Fernwood Family Newsletter #4, 9/17/24

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Table of Contents 

Schedule of Events

SEPTEMBER 20th – Be in School – Third Friday Count Day

Grace, Courtesy, and Safety After School

Special Message about CAMP Staffing for ALL FAMILIES

District Advisory Council Members Needed

Medication and Immunization Reminders from Nurse Gretchen

Picture Day Information-September 18th

District Parent/Guardian School Engagement Survey

Futura Spanish Enrollment-Now Open Online

Character Kids Enrollment-Now Open Online

Our School is Cool!

PTO Popcorn Machine Naming Contest Winner

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Schedule of Events 

~Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 6:30pm, Fernwood Fund Meeting, Fernwood library and virtual, email brett.mytys@gmail.com for link

~Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 7:45am-12pm, Picture Day

~Friday, September 20th, 2024 THIRD FRIDAY Attendance Day

~Thursday, September 26, 2024, 5:30pm, School Engagement Council (SEC), virtual https://meet.google.com/tir-huzv-ikc

-Tuesday, October 1st, 2024, 6:00pm, PTO Meeting, Fernwood library and virtual https://meet.google.com/xyc-wwnz-czu

~Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024, 7:00am, Bike Walk and Roll to School Day, East Playground

~Thursday, October 10, 2024, 6:30pm, Music Parents Meeting, virtual https://meet.google.com/fpf-rvca-uuk

~Tuesday, October 15th, 2024, 6:30pm, Fernwood Fund Meeting, Fernwood library and virtual, email brett.mytys@gmail.com for link

~Thursday, October 10th and Tuesday, October 15th, 2024, Fall Conferences, sign up links in future newsletter 

~Friday, October 16th, 2024, Picture Retake Day, details in next newsletter

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SEPTEMBER 20th – Be in School – Third Friday Count Day

Every day counts! Be in school and be counted on Friday, September 20. The State of Wisconsin will count all students on this day to determine the amount of funding provided to schools this year. Make sure your child attends school on Friday, September 20, 2024, so the school receives funding for every student.

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Grace, Courtesy, and Safety After School

Please read these reminders about safety and supervision before and after school.  

-No pedestrians should be walking through the staff parking lot, at any time

-All students riding bicycles and scooters must be wearing helmets and must walk their transportation during dismissal.  Kids riding bikes or scooters during dismissal leads to potential traffic and safety issues for all involved.

-Any students riding Lime Scooters must leave them off the premises and away from sidewalks used by the school- we have tight space and a lot of students

-Please supervise your children while playing.  Parents are responsible for the behavior of their children on the playground after school.  This includes resolving conflict between students and making sure that students are playing safely and considering others safety.  

-After dismissal, children are not allowed in the building for water or the bathroom unless accompanied by an adult.  The office closes at 3:15pm

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Special Message about CAMP Staffing for ALL FAMILIES

Dear Fernwood Families,

We currently still have students on our after-school camp waitlist, and families are in dire need of childcare.  Per state and local childcare ratios, we do not currently have enough staff to accommodate these students.  Milwaukee Recreation is supporting us in working to recruit staff, but at this time, we have no additional prospective employees in the pipeline.

We know our families are incredibly supportive of our school and that many of you volunteer regularly.  We wanted to share that if we can get 2 adults to “volunteer” consistently 1 day a week from 2:30-5:00pm, we will be able to accommodate all of our students.

If you are able to make this work in your schedule for 1 consistent day every week, please consider this opportunity.  Your child(ren) would be able to attend camp for free that day (you would also need to sign them up).  Per Milwaukee Recreation, in order to abide by childcare ratios, individuals must apply and engage in the background check, fingerprinting, etc.

If you would be willing to help us out, please complete the following:

1. Fill this out with your name under the day of the week you could help out: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HR9uyjPBrVDw2PxCpx5DDq77L26DDMWkEzREPC7TUV4/edit?usp=sharing
2. Apply to be a camp volunteer at: https://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Community/Get-Involved/Volunteer.htm
3. Reach out to Michelle Stehlik, Camp Director at stehlim@milwaukee.k12.wi.us so she can flag your application.

