October 16, 2026

🐾 A Great Week to Be a Bobcat!

It was another busy and fun week at Fern Hill! Our kindergarten and first-grade Bobcats welcomed our local fire department for a special visit, and Dr. Southmayd received quite the surprise when Bobcats covered her office in Post-it notes in honor of Principals Month! The colorful messages were such a fun surprise and, even better, a great example of our Bobcats practicing kindness.

The fun continues this weekend! We can’t wait to see our families at Trunk or Treat on Saturday from 4:00–5:30 p.m. 🎃 Next week, our third graders head to Elmwood Park Zoo on Wednesday, October 28, and we’ll wrap up the week with one of our favorite Fern Hill traditions, the Halloween Parade!

🎃 Halloween Parade Reminders

We highly encourage our families to join us on the blacktop to cheer on our Bobcats during the parade on Friday, October 30! A few reminders as you prepare costumes:

🎭 Costume masks may be worn during the parade only and should not be worn at any other time during the school day.
🏷️ Please label all costume pieces and accessories with your child’s name.
🎨 No face paint, please.
🚫 No weapons or weapon-like costume accessories should be brought to school.

Missed Our Assessment Workshop? We’ve Got You Covered!

Thank you to the families who joined us for our Building Better Bobcats Caregiver Workshop on Wednesday! We focused on understanding benchmark assessment reports, accessing student results in LinkIt!, and using that information to support learning at home.

We’re sharing the resources from the evening with all Fern Hill families, including our LinkIt! Assessment “Cheat Sheet.” This resource is a quick reference for understanding the assessment data and acronyms you may see in LinkIt! and on your child’s reports. Keep it handy the next time you’re reviewing assessment information!

Access the workshop resources here:

Calling all Veterans!

If you are a family member of a current Fern Hill Elementary student or staff member and you are a veteran or currently serving in the Armed Forces, we would like to invite you to our annual Veterans Day Celebration on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. We want to have the opportunity to say THANK YOU for serving our nation! Guests can arrive at 8:45 AM. We will begin with refreshments in the Art Room with your Fern Hill host from 8:45 - 9:15 a.m. Following refreshments, we will move to the gymnasium for a school-wide assembly. After the school-wide assembly, each veteran will visit a classroom where students will ask questions about your service. The event typically concludes around 10am. If you can attend, please fill out the form below so that we can be prepared for your attendance. Please respond by Friday, October 23, 2026. Thank you for your service, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Veterans RSVP Here!

Dates Coming Up

Oct 24 - PTO Trunk or Treat
Oct 30 - Halloween Parade
Oct 30 - Conferences Sign Up Released
Nov 3 - Teacher In-Service
Nov 23 - 1/2 Day for Students; 12:10 Dismissal -- Conferences 1-4pm
Nov 24 - 1/2 Day for Students; 12:10 Dismissal -- Conferences 1-4pm & 5-8pm
Nov 25 - No School for Students -- Conferences 8-11am
Nov 26-27 - No School for Students

Grades 4-5: After School Sports

Mr. Usilton is excited to offer our 4th and 5th grade learners two different extracurricular opportunities. Students are all signed up and they are ready to kick off the after-school sports season!

Car Tag Request Form

If your family is in need of a car tag, please complete the car tag replacement form. or scan the QR code with Mrs. Gruber while you're in the car line. We are focused on distributing them to families who use the car line and being mindful of not overdistributing to full-time bus riders.

Once you enter a request, Mrs. Spiegel will send the car tag home with your child.

PTO News

🎃 Trunk or Treat

Registration is now open on Membership Toolkit! https://fernhillpto.membershiptoolkit.com/
We need volunteers to help at this event especially to work concessions! Sign up here!

Pumpkin Decorating Contest

It’s that time of the year again! Our annual School PTO Pumpkin Decorating Contest is officially open for sign-ups!

Whether your style is spooky, silly, artistic, or covered in glitter, we want to see your creativity shine.

📅Sign-up Deadline: October,16th
📍Drop-off Date: October,19th - 23rd
🔗How to sign up: Click to reserve your spot!

Start brainstorming those designs, and let’s make this year’s pumpkin patch better than ever!

Dine & Donate

We are looking for a Dining Night Out Coordinator! Email Heidi if interested! heidimulherin@gmail.com

Upcoming Dine and Donates:

Tues. 11/3: Chick-Fil-A West Chester (4-7pm)
Tues. 12/8: Panera Bread - West Chester (4-8pm)

Scan your receipts to earn BoxTops for Fern Hill

Earning money for our school has never been easier! All you need to do is download the Box Tops app, create an account, and scan your grocery receipt. Easy and quick! Last year we earned $500 from Box Tops for Fern Hill!

Volunteer Clearances

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.

Volunteer Clearances on the WCASD Website