Fremont MS Family Newsletter

Good afternoon,

We’re already a few weeks into the school year, and what a great start it’s been! Students are getting into the rhythm of their classes, building strong connections, and showing lots of growth and enthusiasm. As we move through September, there’s so much to celebrate and look forward to—both in the classroom and around the middle school. The morning announcements are a great way to preview the week and all we have going on. We include information on the athletic schedule and club opportunities, as well as, other happenings in the middle school. This week's announcements also feature our related services team and how to seek out support at the middle school - check it out!

Please see our morning announcements for the week of September 15th.

Have a great weekend!

Emily Loerakker

Fremont Middle School

‼️ September 23 - Not in attendance - No School
‼️ October 13 - Indigenous Peoples' Day - No School
📷 October 23 - Picture Day Retakes
🗓️ November 13 - End of 1st Trimester
💻 November 19 - 1st Trimester Report cards available through Teacherease
📌 November 24 - Parent Teacher Conferences (11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
‼️ November 25-28 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

🗓️ 2025-26 K-8 School Calendar

Bullying, intimidation, and harassment diminish a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate. Preventing students from engaging in these disruptive behaviors is an important District goal.

Bullying is defined as follows:

Bullying means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, directed toward a student that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

Placing the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property.
Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health.
Substantially interfering with the student’s academic performance.
Substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.

Bullying, intimidation, and/or harassment may take various forms, including without limitation: threats, stalking, physical violence, sexual harassment, theft, public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation for asserting or alleging an act of bullying.

School staff members are asked to respond compassionately and immediately to a student who reports bullying or school violence. After evaluating the situation to determine if an immediate referral to the building administrator’s office is needed, a staff member will give the student the report form for bullying, 794180.15 Report Form for Bullying. Building Administrators will inform you, the parent/guardian, whenever your child is involved in a bullying report.

Staff members were also asked for their feedback regarding locations that may be bullying hot spots needing additional supervision or monitoring or if there are any known bullies or targets of bullying in the building(s). We ask you to do the same thing. Please inform building administrators if you know of any bullying hot spots in or around our schools or if you are aware of a known bully or target of bullying.

Finally, staff members are instructed to intervene immediately to stop a bullying incident. If the incident involves a weapon or other illegal activity, they will immediately contact building security and/or law enforcement.

Below are some of the signs that a young person is being bullied:

Does not want to go to school and refuses to explain the reason
Talks about not having any friends
Has unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches, or abrasions
Has unexplained damage to clothing, possessions, books, etc.
Frequently loses money or possessions
Loses interest in school and/or has declining grades
Becomes withdrawn and/or has stress or depression symptoms

These signs do not necessarily mean your child is being bullied, but if present, ask your child whether they are being bullied.

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Dr. Emily Loerakker - Principal - Fremont Middle School

Stefan Ladenburger - Principal - Fremont Intermediate School

Beth Carmody - Principal - Fremont Elementary School

Katie O’Brien - Principal - Lincoln Early LC

Fremont School District 79, in collaboration with the Fremont PTO, is excited to once again offer Parent University programming to our families throughout the 2025-26 school year. Together, we are offering programming on a variety of topics related to the District's goals that might interest our parent community.

Please make plans to join us for our first in-person presentation of the year on Thursday, September 25. We sincerely hope you take advantage of these opportunities to learn and connect with others. For more information, please visit our Parent University webpage.

RSVP Form

FSD79 has collaborated with Mundelein School Districts 75 and 120, Fremont Library, Mundelein Parks and Recreation District, and Village of Mundelein to create a shared community resource guide. This document provides families with information on a wide variety of programs and services that each organization offers. To view the resource guide, please click here.

The Lake County STEM for Girls Conference is returning for its 7th year! The conference hosts women from various STEM fields who work directly with students in hands-on, real-world activities. Each session is interactive, inspiring, and designed to help girls see themselves in future STEM careers.

Why does this matter?

While girls make up about 50% of STEM learners in elementary school, that number drops to 44% in middle school and just 33% in high school.
By middle school, more than twice as many boys as girls intend to pursue science or engineering careers.
Only 59% of girls believe they’re good at math and science (down from 73% just a few years ago).

Early exposure to STEM role models and engaging activities is key to building confidence and sustaining interest before these gaps widen.

Alongside the student sessions, we host a STEM Fair and invite parents/guardians to attend adult sessions on topics such as saving for college, supporting high school academic pathways, and understanding what skills future employers are seeking. We also feature a fantastic keynote and an enthusiastic closing for both students and parents.

Event Date: Saturday, October 25, 2025
Location: Lakes Community High School
Registration Closes: October 18, 2025

If you have any questions, contact us at lcstemforgirls@gmail.com.

Health information and medical forms are available on the FSD79 Health Services webpage. Please drop off forms at your child’s school.

Sixth graders must provide a dental examination form and a health examination form with proof of up-to-date immunizations.
Any student who would like to participate in school sports will need a school sports physical before they are allowed to try out.
The school nurse is Rachel Hickok. Please contact her with any questions regarding medical forms. (rhickok@fsd79.org)

7:55 a.m. to 2:43 p.m. (M, Tu, Th, F), 7:55 a.m to 2:13 p.m. (W)
The earliest students can be dropped of is 7:30 a.m. If students are reporting to school early for a morning activity that is supervised by a Fremont staff member, they can enter the office beginning at 7:05 a.m.

Please note: Students are dismissed 30 minutes earlier than normal every Wednesday so that teachers and staff may participate in professional learning.

7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (during school year)
8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (during school-year breaks and summer)

The designated pick-up and drop-off zone is in front of the school.

Early pick-up of students ends before the dismissal process begins. Please note that the latest early pickup time is 2:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The area behind the building is reserved for buses only.
If someone other than the child’s parent or guardian is picking them up, the school office must be notified.

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 September 17th.

Here is the list of all meeting dates for the 2025-2026 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

AUTUMN MUM FUNDRAISER - LAST DAY!

Our Autumn Mum fundraiser ENDS TODAY! Grab your beautiful fall mums now through 9/12 with a pick-up date at the Elementary school parking lot on 9/20 from 9:30-12:30!! There are 5 colors (orange, yellow, red, purple and white) and 2 sizes to choose from! 9” are $12 and 14” are $40. This year we are adding some ornamental kale and cabbage too for $8 for each 1 gallon pot! Order yours today! If you have any questions, reach out to Elisabeth Reigle at fsdvpis@gmail.com.

PANERA DINE-IN NIGHT

Please join the Fremont PTO at Panera Bread on September 25th for our next dine-in night. It’s located at 1575 S. Lake St. in Mundelein, and runs all day. Check out our flyer, and use code FUNDU at panerabread.com, in the Panera App, or at the kiosk in-cafe Online orders placed all day at your event will count toward your total sales.

TRUNK OR TREAT

Mark your calendars! Our Trunk or Treat event is Saturday, October 18th from 10 am-noon. More info coming soon!

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

https://form.jotform.com/252507044821148

Questions? Contact Elisabeth at fsdvpis@gmail.com.

ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK NOW - 10% DISCOUNT

Order your student's 2025-2026 yearbook by October 31st and get 10% off. Use the correct school code from the list below when you 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 and you'll receive 50 bonus points after you scan your first receipt - that's $5! There are monthly bonus opportunities too, so watch the points (and $$) add up for our schools! Last year we raised just shy of $500 - let's see if we can beat that this year!

PTO MEMBERSHIP/ONLINE DIRECTORY FOR 2025-2026 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 with 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.

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 2025-2026; 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.