NEWS
Returning to Learning 2020
Over the past few months our Ferndale team has come together to create a path forward as we enter the 2020-2021 school year. While no plan is perfect, I am confident that the Ferndale Schools Preparedness & Response Plan is the right fit for our community at this time.
In creating this plan our team of administrators, teachers, secretaries, and paraprofessionals studied a tremendous amount material, from academic studies done in other countries which returned to school last Spring, to guidance from the Center of Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics, to other state and local return to school plans, and parent and student feedback. What became clear after reviewing this vital and sometimes contradictory information was that unfortunately there was no clear cut answer for how best to conduct instruction this Fall.
The safety of our students, staff, and Ferndale family remains our top priority. That is why our Board of Education has adopted our virtual plan for the Fall of 2020. While our Ferndale plan is primarily virtual, there will be limited opportunities for students to attend in-person as part of our Learning Support Labs or pop-up instructional events.
Details can be found on our Returning to Learning pages »
Please know that this decision was not made lightly. Our goal remains returning to in-person instruction as soon as it is feasible for us to do so in the safest possible manner.
Dr. Dania H. Bazzi, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Ferndale Public Schools
We have put together some assistance for tracking student assignments in two virtual learning tools being used across the district: Google Classrooms and Canvas. You can find the guidance in the Returning to Learning Hub on the Distance Learning » Technology page.
You can also view the guidance on the webpage on the webpage linked below:
Assignment Tracking Guidance: Canvas & Google Classrooms
Mrs. Alison Maes hosted a biology pop-up last week. The students are learning about comparative anatomy starting with the skeletal system of vertebrates. After learning about the anatomy, physiology and ethology (behavior) of owls, students removed the bones from an owl pellet. The students then identified the species that had been eaten by the owl while also identifying and painting each bone. Next, the students re-articulated the skeletons and then placed the posing skeletons into their student-made, themed sets. The themed sets included a distance learning environment, a halloween haunt, Geary Skate Park, and a lunar landing!
Quarterly community meetings for the equity improvement team will be to anyone interested. Here are the dates/times:
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 |
6:30 PM — 8:00 PM |
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Tuesday, December 1st, 2020 |
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM |
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Thursday, February 11th, 2021 |
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM |
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Wednesday, April 14th, 2021 |
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM |
Anyone who would like to join is welcome. Please email Robyn.Camblin@ferndaleschools.org to request invite links and information.
All meetings will be virtual until further notice. We will continually assess as the conditions regarding the virus change.
Blessings in a Backpack is up and running as of Thursday, September 17th. Bags will be available for pickup curbside at FECC, FMS, and FUEL from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm.
- Ferndale Early Childhood Center – 2920 Burdette St in Ferndale
- Bags will be available on the North Parking Lot
- Ferndale Middle School – 725 Pinecrest Dr in Ferndale
- Bags will be available in the north driveway.
- Ferndale Upper Elementary – 24220 Rosewood in Oak Park
- Bags will be available in the south driveway.
- Note: if a bus is there and loading children, please DO NOT drive through. Please wait and proceed once the bus leaves.
Dates for curbside pickup:
- September 17th, 2020
- October 1st, 2020
- October 15th, 2020
- October 29th, 2020
- November 12th, 2020
- November 23rd, 2020 (Monday)
- December 10th, 2020
Blessings in a Backpack is a “neighbor-helping-neighbor” program that is designed to help bridge the gap of the nutritional needs of children from the Ferndale School District. Please email Lindsay Gonska with any questions: lindsay.gonska@ferndaleschools.org
Montessori is a curriculum with great emphasis placed on didactic materials. Moving to an online format creates some very unique challenges for our Montessori program! With everyone being at home, monthly subscription boxes have become more and more popular. So, Ferndale Schools Montessori Teacher Amy decided to put the two together. Thus, the FrasBox was born! (The name FrasBox is a play on their self-assigned classroom nickname: the SassaFRAS Room.)
With a team of amazing volunteers to create materials and deliver the boxes, children in the Sassafras Room will receive a box of didactic materials delivered to their door to help with their learning each month. This allows them to have the sensorial opportunities necessary to move them from concrete experiences to abstract reasoning.
Special thanks to the following family members for making materials, delivering boxes, and picking up boxes from children's homes so that Mrs. Pommereau can sort things out and have a new box ready to go next month! Half of the Montessori families volunteered to help out in some way!
- Veronica Kisor
- Jennifer Rogers
- Jen Beaudoin
- Sylvia Oatley
- Kirsten Suer
- Dennis O'Connell
- Emilie Macaulay
- Susie Oswald
- Christina Mossine
- Tecla Wolfe
- Jessica Paruch
- Lucas Harrison-Zdenek
- Megan Owens
Here is a picture of some of the items that went out to kids this weekend:
Mrs. Pommereau said she is "Feeling beyond grateful for this AMAZING community of learners! It truly takes a village to raise a child and I am so honored to be apart of these families' village!"
Curbside, contactless meal pick-up will be including Supper and Snack beginning September 28th, 2020. All meals are FREE to all children during this challenging time.
For everything else, use the top navigation.
About Web Accessibility
Ferndale Schools recognizes the importance of ensuring our websites are accessible to those with disabilities. We are committed to making our information accessible to all visitors and are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and, in doing so, adhere to many of the available standards and guidelines.
Review our complete Web Accessibility Policy »
Accessibility Complaints
Alternative access or assistance requests may be filed with the District's Website Accessibility Coordinator:
William Good, Communications Director
871 Pinecrest
Ferndale, MI 48820
248-586-8672
william.good@ferndaleschools.org
Students, prospective students, employees and the District’s guests with disabilities may report violations of the technical standard(s) used by the District, file a formal complaint through the District’s Section 504 and Title II grievance procedure (through the District’s Section 504 Coordinator), and/or contact the Web Accessibility Coordinators with any accessibility concerns.
We have set up a complete guide to returning to learning for this fall on our website. You will find helpful information, upcoming dates & times, and all the documents you need start distance learning on August 31st.
Visit FerndaleSchools.org/Return today!
LINKS
Continuity of Learning Plan
Creating a culturally responsive experience while learning from a distance is critical. Read more about what we are doing to continue our mission.
Tech Support
Technology Support is available for your student during the Governor's Executive Order of school building closure. Please see the process below.
- For issues with your student’s account, such as passwords or login issues, please contact Tom Maes (tom.maes@ferndaleschools.org) or Aubrie Agnello (aubrie.agnello@oakland.k12.mi.us).
- For issues with wireless connectivity and/or borrowed district computing device, please contact the Oakland School’s service desk at 248-209-2060 between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm, Monday - Friday.
Calendar
Upcoming event dates and times can be found on our Returning to Learning Building Info page.
District Calendar