Fremont MS Family Newsletter

Good afternoon,

Hard to believe, but we are officially in the home stretch of the second trimester! With just under three weeks remaining until the trimester ends, now is the perfect time for students to check their progress, clear up any missing assignments, and reassess on any assessments. Middle school can feel like a whirlwind, especially as we shake off the winter blues, so we encourage everyone to stay focused and finish strong. Let’s keep that momentum going all the way to the finish line—spring is just around the corner!

Morning Announcements

Warm Regards,

Emily Loerakker

Fremont MS Principal

• ‼️ February 16 - President's Day - No School

• 🏀 February 20 - February Frenzy - Student Council

• 🛑 February 26 - End of Trimester 2

• ✅ February 27 - Start of Trimester 3

• 💻 March 5 - 2nd Trimester Report cards available through Teacherease (updated)

• 📌 March 5 - Parent Teacher Conferences (11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.) - No School

• ‼️ March 6 - Teacher Institute Day - No School

• 🏀 March 7 - PTO March Madness Basketball Game

• 🧪 March 13 - Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) Testing (8th grade only)

• 💐 March 23-27 - Spring Break - No School

• 💻 March 31 - April 8 - IAR testing

• 🚫 April 3 - No School

• 🏫 April TBD - 5th-grade student tours of Middle School, Related Studies presentation to 5th grade

• ✈️ April 30 - May 2: Washington, DC Field Trip (8th grade only)

• 💻 May 7-8 - NWEA MAP Testing

• ⚾️ May 13 - Schaumburg Boomers Game (7th grade only)

• 🎩 May 21 - 22 - Springfield Field Trip (7th grade only)

• 🇺🇸 May 25 - Memorial Day - No School
• 🕺🏽May 27 - Graduation Dance (8th grade only)
• 🏆 May 29 - 8th Grade Awards Assembly (7-8th grades only)
• 🎓 May 29 - 8th grade Graduation Walk to ES and IS
• 🎓 June 3 - 8th Grade Graduation (College of Lake County) - Entrance with ticket
• 🧑🏼‍🔬 June 4 - Career Day (7th only)
• 🎳 June 4 - Bowling Field Trip (6th only)

• 🇺🇸 May 25 - Memorial Day - No School

• 🌞 June 5 - Last Day of School and Report cards (1:13 pm dismissal)

Please see the school website for more information:

• Fremont Middle School Athletics
• Fremont Middle School Club Information

• 8th grade dance - May 27th
• 8th grade graduation - June 3rd at College of Lake County

On Wednesday, February 4, we had an informational meeting regarding 8th-grade student speakers for the graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 3rd. The role of each student speaker is to deliver a speech or spoken word that reflects their collective experiences, expresses gratitude, and offers encouragement for the future. It is an honor to be chosen for this role.

To be eligible for consideration as one of the 8th Grade Graduation Speakers, you must do the following:

1. Join the “2026 8th Grade Graduation Speaker Google Classroom”.

Google Classroom Code: uotxhyld

1. Submit your speech/spoken word via this Google Classroom by Tuesday, February 17th at 8:00 a.m. (Look at the criteria listed below.)

After submission, all submissions will be judged by a panel of staff members. Three finalists will be announced by Friday, February 27th at 3 p.m. by email.

The finalists will be chosen based on the following criteria:

Content:

If you are selected as a finalist, you will be required to submit a video of yourself giving the speech/spoken word to accompany your typed speech/spoken word. The video, along with your typed speech/spoken word, must be submitted in the “2026 8th Grade Graduation Speaker Google Classroom” by Monday, March 9th at 8 am. The winner will be announced by Monday, March 16th, at 3 pm by email.

If you are selected for this honor, you will be required to work with a staff member for additional practice and preparation.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Best,

Mrs. Larson

hlarson@fsd79.org

It is time to prepare for the upcoming 8th-grade graduation. One important component of graduation is gowns. The gowns will be sent home prior to the ceremony with care instructions and will be yours to keep after they are worn.

Please fill out the following form with your graduate’s information. This is required by Jostens and will ensure the appropriate size is ordered for each student. We ask that this be completed by Monday, March 2.

Graduation Gown Order Form

The 8th-grade graduation ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3, at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at the College of Lake County Physical Education Center. Wednesday, June 3 will also be the last day of school for all 8th-graders and will be a full day of school.

More information regarding graduation, including student speaker opportunities, admission tickets, and the 8th-grade dance will be shared in the coming weeks/months. Look at the Fremont Family Newsletter for updates. Students can also access information from the Class of 2026 Google Classroom. Heather Larson am the graduation advisor for the 2025-2026 school year so please feel welcome to reach out to hlarson@fsd79.org with any questions in the meantime. Thank you!

