October 17, 2025

This past week gave our students a focused 4.5-day schedule, allowing us to dig deeper into core content and engage in meaningful learning experiences across grade levels. As we lead up to Fall conferences, we invite families to continue following along with our 7-week series on standards-based grading (see below)!These updates help parents stay informed about their child’s progress toward mastery of grade-level standards.

This week’s Bobcat Beat includes lots of new content, including a chance to sign up for Guest Artist Day and the Art Market coming this Spring, as well as Picture Retake information for early November. There’s also one week left to sign up to bring a Veteran for our Veterans Day Celebration—don’t miss this opportunity!

Looking ahead, we have some exciting events coming up:

• Friday, 10/17 – Elementary Band Night: Our 5th-grade band students will join the East High School band and perform through halftime. We encourage families to come out and enjoy this celebration of music!

• Saturday, 10/18 – Trunk or Treat: See the flyer for details and join us for an evening of fun with over 30 trunks! Don’t forget to grab dinner from Chik-Fil-A while you’re here.

A reminder that there is no school on Monday, 10/20. We also wish all families celebrating a joyous Diwali, filled with light, happiness, and togetherness!

October 18 - PTO Trunk or Treat

October 20 - No School for Students

October 31 - Halloween Parade and Class Parties

November 3 - Fall Conference Sign-Up Opens

Join us in cheering on our 5th grade Fern Hill Band students as they perform alongside the West Chester East High School Marching Band for Band Night 2025! Our young musicians will help rally the crowd, share their love of music with the community, and experience the excitement of Friday night football!

The game kicks off at 7:00 PM, and our band will be performing throughout the game up until halftime. It’s a fun-filled evening of music, football, and school spirit. Most importantly, it’s a great way to come together as an East Feeder Pattern family to support our amazing students.

Ticket Link: https://events.hometownticketing.com/boxoffice/wcasd/L2VtYmVkL2FsbD9zY2hvb2xzPTE0

Hope to see you there,

Ms. Letherland & our Bobcat Band 💙🎶🎺

Mrs. Jenkins is looking for artists and hobbyists to participate in Guest Artist Day and our very own Fern Hill Art Market! Being a professional artist is not required—anyone with a creative hobby is encouraged to join. We’re inviting individuals who enjoy artistic activities such as henna art, crocheting, photography, watercolor painting, and more to share their talents with our school community. If you or someone you know might be interested, please pass this information along and have them scan the QR code to fill out the interest form. Let’s celebrate the creativity that makes Fern Hill shine!

Students who wish to have their picture retaken should bring their original picture package to exchange for their new photo.

If you placed an order online, you will receive a camera pass via email. This can be printed or shown on a phone and brought to picture day. The photographer will photograph the camera pass along with your child. If you’re unable to print the pass, no worries—our team can manually match your student’s order.

Families can still place an online order up to 24 hours after picture day. Once that window closes, our imaging team will process and match all submitted orders with the corresponding student photos.

When pictures arrive back at school:

• Students who purchased photos will receive their prepaid package.

• Students who did not order in advance will receive a proof sheet, providing another opportunity to order prints (shipping and handling up to $8.50).

For more details or to access the Picture Day Flyer and ordering site, visit www.pictureportal.org using Google Chrome. If you need login help, click “Forgot Password” on the site to reset your access.

Thank you for helping us make Picture Retake Day a success—we can’t wait to see those smiles!

In a standards-based grading system, student progress is reported based solely on mastery of academic standards. This means grades reflect what a student knows and is able to do in relation to grade-level expectations—not their behavior, effort, or participation. These important qualities are communicated separately so families receive a clear and accurate picture of both academic achievement and personal growth. By separating these areas, we ensure that grades truly represent each child’s learning and understanding of the standards being taught.

We’re excited to introduce our district’s new Portrait of a Graduate, which highlights the durable skills our students will carry with them long after they leave our classrooms. These traits—problem-solving, adaptability, empathy, responsibility, and communication—will be woven into daily instruction and learning experiences here at Fern Hill.

This Portrait was developed by a district committee with representation from families, staff, students, and community members, and we’re grateful for their time and dedication. We look forward to sharing how these skills are coming to life in our classrooms and helping students grow into thoughtful, capable learners and leaders.

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 Tuesday, November 11, 2025. 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 cafeteria 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. If you can attend, please fill out the form below so that we can be prepared for your attendance. Thank you for your service, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Click here to sign up a veteran!

Please contact our Veterans Day coordinators, Mrs. Stefano (astefano@wcasd.net) or Mrs. Heckenberger (mheckenberger@wcasd.net) with any questions.

Our annual spooktacular event is tomorrow, Saturday October 18 from 6-7:15 pm! If you purchased tickets ahead of time, to help make check-in quick and easy, we’ll be sending home wristbands with your oldest child on today. Please have your child (or children) wear the wristband to the event.

Tickets can also be purchased at the door, cash only.

This year, we’re excited to add a dance party area with lights and a fog machine — a fun way for kids to keep the festivities going after they finish trick-or-treating!

We’re looking forward to a spooktacular evening together!

Don’t miss Fern Hill PTO’s annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest!

We're seeking decorated (un-carved) pumpkin designs for our school pumpkin patch contest. Drop off completed designs in the front of school between 10/13 - 10/17 in order to qualify. For more information and to sign up click here. Please contact Jessica Mootz @ Jessicamootz27@gmail.com with any questions.

Support Fern Hill’s PTO and give your Bobcat a fun snack to enjoy by ordering Philly Soft Pretzels! Pre-order payment of $25 due through Membership Toolkit by November 3.

Save the date- our Thanksgiving pie and donut fundraiser is back, starting October 24 through November 10!

Take a little stress out of the holidays and order pies and donuts from Highland Orchards. Orders will be distributed Tuesday, November 25.

Want one less thing on your to-do list in May? Order your yearbook early and save 10%—but hurry, the discount ends October 31st!

Click here to purchase [web.treering.com]

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!

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.

• Fern Hill Website
• PTO Website
• Vacation Approval Request Form

• FHE: Kindergarten Lunch Duty
• FHE: 1st Grade Lunch Duty

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