Fremont Focus

Dear Fremont Staff, Families, and Community,

We are off to a great start to our 2023-2024 school year! I want to thank our families for adhering to the modified Meet & Greet event Wednesday...it was a huge success. Our first two days of school have gone well with many smiles and new friendships.

This year, we welcomed our staff back one day earlier than normal for an additional work day to add critical safety and security training. With support from the Mundelein Police Department and Countryside Fire Protection District, staff members from the Elementary School, Intermediate School, and Middle School participated in a practical ALICE (intruder) drill to prepare them in the event of an emergency situation. Additionally, nearly 50 staff members received CPR training. This early and comprehensive training helps our Fremont staff feel prepared and more confident should emergencies arise.

Earlier this week, we honored the PTO executive board for their incredible volunteer service. We are so fortunate to have such a supportive group of parents who do so much to help both our students and our staff. We're also looking forward to next Friday's annual Back to School Bash, which is a highlight event for the start of the year.

We are also launching teacher leadership positions and professional learning communities for the first time this year to bolster our collaborative planning efforts. These efforts have a tremendous impact on student growth and achievement. Together, we are motivated to provide all students with the best educational experience possible. Thank you for your continued support and we're looking forward to a tremendous year ahead!

Sincerely,

Trisha Kocanda
Superintendent of Schools

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

• August 21 - First day of school for Preschool/Early Childhood
• August 21 - Board of Education meeting (live stream); 7:00 p.m. (Middle School Media Center)
• August 22 - Elementary School Curriculum Night; 6:30 p.m.
• August 23 - Intermediate School Curriculum Night; 6:30 p.m.
• August 24 - Middle School Curriculum Night; 6:30 p.m.
• August 25 - PTO Back to School Bash; 5:30 p.m. (Intermediate School)
• August 30-31 - NWEA MAP Testing (K-8)

We are pleased to welcome three talented new administrators to our FSD79 team. Tegan Dittmer (left) is the Assistant Director of Student Services. She joins the District after serving as the Principal at Fairhaven School in Mundelein since 2020. Alana Davidov (center) is the new assistant principal at Fremont Intermediate School. Most recently, she was a fifth-grade teacher at Lions Park School in Mount Prospect since 2018. Katie O'Brien (right) is the new principal at Lincoln Early Learning Center. O’Brien joins Lincoln after most recently serving as a Teacher on Special Assignment at District 46 in Grayslake. Please join us in welcoming all three individuals to Fremont!

Even though students are away during the summer months, it's still a busy time in and around the school buildings as it's the time of year to make updates and improvements to our facilities. We're excited to welcome our families and students back to a number of upgrades, including a new science lab and playground at the Middle School. At the Elementary School, there's new asphalt in the parking lot as well as security enhancements to the playground.

The first day of school for Preschool/Early Childhood at Lincoln Early Learning Center is Monday, August 21. The morning session runs from 9:00-11:30 a.m., while the afternoon session goes from 1:00-3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The first School Board meeting of the 2023-2024 school year will be held Monday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fremont Middle School Media Center. This meeting will include the following presentations:

• FY24 Tentative Budget
• 2023-2024 Annual Plan

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 August 21.

As we welcome students back to school this week, we are excited to announce that we are starting the school year with all of our teaching vacancies filled with high-quality talent. The media has reported how the national teacher shortage has impacted the ability of school districts to fill teaching positions. While it is certainly challenging, we are proud that our recruitment efforts, along with collaboration from our Fremont community, allowed us to start the school year with teachers eager to meet their students and help them learn.

Remaining open positions include:

• Paraprofessional

• Lunchroom supervisor

• Bus aide

• Bus drivers

For more information or to apply, please click here, or pass along to a quality candidate!

As part of our annual safety and security plans, Fremont School District 79 will be conducting a test of its emergency notification system today (Friday, August 18) at approximately 5:30 p.m. At this time, all parents and staff should receive an email, text, and robocall via our Blackboard notification platform. In advance of this test, please make sure that your email address and cell phone number are up to date in TeacherEase.

If you do not receive all three notifications, please email publicrelations@fsd79.org with the following information:

• Your student(s) name(s)
• Your cell phone number
• Your email address

Note: Some parents previously may have chosen to opt-out of email notifications sent via Blackboard. Doing so will cause an individual to not receive any email notifications sent from that platform.

As an extra layer of security, FSD79 updated guidelines for individuals visiting a District building. We ask that all visitors contact the appropriate office in advance to make an appointment so that staff may be properly prepared for your arrival in order to best be of assistance.

Individuals needing to register their child for school should contact Sherri Olk, Registrar, at 847-566-0169.

If you need to drop off materials, please label the items and place them on the table in the vestibule. When dropping off paperwork, please place the paperwork in an envelope, label the envelope with the names of the student and teacher, and place the envelope in the basket located on the table in the vestibule.

FSD79 thanks you for your assistance in adhering to these guidelines.

Lunch menus for the months of August and September are now available and can be found here.

We are pleased to welcome Tony Smith (pictured) as our new Director of Food Service. Tony replaces Barb Stout, who is retiring soon. Thank you, Barb, for your many years of dedicated service to Fremont School District 79!

FSD79 is excited to announce our partnership with the Little Farmers Club through the Mundelein Farmers Market. The Little Farmers Club is for kids 3-12 years old and is designed to give families an opportunity to connect while learning about health, wellness, bus safety, cooking and other fun topics.

Fremont Transportation Department will be engaging with our community by educating kids on bus safety on August 26 and September 23. The Mundelein Farmers Market runs from 8 a.m. until Noon on Saturdays and is held on Park Street between Lake and Seymour Streets. For more information, click here.

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 September 20. Here is the list of all meeting dates for the 2023-2024 school year.

BACK TO SCHOOL BASH

Join the PTO for our Back to School Bash at the Intermediate School on Friday, August 25 at 5:30 p.m. We'll have an exciting lineup of food trucks to purchase from, music, and lots of fun. We're excited to welcome all of our Fremont families back to campus.

COMMITTEE SIGN-UP

The Fremont PTO needs you!! The PTO offers many committees to help serve our teachers and students throughout the school year. Please see the PTO Committee Sheet for more information. If you are interested in joining, please follow this link. If you have any questions, please email Stacie Brown at PTO@fsd79.org.

SPIRIT WEAR

Coming soon!! Spread school spirit with custom Wildcats gear! This online sale will run from Friday, August 25 - Friday, September 8. NO LATE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED! All items are custom-made for you! Once the online sale is complete, items will go into production, which takes approximately 3-4 weeks before being shipped to Fremont. They will then be sent home with your child. Each item is unique and comes from different manufacturers, so please check the sizing guide on each item you are purchasing.

PTO MEMBERSHIP/ONLINE DIRECTORY FOR 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

If you already have an account in Membership Toolkit, thank you for creating and/or updating your Membership Toolkit account last year. All accounts have been rolled over for the 2023-2024 school year but you do need to update/confirm your account information to activate your account. If you do not update/confirm your family information and directory preferences by November 1, your account will be removed from Membership Toolkit.

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 2023-2024).

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 thru 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 15, 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 2023-2024; 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.

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. Current offerings include:

• 2023-24 Right at School Registration
• IAGC/SENG Regional Parent Conference
  

The next edition of the Fremont Focus will be distributed on Wednesday, August 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