Principal's Blog

Fern Hill families,

As we near the end of the school year, I would like to thank each of you for allowing me to be a part of your child's life. It is a pleasure to be a part of the Fern Hill family and to have the opportunity to interact with the students, the staff, and all of the families. We have had a great year! We continued to provide STEM opportunities as we partnered with Intel for our Future Skills Fridays. We started up our student of the month assemblies again, had great field trips, hosted an educational family literacy night, and so much more. 

June brings some end of the year events, such as our field day, promotion events for our PreK, Kinder, and 4th graders, our birthday bash, and more. While our school year is coming to a close, we are not done caring for your children. We will finish the year strong and begin preparing for next year! If I don't get to see you before the end of the school year, take care and Go Falcons!

-Mr. Martinez

Fern Hill families,

I can't believe we are already in May and it is going to be a great month at Fern Hill! Academically, our 3rd and 4th grade students will begin working on the state test called Smarter Balanced Assessment in reading and math. All K-4 students will complete the in-district assessments in reading and math as well. We are excited to have students show off their knowledge!

In April, we held our first Literacy Night, which provided students and families strategies to use at home to help students grow in reading. This month, we have more events for the whole family. We are having a 4th grade music performance, the McMenamins Grand Lodge fundraiser, and Loteria Night! We always love seeing Fern Hill families at school and around town. 

Finally, I want to share my appreciation for all of the Fern Hill families and the teachers that are dedicated to provide students with a safe and rigorous environment. 

-Mr. Martinez

Dear Fern Hill families,

I hope you were able to enjoy some time with loved ones during spring break! We are back and ready to support students in their learning! April is a busy month at Fern Hill. Students in 3rd and 4th grades will be working hard to be ready for the state reading and math assessments in May. Students in grades PreK-2 will continue to work on their skills to be at grade level by the end of the year.

I also want to be the first to invite you all to our Family Literacy Night on Tuesday, April 25th! This will be a great night for adults and students, including an awesome dinner! We hope to see you there. 

I want to end by saying thank you for helping Fern Hill have one of the best attendance rates in the district! Keep up the good work.

-Mr. Martinez

Fern Hill families,

We made it through January! Even with the time off due to weather, it was a productive month at Fern Hill. We had our first student of the month assembly in over 3 years and completed our winter benchmark testing in math and reading. We test students 3 times per year (fall, winter, spring) to look at student academic levels and growth. Each grade level team meets to look at the data and create a goal with specific teaching strategies to meet the needs of the students. I always feel energized after I meet with teachers because I see their passion for supporting children.

We have some fun events coming up, including our Fern Hill Blazer night where we will provide bus transportation for families to attend a Portland Trail Blazer game in Portland. We are also planning another movie night and a loteria night. Be on the lookout for information as we would love for you all to attend!

-Mr. Martinez

Happy New Year to all Fern Hill families!

As we begin the year 2024 together, I want to share my appreciation for all Fern Hill staff that dedicate themselves to support Fern Hill students and families! I continue to feel honored to be a part of the Fern Hill family and we look forward to an amazing 2024 with you all. I also want to thank all Fern Hill parents, guardians, and families who dedicate themselves as well! I believe that together, we can support each child's academic, social, and emotional needs. Our goal is to help students learn to be empathetic, which means demonstrating awareness, sensitivity, and respect toward other perspectives, feelings, identities, experiences, abilities, and cultures. 

With the beginning of a new year, January gives us hope for a new beginning. It is an opportunity for us to grow, give gratitude, and be good to each other. This also gives us the opportunity to acknowledge our history and learn from our mistakes while also striving to advocate and support each other. January 1st marks the anniversary of The Emancipation Proclamation, which in 1863, freed those that were enslaved in this country. 

2024 is going to be a great year at Fern Hill!

-Mr. Martinez

Fern Hill Families,

We had a hard working November! Staff and students worked hard all month and teachers assessed the students to better understand their current reading levels. This information will be shared in the report cards that will be sent home in early December. Feel free to reach out to your child's teacher for more information or if you have any questions. Teachers can give you ideas on how to work with your child at home to improve their reading and math. We are also continuing our Future Skills program with Intel to provide engaging STEM projects each month. 

A huge thank you to the Forest Grove High School wrestling program for presenting at our assembly! Students were able to watch some wrestling moves and were able to see me taken down by the reigning state champion, Kailea Takahashi!

I also wanted to share some good news, our overall attendance at Fern Hill has improved over 10% so far this year! This means that students are receiving the instruction needed to grow academically. Thank you for your partnership in making sure students are attending on a regular basis. Finally, as the weather gets colder and wetter, please send your children to school with appropriate clothing so that they can stay warm.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season,

Mr. Martinez

November 2023

It was great to see so many faces during our conferences! We had great attendance, so thank you to all the parents and Fern Hill staff for working as a team to benefit the children!

I continue to be inspired by the dedication each staff member has to the students and families at Fern Hill. Each day I get to witness staff, students, and families work together to support the educational environment. We are rolling into fall and it will be important to send your children to school with the appropriate clothing so they can stay warm. As it gets darker outside earlier, it is a great opportunity to have your child read to you or you read to them! 

Instructionally, this year we are going to focus on giving students multiple opportunities to respond in class. Which means that we are asking students to be engaged during lessons and be an active part of the learning! So when you read to them at home, ask them to summarize what they just heard, or have them predict what might happen next, or ask them how they would handle the situation in the story. These are all great ways to get students involved in their own learning!

Lastly, please have conversations with your children about what it means to be safe, respectful, and responsible. We are beginning to see an increase of inappropriate behavior on the playground and on the bus, so please have a talk with your child. Reminders are always good!

Keep up the great work Falcons!

-Mr. Martinez

Fern Hill families,

We have had a great start to the new school year! It is always a good feeling to see families walking back into the building during our Meet & Greet. Whether you have been at Fern Hill for years, or are new to Fern Hill, you are a part of the Falcon Family!

To begin the year, I want to share Fern Hlll's Mission Statement: 

Fern Hill will provide a culturally diverse experience for all students and be dedicated to equitable practices in our systems, decision making, environment, and classroom practices which will eliminate the achievement, access, and worthiness gap predictability. 

For me, this means that all students will be welcomed at Fern Hill and our dedicated staff will help keep students safe physically, academically, socially, and emotionally. This doesn't mean that there won't be challenges for students. Our responsibility is to educate students and support them as they learn.

We also have an understanding that we, as a school, are not perfect and continue to strive to be better. I look forward to all of us working as a team to provide a high quality educational experience.

Please remember that attendance matters! Our goal is for ALL students to have an attendance rate of 90% or higher for the school year!

-Mr. Martinez