Fremont Middle School

August 9, 2024

A Message From the Principal

Good afternoon,

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this week’s Fremont Parent University virtual presentation. This event, held in collaboration with district staff and The Reading League, highlighted our commitment to advancing literacy through the latest evidence-based practices.

Our guest speaker, Ryan Buggy from The Reading League, provided valuable insight into the evidence-based literacy practices that define the Science of Reading and the professional development he is conducting with our district administrators and teachers. His work with us directly supports Objective 2.d. of the district’s strategic plan: to refine literacy curriculum, resources, instruction, PreK-8 alignment, and services, ensuring they reflect the most current evidence-based standards for long-term, equitable achievement.

This presentation reinforced how we are putting this objective into action, with a focused effort on reviewing our literacy curriculum and resources across grade levels, enhancing our instructional practices, and promoting equitable outcomes for all students. These initiatives not only advance literacy in FSD79, but also strengthen our commitment to implementing proven practices that support all students in developing strong literacy skills.

A recording of the presentation and a few key resources are linked below to further support your understanding of our literacy efforts.

We are proud of the steps we are taking to implement these impactful literacy practices and grateful for your continued partnership in supporting our students’ learning.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to continuing this journey in literacy together.

Katie O’Brien

Principal, Lincoln Early Learning Center

Beth Carmody

Principal, Fremont Elementary School

Stefan Ladenburger

Principal, Fremont Intermediate School

Dr. Emily Loerakker

Principal, Fremont Middle School

Morning Announcements - Week of November November 18th

Lake County 6th-8th Grade Art Competition

Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim invites you to participate in the Annual 6th-8th Grade Art Contest -- showcase your talent and enter for a chance to win a prize!

Theme: “Go, USA!”

We enjoyed the summer watching the world compete, inspire, and set new records. This year’s theme is “Go, USA”! Students are encouraged to interpret the theme however they see fit and submit a drawing that reflects their own interpretation.

Rules:

• Student artists must live in Lake County, IL

• Artwork must be no larger than 11 inches high and 8.5 inches wide

• Each entry must be an original piece and may not violate U.S. copyright laws

Please have the student write their name, the school they attend, and contact information on the back (parent phone number or email address) and drop off all submissions at the Lake County Treasurer’s Office located at 18 N. County St., Room 102, Waukegan, IL, 60085.

Deadline: November 22

If you have any questions, please email treasurer@LakeCountyIL.gov or call at (847) 377-2323.

Parent Book Club - “The Anxious Generation”

As part of our Parent University programming, FSD79 and the Fremont PTO will be co-sponsoring a Parent Book Club event on New York Times #1 Bestseller, “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. We will be hosting a one-night discussion on the book on February 11, 2025. For more information on the book club event, please visit our table at next Friday’s Reading Rally. Additional information will be shared with families in the near future. Secure your physical or audio copy of the book now to prepare for the discussion.

Soup with the Supt. - Nov. 20

Click here to RSVP

Scholastic Book Fair

Set up eWallet here!

Mundelein After School Coalition Turkey Drive

Please bring any items you'd like to donate to Fremont Middle School. We will have a bin outside the office to collect items.

Donations Accepted!

Please consider donating personal care items at Parent/Teacher Conferences. The collection of these items will be donated to area schools, including Fremont MS.

Chicago Wolves Fall Reading Challenge

Chicago Wolves Fall Reading Challenge

The Chicago Wolves Fall Reading Challenge is underway! All Kindergarten through 8th-grade students can participate. Students can earn a FREE TICKET to any Chicago Wolves home game by reading 400 minutes from November 5- December 18. Once completed, fill out the Google form and a ticket order form will be sent home. The Google form is due by Wednesday, December 18. If you have any questions, please contact Rachal Swiderski, rswiderski@fsd79.org.

Access this link for more information and a reading log to keep track of minutes. Have fun reading!

