Lincoln Weekly News

Lincoln Early Learning Center houses the preschool programs for three school districts: Fremont District 79, Hawthorn District 73, and Mundelein District 75.

⬅️ Check out the Table of Contents on the left for the latest news from your district.

Please note: If you are unable to view this message in its entirety (viewing all 3 district sections below), please open the message in a new browser so you are able to view important time-sensitive information for your respective district.

Dear Lincoln Early Learning Center Families,

We have had a wonderful week enjoying the warmer weather, and the children have loved spending more time outside on the playground! It’s been great to see them running, climbing, and playing together as we transition into the spring season.

As we head into our final week before spring break, we look forward to continuing the fun and learning. We appreciate your support in keeping routines consistent to help children stay engaged during this exciting time of year.

We also want to remind you to check your district’s section in this newsletter for important information about the 5Essentials Survey. Your feedback is valuable in shaping our school community, and we encourage all families to participate.

Thank you for your continued partnership. Have a wonderful weekend.

Warm regards,

Katie O’Brien
Principal, Lincoln Early Learning Center

kobrien@fsd79.org

Kim Stergios
Building Assistant Supervisor, Lincoln Early Learning Center

stergiosk@hawthorn73.org

Absences

If your child will be absent from school because of illness, doctors’ appointments or vacation, please contact us at Lincoln at 847-949-2720. Please notify the school office by 9:30 a.m. the day of the absence to leave a recorded message regarding your child's absence. Keeping track of all the students on a daily basis is a huge task and we greatly appreciate your prompt attention.

Medical Forms

Annual Physical Examinations are required within the first 30 days of entering preschool. All forms can be emailed, faxed, or brought in with your student. If we do not receive your child’s physical, your child will be excluded from school and cannot return to school until submitted. Per IL State Law we must have a child’s physical by October 15 or within 30 days of starting preschool.

Illness and Injuries

Please remember that any child with a fever should stay home until they have been fever free without the use of fever-reducing medication, for at least 24 hours. Students should also remain home if they are experiencing vomiting or diarrhea. Students may NOT return to school for at least 24 hours after the last episode.

**We are seeing an increase in nurse office visits with sick students. It is imperative that the health office has current telephone numbers for parents and designated emergency contact persons. You are responsible for someone picking your child up within 30 minutes of the call.**

Medications

All medications, feeding, and treatment supplies are to be supplied by the parent per school policy.

Doctor’s orders for medications, feedings, and treatments are required at the beginning of each school year. The school nurse will not accept or administer any medications (including over the counter medications) or perform nursing services or treatments without a doctor’s order. Please do not send medication to school in your child's backpack. All medication must be brought to school by a parent or guardian.

Any questions related to the above health office guidelines should be directed to the health office staff.

Liz Mulé

847.949.2720 ext.1503

emule@d75.org or mulee@hawthorn73.org

efax: 847.388.4842

Parent/Guardian Pick Up and Drop off is at Door 2 on the east side of the building. Parents/Guardians who pick up their children on set scheduled days will have a laminated sign with their child's first and last name on it in their district’s color. Please make this sign visible so supervisors can easily identify you. If you need extras, please let the office know.

Parent/Guardian Drop Off

● Pull along the curb. The first car to arrive should stop at the first cone along the curb. There are 4 cones total. The line will continue along the curb and onto Ridgeland Ave if needed.

● Once at a cone, please wait in your car for a staff member. When a staff member is present, please exit your child curbside. Do not walk your child to the door.

● Do not exit your car until you have been able to pull up to a spot marked with a cone along the curb.

● Please keep in mind your speed when arriving and leaving as students, parents, and staff

members are arriving at school. Do not pull forward to an empty cone unless a staff member directs you to do so.

*If you are a family that walks to school from your own, please walk your child directly to the student line on the basketball court.

Parent/Guardian Pick Up

● Pull along the curb. The first car to arrive should stop at the first cone along the curb. There are 4 cones total. If the curb is full, please wait in the line to pull to a cone along the curb.

● Once at cone, please wait inside of your car until a staff member brings your child

to you. Please do not walk to the door to get your child.

*If you are a family that walks to school from your home, please wait by the basketball court with your sign.

Please refer to our Pick Up and Drop Off Procedures for our specific guidelines.

Change in Dismissal

Please contact América Lanuza (lanuzaa@hawthorn73.org) or Danielle Garcia (dgarcia@d75.org) at the Lincoln Front Office(847-949-2720) if there are any end of day changes throughout the school year. Teachers may not always be able to pick up their phone or check email throughout the day, so it would be best to call the front office with any changes. América and Danielle will relay any changes to the classroom teacher after you contact them. Please contact the main office by 10:00 a.m for the morning session and 2:00 pm for the afternoon session for any changes in regards to a child's dismissal procedures.

Gross motor activities are scheduled daily and take place outdoors whenever the weather permits. At Lincoln, all districts will line up outside and play outside when there is a “real feel” temperature between 30 and 90 degrees. Classes will stay inside if there is active precipitation, wet equipment and/or ice/snow on the ground.

