Dear Families,

The January principal’s highlight is cyber safety. Fremont School District 79 has programs to promote the safety of all students when using school-issued electronic devices at school. Behind the scenes, we have firewalls and security systems in place. Within the classrooms, the District has Gaggle, Hapara, and Securly to assist with monitoring students’ technology usage to foster the safety of all. In addition, the District’s policy on cell phones and personal electronic devices is that students need to keep them powered off and stored in a safe place during school hours. If a child needs to communicate with their parent/guardian, they may go to the main office to use the school telephone. The policy is in place to ensure the safety of all students during the school day.

How well do you know what your child is doing on their cell phone? What about their gaming devices? Are you aware of what they might be watching on their iPads? These are important questions that all families should consider. The first step in ensuring safe technology usage for children of all ages is to set up devices using the parent control features. Safety Features and Parental Controls on Digital Devices.

The next step is to openly communicate with your children about cyber safety. According to the Attorney General’s Office on cyber safety, 63 percent of students stated that parental conversations help keep them safe online. It is never too early to begin having conversations with your child about cyber safety.

We know it is not easy to monitor technology use, but it does make a difference. Here are a few helpful tips:

• Activate the privacy settings on your child’s phone. Consider location tracking, parental controls, and mobile usage monitoring apps to ensure you know what your child is accessing on their phone.

• Actively monitor your child’s use of technology, including their activity on social media platforms. Your child’s phone belongs to you as the parent, and there should not be an expectation of privacy on their phone.

• Set standards for what your children can and cannot access online.

• Teach your children to keep personal information private and not to have any communication with people they DO NOT know.

• Explain that posting online is like writing in a permanent marker – it cannot be erased.

• Know who is on your child’s friend and/or follower list for each social networking site.

• Encourage your children to come to you if they encounter a problem. See something, say something. Assure your child knows they cannot be anonymous on the Internet.

• Keep the household computer in the living room or other common areas with password protection.

• Charge your children’s cell phones or smaller handheld devices in your bedroom, so they cannot access the phone at night.

Helpful Resources for families;

• The Illinois Attorney General's Office Cyber Safety Resources

• The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has a resource page for information on cyber safety tips for students

• The Parenting, Media, and Everything in Between | Common Sense Media

• Internet Safety Advice for Parents, from a Police Officer: Follow the blog for helpful tips

• Internet Safety Prevention 101: Acronyms Parents Should Know

• A Complete Guide to Potentially Dangerous Apps for Kids

Thank you for your support and diligence in working with your child on technology safety and making positive choices. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all students use technology safely inside and outside school.

Sincerely,

Carol Bennett

Director of Education Programs and Preschool Principal

Stefan Ladenburger

K-5 Principal

Krista Winkelman

Middle School Principal

Please view the Weekly Student Announcement Video. The Fremont Middle School Parent Newsletter can also be found on the middle school website's main page.

Math and Writing Lab: Fremont Middle School offers an after-school Math Lab on Tuesdays and Thursdays in room 208 and an after-school Writing Lab on Wednesdays in the Den.

• The labs run from 2:45-3:27 pm.
• Students can take the late bus home or get picked up by a parent.
• All students can stay in the math and writing labs after school.
• Students can work on classwork, complete MAP Accelerator, or get support from a math or ELA teacher on their classwork.

8th Grade Washington DC Trip Information: Time is running out to sign up for the Washington D.C! Final deadline is February 18th.

Check out our trip website to learn moreà https://worldstrides.com/custom/fremont-ms-dc-203409/

Two ways to register your child:
1. Online – go to www.worldstrides.org/register. Trip ID: 203409
2. By phone – contact WorldStrides’ Customer Service Team at 1-800-468-5899.

If you have already signed up for the trip but haven’t called about FLAG Financial Assistance do so asap! Families with an annual adjusted gross income up to $85,000 are invited to complete a confidential, easy application and may qualify to receive Flag financial assistance

Call Customer Service to apply for FLAG today! Funds are limited!

If you have any more questions, please reach out to Andrea Poglayen at apoglayen@fsd7.org.

Chromebooks: Please assist us with ensuring your child comes to school with a charged Chromebook daily. Also, please double-check that your child does not put additional items in the Chromebook bag. They are not allowed to add notebooks, pens, pencils, etc., as we want to protect the devices.

