Fernwood Family Newsletter #28, 3/14/23

~Monday, March 13th & Wednesday, March 15th, 3pm-645pm, Family Teacher Conferences

~Tuesday, March 14th 2:30-5:30pm and Wednesday, March 15, 3-6:45pm, Rainbow Book Fair, Community Room

~Friday, March 17th & Monday, March 20th, No School

~Tuesday, March 21st, 6:30pm, Fund Meeting, Library & email benjaminmstocks@gmail.com for virtual link

~Friday, March 24th, 5:45pm, PTO Movie Night, School Gym, K3-3rd grade families

~Monday, March 27th, 5:30pm, SEC Meeting, https://meet.google.com/srb-wjae-xko?hs=122&authuser=0 

~Monday, March 27th, 5:00pm, Music Parents Meeting, Library & virtual

~April 3-7th, Spring Break, No school

~Monday, April 10th, School Resumes 

~Thursday, April 20th, 5:30-7pm, Spring Open House, Fernwood Classrooms

~Friday, April 28th, 8:45am-10am, Special Friends’ Day, Fernwood Classroom, check upcoming newsletter for information

Next Newsletter

Please note that next week’s newsletter will be published on Wednesday, March 22nd.  

Camp Fernwood Updates

Camp Fernwood will be closed on Friday, March 17th and Monday, March 20th. 

As Spring arrives and the weather gets nicer, Camp Fernwood will be using the East and West playground areas after school until 5:30pm.  Please remind your students that the playground is to be only used by students in Camp during that time.  

Families of children in grades 5K – 6th grade should receive a Summer Camp Fernwood Interest Form in their class folders on Tuesday, Feb. 28th. Please complete the form and return it to the Main Office or Michelle Stehlik by March 15th, 2023. Forms can also be emailed to stehim@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.   Completing this form does not guarantee a spot in Summer Camp Fernwood.  Camp Fernwood will be open from June 16th through July 28th.  Summer Camp Interest Form 

Rainbow Book Fair

Rainbow Books has set up a display of beautiful books in the Fernwood Community Room.   Please stop by on Tuesday, 2:30-5:30pm or Wednesday, 2:30-7pm to check out the selection. 

The Fernwood Community Room is located on the same floor as the office.  Doors to the room are across from rooms 17 and 11. 

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this book fair possible and especially Danielle Brannan who managed all the logistics.  

PTO Movie Night: Sing 2

Fernwood families of K3-3rd grade students are invited to a movie night at Fernwood on Friday, March 24th. Sing 2 will be shown in the Fernwood gym.  Families can bring blankets to sit and snacks to munch on.  This event is hosted by the PTO and is free.  Fernwood secondary (7th/8th) grade students will be selling popcorn.  Adults must stay with their students for this event.  Doors open at 5:45pm and the movie starts at 6pm.

Summer Academy at Fernwood

Fernwood Montessori will be hosting a Montessori Summer Academy.  Summer Academy is open Monday-Friday, June 26-July 28 from 8am-12pm.  (Closed July 3 and 4) Students will be able to connect with their Montessori learning in new ways while engaging in this fun program. Summer Academy is free.  Students who have completed K5 through 8th grade are eligible to attend. Register by June 5th.  For more information and to register, visit mpsmke.com/summeracademy 

Thank you Fernwood Families

Thank you to all the Fernwood families who so generously provided snacks for our teachers during Family Teacher Conferences.   Not only are the snacks yummy, but your kindness also reminds our teachers how loved they are.  Thanks families!

Fernwood Crossing Guards

Fernwood has not had a permanent crossing guard at the intersection of Falling Heath Place and Pennsylvania for several months.  Thank you so much to the amazing Mr. Joel Jaecks for adding another role onto his long job list and jumping in to help out.  Crossing guards are staffed and hired by the Milwaukee Police Department Safety Division (414- 935-7994).  Ms. Kristy has been in contact with them several times to request a permanent crossing guard for that location.  

