Fremont Focus

Dear Fremont Staff, Parents, and Community,

We remain excited regarding the 2023-2024 launch of full-day Kindergarten at no cost to our families! By eliminating tuition, more students are able to enroll in our full-day program and benefit academically, socially, and emotionally. These changes are possible due to support from the FSD79 Board of Education, favorable cost management by the District, as well as the availability of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

Full-day Kindergarten is associated with early academic gains in both reading and mathematics, and these gains are consistently found across different student groups (e.g. ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender). Research has also shown that full-day Kindergarten has many benefits that extend beyond academic growth and achievement measurements, including:

• Significant gains in school socialization and learning skills associated with school readiness for first grade,

• Higher social skills, more independent learning, classroom involvement, and productivity in working with peers,

• More time spent in free play versus large group instruction and activities,

• More child-to-child interactions,

• Faster literacy and language gains for English language learners,

• Access to lunch programs,

• Higher self-esteem and independence, and

• Improved student attendance.

This new model will further allow our Kindergarten staff to support social emotional growth, will allow for the incorporation of more play-based learning, and will further build student stamina for full-day first-grade instruction. This model also has specific benefits for our students who are multilingual and/or are receiving special education services, as they will have more opportunities to be included and learn alongside their peers in their grade.

This wise investment will pay dividends for years to come. You can access our Kindergarten registration page here, and feel free to share with others. Any specific questions can be best addressed by our building administrators. We are eager to welcome our incoming kindergarten students and families in August.

Sincerely,

Dr. Trisha Kocanda

Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Brian Bullis

Assistant Superintendent of Learning

• May 17 - PTO Meeting, 6 p.m. (Middle School DEN)
• May 22 - Board of Education Meeting (live stream); 7 p.m. (Middle School DEN)
• May 26 - Early Dismissal Day (Early Dismissal Schedule; no school for Pre-K/Early Childhood)
• May 29 - Memorial Day (Not In Attendance)
• May 31 - 8th-Grade Graduation, 6:30 p.m. (College of Lake County Physical Education Center)
• June 2 - Last Day of Student Attendance (Without Emergency Days) Early Dismissal Schedule

This Summer Online Learning Access document highlights the programs that students have access to over the summer, should you wish to access them for independent summer learning. These are the same online, personalized, self-paced, student-directed programs FSD79 uses during the school year. Prior to summer break, your child’s current classroom teacher(s) will provide reminders regarding the necessary login information needed to access these tools.

The next meeting of the FSD79 Board of Education will be held Monday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fremont Middle School DEN. This meeting will include the following presentation:

• Career Technical Education (CTE) Pilot

A live video stream of Monday’s meeting will be available via the District’s YouTube page. The stream will go live shortly before the start of the meeting. Recaps of previous Board meetings can be found here. The Board meeting agenda and materials can be accessed here. Board materials are available by noon on May 22.

The District has completed the search process for its new position of Assistant Director of Student Services, naming Ms. Tegan Dittmer as the recommended candidate. Pending Board approval at the May 22 regular meeting, Ms. Dittmer will begin on July 1, 2023. Ms. Dittmer currently serves as the Principal of Fairhaven School with SEDOL. She has tremendous expertise in supporting students with special needs combined with a passion for inclusive services. Those who have worked with her highlighted her strong communication skills, relationship-based leadership, and work ethic. She will partner with the Executive Director of Student Services and the Department of Learning to enhance student growth and achievement for all learners.

The District has unveiled an updated wildcat logo and accompanying marks as part of a rebranding process. Student focus groups had the opportunity to provide feedback during the design process and students also voted on the winning design. The reveal video can be viewed here.

The Lake County Regional Office of Education recently hosted its second-annual Lake County Educator of the Year Ceremony at Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake. Andrea Poglayen was the District's nominee for the Middle School Educator of the Year. Additionally, the following paraprofessionals were honored:

• Maria Servin (Elementary School)
  
• Lesley Bauer (Intermediate School)
  
• Laura Hendricks (Middle School)

Fremont Middle School is developing a Career & Technical Education (CTE) program to be implemented for the 2023-2024 school year. The goal is to offer our learners the opportunity to explore career pathways as they prepare for high school and beyond. As a part of the CTE program, we are looking for individuals and businesses to share their experiences in a variety of career pathways. Our intent is to have our Fremont school community connect with the local community by inviting speakers in and/or arranging visits to local businesses. The purpose of this survey is to see if you would be interested in sharing your expertise in one or more of the career clusters listed below. Please understand that you are not committing to anything at this time - we are simply looking to create possible opportunities. This link gives descriptors of careers falling under each cluster Career Pathways. The presentation was created using the career pathways offered by Mundelein High School and the Lake County Tech Campus. Thank you for considering being a part of the educational journey of our learners.

Our 7th grade students will be participating in a Career Day on June 1 and we are looking for your help! To make this happen, we need volunteers to come and speak to small groups of students about their job. A schedule with more information will be provided as the date gets closer. For now, please indicate your interest in speaking to students by completing this Google form. Thank you for your time and help in creating an authentic learning experience for our students!

The Fremont Friends took advantage of a beautiful day last week to get together in the Middle School courtyard to plant some flowers.

The grade 1-2 multi-age class of Mrs. Star and Mrs. Bratta have been selling decorative pins made out of plastic six-pack beverage rings for their service project. The profits from their sales will benefit the Toucan Rescue Ranch in Costa Rica.

Congratulations go out to the Fremont Middle School 7th-grade boys volleyball team under the coaching of Ms. Hengesh on winning the Patriot Conference title.

For all the most up-to-date news and notes regarding the Fremont PTO, please be sure to visit the organization's webpage.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

• The Fremont PTO would love to see you at our meetings this year! Our next meeting is on May 17.

FIRST DAY SCHOOL SUPPLIES

Hey Fremont Parents, I know it's hard to think about school supply shopping for 2023-2024 school year already, but with our continued partnership with 1st Day School Supplies, now you don't need to! You can order your supply kits TODAY using this link! So, why not check school supply shopping off your list even before summer hits!

FSD79 offers local groups and organizations the opportunity to advertise their upcoming events in the Virtual Backpack. To submit your group's event for consideration, please submit a PDF flyer to publicrelations@fsd79.org. Check back regularly for upcoming offerings. Events that are upcoming include:

• Right at School Summer Camp

• Mundelein HS Summer Programs

• Sweeps & Sculls Rowing Camp

• First Responders Expo

• The Center for Gifted - Spring and Summer Programs

• Stevenson HS Patriot Recreation Education Program

• Free Boys Tennis Lesson

The final edition of the Fremont Focus for the 2022-23 school year will be distributed on Friday, June 2. This will be in addition to the weekly e-newsletters sent on Fridays from principals at the school level.

Address: 28855 North Fremont Center Road, Mundelein, IL

Phone: (847) 566-0169

Website: fsd79.org

Facebook: facebook.com/FremontSchoolDistrict79

Twitter: @FSD79

Instagram: @FSD79

YouTube: youtube.com/FSD79