Parents, we invite you to join us in shaping the future of Fremont School District 79. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Trisha Kocanda is hosting another round of parent focus groups as a follow-up to the fall sessions. Based upon the information collected in the Superintendent Entry Plan meetings and the recent strategic planning survey, participants will be asked to reflect and inform the outcomes and vision for the District’s next Strategic Plan. Make plans to join us for one of these upcoming opportunities:

Thursday, February 9 – 7:00-8:00 p.m., Fremont Middle School DEN

Tuesday, February 21 – 7:00-8:00 p.m., Fremont Middle School DEN

Childcare for individuals ages 3+ will be provided by Fremont Middle School students.

Please join us for a night of family fun, including crafts, snacks, and Zumba, as the ELL Team and the Parent Outreach Committee present: Healthy Hearts, Active Minds. For further information, please see the following fliers:

English. Spanish

Ukrainian. Russian

Fremont is encouraging parents to preregister for the tuition-based preschool program for the 2023-2024 School Year.

Please fill out Tuition-Based Preschool Program 23-24 to show your interest in enrolling your child in this program for Fall 2023. The cost is $3,500 per year without transportation and $3,750 with transportation.

Fremont School District's tuition-based program runs 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week, and follows the 2023-2024 Fremont School calendar. The certified staff prepares students for the Fremont kindergarten program.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

• The Fremont PTO would love to see you at our meetings this year! Meetings are on the third Wednesday of the month in the Middle School Den at 6:00 pm. Our next meeting is on February 15th. Here is the list of all meeting dates for the 2022-2023 school year.
• The Sweetheart Dance is back on February 11th! See details below.

SWEETHEART DANCE: On Saturday, February 11th, from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm, come to enjoy a sweet evening of dancing with your special little someone (dads, granddads, uncles, or any other figure is welcome to escort). All ages are welcome to put on their best and pose with their adult for pictures. Refreshments and a craft will be available as well. See flyer for registration details.

ORDER YOUR YEARBOOKS: Don't forget to order your student's yearbook this year! Use this flyer for links and school codes.

PTO MEMBERSHIP/ONLINE DIRECTORY FOR 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR: If you don't have an account in Membership Toolkit, set it up now for free! To create an account, go to fsd79.membershiptoolkit.com and follow the directions in this form (Online Student Directory Set Up Instructions 2022-2023). To gain access to the Online Directory, please pay the $15 PTO Membership Fee. See the form (2022-2023 PTO Membership Form) for further details. Please contact Christie Johnson at cjohnson@fsd79.org.

Don't forget to download the FREE Membership Toolkit app to your smartphone-search "Membership Toolkit" in your app store.

BIRTHDAY BOARD: Celebrate your Fremont Student's special day! "Happy Birthday, Your Child's Name" can appear on the Fremont Electronic Message Board. Just complete the birthday board form and send it back to any school front office with your $5 payment per birthday message. If you have any questions, please contact Christie Johnson at cjohnson@fsd79.org.

Daily Schedule: Just a reminder that the student school day is from 7:55 a.m. - 2:43 p.m. Please ensure that your child is on time for school every day.

• Students may be dropped off no earlier than 7:30 a.m. and have to sign-in in the front office as “tardy” if they arrive after 7:55 a.m.
• If a student doesn't feel well during the school day, they must go to the nurse, and the nurse contacts the parents. Students should NOT contact their parents to pick them up during the school day.
• Absences: If your child is absent from school because of illness, doctor's appointments, vacation, or other reasons, please call 847-566-9384 and select option 2 to report it to the school office no later than 8:00 a.m. the day of the absence.
• You may also email regarding the absence to both rhickok@fsd79.org and komalley@fsd79.org.

Lunch Information

• Quest lunch menus on the FSD79 website.

• Please contact the District Office if you have questions about the Free and Reduced Lunch application. 847-566-0169.

Student Pick-up Safety Measure: The front office staff must verify a student's parent or guardian before the student is released to go home during the school day. They will request an ID from the parent or guardian and verify in TeacherEase that the student can leave with the person onsite.

• 🗓 Monday, February 20: No School
• 🗓 Friday, February 24: Early Dismissal
• 💚 March 2 - Family Fun Night 6:30 - 7:30 pm Fremont Middle School
• 🗓 Friday, March 3: Half Day of School
• 📌 Monday, March 6 - Parent Teacher Conferences (11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.)
• 😊 March 27-31: Spring Break
• 🎓 8th Grade Graduation/Promotion Ceremony: Wednesday, May 31 at 6:30 p.m. at College of Lake County Physical Education Center