CAN BE MADE AFTER THIS POINT . Don't miss out!

Few things make us happier than hearing children play. Three times a day, 10 months of the year, our 700+ kids play on a worn field that is primarily dirt, 2 small structures to play on in the may-pole and the monkey bars, knee scraping uneven asphalt play areas and not much more. As a Fern Avenue School supporter, you know that children thrive in an environment that encourages physical activity… That is why we are writing to you today . There is a lot to do to transform the school yard, field and play areas. By redoing the school yard, we are adding a brand-new park to the neighbourhood and an exciting new place where our children can gather, explore and just be kids. We need to raise $250,000 by June 16th . You can help us to fulfill the expressed needs of the students, teachers and parents of the school by creating a playful and safe environment in which an appreciation for nature can be nurtured . Here’s what your tax-deductible donation can provide: $250 will provide ne

The Fern Health and Wellness Committee, School Council, and Fern Avenue Public School, together with Roncesvalles Psychology are pleased to present a free Parent Workshop on the topic of Understanding & Managing Children's Anxiety. Where? Fern Ave. Public School Auditorium When? Wednesday May 30, 2018, 6-7:30 pm. In this 90 minute workshop, the Clinical Team from the Roncesvalles Psychology Clinic will provide parents with practical tips to identify and manage anxiety: -- Learn about different types of anxiety -- Learn to spot anxiety in children -- Practice new skills to help children manage anxiety -- Know when to worry and how to find help This workshop is an excellent opportunity to learn more about anxiety, how it effects the children in our lives, and how, as parents, we can develop new skills to help our kids. We will try to provide childcare if there is sufficient interest. We would love to have an idea of how many people to expect, and how many peopl

Bike to School Week starts this coming Monday May 28th! Please click here for the flyer in English and in French . Thank you!

Please join us for our Fern Volunteer Celebration! We want to acknowledge the contribution you have made in helping to make our school a special place! Date: Wednesday, June 6th, 2018. Time: 8:00 – 8:45 a.m. Where: Fern Avenue P.S. STAFFROOM Childcare will be provided in the primary yard, Please click here for the flyer.

For the week of May 28-June 1, please check the main floor hall for any Lost and Found items that belong to you. Any remaining items will be donated at the end of next week. Thank you.

Fern Me to We's Sixth Annual Bake Sale  +     +     =  Who: Light Patrol, an outreach program for Toronto’s homeless and street-involved youth Why: To raise money to buy Operation Good Thing street packs for the winter months What: Sweets and Lemonade for $1 each Where: beside the outdoor hockey rink (front foyer if it rains) When: Wednesday May 30th at noon

Hello! Our next (and final) School Council meeting will be on Wednesday, June 6th from 6:30 - 8:30 in the Auditorium. There will be two key discussion items in this meeting: 1. Special Guests from the TDSB. Jane Phillips-Long (our Superintendent), Robin Pilkey (our Trustee), and TDSB Facilities Administrators will be joining us to address a number of concerns raised over the past year. As we anticipate a large audience for this meeting and a number of questions, please submit your questions ahead of time so we can make sure we have a productive conversation. To submit a question for Jane / Robin / Facilities, please submit your application BEFORE Monday, June 4, by visiting this link : https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QD82JK7 2. 2018/2019 Budget Discussion. For the 2018/19 school year, the Fern School Council will be conducting two rounds of funding requests (June and September). To request funds for 2018/19, please submit your application BEFORE Monday, June 4, by visiting

The Fern Health and Wellness Committee, School Council, and Fern Avenue Public School, together with Roncesvalles Psychology are pleased to present a free Parent Workshop on the topic of Understanding & Managing Children's Anxiety. Where? Fern Ave. Public School Auditorium When? Wednesday May 30, 2018, 6-7:30 pm . In this 90 minute workshop, the Clinical Team from the Roncesvalles Psychology Clinic will provide parents with practical tips to identify and manage anxiety: -- Learn about different types of anxiety -- Learn to spot anxiety in children -- Practice new skills to help children manage anxiety -- Know when to worry and how to find help This workshop is an excellent opportunity to learn more about anxiety, how it effects the children in our lives, and how, as parents, we can develop new skills to help our kids. We will try to provide childcare if there is sufficient interest. We would love to have an idea of how many people to expect, and how many peo

Upcoming Webinar: “Risky Business” Tuesday, June 5, 7:30 p.m. This past Fall, Fern hosted guest speaker, Dr. Victoria Creighton, Clinical Director of Pine River Institute who delivered an interactive workshop, “Parenting Teens for High School.” The workshop received excellent reviews from all who attended. If you missed the workshop or want to learn more, you may want to sign up to attend Pine River’s first webinar edition of “Risky Business.” The webinar will feature Dr. Victoria Creighton, an expert in adolescent development, who will share knowledge and expertise gained over her career working with parents and adolescents struggling with addictive behaviours and/or other mental health issues. Dr. Creighton will help you better understand your teen, the early signs of trouble, and what you can do to help them mature into successful adults. There will be a live virtual Q & A session with Dr. Creighton. For more information or to register visit http://pineriverinstitute.co

Dear Parents, Please note the final immunization clinic for the students who missed the immunization clinic due to track and field will be on Thursday, May 29th at 1:00 PM in the auditorium. Should you have any further questions please call Vera in the main office.

