Fremont Focus
November 22, 2022
Social-Emotional Learning Update
Dear Fremont Staff, Parents, & Community,
A strong foundation in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) sets the stage for long-term health, wellness and academic success. But what does it actually mean?
SEL is a process for young people and adults to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to:
Develop healthy identities,
Manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals,
Feel and show empathy for others,
Establish and maintain supportive relationships, and
Make responsible and caring decisions.
In Fremont, we continue to find ways to grow and learn in this area. Currently, all students receive targeted instruction in topics such as empathy, emotion management, problem solving, bullying prevention, and decision making through the Second Step resource and our Health Curriculum. Additionally, we reinforce SEL in the following ways:
PAWS/Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
PAWS is our district-wide positive behavior program that focuses on teaching, recognizing, and rewarding students meeting expectations. PAWS stands for Practice Safety, Act Responsibly, Work for Success, and Show Respect. Students can earn PAWS tickets by exhibiting PAWS-itive behavior in the hallway, classroom, cafeteria, bus, bathroom, and playground. These tickets are randomly selected for different prizes throughout the year, to recognize both individual students and entire classes.
SAEBRS Universal Screening
Students in grades K-8 are screened yearly for social-emotional needs, utilizing the SAEBRS (Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener). This screening tool, completed by teachers in grades K-5 and students in grades 3-8, helps to identify students who may need additional support or intervention in the school setting.
S.O.S. Screener and Hope Squad
S.O.S. is a youth suicide prevention program that has improves students’ knowledge and adaptive attitudes towards suicide risk and depression, as well as a reduction in actual suicide attempts. All students in Grades 6-8 participate in a class lesson, including video clips and discussion. After the lesson, students complete a form to let the school’s student services team know if they would like to talk to someone to get help for themselves or a friend.
The Hope Squad program is a school-based peer support team which is utilized in grades 4-8. Peers help select students who are trustworthy and caring individuals to join the Hope Squad. Squad members are trained to watch for at-risk students, provide friendship, identify suicide warning signs, and seek help from adults.
The social-emotional health of our students is a priority and requires a collective effort from our students, families, and staff. We continue to make improvements and adjustments to our supports for students along with investing in professional learning. We will continue to make social-emotional learning a critical component in promoting a positive learning environment and will keep you apprised along the way.
Sincerely,
Dr. Trisha Kocanda
Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Brian Bullis
Assistant Superintendent of Learning
Dr. Jane Pedersen
Director of Student Services
📅 Important Dates
- November 22-25 - Thanksgiving Break (No School)
- November 28 - Board of Education Meeting (live stream); 7 p.m. (Middle School DEN)
- December 1 - ELL/Bilingual Parent Involvement Night, 6:30 p.m. (Elementary School Cafeteria)
Board of Education Meeting Preview
The next meeting of the FSD79 Board of Education will be held Monday, November 28 at 7 p.m. at the Fremont Middle School DEN. The meeting will include the following presentation:
• Strategic Recruitment
A live video stream of the meeting can be accessed here. 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 November 28. The Truth-In Taxation Levy public hearing will be held at the December 19 regular Board meeting.
Safety and Security Update
Fremont School District 79 is dedicated to the safe transport of our students to and from school. Each route is inclusive of a thorough safety process. Please see below for some frequently asked questions in regard to the FSD79 Transportation Department.
My student didn’t get off the bus, what do I do now?
Call the Transportation Department at 847-566-0305 and press “0”. The Transportation Department is staffed until 5:00 p.m.
In the rare event you can’t reach anyone at the Transportation Department, call the District Office at 847-566-0169. The District Office is staffed until 4:30 p.m.
NEW THIS YEAR! When calling Transportation after 4:30 p.m., there is an option to be transferred to an emergency line.
What happens when Transportation is notified that a student didn’t get off the bus?
School administration is notified.
Dispatch will call the student's assigned bus. The bus pulls over to account for all the students.
If the student is not on the assigned bus, dispatch will contact each bus individually to pull over and check their bus.
Once the student is located, the administration will contact the parent to confirm their correct bus stop and will drop the student off at their assigned bus stop or the school where the parent can meet the bus to pick them up.
What other safety measures does the Transportation Department follow?
All students in Pre-K through 5th grade are assigned bus tags with routing information.
School personnel carefully monitor and sort students to their correct bus in the afternoon.
Buses are arranged in the same spot every day to maintain a routine for our students.
Drivers are expected to learn their student's names.
Substitute bus drivers are expected to check bus tags as students enter the bus.
Students are not allowed to ride home the bus with friends.
What can parents do to support their child during the transport of their student?
Ensure your student knows what bus they ride.
Let your student know that if they are on the wrong bus for any reason that they will be safe and will not be in trouble. Also, they need to tell the bus driver ASAP.
Check your student’s backpacks often to ensure that they have a bus tag and that the information is correct.
Let Transportation know immediately if your student is missing a bus tag.
Thank you for your assistance in the safe transport of our students. Any questions or concerns may be directed to Kate Ison, Director of Transportation.
Standards-Based Grading Guiding Principles
This past week, FSD79 published our first fully standards-based grading aligned report cards! This style of reporting will look familiar to most of you as we started integrating components of standards-based grading four years ago, with pilot teacher implementation (2018), followed by full K-8 Math alignment (2019) and full K-8 ELA alignment (2021).
We highlight two more of our SBG guiding principles in this month’s Focus:
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.
Principle 4 - Not Everything Should be Included in Grades.
What does this mean for my child(ren)? Students should not be penalized for early attempts in learning. Students are not graded as they are learning the information, but after the learning has occurred. Students need to have enough "practice" in order to be successful.
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.
Honoring Our Veterans
Getting Ready for Thanksgiving
First Snowfall ⛄️
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! Meetings are on the third Wednesday of the month in the Middle School Den at 6:00 pm. Our next meeting is on December 21.
- Here is the list of all meeting dates for the 2022-2023 school year.
- Casino Night is back on January 21 from 6-10 p.m. More information to follow.
WINTER CLASS PARTY HOST SIGN UP
Sign up now to volunteer to be a Party Host at the winter class parties! Winter parties will be held on Thursday, December 22. Party Times are as follows: K AM 10:45 - 11:30 a.m., K PM & Grades 1-5 2:00 - 2:45 p.m., Lincoln AM 10:45 - 11:30 a.m., Lincoln PM 2:45 - 3:30 p.m.
Each class party is designated 3 Party Hosts. If more than 3 parents sign up for a classroom party, volunteers will be chosen at random. Please note: All remaining parents who have not been assigned to host a party will not be invited to attend the party. The sign up will close on November 26. Volunteers that are chosen to be party hosts for the winter parties will be notified on November 29.
SILENT AUCTION
We are looking for donations for a silent auction and need your help! See our flyer for a list of ideas we are looking for by January 10, 2023. Contact Elisabeth fsdvpes@gmail.com or Danielle daniweg29@gmail.com
CASINO NIGHT
Looking for a fun night away? Join us Saturday, January 21 for Casino Night at Hawthorn Woods Country Club from 6-10pm for games, food, music, silent auction, and raffles. Tickets are LIMITED so register now! Registration QR code and additional details here.
December Lunch Menus
Virtual Backpack
• Stevenson HS Dance 1 Master Class
• Stevenson HS Consortium Poster Design Contest
Fremont School District 79
Address: 28855 North Fremont Center Road, Mundelein, IL
Phone: (847) 566-0169
Website: fsd79.org
Twitter: @FSD79
Instagram: @FSD79
YouTube: youtube.com/FSD79