Fernwood Montessori PUBLIC HEARING

Fernwood Montessori
2015-2016
Parent Newsletter #19
January 26, 2016
PUBLIC HEARING
Speaker's Task Force on Urban Education
The committee will hold a public hearing on the
following items at the time specified below:
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
1:00 PM
MacDowell Montessori
6415 W Mt. Vernon Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53213
Upcoming Events
Speaker’s Task Force on Urban Education
Tuesday, January 26th, MacDowell Montessori
Public Hearing beginning at 1pm, followed by public comments
Chili/Soup Tasting Planning Meeting
Wednesday, January 27th, 5 pm, Office Annex
Early Childhood Education
The Task Force will hear invited testimony from the
following organizations and/or individuals:
Dr. Darienne Driver, Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools
Danae Davis, Executive Director of Milwaukee Succeeds
Vision Screening (K4, K5, 5th)
January 27th, 28th, 29th
Mary Lou Young, President & CEO/Tim Coughlin, Education
Portfolio Manager, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha
County
Enrollment Fair
Saturday, January 30th, 9:00 am-12:00 pm,
Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Gabriel McGaughey, Director of Well-Being/Jenell Loreck, Child
Well-Being Manager, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Teacher PD Day-No student attendance
Monday, February 1st
Three-Choice Enrollment
February 1-19
Interim Report Cards- Sent Home
Tuesday, February 2nd
“Lights Are On”- New Student Enrollment Fair
Wednesday, February 3rd, 6-8:00pm
School Governance Council
Monday, February 8th, 5:30 pm
Fernwood Fund
Monday, February 8th, 7:30 pm
PTO Meeting
Thursday, February 11th, 6:15 pm
“Hearts on Fire” Chili and Soup Tasting
and Silent Auction
Friday, February 19th, 5:30-8:00 pm
Judy Norman-Nunnery, Administrator- Division of Early Care &
Education/Sara Buschman, Assistant Deputy Secretary, WI
Department of Children and Families
Followed by public comments
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Wisconsin’s urban school districts have unique
challenges and opportunities to meet the needs of their
students. The goal of the task force is to provide tangible
solutions to help improve educational outcomes. Task
force members will study teacher recruitment and
retention, discuss best practices to address truancy,
below-average academic performance and low
graduation rates, and explore ways to improve access to
technology in high poverty urban areas.
Assessment Windows
STAR 360 Winter Assessment
January 4th- January 29th
“The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth.
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~Maria Montessori
Leadership Circle
Individuals contributing $500 or more to support
Fernwood’s expansion will be acknowledged in our first
ever Leadership Circle. Your name will be included on a
commemorative plaque to be placed in the new
southern entryway to Fernwood to symbolize your
lasting support for the school.
Camp Fernwood
Camp Fernwood is looking to hire 3 qualified individuals to
work in the after-school camp program.
The hours for the position are 2:30-5:00pm, Monday through
Friday.
If interested, please contact Mrs. Ceballos, Camp Director, at
[email protected] or 294-1350.
Personalized Bricks
Make your mark! You can have your name etched into
Fernwood history. For just $50 you can purchase a
personalized brick which will be permanently included in
our school’s new courtyard space. As a special perk, all
Leadership Circle donors will receive up to two bricks.
Calling all chefs!
Purchase your personalized brick today -
www.thatsmybrick.com/fernwoodwi.
PTO’s “Hearts on Fire” Chili and Soup Tasting
Click here!
event is coming up on February 19th.
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Now is the time to submit your soup or chili entry form.
Consider submitting an entry as a family, an
Have you taken any fantastic photos of our Fernwood
students and community this year? Then Ms. Lorinda
and the Yearbook Crew would like to preview them for
potential use in the 2015-16 yearbook.
Please send your photos ASAP to the Yearbook Crew
today at [email protected]. If
possible, indicate the function that the photo was
taken at, and the classroom teacher (if known).
Deadline for submission is March 3, 2016.
*Submission of photos does not guarantee inclusion
in the yearbook. All photos of students will be crossreferenced via the media waivers currently on file.
organization/club, business… the possibilities are endless.
~
Please complete the entry form on pages 7-8
and turn it into the office.
Attention
All First Grade girls interested in Girl Scouts
Come to our FIRST meeting on February 8 from 6-7:30
PM in Room 8. We will go over general information and
registration for our new troop, and get the girls going on
some Girl Scout fun! If you have any questions please
contact Jenna Sims Gray (414) 380-4687 or Roberta
Oldenburg (414) 313-1878. Hope to see you there!