As a reminder, if your student is in our Tri-District classroom, they will follow the arrival and dismissal times below:

• AM: 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
• PM: 12:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m

Please see below or review the Hawthorn School District 73 section for information about important dates.

March 24 - 28 - No School - Spring Break

Please review your home district section for any other information, including PTO, spirit wear, and other fun things happening in your home district!

Parent U. Recap - Artificial Intelligence at School and Home

District administrators, teachers, and students hosted a virtual Parent University presentation Tuesday night on the topic of artificial intelligence. We shared how the District is currently integrating AI, and how parents can use AI to support their child’s learning experience. If you missed the presentation, it can be viewed below. Please share your feedback via this form to provide your thoughts on the presentation and to help us plan for future events. For more information on our Parent University programming, please visit our webpage.

Artificial Intelligence Presentation Slidedeck

Catch Up on the Fremont Leads Podcast

Thank you to everyone who has listened to and subscribed to our new podcast, "Fremont Leads." Hosted by Fremont Middle School teacher Jacki Mjoen, this series features interviews with our outstanding student leaders.

In our newest episode, we catch up with Fremont Middle School eighth-grader James to discuss his involvement in Fremont Ambassadors, choir, the middle school musical, and more. Subscribe via any of the platforms below so that you don't miss an episode!

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | YouTube Music | iHeartRadio

2025-2026 School Year Registration Now Open

Registration for the 2025-2026 school year at Fremont School District 79 is now open. More information regarding registration can be found by visiting our Registration webpage.

March 24 - 28 - No School - Spring Break

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!The Fremont PTO would love to see you at our meetings this year! Meetings are on the third Wednesday of the month in the Middle School Den at 6:00 pm. Our next meeting is on March 19th.

Childcare services for children ages 3+ will be provided at ALL of our upcoming PTO meetings. Please use the form below to let us know if you will be bringing a child to the meeting. It is not required to RSVP; however, we ask that you please do so if you plan to take advantage of childcare. Care will be provided by Fremont Middle School students for individuals ages 3 and up.

RSVP Form for childcare: https://forms.gle/ceerdTKn7Pa51mVt7

Here is the list of all meeting dates for the 2024-2025 school year.

To stay in the know of what Fremont PTO is up to, follow and tag us on social media:

Instagram: @fremontpto

Facebook: Fremont PTO

PTO ELECTION INFORMATION - HELP WANTED!

The Fremont PTO School Board is looking for passionate and dedicated parents to join our team for the 2025-26 school year! Open positions include President, Vice President of Elementary School, Vice President of Intermediate School, Treasurer, and Secretary.

If you want to help build experiences, support fundraising efforts, and be a voice for our Fremont community, this is your chance to make a difference! Our mission is to strengthen the connection between school and home, encourage parent involvement, and foster a close relationship between parents, teachers, and students.

More information on each position will be available soon. In the meantime, if you're interested, here’s the link for self-nomination, and our flyer with more information.

MARCH MADNESS

Saturday, March 15th - Come support your favorite Fremont teachers at Mundelein High School as they play against one another in basketball. All proceeds raised will go to The Fremont PTO to help fund inflatables for Field Day! See the flyer for more info!

SHOP. SCAN. EARN.

Forget the scissors - Box Tops for Education has gone digital! Simply download the Box Tops for Education app (see www.boxtops4education.com for more info), select Fremont School District 79 (in Mundelein, IL) as your beneficiary, and you're all set! Enter the code H02P2R0D when you register for bonus points. Then simply scan your receipts after shopping, and watch the points (and $$) add up for our schools!

UPCOMING DINE-IN NIGHTS

Thank you everyone for your support at Luke’s on Mundelein - it was great to see familiar faces. We have many more dine-in nights ahead – check out the list here!

ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK NOW!

Don’t forget to order your student's 2024-2025 yearbook. Use the correct school code from our flyer when you order!

PTO MEMBERSHIP/ONLINE DIRECTORY FOR 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR

If you already have an account in Membership Toolkit, thank you for creating and/or updating your Membership Toolkit account last year.

If you don't have an account in Membership Toolkit, set it up now for free! Once you have created an account in Membership Toolkit your child will appear in the online directory immediately (that's if you choose to do so). To create an account, go to fsd79.membershiptoolkit.com and follow the directions in the attached form (Online Student Directory Set Up Instructions 2024-2025).

To gain access to the Online Student Directory your account must be active and you must pay the $15 PTO Membership Family Fee. If you paid your PTO Membership fee through your TeacherEase account before June 15th, your payment has been confirmed and you currently have access to the Online Student Directory. If you didn’t pay your PTO Membership Family Fee before June 15th, you can pay the $15 PTO Membership Family fee thru Venmo @Fremont-PTO; or by bringing or sending the attached form with your cash payment or check made payable to Fremont PTO to any school front office. The option to pay the PTO Membership Fee thru your TeacherEase account is no longer available. Once we receive confirmation of your payment, we will give you access to the online directory. Please note it may take up to one week to be granted access to the online directory.

Don't forget to download the FREE Membership Toolkit app to your smartphone-search "Membership Toolkit" in your app store.

