Lincoln Weekly News

Lincoln Early Learning Center houses the preschool programs for three school districts: Fremont District 79, Hawthorn District 73, and Mundelein District 75.

⬅️ Check out the Table of Contents on the left for the latest news from your district.

Please note that you will need to open the newsletter from your browser in order to see the table of contents.

Dear Lincoln Early Learning Center Families,

October continues to be a wonderful month of learning, connection, and growth in our preschool classrooms. Our students are developing new skills, building friendships, and showing such joy in their daily play and exploration.

Here’s what’s coming up:

🛑 A.L.I.C.E. Intruder Drill
Next week, our students and staff will participate in an A.L.I.C.E. intruder drill. This safety practice helps us prepare for unlikely emergency situations in an age-appropriate and reassuring way. Teachers will emphasize that the drill is about staying safe and following directions.

🚫 No School – Thursday, October 24
A reminder that there is no school on Thursday, October 24. We hope your family enjoys the extra day!

🧻 Parent Webinar – Toilet Training

Join us on October 28th from 6:30–7:30 pm for a parent webinar focused on toilet training. This session will provide helpful strategies and support for families navigating this important milestone. Please see the button below to register.

👩‍🏫 Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner!

• Mundelein families will have conferences next week.

• Hawthorn, Fremont, and Tri-District families will have conferences in November before Thanksgiving break.
  These meetings provide an important opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and celebrate their learning so far this year.

🧣 Cooler Weather Reminders
As temperatures drop, please send your child to school dressed for the weather. We play outside daily as long as the “real feel” temperature is above 30 degrees, and our preschoolers love exploring outdoors in every season!

We are so proud of the growth and enthusiasm our preschoolers continue to show each day and appreciate your partnership in helping them learn and thrive.

Warm regards,

Katie O’Brien
Principal, Lincoln Early Learning Center

kobrien@fsd79.org

Kim Stergios
Building Assistant Supervisor, Lincoln Early Learning Center

stergiosk@hawthorn73.org

Absences

If your child will be absent from school because of illness, doctors’ appointments or vacation, please contact us at Lincoln at 847-949-2720. Please notify the school office by 9:30 a.m. the day of the absence to leave a recorded message regarding your child's absence. Keeping track of all the students on a daily basis is a huge task and we greatly appreciate your prompt attention.

Medical Forms

Annual Physical Examinations are required within the first 30 days of entering preschool. All forms can be emailed, faxed, or brought in with your student. If we do not receive your child’s physical, your child will be excluded from school and cannot return to school until submitted. Per IL State Law we must have a child’s physical by October 15 or within 30 days of starting preschool.

Illness and Injuries

Please remember that any child with a fever should stay home until they have been fever free without the use of fever-reducing medication, for at least 24 hours.

Students should also remain home if they are experiencing vomiting or diarrhea. Students may NOT return to school for at least 24 hours after the last episode.

The health office must have current telephone numbers for parents and designated emergency contact persons. Please select your emergency contacts carefully. This person should be familiar with your child, your family routine, and be available to transport your child home if necessary.

Please pre-plan for a telephone call from the health office. If your child becomes ill at school, you are responsible for picking up your child within 30 minutes of the call.

Medications

All medications, feeding, and treatment supplies are to be supplied by the parent per school policy.

Doctor’s orders for medications, feedings, and treatments are required at the beginning of each school year. The school nurse will not accept or administer any medications (including over the counter medications) or perform nursing services or treatments without a doctor’s order.

Any questions related to the above health office guidelines should be directed to the health office staff.

Lincoln Health Office

Holly Palo

847.949.2720 ext.1503

Change in Dismissal

Please contact América Lanuza (lanuzaa@hawthorn73.org) or Danielle Garcia (dgarcia@d75.org) at the Lincoln Front Office(847-949-2720) if there are any end of day changes throughout the school year. Teachers may not always be able to pick up their phone or check email throughout the day, so it would be best to call the front office with any changes. América and Danielle will relay any changes to the classroom teacher after you contact them. Please contact the main office by 10:00 a.m for the morning session and 2:00 pm for the afternoon session for any changes in regards to a child's dismissal procedures.

As a reminder, if your student is in our Tri-District classroom, they will follow the arrival and dismissal times below:

• AM: 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
• PM: 12:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m

Please review the Hawthorn School District 73 section for information about important dates. Please review your home district section for any other information.

Mundelein Impact Fee Ordinance costs FSD79 taxpayers nearly $500,000

FSD79 and Mundelein High School District 120 recently sent a joint letter to Village of Mundelein Mayor and Board of Trustees, expressing concerns about the Village’s impact fee ordinance that was adopted this past April.

The new ordinance has led to a critically inadequate offer from Pulte for its Walnut Ridge development, which will result in approximately 140 new K-12 students. The resulting impact fee proposal reveals a massive disparity from other recent developments, including Pulte’s 2020 agreement for Sheldon Woods.

Per-Home Impact Fees (4-bedroom home)

Hawthorn Woods Country Club: $10,286

Mundelein Sheldon Woods (Pulte): $6,150

Proposed Mundelein Walnut Ridge (Pulte): $2,898

You are welcome to join us at the Village of Mundelein hearing at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 27, 2025, at Village Hall to advocate for a revised impact fee agreement before approvals take place.

Parent University Presentation - October 22

Please make plans to join us for our next in-person Parent University presentation coming up on Wednesday, October 22. It is not required to RSVP for in-person events, however, we ask that you please do so if you plan to take advantage of childcare, which will be provided by Fremont Middle School students for individuals ages 3+. To RSVP, please click here.

Report an Absence

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 847-949-2720.

October 24 - No School - Preschool Screening

November 14 - No School - Institute Day

November 20 - Additional Parent/Teacher Conference Night - 4:00 - 8:00 pm

November 24 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

November 25 - 28 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

Click the graphic above for the latest information from Fremont PTO.

October 24 - No School - Preschool Screening

November 14 - No School - Institute Day

November 24 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 3:30 - 8:00 pm

November 25 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences - 8:00 - 11:00 am

November 26-28 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee (BPAC)

Come celebrate Dia de los Muertos on November 3rd at Mechanics Grove, from 6-7:30pm. There will be light snacks, music, crafts and lots of fun! Save the date in your calendar and reserve your spot HERE.

PTO Updates

Box Tops

Box Tops is going strong and we are well on our way to hitting our goal of $1,000 this school year. October 13th - 19th is National Box Tops Week where every participating Box Top item earns DOUBLE!

PTO Meeting

Our October PTO Meeting is on October 15th at 7pm in the MPR at Carl Sandburg. We will have updates from our schools, PTO Board, Committees and at least two grants from our amazing D75 Staff to be presented.

Dine Out

Our next Dine Out will be at Culver's on Tuesday, October 28th. More information will go home once we are closer to the date.

October 21 - Parent/Teacher Conferences 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

October 23 - No School - Parent/Teacher Conferences 12:00 - 8:00 p.m.

October 24 - No School

November 14 - No School - Institute Day

November 26-28 - No School - Thanksgiving Break