This Friday, May 18th we are officially launching our Jump Rope for Heart, and Hoops/Games for Heart events for our school with an assembly for our primary, and junior students. The assemblies (Primary 12:55-1:25, Junior 1:30-2:05) are to inform our students of the importance of being physically active and how fundraising for the Heart and Stroke foundation helps our society. Our presenter at the assembly will be sharing stories on how children’s lives and health were greatly improved with the Heart and Stroke foundation’s help. Finally the modeling of the prizes at the assembly is to help kick-off the event with increased excitement. The actual events of Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops/Games for Heart will take place on Tuesday June 5th. The Primary/Juniors will be jumping rope in the morning (10:25am-11:30am) and the seniors will participate with hoops/games in the afternoon (2:20pm-3:30pm). There are a series of physical activities that the primaries and kindergarten classes

Parents please join us in beautifying our school gardens! We need your help with maintenance of our school native plant garden. The Eco Team will be in the garden every Friday in May from 11 am to 1 pm (unless it’s raining). Please contact larissa@mohan.ca with any questions or if you would like to be involved in planning any student activities in the garden. If these hours don’t work with your schedule and you still want to be involved in some capacity, please let us know and we can set something up. Over the last few weeks, the Eco Team students and 5 classes made up of kindergartens, grade one and grade two children have helped clean up our garden and prepare a small planter for some of the grade one students to plant vegetables in. Everyone had a lot of fun getting up close and personal with the worms and snails living in the soil, and learning about gardening activities. Thanks to all the students, teachers and parent volunteers who contributed their time and energy!

On behalf of Chair Robin Pilkey, please refer to the poster regarding the up-coming joint Ward 2, 3 & 7 special screening of “Screenagers” – Growing up in the Digital Age. The movie is Free and will be screened on Thursday May 17th at 7:00pm in the (Auditorium) at John English JMS (95 Mimico Avenue, Etobicoke).

Hello Wonderful Fern Parents! Just a friendly reminder that Monday, May 14 is the last day to donate items or make a monetary donation to your child’s classroom basket for FERNAPALOOZA. What is a classroom basket you say? This is a collection of items from each class which will be placed into a fancy looking bundle and will be auctioned off at FERNAPALOOZA. Don’t have time to shop for a class basket you say? No problem! If you make a monetary donation [suggested donation $20] we will go shopping for you! If you have any questions about class baskets feel free to ask your child’s teacher, Vera in the main office or your parent class rep – they have all the info you need 😊 You can also send your questions to rhondabromley@rogers.com FERNAPALOOZA is the parent party of the year. This year’s party will be happening on Saturday May 26 starting at 8pm at St. Casimir’s Church on Roncesvalles . All funds raised for FERNAPALOOZA will go toward the revitalization of the school

Let's hop into Spring! Come join the Grade 8 Grad Committee and support their Bake Sale. All proceeds go to Grade 8 Graduation. Don't forget to look for the healthy treats and snack tables outside of the Primary, Junior and Senior yards on: Wednesday June 6th , during morning and afternoon recess.

The first of five parent and community member consultations took place on May 1st at Danforth CI. It was well attended and the group provided great information for the review. We encourage parents and guardians to visit the French Review website at http://bit.ly/FSLReview to complete the online Parent survey. The French Review banner is found on both internal and external TDSB websites. For your reference, click on the link to the slide deck that will be presented at each consultation meeting. Upcoming dates are as follows: Tuesday, May 15: Birchmount Park CI (3663 Danforth Avenue ) Thursday, May 17: Northview Heights SS (550 Finch Avenue W) Thursday, May 24: Advisory Committees Consultation (5050 Yonge Street - Committee Room A) Wednesday, May 30: John Polanyi CI (640 Lawrence Avenue W) Thank you, Manon J. Gardner Executive Superintendent Teaching & Learning, Alternative and International Education Toronto District School Board

The dates for the upcoming Track and Field Meets can be found here . As a reminder: -South Conference meet – Thursday May 10th@ Birchmount Park Stadium -South Conference Championships– Thursday June 7th @ Birchmount Park Stadium -City Championships – Tuesday, June 12th – Birchmount Park Stadium The schedule for the South Track and Field Meet at Birchmount Stadium (May 10) can be found here . Thank you!

On Wednesday, May 9 between 8am-9am , we will be selling 50 x $20. Look for the balloons... See you there! Fernapalooza Organizing Committee

Please click on links for the following: Ward minutes from our last meeting on April 17. Election Activities and Use of Board Resources Planning Presentation from April 17, 2018. Our next meeting is on May 31, 7-9PM at Western Tech .

The Fern Eco Team will be selling Fern water bottles at the Spring Concert at Parkdale Collegiate, the evening of Wednesday, May 9th . The metallic lime green 17 oz, stainless steel water bottles with a plastic twist-off top and a carabiner has the Fern Falcon’s logo on it, and will be sold for only $10. What an incredible deal! The bottles are also BPA free and FDA compliant. Please help the Fern Eco Team help the environment by buying a reusable, refillable and environmentally-friendly water bottle, which looks great with the official Fern Falcons logo! Proceeds will go towards a local environmental organization or charity, Fern’s playground revitalization, and our Eco Club. Thank you for your support! The Fern Eco Team