BIRTHDAY BOARD

Celebrate your Fremont Student's special day! "Happy Birthday, Your Child's Name" can appear on the Fremont Electronic Message Board. Just complete the Birthday Board Request Google Form 2024-2025; or complete the birthday board form and send it back to any school front office with your $5 payment per birthday message. If you have any questions, please contact Christie Johnson at cjohnson@fsd79.org.

5Essentials Parent Survey

We need at least 20% parent participation per building to receive our survey results, and here are the parent response rates for D73 schools as of Wednesday, March 12:

Elementary North: 16% (+9% since 3/7)

Aspen: 15% (+5% since 3/7)

Dual Language: 12% (+4% since 3/7)

Townline: 11% (+3% since 3/7)

Hawthorn School for Young Learners: 10% (+2% since 3/7)

Middle School North: 10% (+5% since 3/7)

Middle School South: 9% (+3% since 3/7)

Elementary South: 8% (+3% since 3/7)

Lincoln School: 4% (no gain since 3/7)

The survey takes no more than 10 minutes and is completely anonymous: https://survey.5-essentials.org/Illinois/

The Illinois 5Essentials Parent Survey is open until March 28, and we need your help! This statewide survey gathers feedback on five key areas that impact student success: Effective Leaders, Collaborative Teachers, Involved Families, Supportive Environment, and Ambitious Instruction.

⛳ Swing Into Action – Register for the Key to 73 Golf Outing!

We invite you to tee up for a great cause at the Key to 73 Golf Outing! Enjoy a day of golf, networking, and fun while making a meaningful impact in our Hawthorn District 73 community. Your participation helps support vital programs like the Food Pantry, Coat Drive, Back-to-School Supplies, Holiday Gift Drive, Student Grants, and more, ensuring families and students receive the essentials they need.

Join us on June 6 at White Deer Run and help us drive change FORE our community!

Register to play today: https://keyto73foundation.org/golf-outing-2025/

Questions? Contact us at d73foundation@hawthorn73.org

🏀🎟️ Support Our Community & Win Big! 🎟️🏀

The Vernon Hills High School Cougar Athletic Boosters Club (CAB) is hosting an exciting fundraiser! Help support VHHS student-athletes by participating in clinics led by coaches and varsity players, and enter to win from a fantastic selection of raffle items generously donated by our community.

🎟️ View the full list of raffle items here.
🎟️ Purchase your tickets here.

⏳ Don’t wait! The fundraiser ends on Sunday, March 16 at 6:00 PM. Thank you for your support in making a difference for our student-athletes! 🙌

March 24 - 28 - No School - Spring Break

5Essentials Parent Survey

District 75 parents and guardians,

School District 75 is participating with the Illinois State Board of Education in the 2025 statewide survey of school climate and learning conditions. This is your chance to provide input concerning your child’s education. We value your opinions about the operations of District 75 schools.

The Illinois 5Essentials Survey provides a unique opportunity for students, teachers and parents to have a voice in their schools. The surveys are available from Monday, Feb. 24 through Friday, March 28. Please use the following link to complete the survey: 5Essentials Survey

Students in grades four through eight will be given the survey at their school.

We will take all of your input seriously and use it to continually review and update our current educational practices. Results will never be connected to your child. No individual will be identified in the school reports and teachers and administrators will not see individual responses.

The survey is administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago and provides a comprehensive picture of a school’s organizational culture in an individualized report measuring the five essentials critical for school success:

Effective leaders

Collaborative teachers

Involved families

Supportive education

Ambitious instruction

The survey results will be sent to District 75 and will be included in the Illinois State School Report Card next fall.

Thanks, in advance, for taking part in this important survey.

PTO Board Nominations

Nominations for the PTO Board are now open and will remain open until 9pm Monday, May 12th. Please fill out this form, https://forms.gle/4zak9H7TbeK3MsAd6, to be part of the nomination process.

Box Tops

As of March 12th we have currently raised $653.10, making this year our highest year since Box Tops went digital. Thank you to everyone who participates in this easier fundraiser. If you have not joined Box Tops, you simply need to download the Box Tops For Education app and search for District 75 PTO Mundelein or enter code PNKN0SEQ.

BRIGHT ARROW

• Our BrightArrow notification system enables you to stay in touch in the event of emergencies, delays/cancellations, and other important events throughout the school year. In order for you to be able to receive these notifications, it is vital that you keep your contact information accurate and up to date with your child’s school.
• You can confirm and/or request to update your contact information by contacting your student's school. We encourage you to take a minute to make sure your contact information is up-to-date so you don't miss out on important notifications.

To Receive Text Alerts

1. You must have your mobile phone number on file with your child’s school to receive text messages. (If you’re not certain whether you’ve done this, please contact your child’s school.)
2. To opt in to text messages send the word Yes to the shortcode 79041. Once you opt-in, BrightArrow will send you a confirmation that your phone number is subscribed.
3. After opting in, you should be receiving text messages along with email notifications. If you still are not receiving text messages (only email) please contact your child’s school to update your telephone number.

March 24 - 28 - No School - Spring Break