Elyssa's Mission

A reminder that students will be participating in grade-level Elyssa's Mission lessons and completing a Signs of Suicide (SOS) screener this month. Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:

To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness
To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression
To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in themselves or a friend
To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns
To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help, if they need it

This program will be presented to all students by grade level on the following dates:

8th Grade: November 19th

The SOS program is brought to us by Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute and implement SOS. To get more information on suicide prevention, visit their website at www.elyssasmission.org. Make sure and view their online Parent Presentation at http://elyssasmission.org/suicide-prevention-training/ for specific information on warning signs and how to keep your child safe.

As part of the program, facilitators will show the SOS video and subsequently lead students in discussion. Students will then complete a brief depression screener as well as fill out a response card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult about themselves or a friend. The depression screening tool addresses thoughts and feelings which a parent may be unaware their child is having. This tool does not provide a diagnosis of depression, but rather alerts school staff to those students requiring further investigation. Students will also complete a response card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult at the school about themselves or a friend. School mental health staff or a qualified community mental health partner will be available to meet with designated students; school staff will subsequently notify parents/guardians regarding any needed next steps.

If you have any questions and/or do NOT want your child to participate in the SOS program, please contact Emily Loerakker at eloerakker@fsd79.org prior to the program date. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program.

Early Pick-Up Procedures

If your student needs to be picked up early, please notify our main office at 847-566-9384 or send an email to the receptionist, Karolina O'Malley, at komalley@fsd79.org. A parent/guardian or designated person must present identification to pick a student up early. Please note that the latest pickup time is 2:00 PM on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and 1:30 PM on Wednesday. Parents cannot park in handicapped parking spots near the gym as it interferes with bus pick up.

Absences

If your child will be absent from school because of illness, doctors appointments, vacation, or for any other reason, please call 847-566-9384 and select option 2 to report it to the school office by 8:00 a.m. the day of the absence. Keeping track of all the students on a daily basis is a huge task, and we greatly appreciate prompt notification of any absence.

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 November 20th.

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

READING RALLY AND BOOK FAIR

Join Us for a Cozy Night of Storytelling on Friday, November 15th at 6pm at the Intermediate School! Come in your favorite pajamas and enjoy listening to our teachers and staff read their favorite stories. Attend four engaging read-aloud sessions with teachers located around the school. Don't forget to drop by the Wildcat Cave and grab a new bedtime story at the book fair (open until 8 pm).

The Book Fair is located in the Wildcat Cave in rooms 3002 and 3004 in the basement. There are so many convenient times for you to shop:

November 15th - Reading Rally - 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

November 16th - 10:00 am - 2:00 pm (only weekend shopping day)

November 18th - 22nd - 9:00 am - end of school day

November 25th - 10:30 am - 7:00 pm (during parent/teacher conferences!)

Click here to sign up for the eWallet to make shopping easier! Just scroll to the bottom of the link and click get started to create an account.

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOK FAIR

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Fremont Middle School on November 19-22nd in the Wildcat DEN & during Parent Teacher Conferences on November 25th.

Say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy. If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Book Fair online. Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/fremontmiddleschool

We are still looking for a few volunteers to help out during the Fair. Grab your spot - while they last - here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0548A9AE2BA5FE3-52438950-fall

HAPPY LITTLE FLAME CANDLE FUNDRAISER

Thank you for supporting Fremont PTO with your purchases from Happy Little Flame! Candles will be ready for pickup from their retail store on November 20th, or they will be shipped right to your home if you paid for shipping. Reminder - if you selected free shipping, your order will be at the PTO meeting in the middle school den on 11/20. Make sure to stop by to grab your order!

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 for joining us at Mod Pizza this week. We have a full year of 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.

Sincerely,

Emily Loerakker

Fremont Middle School Principal

Nick Atchley

Fremont Middle School Assistant Principal

2024-25 FSD79 School Calendar

Important Dates

📌 November 25 - Parent Teacher Conferences (11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
🛑 No School - November 25 - 29
📌 March 6 - Parent Teacher Conferences (11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.)