FIRST - WE HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS ABOUT THE SCHOOL GROUNDS!

A short stone retaining wall was installed at the base of the hill next to our playground! This will not only help with erosion, but will also serve as seating in some areas. AND - in the next few days, we will have some grassy turf installed where there is currently GA red clay. PLUS, we have finally gotten our irrigation system up and running! This means that all of the wonderful landscaping that has been installed this spring is no longer at risk if we enter a prolonged dry period. It also means that we were able to pull the trigger on seeding our back field in late June. 

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And not to "rain" on this parade of awesomeness but unfortunately the recent heavy downpours have washed a lot of the seed away. Thankfully the field was re-seeded once more yesterday.​ It is VITAL that our families and neighbors stay off of the areas that have been seeded until the grass has grown in and been established.) 

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We are grateful to the families who helped contribute to these playground improvements at our auction's paddle raise last year. We are currently pricing a special sport court area for the other side of the play structure as a possible phase two of our playground improvement project! SO EXCITING to see this area really coming together.

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OPEN HOUSE TIME CHANGE - NOW NOON TO 4:00 PM! 

DeKalb County Schools has asked that each elementary school hold its Open House on Wednesday, August 1st from 2-4 pm. Since Fernbank typically holds open house for a longer period of time, we will be open between noon and 4:00 pm. We are aware that the 6th grade open house for Druid Hills Middle School is happening between 2:30-4:30pm - we are hoping parents with children at both schools will be able to come to Fernbank first.

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WE NEED HELP PREPPING FOR AND AT OPEN HOUSE

We have been working hard on some useful materials for parents - our very first "Fernbank Family Handbook" is the highlight! Our plan is for each family to receive a folder at Open House.

If you have a couple of hours in the evening the Monday before Open House, we'd love to have your help organizing the folders! We'll do this assembly line style and hope to knock it out quickly. If you can help, please sign up here!

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If you've even been to one of Fernbank's Open Houses, you know that there's a lot to see and do. We need volunteers to make sure people know where to go, man various tables, help with checkout and more. We will be working in two shifts.

Please sign up to help us out! Spanish-speakers are essential since we have so many Spanish-speaking families that attend open house. *If you have already committed to manning a table (or any other task) at Open House, please sign up so we can get an accurate count of volunteers. Thanks!

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SCHOOL SUPPLIES

If you didn't have a chance to take advantage of our school supply online sale, we are ordering some extras that will be available at open house. Please note that quantities will be limited. If you would like to purchase your own supplies, here is the list of things that your child will need. 

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AFTER SCHOOL CARE

ASEDP (After care) registration for the 2018-19 school year will be available at Open House on August 1st. We will give you paperwork to complete. A $25 Registration Fee MUST be turned in with your paperwork. It must be paid by CHECK or CASH ONLY (no credit cards). 

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AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS

The fall schedule of our after school club offerings will be available at Open House on August 1st. We are finalizing the details now. The club registration period will be from Monday, August 13th - Friday, August 17th and most clubs will begin meeting starting August 27th. 

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PLAYDATE FOR RISING PRE-K, KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADERS!

Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 4th from 9-11am and join us on the playground for bagels and coffee!

This is a great opportunity for your children to meet some new Fernbank friends before school starts and for you to meet their parents. Parents - it will be hot so make sure to pack your water bottles!

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FERNBANK GROUNDS WORK DAY 

Fernbank takes pride in keeping its grounds a beautiful space for its community. So from 10 am - 12 pm, Saturday, August 4th we will hold our annual back-to-school work day where we prep the school grounds to kickstart a fabulous new school year! Please bring your friends and family to help us beautify our school grounds - everyone is welcome. Be sure to bring your sunscreen, sunglasses, bug spray and water. Bring your work gloves if you have them.

*Please note that our PreK-1st grade meet and greet will be going on from 9-11am on the playground. We encourage those families to stay afterward to help!

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Let us know you can come by signing up today!

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BACK TO SCHOOL COFFEE 

Parents, please join us at 7:30 am on the first day of school for coffee and light refreshments. Catch up with old friends and meet new ones and get caffeinated after the early up!! 

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Please make sure to pass the link to this newsletter on to anyone new to Fernbank this year. They can be added to our mailing list by emailing fernbankcommunications@gmail.com or will be added automatically once we are closer to school starting.