Fernwood Family Newsletter #19, 01/10/23

~Monday, January 16th, No School

~Tuesday, January 17th, 6:30pm Fund Meeting, library and email benjaminmstocks@gmail.com for virtual link

~Tuesday, January 17th, 6pm, Fernwood Arts Fest Meeting, Sugar Maple

~Wednesday, January 18th, 5:45pm, PTO meeting, Library and https://meet.google.com/cti-xtjx-hss

~Monday, January 23rd, 6pm, SEC meeting, https://meet.google.com/srb-wjae-xko?hs=122&authuser=0

~Wednesday, January 25th,6pm, PAC Meeting, Library

~Monday, January 30th, 5pm, Music Parent Meeting, Library and virtually, https://meet.google.com/fpf-rvca-uuk   

PTO Spirit Wear Sale

Fernwood PTO is excited to announce our annual spirit wear sale.  This year the sale will be through Dunn’s Sporting Goods website.  All items must be preordered.  There will not be items for sale after the sale closes.  There are t-shirts, tie dye shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and zip ups.  Please note that Dunn’s charges a $3 bagging fee for each order.  The sale will close at the end of January!   Orders will be delivered to students in the beginning of March. Thank you to Kevin Ristow, Fernwood parent, for the creation of the cool labyrinth design.    Fernwood Spirit Wear Website

Box Tops for Education

Fernwood PTO just received a $190 check for the months of March -November 2022 thanks to your box top work.  

Did you know Box Tops for Education has gone virtual? No more cardboard paper cuts . It’s super easy to scan your receipt or email a digital receipt and send money to Fernwood. The list of qualifying products includes a wide array of kid favorites like Annies, Cheerios and GoGurt. 

If you’ve been hesitant to make the switch to digital, I can tell you it’s super easy. Download the app and create your account. Every time you shop, you can just scan your receipt from stores like Costco, Meijer, Target, Woodman’s and more. The app will find qualifying products for you. Don’t have a physical receipt? You can email your digital receipt to receipts@boxtops4education.com and the money will be added to Fernwood’s account.

If you have questions about how Box Tops works, feel free to reach out to me, PTO member Danielle Brannan (danielle.brannan@gmail.com). My philosophy is: if this company wants to give free money to our school, we’ll take it!

Humane Society Drive

Dear Fernwood Families and Friends, 

Some of our students in room 32 have put together a club to help out the Humane Society. We need your help to make a change. We need lots of donations too! 

Mila Eskra, Violet Cramer, Brenna Paprocki, Tegan Balestrieri-Michalski, and Tegan Werner are the great people that started this great club that will help so many animals! 

Please donate homemade or store bought items for dogs and cats like blankets, toys, scratching posts, and chew toys.  Donations will be accepted from now until February 1st! You can also bring treats, food for dogs or cats!!! Treats and food must be store bought and not used. Boxes to collect the donations will be outside room 32.  Thank you for donating! 

January 13, 2023 Wisconsin Pupil Count and Third Friday in September

The state of Wisconsin conducts pupil counts for funding purposes 3 times a year.  Friday, January 13th will be the winter pupil count day.  Please ensure your child is at school this day or that you have communicated with the office to get some work for your child to complete if sick so that attendance can be recaptured.  There are a few days after the 13th for students who were absent to be counted.

As you plan for the following school year, please note that the fall pupil count day, typically the third Friday in September (projected September 15, 2023), is the most important as it is directly tied to immediate school funding.   If students do not attend, this could lead to program and staffing cuts. We kindly ask that families do not plan for trips or vacations during this time and request that you plan ahead.

Questions?  Please reach out to Kristy Lowell, principal, at lowellkm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

Troop 10529 Comfort Kits

Girl Scout Troop 10529 is working to earn one of Girl Scouts’ highest awards, the Bronze Award. They’ve decided to make Comfort Kits for teens and tweens in foster care!

Their goal is to make 150 kits and distribute them to foster family support agencies so that kids in foster care have some things that bring them relaxation and comfort and make their new homes feel a little more like, well, home. The girls are collecting NEW items for boys and girls, including:

–blankets

–scrunchies

–warm/fuzzy socks

–nail polish

–fidget toys like pop-its, fidget spinners, etc.

–activity books like crossword, sudoku, or adult coloring

The girls will be collecting items through Feb. 10th. Look for the green sign and box near the Falling Heath entrance. Cash donations for the project can also be accepted–email troop leader Kelly Rickman Bosh at rickman.kelly@gmail.com for more information.

   Fernwood Arts Fest 

We are very excited the 2023 Fernwood Arts Fest (formerly named Fine Craft and Arts Fair) is taking place Sunday May 7th. This fun family event is a great way to support our school and experience beautiful art work created by local vendors. Students will also have ample opportunity to highlight their own artwork and talents. The Arts Fest team is looking for additional members to volunteer. We will be meeting Tuesday January 17th at 6pm at the Sugar Maple. Please contact Barbara Durkin via text at 773-849-2209 with any questions or if you would like to volunteer and cannot attend the meeting. 

WINTER/SPRING CLUBS: 

Please review and decide. Families can register for a maximum of one club per student today. The club will close when it reaches maximum capacity on the Google Form. Please reach out to Sangita Nayak, our club coordinator, at nayaksr@milwaukee.k12.wi.us with any questions.

Role Playing Games: enroll here: https://forms.gle/qyc8smMVVx44JR6U7

Grade level:  5th-6th

Coordinator: Jeremy Kimble

Starting January 18-March 29

Wednesdays 2:30-4:00 PM

Room 31

Max 12

This club will be a role-playing gaming group meeting for two hours each week.  Using traditional paper, pencil, books and dice. Children will use their creativity and executive order thinking skills to develop characters, stories and adventure scenarios in fantasy or sci/fi games.  In addition, they will use number calculation skills to keep track of points and statistics, an integral part of the game. 

Girls Who Code: enroll here: https://forms.gle/WPoZNS2EMuno46PF9

Grade level: 4-6th

Coordinator: Sangita Nayak

 Starting 2/6 through 5/1

Tuesdays 4:00-5:00 PM Virtually, will meet in-person in last two meetings for presentations 

Virtual and in Rm 37 for last two

Max 15

Fernwood Girls Who Code will continue coding and learn other tech advances. Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does.

Tennis: enroll here: https://forms.gle/f7nd5QEi7qoCycHA8

Grade level: 7th-8th

Coordinator: Kellie Krawczyk

Starting May 4th through June 6th

Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30-3:30

Rm 7 and outside

Max: 12

Learn basic strokes, how to serve and how to score a tennis match. Have fun learning the basics of the game of tennis and play some matches against your teammates!!! 

Sewing:  enroll here: https://forms.gle/yKtb631EFN5BfSj2A

Grade level: 3rd-6th

Coordinator: Tracy Redlich

Starting: February 7 – May 2

Day and Times: Tuesday 2:30-3:30

Rm 37

Max number: 10

After school sewing club. Students will start by making a hand-sewn animal, utilizing a variety of stitches. If time and interest permits, additional time will be spent teaching counted cross stitch. 

Photography: enroll here  https://forms.gle/Y3NKTR2j6yeZicUg9

Grade level: 6-8th 

Coordinator: John Saller

Starting March 1-May 3

Weekday: Wednesday 2:30-4:00

Rm TBD

Max 12

The Focus On Photography Club will help you take your pictures to another level by covering such subjects as composition, lighting and exposure. We will have weekly photo projects that we will share as a group. A digital camera is highly recommended, but a camera phone will be acceptable.