Fremont MS Family Newsletter

Good afternoon,

As we move through October, it’s hard to believe that the end of the trimester on November 13th. It is just over a month away! The year is moving quickly, and I’m proud of the focus, growth, and resilience our students have shown so far.

This is a key time in the academic calendar. Students are deep into their learning, and teachers are working hard to support progress and provide meaningful feedback. I encourage all students to take a moment to reflect on their goals—what’s going well, and what they might want to improve before the trimester ends. There’s still plenty of time to make positive strides.

Reminder that we do not have school on Monday, October 13th.

October 14-17th : Morning Announcements

‼️ 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

8th grade pictures - January 8th
8th grade picture retakes - February 6th
8th grade dance - May 27th
8th grade graduation - June 3rd at College of Lake County

The adolescent years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions – difficult for students, their parents, and educators. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however, depression (among the most common of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age. Depression – which is treatable – is a leading risk factor for suicide. In addition, self-injury has become a growing problem among youth.

To proactively address these issues, Fremont Middle School, is offering depression awareness and suicide prevention training as part of the SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program. The program aims to increase help seeking by students concerned about themselves or a friend. SOS is listed on the SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices and in a randomized control study, the SOS High School Program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40-64% (BMC Public Health, July 2007).

Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:

To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness
To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression
To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in themselves or a friend
To impress upon youth that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns
To help students know whom in the school they can turn to for help, if they need it

This program will be presented to all students by grade level on the following dates:

6th Grade: October 20th

7th Grade: October 27th

8th Grade: October 15th

The SOS program is brought to us by Elyssa’s Mission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to suicide prevention. Elyssa’s Mission is the only organization in the state of Illinois to fund, distribute and implement SOS. To get more information on suicide prevention, visit their website at www.elyssasmission.org. Make sure to view their online Parent Presentation at https://elyssasmission.org/for-parents/ for specific information on warning signs and how to keep your child safe. We also encourage you to visit www.sossignsofsuicide.org/parent for information on warning signs for youth suicide, useful resources, and some of the key messages students will learn.

As part of the program, facilitators will show the SOS video and subsequently lead students in discussion. Students will then complete a brief depression screener as well as fill out a response card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult about themselves or a friend. The depression screening tool addresses thoughts and feelings which a parent may be unaware their child is having. This tool does not provide a diagnosis of depression, but rather alerts school staff to those students requiring further investigation. Students will also complete a response card indicating whether or not they would like to speak to an adult at the school about themselves or a friend. School mental health staff or a qualified community mental health partner will be available to meet with designated students; school staff will subsequently notify parents/guardians regarding any needed next steps.

If you have any questions and/or do NOT want your child to participate in the SOS program, please contact Emily Loerakker at eloerakker@fsd79.org prior to the program date. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program.

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.

RSVP Link

Our award-winning podcast, "Fremont Leads," is back for another year! Listen and subscribe as we highlight our amazing students!

In our brand-new episode, we catch up with Fremont Middle School seventh-grader Amelia to discuss her involvement in the Mundelein After-School Coalition, Hope Squad, and much more. Subscribe via any of the platforms below so you don't miss an episode!

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | YouTube Music | iHeartRadio

Each year we honor veterans in a school-wide assembly. We need your help! If you are or know a veteran willing to speak at our assembly on November 10th, please email eloerakker@fsd79.org.

In addition, we would like to honor veterans during the assembly with a slideshow of pictures. If you have a veteran in your life and would be willing to share, please send a picture to apoglayen@fsd79.org by 11/5/25 and we will include them in our slideshow to be played with music during the assembly.

Students are expected to dress daily for PE class. This includes wearing gym shoes, wearing the issued PE t-shirt and black gym bottoms. Not being consistently prepared for PE class will impact the students' Habits of Success scores in PE.

Fremont Middle School is looking for a head wrestling coach to keep our program moving in a positive direction. If you have any questions, please reach out to Emily Loerakker (eloerakker@fsd79.org) or Andrea Poglayen (apoglayen@fsd79.org).

Please click here to access the application.

We’re excited to announce that a wide variety of student clubs for the 25-26 school year! Whether your student is interested in art, games, Model UN/debate, technology, or community service, there’s something for everyone to explore and enjoy. Clubs are a great way for students to build friendships, develop new skills, and get more involved in school life.

Students can find out more about each club—including when and where they meet—by listening to the morning announcements every Monday. Information about clubs is also shared throughout the school on our displays in hallways, the Den, and the lunchroom. You can find a listing of clubs and contact information for club sponsors by clicking here.

Winter 1 Sports include Boys' Basketball, Cheer, Poms, and Wrestling. You can view the schedules here

Poms - 6th, 7th, & 8th Grade - Informational Meeting - Flex - 10/6
Cheer - 6th, 7th, & 8th Grade - Informational Meeting - Flex - 10/16
Boys Basketball - 7th & 8th Grade Tryouts - begin the week of Oct. 27th.
Wrestling - No Cut - 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Grade - Practices start 12/8

Sign up for Winter II (Girls Volleyball, Scholastic Bowl) and Spring (Boys Volleyball, Track) will be sent out on later dates.

A CURRENT sports physical MUST be on file with a school nurse before tryouts. If you have questions regarding your child's physical, please email the school nurse - rhickok@fsd79.org.

If you have any questions regarding sports, please email our Athletic Director, 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.