January 24, 2025

With an increase in illnesses circulating throughout our community, we kindly remind families of the importance of keeping children home when they are sick. While we understand the challenges this can pose for work and other responsibilities, ensuring your child stays home when unwell helps protect the health of all students and staff.

Our school nurse has outlined clear recommendations on when to keep your child home, including for symptoms like fever, vomiting, or persistent cough. These guidelines are designed to prevent the spread of illness and keep our school a healthy place for learning.

We appreciate your partnership in prioritizing the well-being of our school community. For more details, please refer to the nurse’s recommendations or contact the school health office. Together, we can help minimize the impact of illness this season!

This Week's Recap:

• Thanks to the support of our families, we will be making a healthy donation to Safe Harbor to help families in need this winter as a part of our Equity Team's MLK Jr. Service Project! Thank you for your help and donation to serve our local community.
• We had more Golden Bobcat Buck winners! Students were caught in the act of PAWSitive behavior! The race is on to see which grade collects four golden bucks first!
• 5th graders took their first visit to Fugett Middle School to explore the middle school music course offerings! Students loved getting a taste of middle school, though bittersweet as they became more aware that their bobcat years are winding down. Families, see the info for Middle School 101 below!

A few things to find below:

• Flexible Instruction Day overview is below -- we have one more snow day in our "bank" to use before executing this plan -- but we're ready for it!
• We need women from our community to share about their careers during Women's History Month -- see the flyer and sign-up form below.

WCASD has one more snow day to use before we consider implementing a "Flexible Instruction Day" which would have students learn from home virtually to make the day "count" without needing to extend the school year in June.

We are prepared in the event of needing to use a FID, and your learner will be doing a test-run next week with their class to learn how to access Microsoft Teams and other resources with independence.

The FID plan is similar to previous years in that students will have a schedule for the day which includes two live instructional meetings with their class and some assigned work. In grades 3-5, students will also have a live session with their special areas teacher.

We will share more details should we get closer to a FID, but in the meantime, know that our team has a strong plan and is working with our bobcats on learning the tools they'll need to be successful learning from anywhere!

We're excited to invite women from various professions to join us for our Women's History Month event at Fern Hill on Tuesday, March 18th!

We are looking for inspiring women to share their career journeys and experiences with our students. This is a wonderful opportunity to empower the next generation and help our students see the wide range of possibilities open to them. Whether you're in science, art, business, or any other field, your story can make a lasting impact.

If you're interested in contributing to this special celebration of women's achievements, we'd love to have you present - click here to sign up!

The WCASD partners with our local preschools and their families to offer events and activities for preschool children. The purpose of the Preschool Parent Group is to attract and transition children and families into the WCASD.

One of the well-attended events is our Kindergarten 101 session. Kindergarten 101 is an informational night for families to learn what to expect when their child enters elementary school. The WCASD will be hosting Kindergarten 101 again this school year! This informational session will be on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at Fugett Middle School. You may register for Kindergarten 101 here.

WOW, what a turn out! Thank you to all who purchased tickets to Fern Hill’s annual Bingo Night- we look forward to seeing you on 1/31. Tickets are currently sold out! If you have questions about your tickets, please email sallykilleen421@gmail.com.

Join us Sunday, February 23 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM for Fern Hill Ice Skating at Ice Line in West Chester, it’s sure to be a blast! Cost is only $5 per skater, which includes your skate rentals. Since we are limited to 275 skaters, please buy tickets for your immediate family only. If we can extend to our local friends and family -- we'll make this announcement! If your student/family would like to attend and are experiencing financial difficulties please reach out to Lisa Baker, Home and School Visitor at lbaker@wcasd.net. Space is limited; click here to purchase your tickets!

Check one thing off your end of school-year to-do list and purchase your 2024-2025 Fern Hill yearbook now. It’s never too early, but soon it may be too late! Click HERE to order. If your student/family would like to purchase a yearbook and are experiencing financial difficulties please reach out to Lisa Baker, Home and School Visitor at lbaker@wcasd.net.

We love having our families volunteer throughout the building. In order to volunteer, adults are required to have their clearances on file with us. Clearances can take 4-6 weeks to acquire, so please be sure to get the process started if you're looking to volunteer this Fall.

If you are planning a family trip, please complete the Trip Approval Form to notify the Main Office and gain approval for your trip. The Vacation Request Form will also always be available on our Fern Hill Website under the "For Parents" section.

Jennifer Southmayd

Principal

Email: jsouthmayd@wcasd.net
Website: https://www.wcasd.net/fhe
Location: 915 Lincoln Avenue, West Chester, PA, USA
Phone: 484 266 1600
Twitter: @FernHillES