Fernwood Family Newsletter #15, 12/05/23 

~Thursday, December 7th, 2023 6:00pm Arts Fest Meeting, Sugar Maple Bar

~Tuesday, December 12, 2023 6:30 pm, Fernwood Fund Meeting, Fernwood Library and Virtual-email benjaminmstocks@gmail.com for meeting link

~Thursday, December 14, 2023 5:30pm, Fernwood Winter Concert, Bayview High School 

~Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 6:00pm, PTO Meeting, Fernwood Library and Virtual http://meet.google.com/isc-jfjq-zow

~Thursday, December 21, 2023-Monday, January 1, 2024, Winter Break-No School

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Link to Fernwood Family-School Manual 2023-2024: Family-School Manual 2023 2024 SY.docx

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Arts Fest Planning Meeting

The Annual Fernwood Arts Fest is back for another year! Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 5, 2024!

Do you have any great ideas that you want to share? Are you interested in helping plan this beloved community event? Join us at Sugar Maple on Thursday, December 7 at 6pm for our first planning meeting!

Please reach out to Melissa Rabiego at melissarabiego@gmail.com if you have any questions!

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Camp Experience Survey for all Families

Please take a moment to provide some feedback to the school regarding student overnight camp and travel experiences.  All families should complete the survey even if you have younger students.  The survey will be available until 12/12.  Thank you!

Fernwood Camp Experience Survey 

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Teacher Thank Yous for PTO Funds

Each year, the PTO gives some funds to the teachers for classroom supplies.  Here are a few thank yous from our teachers!

“Thank you PTO!  I was able to buy new therapy materials to use with students.  It’s great to have the money to be able to purchase new materials that align with best practices from all the new research in our field.  Thanks again. “ Kathie Major-Speech Pathologist

“We love animals in Rm. 35, but they can be expensive, especially at the start of the year with new bedding, filters, sand, food, etc.  The PTO money really helps with this.  Thank you PTO!!!” Jessica Foster-Room 35

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Fernwood Students in the News!

22 Fernwood students’ artwork was featured in the November 30th Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

Check out their work in this gallery from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin K-8 artists recreate self-portraits, faces and people https://www.jsonline.com/picture-gallery/news/education/2023/11/29/wisconsin-k-8-artists-recreate-self-portraits-faces-and-people/71647695007/

Way to go, Ferwnwood Artists!  

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Cookies for our Bus Drivers, Crossing Guards and Engineers

Fernwood has a tradition of saying thank you to our bus drivers, crossing guards, and engineers with some yummy cookies before our Winter break.  As you do your holiday baking, please keep Fernwood in mind.  We would love a (disposable) plate of your cookies to share with our community.  Please send cookies to the office, in care of Meredith, the morning of December 18th.  We could also use cookie tins the size of a dinner plate.  Tins can be brought to the office at any time.  Thank you for your kindness towards our bus drivers, crossing guards, and engineers!

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Save the Date: Conversations about Race

Please save the date of January 17th at 4pm-5:30pm in the Fernwood Library for a conversation about race with Coach Nikki Janzen.  Please see below for details and look to future newsletters for a sign up.

Children are never too young to learn about race. In this 90 minute session, you can grow your knowledge on healthy ways to talk to your children about race and equity using children’s books and videos as an anchor for discovery and discussion. This session will be lead by social justice educator, Milwaukee Public Schools restorative practices coach, parent of one of our students and founder of Beloved Healing LLC, Nikki Janzen. 

Nikki will use restorative shared agreements to create a brave, caring space and guide us through researched best practices to help us cultivate children that are racially aware, empathetic and proud of who they are while supporting those in their community. We will watch videos, read children’s books as well as talk through resources and close with a question and answer opportunity. 

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Important Winter Concert Information

All lower elementary classrooms, UE choir, LE choir, UE Percussion (new), Adolescent Guitar Ensemble (new), Adolescent Choir, and Adolescent Percussion Ensemble (new), Adolescent Modern Rock Band, and 3rd Grade Recorders will perform on Thursday, December 14th at Bay View High School (2751 S Lenox St.). Students should arrive at 5pm. Concert should go from 5:30pm-7pm.

We are looking for parent volunteers. Please let me know if you are available to help out on any of these events. I can get more into the specifics, but your job will be to direct students and monitor behavior. If you would like to volunteer, please add your name and email address to the volunteer form. 

If you would like to practice with your child at home, below are the songs the lower elementary classrooms will perform. Make sure you see which group your child will be a part of.

Lower Elementary Group 1

Rooms 251, 252, 253

Act 1 “March” paper plates

“Get Your Winter On”

“Winter Walk”

Lower Elementary Group 2

Rooms 22, 24, 34, 35

“Trepak” paper plates

“Hot Cocoa”

“Marshmallow Penguin”

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Fernwood Montessori: Meet the Staff 

Pop Quiz:  What Fernwood teacher is also a hockey player?  The answer is in the attached slide show of information about our Fernwood staff compiled by the PTO. Teachers filled out some questionnaires to let us know their likes and dislikes.

Meet the Staff

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Music Information from Mr. Miller

There is LOTS of information from Mr. Miller about Choir and MANY other music opportunities for our students.  Please see the link for his update which includes ways to sign up.

Fernwood Music 2023-24

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