Fernwood Family Newsletter #14, 11/24/2020

Fernwood Family Newsletter #14, 11/24/2020

Important Dates:

• No School November 25-November 27
• SEC Meeting November 30th, 5:30pm https://meet.google.com/rye-pqbh-shj 
• PTO meeting, December 10th, 5:30pm https://meet.google.com/fov-zjhu-ezt 
• No School December 23rd-January 1st
• School Resumes, Monday, January 4th, 2021

Report Cards: First Trimester

First trimester report cards are now available on the parent portal.   These report cards will not be mailed.  To see the report card on your parent portal account, 1) Click on Today on the left hand side of the screen.  Check to make sure the correct student is selected.  (click on the arrow under the person icon on the right hand side.) 2)Click on Documents on the left hand side. 3) In the center of the screen, select Elementary/K8 Report Card All Terms 4) A report then runs.  To see your report card, click on the PDF that populates on the bottom of the window that pops up.  

Special education progress reports will be emailed by the Special Education Teachers on December 1st.

Understanding the Montessori Report Card

MPS has developed Montessori-Specific report cards. Montessori schools are unique in the teaching methods and structure of the classroom. Montessori report card formats have been created for primary, lower elementary and upper elementary. The grading system better fits within the Montessori framework:

Exceeds (EX) – The child is working above and beyond grade level expectations. Mastered (MA) – The child has mastered the concept/lesson Practiced (PA) – The lesson has been introduced, they are working with the material, but have not mastered Needs more (NM) – It has been introduced, but they need review lessons Introduced (IN) – The lesson has been presented to the child and practice has begun Blank – This means that it hasn’t been presented

Performance levels have been developed to better match the Montessori-specific report cards. A blank indicates an area not assessed during this mark period. By the end of your child’s Montessori multi-graded class, every standard will be assessed and marked. That means that many areas on your child’s report card may be blank or marked as Practiced (PA), especially if they are in the first year of their classroom (K3, 1st grade, or 4th grade).

If you have questions about your child’s performance, please contact your child’s teacher.

Creating a Parent Portal Account

Parent Portal accounts are great tools for managing your contact information, viewing your child’s report cards and accessing district messaging. Guardians need an activation code to set up their account. Please contact our secretary, Ms. Cynthia Arias in the Fernwood office (414-294-1300), to receive your activation code.

PTO Updates

• The PTO would like to gather some feedback from Fernwood families about how to be most helpful during virtual learning.  Please take a moment to complete this short (3 question) survey.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NK8Q5YV
• Minutes from the November 2020 PTO meeting are now available on the Fernwood Website.   http://www5.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/school/fernwood/parents/pto/ 

Winter Virtual Camps

The Extended Learning Opportunities Office is sponsoring a select number of seats in several camps so students can attend free of cost.  Space is limited, and MPS students receive priority enrollment. 

Wisconsin Conservatory of Music- MPS Winter Music Technology Camp 

~Date: Dec. 28-30, 2020 

~Time: 12:30-3:30pm 

~Grades: 6-12 

~Description: Join WCM faculty for 3 days of creating and composing music with digital audio workstations to sample, record, mix, and master.  This 3-day winter camp is an introduction to the rapidly growing industry of music production and technology. There is no need for any musical background to participate and software subscriptions will be provided with registration. All software is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, Chromebook, and Android systems. 

~Registration link: https://forms.gle/soHZ4ibkdn2ED8rC9   

 Wisconsin Humane Society Virtual Camps 

~Date: Dec. 29, 2020 (grades 1-3) or Dec. 30, 2020 (grades 4-6) 

~Time: 9am-11am & 1-3pm 

~Description: Come in from the cold and warm up with furry friends! Spend a day of your winter break with this cool virtual camp for young animal enthusiasts. Live virtual programming is four hours, split into two sections.  A Zoom link will be sent to the parent email address. Exclusive WHS camp kits will be sent to the participant’s home address.  

~Registration link: https://forms.gle/G5sw2YWtuAARfYoTA 

For additional questions or information, contact Devin Lazo at 414-475-8394 or lazodc@milwaukee.k12.wi.us .

Art Map Link

The following is the Art Map for Weeks 13-18.  Please see below for information on upcoming Art projects so that your child(ren) can have art materials ready for their art projects. District Art Kits (full of art supplies for students to use at home) are still delayed with no set distribution date, so we will continue to rely on whatever art materials students already have available at home to complete their art assignments. Art Map Link

 Fernwood (Virtual) Chess Club

Fernwood’s Chess Club will be all virtual this year. We will continue to offer this optional club to 2nd-8th grade students. Students can be continuing club students or new to the game…. but new students should be able to navigate a web based program for instruction (and practice) for how to play.

 As a special offer for MPS chess  teams, the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation (WSCF) is offering discounted Chesskid Memberships, recognition for progress made in Chesskid, opportunities to play in tournaments, and Chess School. Chess club members who used this program in the past were able to increase their skills by completing levels, doing puzzles, and playing other chess kid students in online games. Please contact Elaina Sullivan at sullivem@milwaukee.k12.wi.us

If you are interested in participating in Virtual Chess Club this year.

 Note: There will be 3 virtual tournaments per weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The fee for entering these tournaments is $10 for the entire year. There will also be a special tournament on the 4th Saturday of each month. This will be hosted by a school and the fee for entering will be $10 for each tournament.

New Fernwood Drop Box

Fernwood has a new gray metal drop box near the Falling Heath Place entrance.   It can be used for forms, notes for the teachers etc.  It can be used after hours or during the school day.  The drop box will be emptied each school day.