If you or anyone you know are interested in becoming an employee at Camp Fernwood Full or Part Time, please consider becoming part of our team at:: https://milwaukeerecreation.net/rec/Employment/Current-Job-Openings.htm

Thank you for considering and passing along this information.

Michelle Stehlik

Fernwood Montessori Camp Director

Direct Phone: 414.294.1313

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District Advisory Council Members Needed

The District Advisory Council (DAC) meets monthly to learn about and advise on district strategies and programs impacting families, mainly related to Title I.  Fernwood Montessori School is in need of two delegates to serve as our representatives on the committee.  Thanks to retiring members, Nikki Janzen and Laureen Anderson-Stepanek, for their years of service to this group!  Duties include attending meetings and reporting back to school with relevant information from the meetings.  Please use the link for some additional information as well as a list of dates and times for the virtual meetings.  If you are interested in getting involved please contact Parent Coordinator Meredith at genricm@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.

https://mps.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/en/Families/Family-Involvement/Advisory-Committee.htm

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Medication and Immunization Reminders from Nurse Gretchen 

Please see the attached letter for important information from Nurse Gretchen about medications at school.

Back to School Medication Reminders.docx

Nurse Gretchen also wanted to circulate information about some emails about vaccines that some of you may get.

imms newsletter.docx MHD_ImmunizationClinics_HalfSheet_flyer_8.30.2024.pdf

Included below is information on your child returning to school after illness.  

24-25 Sick Guidelines.pdf

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Picture Day Information-September 18th

School Pictures will be taken on the morning of Wednesday, September 18th in the Fernwood Auditorium!  Don’t forget to set your alarm earlier so you have time to do your hair (Beyonce did)!  

Lifetouch is the photography company that we are using.  Pictures of all students will be taken, whether or not pictures are ordered.   Each student will get a complimentary composite class picture. 

Pictures can be ordered online at mylifetouch.com using the Fernwood order code EVTG8R8WP.  If you order online there is no need to return the paper form that is being sent home.  If you choose to order with the paper form, please return it to school on September 18th with a check.

Picture retake day is October 16th and details will be announced in a future newsletter.

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District Parent/Guardian School Engagement Survey

Please take a few moments to provide some feedback to the district and our school!  The District Parent/Guardian School Engagement Survey is your opportunity to provide the school with information on how you might like to get involved and barriers to involvement.  The school is provided with the data and it helps us to plan for our year.  The survey takes just a few minutes and is available in many languages.  Survey and flyer are linked below.

mpsmke.com/spcssurvey

School Engagement Survey FLYER 24-25.pdf

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Futura Spanish Enrollment-Now Open Online 

Enrollment for after school Spanish classes with Futura is now open online.  Follow the link to enroll.

https://futuraadventures.com/WISCONSIN-REGION/

Futura Fernwood Spanish 2024-2025 flier .pdf

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Character Kids Enrollment-Now Open Online 

Come explore the wonderful world of theater with Character Kids! Students will play theater games, learn stage skills and explore popular Broadway musicals while developing imagination, social skills and confidence. We’ll be offering 2 different fun-filled after school classes at Fernwood this year! 

FALL SESSION:

– Grades 1st-3rd: Mondays, 2:30-3:30 pm (September 23 – December 2 (10 weeks, no class 10/21)

– Grades 4th-6th: Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30 pm (September 25 – December 11 (11 weeks, no class 11/27) 

Parents are invited to a special performance on the last day of class! Visit our website for more info or to register.

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Our School is Cool!

There’s always something COOL going on at Fernwood!  Fernwood knows how to throw a COOL party!  A good time was had by all at Fernwood Fest on Saturday!  We bounced, we ate, we got painted on, and we got wet!  THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped make this event happen (especially Danielle Brannan who was our party planner).  See below for some pictures of the fun!  

Fernwood Fest Pictures

As always, please consider supporting the businesses that support Fernwood.

https://www.flourgirlandflame.com/

https://petespops.net/

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PTO Popcorn Machine Naming Contest Winner

And finally, The winner of the PTO popcorn machine naming contest isssss…………

Pearl Hayes!

The PTO popcorn machine will be called Big Poppa* from this day forth!

Congrats to Pearl!  At t-shirt sale time, you get a free one!

*AKA The Notorious P.O.P.  AKA Biggie Smalls  Throw your hands in the air, if youse a true player!