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Hello everyone! I can't tell you how excited I am to be back in the building with our students!

I want to welcome you all back and on behalf of staff we hope that you enjoyed a relaxing (albeit unusual)

summer vacation and are ready for another year of learning and fun!

Each year brings new ideas, challenges and changes as we grow to meet the needs of our students and work to ensure their safety. I encourage you to read your monthly newsletter thoroughly. You can expect it to be posted

on-line, on our website: http://Ferndale.dsbn.org/ (or google Ferndale dsbn) on the 1st of each month. The information in each issue can assist you as you help your child plan for the days ahead, including special things happening each month. We also have a live calendar which is updated at all times.

We will be continuing with our twitter account - @Ferndalerocks This is a great way to get updated information and see pictures of our Ferndale kids and staff in action! If you don’t already, please follow us @Ferndalerocks

The school is looking great! Thanks also to Mr. Sean, Mrs.Visnosky, Mr. Winger and maintenance workers for

all of their work to make the school look great, and a special thanks to Ms. Rees –Nelles and Mrs. Janzen who

have been instrumental in helping us prepare for the start of the year.

We’d like to remind you to sign up for School Cash Online as we will be doing all money transactions and

permissions through this program this year…you can go to dsbn.org/school cash.

Here’s to a great year and I look forward to meeting each and every one of our new Ferndale families!

Danielle Mikolic,

Principal

From your Admin… September 2020

Principal:

Mrs. D. Mikolic

Vice-Principal

Mrs. M. Hilliker

Secretaries:

Mrs. C. Rees-Nelles

Mrs. Vicky Janzen (am only)

THE FERNDALE

FLASH

The Ferndale Flash

UPCOMING DATES

• All back to school

forms completed

—Mon., Sept. 21

• Terry Fox Walk—

Fri, Sept. 26th

• Rowan’s Law

Day—Wed., Sept.

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• Orange Shirt

Day—Wed., Sept.

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Farewell and Welcome to staff Over the summer and into the beginning of September, we have had some staff changes at Ferndale. Mrs.

Pagano welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Delilah Anne in August. We are so excited for her and wish her

luck as she spends the year at home caring for her beautiful family. We look forward to seeing her again

next year! We also said goodbye to Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Tabbert, Mrs. K. Burton, Mrs. Robins , Mrs.

Kaufman and Mrs. Towne who have all taken positions at other schools within the DSBN. Mrs. Milton,

Ms. Bezotosny and Mrs. Moore-Notley will be teaching and supporting students at the virtual school this

year, but we will see them back at Ferndale next year! Miss Lynn, our caretaker, will not be with us this

year. Big Congratulations to Mrs. Petro, our Instructional Coach, on her retirement and finally, some

exciting news, Mrs. Wittig is now the Principal at William Hamilton Merritt School in St. Catharines—

how lucky they are to have such a strong, caring and genuine leader at that school. We wish all of our

former staff the best of luck in their new positions ~ we will miss them all!

A huge welcome to our new Vice Principal, Mrs. Hilliker and to Miss. DeGroot and Mrs. Little in

Kindergarten, Mrs. Schell, our Instructional Coach and Mr. Sean, our caretaker. We are so happy to have

you join our Ferndale Falcons’ team!

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Meet the 2020-2021 Ferndale Staff

STAFF GRADE

Mrs. N. Osowiec Kindergarten

Mrs. D. Dixon DECE

Mrs. T. Rutledge Kindergarten

Mrs. D. Little DECE

Mrs. N. DeGroot Kindergarten

Mrs. J. Bussi Grade 1

Mrs. L. Greenlaw Grade 1/2

Mrs. D. Walton Grade 2/3

Mrs. V. Milosavlevic (am) / Mrs. Grade 3

Mrs. T. Nash Grade 4

Mrs. N. Mason/Mrs. C. Willey Grade 4/5

Mrs. J. Lech Grade 6

Mr. V. Vescio Grade 6

Mr. C. Snider Grade 7/8

Ms. L. Febbraro Grade 7/8

Mr. J. Pringle Grade 7/8

Mrs. Dubé SSP

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STAFF GRADE

Mr. C. Schatz Phys-ed

Mrs. N. DiLeo Intermediate French

TBD Junior French and Prep

Mrs. S. VanderKant LRT

Mrs. K. Freure LRT

Mr. J. Colitti Educational Assistant

Ms. T. Gyde Educational Assistant

Miss B. VanEde Educational Assistant

Ms. J. Collucci Educational Assistant

Ms. S. Paton Educational Assistant

Ms. S. Ward Educational Assistant

Mrs. L. Carr Educational Assistant

Mrs. S. Schell Instructional Coach

Ms. J. Drury Social Worker

Ms. J Gollan Youth Worker

Mrs. D. Mikolic Principal

Mrs. M. Hilliker Vice-Principal

Ms. C. Rees– Nelles Administrative Assistant

Mrs. V. Janzen Administrative Assistant - AM

Mr. S. Mahoney Head Caretaker

Ms. C. Visnosky Night Caretaker

Mr. D. Winger Night Caretaker

Meet the 2020-2021 Ferndale Staff

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As per Public Health regulations, our school playgrounds

are closed during the school day—this is from 8:35am

(start of supervision) until 3:30pm (end of supervision).

Please refrain from allowing your child(ren) to access the

playground area during these hours.

Thank you!

Important Information for Drop –off and Pick –up

Students from grades 1—8 who are walking to school are to enter and exit the

school grounds through the gate that is located by the primary playground.

Students who are being driven to school are to be dropped off and picked up at the

kiss and ride located in the side parking lot off of Dunvegan Drive. Parents are

asked to wait in the area marked with pylons in the parking lot for their child(ren)

and walk them across the parking lot to their car.

