Fremont Elementary School

Dear Fremont Families,

It has been another brisk week here at the ES and as you likely guessed from the frost on your windshields, our students have spent their play periods inside. While we prioritize outdoor time whenever the temperature allows, the "Indoor Recess" protocol has been in effect to keep everyone safe and warm. I want to give a huge shout-out to our teachers and staff for their creativity in transforming classrooms into board game hubs and yoga studios to help our students burn off that extra energy.

When children are confined indoors for extended periods, we often see a spike in restless behavior or "cabin fever." To help your child navigate this, we recommend focusing on heavy work activities. This includes tasks like carrying a laundry basket, pushing a vacuum, or even a living room "crab walk" race. These activities help ground a child’s nervous system and improve focus when they’ve been stuck inside all day!

Just a reminder that trading cards, such as Pokémon and sports cards, are not permitted at school due to the significant disruptions they cause within the educational environment. While these cards are popular hobbies, they often lead to peer conflicts, unauthorized trading during lessons, and emotional distress when cards are lost or damaged. These distractions divert student attention away from instruction and collaborative learning, hindering the overall academic process. By keeping trading cards at home, students can remain fully engaged in their studies and help maintain a focused, respectful classroom atmosphere. Thank you for supporting our efforts in this area.

Stay warm this weekend. We look forward to getting back outside next week!

Sincerely,

Beth Carmody

Principal

Miss Leitner’s 2nd graders studied Henri Matisse during Art Awareness this week to create bold shape collages. Students practiced their 'drawing with scissors' technique, layering bright colors to build their own unique creations. Thanks to our parent volunteers for leading this hands-on lesson!

• February 2 - Groundhog Day/Pajama Day (see below for more info)
• February 4 - Early Release Schedule (ES dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
• February 11 -Early Release Schedule (ES dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)
• February 13 - Valentine PTO Parties:
• Kindergarten Classes @10:30-11:15 a.m.
• 1st, 2nd and SLE Classes @2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
• February 16 - No School - President's Day
• February 17-19 - CogAT Testing for 2nd graders (see below for more info)
• February 18 - Early Release Schedule (ES dismissed at 3:08 p.m.)

Absences need to be reported to the school by 9:00am by calling the attendance line or submitting the electronic absence form

• 847-837-0437 option 2
• https://www.fsd79.org/families/student-absences/report-an-absence

Excused Absences Include

• Illness (physical, mental or behavioral) Please note, after 3+ consecutive days of an illness related absence, a doctor's note is required on day 4 in order for the absence to be considered excused moving forward
• Medical/Therapeutic appointments
• Religious Holidays
• Family emergencies or civic events
• Parenting or safety-related concerns

Vacations

• Vacations during school are discouraged and count as unexcused absences.

We encourage you to keep your child IN SCHOOL before and after field trips and special events.

We have recently seen a notable increase in illnesses across our classrooms. To help us keep our students and staff healthy and ensure our kids can stay in the classroom where they learn best, we kindly ask for your partnership in following our health guidelines:

• The 24-Hour Rule: Please ensure your child is fever-free (without the use of fever-reducing medication) for at least 24 hours before returning to school.

• Symptom Check: If your child is experiencing a persistent cough, vomiting, or diarrhea, please keep them home until they are symptom-free for 24 hours.

• Reporting: If your child is diagnosed with a contagious illness (such as the flu or strep throat), please notify the school office so we can monitor trends in specific classrooms.

We know that balancing work and childcare can be difficult when a little one is under the weather, but staying home now helps prevent a much larger spread later. Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep our school community safe!

Welcome to the new year! January is a time for fresh goals, renewed routines, and setting positive habits that support learning. One of the most important ways families can help is by prioritizing strong attendance. When students arrive on time and stay for the full school day, they feel more settled, confident, and ready to learn alongside their classmates.

Tardies and early departures, even when occasional, can disrupt a child’s learning and the classroom environment. Arriving late means missing important instructions and morning connections, while leaving early can interrupt learning blocks and make it harder for students to fully engage with lessons and peers. These interruptions also impact teachers and classmates, who work hard to maintain a focused and predictable learning environment.

We appreciate your partnership in helping students arrive on time and remain at school for the full day whenever possible. And as always, healthy students learn best—if your child has a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, please keep them home until they are well. Together, we can make this new year a strong, successful start for all students.