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Like us on Facebook
Fernwood Montessori has a
NEW, *official* Facebook page.
“Like” the Fernwood
Montessori School page to stay
up-to-date on school
happenings and get additional
information.
Dear friends,
Our Helping the Homeless Care Package Project is
off to a solid start. We currently have about 12
completed care packages outside of Room 37 if any
adults are interested in taking one or two for their
cars. Just let Ms. Klopp know.
Fernwood Montessori Website
Check out our *updated* schools
website at
http://www5.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/school/fernwood/.
This is a great resource to find staff contact
information, see a current school calendar, learn about
upcoming events, download newsletters and
documents, and see highlights of our school.
Among our list of high need items there are a few
specific items that we have gotten a lot of while
there are a few items we very much still need
donated. They are:
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Gloves
Socks
Deodorant
Lotion/sunscreen
Food (individually packed, pull tab)
Water (smallest bottles available)
M Cards (bus passes)
If you can help us out with any of the above items,
we would greatly appreciate it. Or, I've also
discovered that a small money donation can be
stretched a long way at The Dollar Store. If you'd like
to donate a small amount ($3-5) to me, I am more
than willing to go pick these items up as needed.
Tired of the same old clothes in your closet?
Tidy up while supporting a great cause!
Then, check out thredup.com/r/TZSX95 to
restock your closet in style!
Upper Elementary rooms 33, 36, and 37 are collecting mint
condition women’s and children’s clothing to send to
And, of course, your students can always write
encouragement notes to be placed in the care
packages! There are many different ways you can
help out
We plan to continue this project through the most
difficult months of the year. Our initial goal is at
least until spring break.
Thank you in advance and my sincerest regards,
ThredUp, who turn the clothing into a check! Upper
Elementary is using the proceeds to help fund their upcoming
field trip to Camp Edwards. If you have something to donate,
please bring it in.
Room 37
Ms. Stefanie Klopp, Teacher
*See complete list of needed items on page 11
**Fundraiser runs through February 5th
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As we continue our series to aid parents’ in their
Excerpts taken from: A Parents’ Guide to the Montessori
Classroom, by Aline D. Wolf, Parent Child Press, 2009.
understanding of Montessori
Education . . .
In this issue we reveal some of the secrets behind
the “Practical Life” work in the Primary
environment as explained by Aline D. Wolf.
In future issues we will continue this series by
examining other areas of the primary environment.
Number 5 in Primary4 Series
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Fernwood Family Chili and soup Tasting and Silent Auction –
Friday, Feb. 19, 2016
Chili/Soup Entry Form
Contact Name: ______________________________________________________________________________
Contact e-mail (WILL NOT BE SHARED):___________________________________________________________
Contact Phone: ______________________________________________________________________________
Organization represented (this can be your family, a classroom, a student organization, or a community
organization:
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Our Chili/Soup Tasting is an opportunity for people to sample a variety of delicious offerings while celebrating
our school community. Please bring at least two gallons of chili/soup (and any garnishes you’d like) to allow
many people to sample. (This is an all-you-care-to-eat meal, and to allow multiple samples per person, we’re
going to recommend a half-cup (4 oz.) serving per sample.) PTO will provide soup ladles, bowls, flatware,
crackers and bread/butter. Fernwood logo chili mugs and spoons will also be available for purchase ($5 each).
Name Your Chili: _____________________________________________________________________________
Ideally, we will have portable burners/butane canisters for the soup pots, available to all participants so as to
avoid electricity issues like last year. As of 1/14/16 this option is still under investigation so PLEASE stay tuned.
Alternately, we would ask that you bring your chili/soup in a crockpot or slow cooker. Updates to follow.
Contact Annie Wegner LeFort at [email protected] with questions.
We’re hoping to provide a variety of chili types to our families. Please let us know what type of recipe you’re
planning on sharing:
 Vegan
How Many Peppers (0-4) Spiciness _______
 Vegetarian
0 – all kid safe
 Beef
1 – Flavor
 Pork
2- A Little warm
 Chicken
3- Expected
 Prepared meats (chorizo, sausage, etc.)
4- Pass the water
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Does your chili/soup contain any common allergens? (Circle or list)
Dairy
Seafood
Egg
Peanuts
Nuts
Gluten
Soy
Other ________________________________________
Wheat
Logistics:
 Email will be the main contact method; please share one you check regularly.
