Fremont Focus

We encourage all community members to join us this Thursday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m. at Fremont Intermediate School as the Steering Committee presents the plan for community feedback before it is presented to the Board of Education at its regular monthly meeting in November. It is important that this plan be representative of our community's priorities.

The Steering Committee evaluated existing facilities in relation to the District's:

• Educational goals;

• Forecasted enrollment growth (up to an additional 1,000 students over 20 years);

• Capital maintenance and improvement needs;

• Projected facility demands for the next 10-20 years; and

• Financial considerations.

This plan will serve as a roadmap for our community as we experience enrollment growth over the next two decades. Please plan to join us Thursday night to share your feedback on the future of our District. For more information, please visit our ELFP webpage.

Please read the following newsletter for detailed information, but here is a summary of key dates for quick access:

• October 16 - Early Release Schedule (MS dismissed at 2:13 p.m.; ES/IS dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
• October 16 - PTO Meeting, 6:00 p.m. (Middle School Media Center)
• October 17 - Educational Long-Range Facility Plan Community Forum, 7:00 p.m. (Fremont Intermediate School)
• October 21 - Board of Education meeting (live stream), 7:00 p.m. (Middle School Media Center)
• October 23 - Early Release Schedule (MS dismissed at 2:13 p.m.; ES/IS dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
• October 24 - Parent University: Teen Technology Use and Misuse, 7:00 p.m. (Virtual presentation, Zoom link)
• October 26 - PTO Trunk-or-Treat; 10 a.m. - Noon (Elementary School parking lot)
• October 30 - Early Release Schedule (MS dismissed at 2:13 p.m.; ES/IS dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
• November 5 - Student Not In Attendance

The next meeting of the Fremont School District 79 Board of Education will be held Monday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fremont Middle School Media Center. The agenda will include the following recognition(s) and presentation(s):

• Recognition: Elementary School PAW Patrol students
  
• Presentations: Instructional Coaching Update; FY24 Tentative Levy

A live video stream of the 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 October 21.

Make plans to join us on October 24 for our next Parent University event, a virtual presentation from Dr. Justin Patchin on the important topic of teen technology use and misuse, and cyberbullying. Please see the flyer below for more information.

Zoom link: https://fsd79.zoom.us/s/89537511110

Congratulations to our Fremont Middle School girls soccer team on capturing the conference title for the second straight year with a victory over Daniel Wright in the championship match!

On an annual basis, FSD79 conducts a crisis team meeting with local first responders, administrators, teachers, and educational support staff. This collaborative event features a review of the District’s latest safety enhancements, tabletop exercises, and the sharing of best practices from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Mundelein Police Department, and Countryside Fire Protection District. The goal is to ensure that District staff are well-prepared to respond effectively in the event of an emergency.

Thank you to all of our Fremont families who came out to our first Multilingual Family Night event of the year last week. The event featured an overview of the programming of the year for the parents, while students participated in fall-themed arts, crafts, and snacks.

Fremont Middle School student leaders in the Mundelein After School Coalition recently conducted their Fall Highway Cleanup along with students from West Oak, Carl Sandburg, and Mundelein High School. The students cleaned a one-mile stretch of Hawley Street under the guidance of the Mundelein Police Department. Thank you for caring for our community!

As a District, we are now in the third year of full District implementation of standards-based grading practices and we wanted to reshare and highlight the SBG principles that are core to our work in this area. Three of our principles follow. We will be sharing the second three principles in our next edition of the Fremont Focus.

Principle 1 - Grades and Reports Should Be Based on Clearly Specified Learning Goals and Performance Standards.

What does this mean for my child(ren)? All students in the same grade in the same course, no matter their instructor, will be graded using the same standards.

Principle 2 - Evidence Used for Grading Should Be Valid.

What does this mean for my child(ren)? Students are assessed on what they are taught. There are no trick questions and no surprises.

Principle 3 - Grading Should Be Based on Established Criteria, Not on Arbitrary Norms.

What does this mean for my child(ren)? Students are graded on the standards assessed, not on arbitrary norms such as poor handwriting or no name on their paper.

Our goal is for you to see these principles in action as we continue on our standards-based grading implementation journey together. Stay tuned for additional communications and feel free to visit our Standards-Based Grading webpage for further information.

A friendly reminder that every student in FSD79 has access to the Varsity Tutors for Schools platform. This access includes:

• 24/7 On-Demand Chat Tutoring

• On-Demand Essay Review

• 100+ Weekly Live Classes

• Recorded Enrichment Classes

• Self-Study & Practice Resources

Here is a pamphlet and a video that provides an overview of the platform features. Students can go to their Clever Dashboard and select the Varsity Tutors icon to login to the platform. Any chat sessions students participate in are recorded and posted on their dashboard for future reference.

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 p.m. Our next meeting is on October 16.

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

FACILITY PLANNING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK FORUM - OCT. 17

Fremont School District 79 is seeking input from the community as we chart our course for the future. Please join us for a community feedback forum on October 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Fremont Intermediate School to discuss the draft of the District’s Educational Long-Range Facility Plan (ELFP). During this session, members of the Steering Committee will present their recommendations for the District’s ELFP. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, and help refine the plan prior to the School Board’s consideration. For more information on the ELFP process, please click here.

PICTURE RETAKES

Picture Retakes are Thursday, October 24 at all schools. If you want your child to have their school picture retaken, or if your child was not present on picture day and you'd like them to have their picture taken, please complete the Google Form by October 18.

HAPPY LITTLE FLAME CANDLE FUNDRAISER

We are excited to be partnering up with Happy Little Flame again this year with clean, non-toxic candles! Perfect for gifting or filling your home with delicious scents around the holidays or just because!

The fundraiser runs from October 18 - November 6, with an in-hand date of 11/20.

Shopping link and more info coming on Friday the 18th!

CHARLESTON WRAP FUNDRAISER

Our fundraiser with Charleston Wrap has officially kicked off! All orders are placed online with direct shipping. Please see the attached flyer with detailed instructions about how you can start registering online and support our goals.

TRUNK OR TREAT

Mark your calendars! Our Trunk or Treat event is Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Check out our flyer for all the details!

If you would like to decorate your trunk for this event, please fill out the form below!

https://form.jotform.com/222635763393159

Questions? Contact Elisabeth at fsdvpis@gmail.com.

SHOP. SCAN. EARN.

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

UPCOMING DINE-IN NIGHTS

Join us for a Buona Beef Fundraising Event on Wednesday, October 23 at the Kildeer location (21591 N Rand Rd, Kildeer IL 60047)! You have all day - from 10:30 am to 10 pm - to make a purchase - check out our flyer. We have a full year of dine-in nights ahead – check out the list here!

ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK NOW - 10% DISCOUNT

Order your student's 2024-2025 yearbook by October 31 and get 10% off. 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.

Please visit the PTO webpage for the most up-to-date information.

School lunch menus for the month of November are now available and can be found here.

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.

• Ela Soccer Club
  
• Positive Coping on Social Media Workshop (for 5th and 6th graders)
  
• Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC) Parent Saturday
  
• Stevenson HS Girls Feeder Basketball Clinic and Tryouts
• CLC Latinx Series
• Mundelein HS Boys Tennis Lessons
• Stevenson HS Community Education (PREP) Programs
• Special Gifts Theatre
• X-Golf Kildeer Junior Golf Academy
  

The next edition of the Fremont Focus will be distributed on Wednesday, October 30. 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