The District has been experiencing intermittent issues with its content filtering software, Securly. This may have an impact on our students' ability to access certain educational resources online. We are continuing to monitor the situation and working closely with our content filter provider to resolve this issue.

Our lost and found collection is growing quickly! Many items don’t have names. If you see an item that belongs to your child, please have them go to lost and found. It is located right by the lunchroom.

We kindly ask all parents to send an extra, labeled set of seasonally appropriate clothing (including shirt, pants, underwear, and socks) to be kept at school, regardless of your student's grade level. Accidents, spills, or unexpected muddy activities can happen to students of any age, and having a spare set on hand allows us to quickly and comfortably resolve the situation without having to call home and disrupt your day. If the spare set is used, please remember to send in a replacement set the next day. Thank you for your cooperation!

Fremont School District Summer School is underway! Registration is now open for Summer Adventures in Learning classes. See this catalog of class options and then register for Summer Adventures in Learning here. Registration closes on April 10th. Alana Davidov, the Summer School Principal, will be in contact if a chosen class is closing to ensure your child can join another class. All final class confirmations will be sent in May. Please email Alana Davidov at fremontsummer@fsd79.org with any questions.

You may have already heard from your child’s teacher if your child is invited to Extended School Year, Multilingual, or Summer Scholars. These invitations will be sent via email throughout this month as teams continue to review student data. If invited, please let us know if you are planning to attend one of these programs and if you will need bus transportation. There are waitlists we will utilize in Spring after initial registrations come through.

Summer Boost is an asynchronous summer program. More information and Registration for Summer Boost will begin in February.

Our second-grade students will be taking the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) on February 17, 18 and 19. The CogAT measures reasoning and problem-solving skills in three areas: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal. These assessments provide valuable insight into students' cognitive development and help guide instructional planning to support their learning needs. Pleaser contact your child's teacher for specific times each day the assessment will be given. We appreciate your help in ensuring your child is at school on these days to participate in testing. Thank you for your support!

We are going to do a school wide pajama day on Groundhog Day coming up on Monday, February 2nd.

Parents, make plans now to join us for our next Parent University engagement series session at Fremont Middle School on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Please click on the button below to RSVP and register for free childcare.

Back by popular demand, we'll be holding a Parent Book Club event coming up on March 11. This year's book is Permission to Feel by Mark Brackett. Secure your physical copy of the book now or listen to the audiobook and make plans to join us!

Please note: It is not required for attendees to read the book to attend on March 11.

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on February 13. As a reminder, Valentine cards that are sent in cannot contain any food and/or candy.

A friendly reminder that every student in FSD79 has access to the Varsity Tutors Live + AI platform. This access includes:

• On-Demand Chat Tutoring

• On-Demand Essay Review

• 100+ Weekly Live Classes

• Recorded Enrichment Classes

• Self-Study & Practice Resources

Here is a pamphlet 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.

Unless your child is a regularly scheduled pickup, you must email or call our building receptionist
Aura Perez Cruces at aperezcruces@fsd79.org or 847-837-0437 no later than 2:45 p.m. *On Wednesdays, you must let us know by 2:15 p.m.

A friendly reminder about our drop off and pick up line ...

• Please stay in your car when dropping off or picking up your student(s).

• Please do not park in the parking lot and send your student(s) to the school. Stay in the drop-off line.

• Please pull all the way forward in line when dropping off and picking up. Students exit the car on the sidewalk only.

• If you arrive at school after 8:55 a.m., you must come into the school to sign your student in. Doors close at 8:55 a.m.
• Please refer to our Pick-up and Drop-off Procedures for our specific guidelines.

Lunch menus can be found here. For more information, including how to set up a lunch account for your student, please click here. Parents will need their student's Lunch PIN/Student Number to set up a lunch account. This information can be found in TeacherEase by clicking on the Miscellaneous tab and then selecting Locker/Lunch PIN. For more information Food Service page on our website.

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

• Kindergarteners must show proof of current physical/immunizations, as well as dental and eye exam forms.

• Second graders must complete a dental examination prior to starting school.

Right at School offers before and after-school child care at FSD79, for grades K-8. Please visit the Right At School website for information and to register your child(ren) for the program.

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Address: 28908 N. Fremont Center Road

Phone: (847) 837-0437

Website: elementary.fsd79.org

Facebook: facebook.com/FremontSchoolDistrict79

Instagram: @FSD79

YouTube: youtube.com/FSD79