Incoming freshmen have several summer school options at MHS. Students may take Personal Finance during the summer to fulfill the consumer education graduation requirement. This option can free up a class period during the school year for a study hall or an additional elective.

All freshmen are required to complete one full year of P.E., which includes one semester of Health and one semester of P.E. Incoming freshmen may enroll in the online summer Health course. Students who complete Health during summer school must still complete a full year of P.E. during the school year. Some students, particularly athletes, prefer this option so they can enroll in Freshman Strength or another P.E. course for the full year. Students in band or choir who are eligible for a P.E. waiver may take Health in the summer to open an additional class period for an elective or study hall during the school year.

All summer school information can be found on our website: MHS Summer School

Summer School Schedule:

• Session 1: June 8 – July 2, 2026

• Session 2: July 6 – July 30, 2026

• Days/Times: Monday–Thursday, 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Resources:

Summer School Calendar

Summer school course guide

Guía del curso de la escuela de verano.

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Have a great week,

Stacey Gorman

Director of Teaching and Learning

Mundelein District 120

We are excited to announce the launch of the Fremont AI Think Tank this February! As Artificial Intelligence continues to reshape our world, we are looking for a group of parents, students, and staff to help us define how AI will be integrated into our schools.

The Think Tank will work together to:

• Develop a unified vision for AI at Fremont

• Establish safety and privacy guidelines

• Identify essential AI literacy skills for all grade levels
  
  

We are seeking approximately 3 parents/guardians to join staff, students, and administrators. If you are interested in collaborating on the future of our students’ learning, please review this letter for full details and session dates.

Interest forms are due by Friday, February 13.

For current Fremont families, registering your incoming kindergartner is easy and can be done right through your existing TeacherEase account.

How to Pre-Register (Starting Feb. 17):

1. Log in to the TeacherEase Parent Portal.

2. Select Online Registration.

3. Select “Register a new student(s) to the district.”

4. Complete the prompts and Submit.

Need a hand? Watch this short tutorial video on how to add a new student to your account.

Save the Date: Kindergarten Information Night

When: Wednesday, March 4

Sessions: 5:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.

Location: Fremont Elementary School

Join us to tour the school, meet the principal, and see what a typical “Day in the Life” looks like for a kindergartner!

Fremont School District 79 greatly values your feedback as it relates to your student’s educational experience. Once again, the State of Illinois has partnered with 5Essentials to create a forum by which you can provide your input.

If you have not already done so, we would greatly appreciate it if you would take the brief survey by visiting:

http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/

Your responses are vital for continuous improvement and long-range planning for your child's school. Parents are welcome to answer the survey for each of their children’s schools.

The deadline to complete the survey is March 13, 2026.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on March 5, from 11:00 am - 7:00 pm. All teachers will have a dinner break from 4:30 - 5:10 pm. All conferences are held in the main gym, allowing families to make appointments with as many of their teachers as possible. Holding in the gym maximizes the time we can spend with parents, allowing for just a few moments of transition from one conference to the next.

All families will receive communication via Finalsite related to the following important dates:

• 2/11 - P/T Conference Email to parents goes out explaining how parents/guardians can sign up for P/T Conferences
• 2/18 -PickATime Conference Sign Up opens at 6pm
• 2/24- PickATime Conference Sign Up closes at 9pm

If you need a translator for your parent-teacher conference, please fill out this Google Form by February 13th.

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.

Fremont Middle School is hiring a Head Track Coach. If you are interested or know someone who might be, please check out the online application.

If you enjoy trivia, try out our Scholastic Bowl team. It is an IESA sport of a fast-paced, team-based academic quiz competition. Similar to Jeopardy, where students buzz in to answer questions across all subjects like history, science, math, literature, and current events.

Scholastic Bowl promotes quick thinking, broad knowledge, and academic excellence in a fun, competitive format of two teams of five players facing off. You will compete against other local schools with the chance to go down to IESA state level.

Scholastic Bowl: All Grades Sign up to tryout! MUST attend Both Tryouts.

• Tryouts - Thursday, February 12th - Buzzer Test Tryout - 2:45 pm - 4:30 pm

• Tryouts - Tuesday, February 17th - Written Test Tryouts - 2:45 pm - 4:30 pm

• Coaches: Mrs. Novello & Mrs. Puhr

Questions - contact Mrs. Poglayen - apoglayen@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.

• Family Handbook
• Family Resources
• Community Resource Guide
• Important School Contacts
• Weekly Principal E-newsletter

Emily Loerakker

Fremont Middle School Principal

Nick Atchley

Fremont Middle School Assistant Principal

Address: 28871 N. Fremont Center Road

Phone: (847) 566-9384

Website: middle.fsd79.org

Instagram: @FSD79

YouTube: youtube.com/FSD79