Fern Ave. Public School Blog

We are excited to share our October Newsletter with you. Please read all about what has been happening at our school. uploads/OCTOBER.pdf

There is something for everyone! Check out the sports/intramurals offered at Fern Avenue throughout the school year! uploads/PDFonline.pdf

Humberside Collegiate Institute School Advisory Council invites parents and community to participate in upcoming workshops. Wednesday, October 22 , 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Substance Abuse Identifying Stressors Contributing to Social-Behavior or Mental Health Concerns Presenter: AVRUM NADIGEL, Youth Outreach Program, CAMH Location: Staff Lounge, 2nd Floor of Humberside Collegiate Institute (HCI), 280 Quebec Avenue Wednesday, November 12 , 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Getting Your Child Ready for University Presenters: WILLIAM WETZEL and CURTIS COLE, Department of Academic Advising, University of Toronto Location: Lismer Hall, Humberside Collegiate Institute (HCI), 280 Quebec Avenue Submitted by Paula Larrondo , Ward 7 rep

The Ontario Association of Education Advocates (OAEA) in partnership with the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO) were awarded a Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to bring together students identified with special needs, their parents, and educational professionals for an intensive 2 ½ day training program (November 20 - 22) in advocacy, self-advocacy and collaboration. There is no tuition, materials, or meal costs for attendees. Attendees at the Institute will learn: · How to develop collaborative working relationships · Solving conflicts successfully · Communicating for change · The psychology of advocacy · Advocating for self The Institute would be of special interest to: · Secondary students identified with special needs · Parents of students identified with special needs · Teachers · Teaching assistants · Educational administrators · And other educational professionals Please see the attached documents for more information. uploads/Announcement_Bulletin.pdf uploads

Workshop for School Council Members, Vice-Principals and Principals Presented by TDSB Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) Through the sharing of experiences, these workshops are designed to provide information and strategies for all school councils whether experienced or inexperienced on how to strengthen existing parent-school partnerships. Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Richview Collegiate Institute Library, 1738 Islington Ave. (@ Eglinton) Thursday, October 23, 2008 David and Mary Thompson CI Library, 2740 Lawrence Ave. East (@ Midland Ave.) Thursday, October 30, 2008 Jesse Ketchum Public School Library, 61 Davenport Road (@ Yonge) Thursday, November 6, 2008 York Mills Collegiate Institute Library, 490 York Mills Road (@ Bayview) § Light Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. Sessions commence at 7:00 p.m. § All interested participants are encouraged to pre-register for the session of their choice. To register, please call 416-395-5040 OR email piac@tel.tdsb.on.ca . § Inter

Experience at schools where parents have been involved with the planning of program models strongly suggests that an inclusive and co-operative culture among administration, teachers and parents is achieved. Parents who understand the constraints under which the school staffing committee must operate and how difficult it is to create the models are more supportive and less critical of the final result. To that end it is recommended that the T.D.S.B. work toward this collaborative culture. For the 2008/09 staffing year, Principals are asked to work toward ensuring that a parent group of at least two parents, identified by the School Advisory Council, have the opportunity to (a) review and understand the staff allocation numbers and projected enrolment for the school (b) develop possible program organization models Principals are asked to ensure that any such staffing models are considered by the school staffing committee in their deliberations. To maximize parent engag

Where: Carleton Village Public School 315 Osler St; 416-393-1600 When: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 6:45 p.m.

Secondary School Parent Information Nights Dear Parents of Students in Grade Eight, The selection of a Secondary School for your child is extremely important and can be somewhat confusing. By the end of November all Grade 8 students will be bringing home a brochure entitled “Choices for Nine”. This brochure provides you with an overview of all the programs offered in Secondary Schools in the Toronto District School Board. To ensure clear understanding of the expectations and procedure for entry into Secondary School, we are inviting you and your child to an information meeting. Where: Parkdale Public School 78 Seaforth Ave; 416-393-1280 When: Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. To help you in selecting a Secondary School with your child, we have invited representatives from our local South West 2 Secondary Schools to speak with you in a storefront forum. Grade 8 Parent Information Night Agenda 6:45 p.m. Welcome David Freedman, Principal Parkdale CI June Stavropoulos, Principal Humb

A Visit From Rosedale Heights: On Monday October 27, 2008 As part of their transitions work, Rosedale Heights is visiting Fern Avenue Public School to perform an exciting assembly for our entire school. They would like to make our students aware that Rosedale Heights is a centre for performing and visual arts as well as to introduce them to some of their programs. The assembly will consist of performances by Rosedale Heights’ student dancers, musicians, vocalists and improv team members. The assembly will last approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour. We look forward to their visit on Monday October 27, 2008.

Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:00 – 9:00 School Auditorium. Childcare Available. (1) Approval of Agenda, 2 min (2) Approval of Minutes from September 18, 2008, 2 min (3) Executive Elections, 15 min --- Chair --- Vice-Chair --- Treasurer --- Secretary --- Ward 7 Rep (4) Reports: --- Chair (John Richmond), 5 min --- Treasurer (Amy Stein), 5 min (5) Funding Requests (John Richmond), 10 min (6) Principal’s Report and Discussion (Craig Tsuji), 30 min (7) French as a Second Language Advisory Committee (Lise Snelgrove), 5 min (8) Committee Reports, 20 min --- Math, Science and Engineering --- Greening Committee --- Playground Committee --- Arts Collective --- Food --- Fundraising (9) Grade 8 Grad, 5 min (10) Other Business, 5 min --- Day Care Update --- Meeting Dates Next Meeting: Thursday, November 20, 2008

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Thank you to the many families that purchased and donated books to the Fern Avenue Library at the recent Scholastic Book Fair. Submitted by Crystal Rasa , parent

Ontario Ecoschools work with the TDSB to ensure environmentally friendly curriculum. Fern Ave P.S. has implemented many strategies to REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. Learn more about EcoSchools by going to their website. This year instead of an awards ceremony they are having a Kick-Off day, which should be very interesting and informative. Available to any parents, teachers or other adults who want to get involved with the EcoSchools program at Fern. KICK OFF DAY Tuesday, October 28 8.30am - 11.40 am Civic Court Centre Burnhamthorpe & West Mall NB - Transportation available Email Joanne Somers : joannesomers@rogers.com