Fremont MS Family Newsletter

Good afternoon,

We had an amazing first few days of school this week. It was great to have students and staff back at Fremont Middle School! We spent the first couple of days getting to know one another in classrooms, setting up lockers, reviewing expectations, and developing classroom agreements or norms. We appreciated so many families making it to meet and greet on Wednesday and making the load a little lighter as students came into school on Thursday. All students reviewed school-wide expectations with Mr. Atchley and me on the first day of school. You can access the information by clicking on this link.

Please see our morning announcements for the week of August 25th.

Have a great weekend!

Emily Loerakker

Fremont Middle School

If your child will be absent from school because of illness, doctor's appointments, or for any other reason, please report it to the school office by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence by completing the form linked below. While the online form is preferred, you may also call in the absence to the front office at 847-566-9384, select option 2.

Another opportunity to meet teachers is at the Middle School Curriculum Night scheduled for Thursday, August 28, from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Please mark your calendars.

8th Grade Washington DC Parent Information Meeting: August 28 from 6:00-6:30 p.m. Large Gym (Contact Andrea Poglayen if you have any questions. apoglayen@fsd79.org)
7th Grade Springfield Parent Information Meeting: August 28 from 6:00-6:30 p.m. Small Gym (Contact Kyle Snow if you have any questions. ksnow@fsd79.org)
Tech Support: 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.: Drop in the Den (library) if you have any tech questions. Mrs. Poglayen will be available for tech support.

Fremont School District 79 will be conducting an annual test of its mass notification system next Thursday, August 28, at approximately 5:00 p.m. At that time, all parents and guardians should receive an automated phone call, text message, and email notification. Please be aware that due to the high volume of notifications being sent, not all notifications may be delivered right at 5:00 p.m.

If you do not receive an email, text message, or automated phone call notification next Thursday evening, please complete this form. Please confirm your preferred email address and phone number are current in TeacherEase. If you need to update your contact information, please contact your child’s school.

As a reminder, it is highly encouraged that parents/guardians not opt out of notifications. By choosing to opt out of notifications from the District, users will opt out of all notifications via that method.

Thanks to an investment by the Lake County Regional Office of Education through June 30, 2027, every student in FSD79 now 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.

Parents and guardians who DO NOT want their child’s photograph and/or student work published need to complete this form and return it to their school's front office within your student’s first 5 days of school attendance. A letter submitted from the previous year will not carry over.

Parents/guardians have the option to prepay for school pictures. The site and ordering will be closed at 11:59 PM the day of Picture Day to process the orders. If parents missed prepaying they will have a chance to order pictures with their child's Ticket Code. When placing an order after Picture Day with a Ticket Code a shipping fee will be added and picture packages will be shipped directly to the home. Pictures will be ready 3 weeks after orders are placed. Please see the flyer from Color Portraits for more information.

Fall sports registration is OPEN.

Fall Sports: Cross Country (6, 7, 8), Boys & Girls Soccer (7, 8), and Girls Basketball (7, 8)

*6th-grade Soccer and Girls Basketball- If interested, please sign up - information will be provided if the roster allows.

Parents must complete the interest form and submit a valid, current physical to the school nurse.

-Interest form linked and posted on the Athletic Webpage.

-Questions - Please email the Athletic Director - apoglayen@fsd79.org

-Physicals are valid 395 days from the exam date on the form.

-Questions - Please email the school nurse - rhickok@fsd79.org

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)

If your child will be absent from school because of illness, doctors appointments, 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.

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.

🗓️ 2025-26 K-8 School Calendar

📓August 28 - Curriculum Night (6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)
✈️ August 28 - 8th Grade Washington DC Parent Info Meeting (6:00 - 6:30 p.m. in Large Gym)
🚎 August 28 - 7th Grade Springfield Parent Info Meeting (6:00 - 6:30 p.m. in Small Gym)
‼️ September 1 - Labor Day - No School
🗓️ September 4-5 - NWEA MAP Testing
📸 September 10 - Picture Day
🚌 September 12 - Special Event Early Dismissal (1:13 p.m.)
‼️ 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

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

VOLUNTEER and COMMITTEE SIGN UP Information

VOL_NTEE_! What's missing? UR!! The Fremont PTO needs you!! The PTO offers many committees and volunteer opportunities to help serve our teachers and students throughout the school year. If you are interested in joining, please follow this link to sign up and read a brief description of the volunteer opportunities available. Sign up will close Friday, September 5th. If you have any questions, please email Catherine Glidden at PTO@fsd79.org.

PICTURE DAY INFO

Picture day is coming up! Send your child to school looking picture perfect on Wednesday, September 10th. All picture orders will be online only. Please see the flyer for your correct school code and ordering instructions.

BACK TO SCHOOL BASH

Join the PTO for our Back to School Bash at the Intermediate School playground TONIGHT, Friday, August 22nd at 5:30 for food, music, and fun! We're excited to welcome all of our Fremont families back to campus.

UPCOMING DINE-IN NIGHTS

Please join the Fremont PTO at Portillo’s on August 28th for our first dine-in night of the year. It’s located 221 Townline Rd in Vernon Hills, and runs from 5 pm to 8 pm. 20% of sales will benefit the PTO. Order online or in-app for pickup using code PORTILLOS18 before checkout in the "Coupon Code" field, or show this flyer or a digital version to the cashier when ordering at the restaurant.

SPIRIT WEAR SALE IS LIVE!

Check out our three new designs on the flyer and choose which one helps to best show your Fremont spirit! Please be sure to check the sizing guides as each item comes from a different manufacturer and sizing varies. Orders will be delivered to your child about 3-4 weeks after the sale ends on September 5th. Visit www.shopcottonandink.com and enter the password 25Fremont now through Friday, September 5th. Thank you for supporting Fremont and your PTO!!

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.