AT NO TIME ARE STUDENTS TO BE WALKING THROUGH THE PARKING

LOT WITHOUT AN ADULT!

Playground

School Council

If you are interested in becoming more actively involved in your child’s education and the inner workings of Ferndale

Public School, we encourage you to join our School Council!

This group generally meets throughout the year to discuss current issues, educational trends, and the future of our school.

We welcome new members! Please contact the office by emailing (fer@dsbn.org) or by calling 905-684-1101.

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Safe and Secure Schools

We strive to maintain our school as a safe and secure learning environment for our students. Our school is equipped with a video surveillance and electronic access system. This system enhances our safe school practices already in place. Video surveillance consists of a camera installed at our front entrance and this surveillance video camera is just one of the tools we will use to foster a safe and secure learning environment under the Safe Schools Act. It is in compliance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Access to our school will only be through the front door, and be buzzed in. To ensure student safety, you must: 1. only access the school through the front door, 2. check in at the office 4. wear a mask and complete a COVID self-assessment Although we are discouraging dropping off items for your child, in the event of an emergency, or if you are picking him/her up for an appointment, etc., you may simply check in at the office as per usual and allow one of our staff members to take care of your request.

Keeping Our School Safe and Healthy

If you have a child with a Prevalent Medical Condition (Anaphylaxis,

Asthma, Diabetes, and/or Epilepsy) we want to make sure we have a

current Plan of Care to support your child.

All parents of children with Prevalent Medical Conditions are asked to fill

out the Plan of Care form and submit to the school.

You can download the forms here dsbn.org/prevalent-medical-conditions.

For more information, please contact the school.

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Rowan’s Law Day

On September 30th, Rowan’s Law Day will be observed by our

school. This is a day to increase awareness about the danger of

concussions, and to positively promote injury prevention.

Rowan’s Law was created after Rowan Stringer, a 17-year old

student, died after sustaining two concussions. Because she did not

tell anyone about her injuries or share how she was feeling with her

family, coaches or friends, her concussions went untreated.

By observing Rowan’s Law Day each year and educating our

school community about concussions, we hope to promote a culture

of safety at our school.

Purple was Rowan’s favourite colour, so we are asking students to

wear purple to school on September 30th – it could be a purple shirt, socks, a ribbon – something to represent Rowan.

Orange Shirt Day

ORANGE SHIRT DAY NEWSLETTER INSERT

On September 30, DSBN will join with others across Canada in honouring the memory of every child that had to attend residential school. Orange Shirt Day - Every Child Matters, reflects on the effects of Indian Residential Schools and is an affirmation of our commitment to ensuring that every child matters. Orange Shirt Day has been marked in schools across Canada in a variety of ways, including Orange Ribbon cam-paigns, commemorative walks, and wearing orange shirts. DSBN recognizes Orange Shirt Day each year

and our students and staff are encouraged to wear something orange on this day.

Orange Shirt Day began with a commemoration event held at St. Joseph Mission in Williams Lake, British Columbia, where years before, Phyllis Webstad had her new orange shirt taken

away on her first day of residential school. She never saw the shirt again and the colour represented her loss of language and cultural identity. The end of September is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to attend residential schools and September 30 is the official Orange Shirt Day. Phyllis’s story has become part of a national recognition event

and wearing orange has become a symbol of the many losses experienced by thousands of students and families due to residential schools.

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Technology Return

At this time, Breakfast Club is on hold. Please watch for updates and information in the

coming weeks/months.

Thank you

Thank you to all families who have returned their chrome

books to the school!

If you still have a borrowed technology device from the

spring, we ask that you kindly bring it back to the school as

soon as possible. There is a table set up in the front foyer for

chrome books to be placed on.

Grade 8 students who have Edwin devices from last year are

also asked to return these to school ASAP.

If you have transferred schools over the summer and have a

chrome book or Edwin device that belongs to another

school , you can return it to Ferndale and we will send it to

the appropriate school—just let us know which school when

you are dropping it off.

Thank you!

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Ferndale’s Code of Conduct Please look over the “Code of Conduct” information included on our

website at https://www.dsbn.org/about/policies/dsbn-code-of-conduct

This is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Please, no food containing nuts or pumpkin

Some of our students have life-threatening allergies to nuts, nut products

and pumpkin. When you are packing your child’s food for nutrition breaks,

please take extra care to ensure that the foods are nut-free and pumpkin

free. Help us to ensure the health and safety of all our students.

School Cash Online

COLLECTION OF FUNDS & PERMISSION FORMS School Cash Online enables you to use your debit or credit card to make quick and easy payments. We also use School Cash Online to obtain permission for school events. To access the system, click on the “School Cash” button on our school website or click on the following link, https://www.dsbn.org/schoolcash/ PLEASE NOTE: The usual Welcome Back to School package that contains important forms to complete must be completed by all families through School Cash Online this year. We will email you when the forms will be sent to you through School Cash Online. **Please have all forms completed and returned to the office no later than September 21st.**

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ATTENDANCE As per previous practice all attendance must be reported through the Safe Arrival System, you can report an

absence, a late arrival or early departure 1 of 3 ways;

1. Phoning 1-866-606-5567

2. Online at https://go.schoolmessenger.ca/#/account/login

3. Through the School Messenger app using your cell phone or tablet (compatible with both Apple and

Android devices)

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2020-2021 Elementary School Year Calendar

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Bell Times at Ferndale

Time Period

8:50—9:10 Entry

9:10-9:50 Period 1

9:50-10:30 Period 2

10:30-11:10 Period 3

11:10-11:50 Period 4

11:50—12:30 Period 5

12:30-1:10 Period 6

1:10-1:50 Period 7

1:50-2:30 Period 8

2:30-3:10 Period 9

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