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.

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Dear Lincoln Early Learning Center Families,

I am excited to introduce our 2026-2027 Building Assistant Supervisor, Cathi Ivack. Cathi is a retired administrator who brings years of experience as both a special education teacher and building administrator, as well as a genuine passion for the field of education and for serving teachers, students, and our school community.

Cathi has worked as a teacher at two therapeutic day schools, was a first grade general education teacher, and served as an administrator at Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO). Cathi was also an interim at Hawthorn Middle School North. In her “free time,” Cathi serves as a student teacher supervisor for Northern Illinois University. We are fortunate to have her expertise at Lincoln throughout the school year.

Please join me in giving Cathi a warm welcome to the Lincoln community!

Here’s to a year filled with learning, laughter, and connection!

Warm regards,

Katie O’Brien
Principal, Lincoln Early Learning Center

kobrien@fsd79.org

Cathi Ivack
Building Assistant Supervisor, Lincoln Early Learning Center

ivackc@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

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.

SEL

As we begin the 2026–2027 school year, we are thrilled to announce that our school is officially rolling out RULER, a social-emotional learning framework developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. This initiative helps students and staff learn how to recognize, understand, label, express, and regulate emotions. Throughout the year, your child will learn practical tools—like a classroom Charter, a Mood Meter, and the Meta-Moment—to navigate their feelings and show up as their "Best Self". Our ultimate goal is to build a community of true kindness and belonging where every single child feels safe and included.

Emergency Notification Test - Thursday, August 27

FSD79 will be performing a test of our mass notification system next Thursday, August 27, at approximately 5:00 p.m.

If you do not receive an email, text message, or automated phone call, please fill out this form. Be advised that due to the high volume of messages that need to be delivered, an individual may not receive all three notifications right at 5:00 p.m.

August 24 First Day of School

September 7 No School - Labor Day

September 9 Picture Day (Retakes on October 22)

September 10 Curriculum Night 6:30 - 7:30 pm(parents only)

September 18 No School - Parent Involvement

September 21 No School - Yom Kippur

October 2 No School - Institute Day

October 12 - No School - Indigenous Peoples' Day

October 15 Immunizations and Physicals Due

August 26 Early Release Dismissal at 3:00 pm(PM families) - Recurring every Wednesday

September 7 No School - Labor Day

September 18 No School - Preschool Screening

September 21 No School - Yom Kippur

October 1 Curriculum Night 6:30 - 7:30 pm(parents only)

October 2 No School - Institute Day

October 12 - No School - Indigenous Peoples' Day

October 14 Picture Day

October 15 Immunizations and Physicals Due

September 3 No School - Institute Day

September 7 - No School - Labor Day

September 21 - No School - Yom Kippur

September 30 - Picture Day

October 2 - No School - Institute Day

October 7 - No School

October 12 - No School - Indigenous Peoples' Day

October 15 Immunizations and Physicals Due

October 22 - Curriculum Night - 6:30 p.m. (parents only)