Milwaukee Repertory Theater Summer Programs

In partnership with Milwaukee Recreation, Milwaukee Repertory Theater is proud to offer 2023 Saturday Youth Theater Workshops! This series of FREE theater workshops, taught by professional Milwaukee Rep teaching artists, is created specifically for the young artists in your life to feel creative, connected, and engaged this winter. This 8-week series of drama-filled fun will take place every Saturday from March 25th through May 13th, 2023. See below for a detailed description and schedule of each class:

 RePLAY: Time Traveling Theater    

• Ages 7+
• 10:00-11:00AM at Center Street Library
• Get ready for a theatrical throwback in this time travel-themed workshop series! “RePLAY” participants will use their actor tools of voice, body, and imagination to travel through space and time, crafting characters, exploring improv skills and working collaboratively to create their own adventure. No matter where (or when!) the story takes us, it’s sure to be an epic journey!

ONCE UPON A WHAT?!: Fractured Fairy Tale Fun

• Ages 7+
• 11:00AM-12:00PM at Center Street Library
• Calling all storytellers — it’s your turn to flip the script! “Once Upon a What?!” participants will look closely at what it means to be storytellers, creators, and performers by crafting their own fractured fairy tales. From Cinder-elephant to Hansel and Gretel in space, no idea is too wacky for our stage!

REHEARSAL: Robin Hood and the Wedding of Doom

• Ages 7+
• 1:00-2:30PM at Center Street Library
• Sheriff Nottingham is up to his old tricks, squeezing money out of the peasants and trying to tell Maid Marion to marry him. This comedic version of the story is a modern English pantomime, filled with farce, slapstick, and larger-than-life characters. Every cast member will have a chance to shine in this new, original take on Robin Hood! Join us as we put together an entire production – from start to finish – in just 8 weeks! 
• This program requires consistent attendance and outside-of-class memorization.

 Additionally, we are pleased to offer FREE lunch to all participants from 12:00PM-1:00PM at each partner location!  

 Please note that registration for classes is capped at 35 students per class per site. Registrations will be honored on a first come, first served basis.

  For more information and to have folks sign up TODAY, please CLICK HERE.

Celebrating Abilities Spirit Week 

This week is designed to promote inclusivity of students with special needs and their families and community building in schools. Our Virtual Kick-off event will be held on Monday, March 27, 2023 from 9:30-10:30 a.m.  

 This event will feature community and district vendors who will share information on their programs and answer questions. Schools are asked to host a watch party and invite parents/guardians and families to attend. The link to join is https://mpsmke.com/mpsca2023. 

Order Your Yearbook 

It is time to order your 22-23 yearbook.  All yearbook sales will be online only though the Lifetouch website.  Yearbooks are $12.  Yearbook sales will be through pre order only.  We expect yearbooks to be delivered at the end of May.  

To order a yearbook, please go to ybpay.com.  Fernwood’s yearbook ID code is 14852523.   (If you have already ordered a yearbook through Lifetouch for this school year, no need to take any additional action.) 

Thank you to Amanda Lavoe, Fernwood parent, for volunteering to create our yearbook. 

 Community Conversation Sessions 

MPS will be hosting quarterly virtual community conversations to strengthen communication and collaboration across the Milwaukee community. We will spend time in breakout rooms holding a discussion with participants. All community conversations will be held virtually from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

• Wednesday March 15, 2023: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support  • Wednesday May 17, 2023: Pre-college and Summer Activities 

Community Conversation flyer.

Participants are encouraged to register in advance and submit any questions they would like to see addressed. Please also reach out to Jenni at navidaj@milwaukee.k12.wi.us if you plan to attend. 

Spring Concert Information

We are pleased to announce that our spring school concert is set for Thursday, May 18th at Bay View High School auditorium (2751 S Lenox St). Students should arrive at 4:30pm and sit with their class (or performing group). Parents may be seated at that time. We will not hold a rehearsal beforehand. On May 10th we will hold a rehearsal at Fernwood during school. The performers will include all lower elementary classes, 3rd grade recorder group, lower elementary choir, upper elementary choir, and adolescent rock bands. The concert will begin at 5pm.

Disclaimer: The Bay View High School auditorium will undergo construction at an unknown date. If construction begins before our concert date, we will shift to plan B (concert at Fernwood in the gym). The performance date will still be May 18th and the times will stay the same. The only difference will be venue location. I will be sure to update parents if anything changes. Fingers crossed for plan A at Bay View High School!!

We are looking for parent volunteers to help monitor students and usher them onto the stage. If this sounds like something you are interested in please sign up here.

If you have any questions please email

Brandon Miller, millerbm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us

Molly Pufall-Brown, mpufall@gmail.com