 Chili/soup entries should be brought already HOT to the cafeteria in the
Fernwood basement by 4:45 on February 19. (Event begins at 5:30)
 Each chili/soup must be accompanied by at least two servers who are
adults/post-adolescents. Students may be useful runners for teams. Serving time
will be from 5:30pm to 7:30 pm, so the bigger your serving team, the more
breaks you have to check out the auction and sample the other chili/soups.
 PENDING MORE INFORMATION: In the case that we do not/cannot use portable
burners, please bring one reasonable-length extension cord. 10-50 feet of
movement would be very useful.
 Fernwood PTO will provide basic accoutrements: crackers, bread/butter– but you
are welcomed and encouraged to bring any garnishes you’d like.
 Your team will be serving your chili/soup. Please plan on food-safe hair styles
(pulled back)/hats/bandannas. You are also encouraged to bring an apron, as
needed. PTO will provide latex-free serving gloves.
 Please bring at least one copy of your recipe listing ingredients. Ideally this could
be displayed on the table or handy for people curious about allergens.
 Signs will be provided to identify each team, chili or soup and spiciness level.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION! WE TRULY APPRECIATE ALL THAT
OUR FERNWOOD FAMILIES DO!
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Three Choice Process
Three-Choice Enrollment is Feb. 1-19, 2016
Milwaukee Public Schools has the greatest variety of high-performing programs in the city, from strong
traditional neighborhood schools to arts, Career and Technical Education (CTE),International
Baccalaureate, language immersion and Montessori specialty schools to charter schools.
Important Dates for 2016-17
The Three-Choice Enrollment period is for families who are new to MPS, did not receive a high school
placement during early admissions or who are selecting a new school for their children.
February 1-19, 2016
Three-Choice Enrollment: The offi-cial Three-Choice Enrollment period gives families their best chance for
enrollment in their first-choice school for their children. Families can Enroll online, or at the MPS school of
your choice.
After February 19, 2016
Enrollment continues on a first-come, first-served basis.
March 14-18, 2016
Three-Choice letters mailed: Families who participate in the Three-Choice Enrollment period should expect
to receive letters during this time indicating the school(s) in which their child/children are enrolled for
2016–17.
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Care Packages for the Homeless
Room 37 will be collecting donations and assembling care packages for the homeless. The care
packages will be available to any adults who are interested in placing them in their cars to be handed
out to the homeless or will be given directly to homeless shelters.
I am not encouraging children to approach homeless adults for obvious potential safety concerns.
Details are below:
Help the Homeless: Care Packages for the Homeless
A person is a person, no matter where they live.
Many people are living only one paycheck away from homelessness, and this includes families in every
area of every state. Do you want to help the homeless in the Milwaukee area? Fernwood Students will
be collecting donations to create care packages for the homeless.
The following list of individual items are high need and have been recommended to us to be
included in care packages for the homeless:
· 1 gallon, clear plastic Ziploc bags
· clear plastic Ziploc sandwich bags
· gloves (adult sized)
· socks (adult sized)
· deodorant
· band-Aids
· chewable multivitamins
· cough drops
· tissues
· female sanitary napkins
· toothpaste and toothbrush
· Small bottles of lotion
· sun screen
· chap stick/lip balm
· wet wipes
· cans of tuna (with tab)
· cans of fruit (easy open or with tab)
· peanut butter crackers
· small bottles of water
· M•CARDs (Bus Passes) with 2-3 rides preloaded
· maps of Milwaukee (*resource centers highlighted)
In addition, students are writing inspirational notes to accompany these items in the packages. The
notes are darling!
Making care packages can be a mindfulness exercise. It is a way to practice gratitude, talk about
appreciating what we have and of course a way to be kind to others! I am personally very pleased that
the students have taken a great interest in this project as I care very deeply about the issues of hunger
and homelessness and have been volunteering and donating to these causes for many years. For
these reasons, I am very grateful.
If you would like to donate any of the above items or if you are interested in having assembled care
packages for handouts in your car, please let us know.
Thank you,
Ms. Stefanie and the Incredibly Awesome Students of Room 37
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Please be sure Fernwood has your UP-TO-DATE
EMAIL ADDRESS so we can send you the weekly
newsletter.
ALL newsletters are being sent home electronically,
no more paper copies.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Fernwood Parent Newsletter Delivery
We have a weekly Parent Newsletter; in order for us to save on the cost of paper
we would like to send all our parents the newsletter electronically. Please provide
us with your email (please print legibly):
Parent’s name: ______________________ Email: _________________________
Parent’s name: ______________________ Email: _________________________
Child’s name: ______________________ Room: _________
Note: The newsletter will also be found on our website:
http://www5.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/school/fernwood/
Return this form to Ms. Burns in the office.
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