October 3, 2014

Booster Club News

We encourage you to join the Boosters if you have not already done so.  Boosters is big supporter of all areas of the school, including the arts, drama and speech organizations. The membership fee is only $25 and all the funds raised support ALL students – from sports to music and the arts, Writers Week and the school newspaper.  This year they donated $6,500 to the Drama club. Boosters also supports and subsidizes Post Prom at Navy Pier, which 735 kids attended this past spring.  They also awarded 23, $1,000 scholarships to seniors whose families joined the Boosters.  In all, roughly $170,000 was given back to the school by Boosters this year. The membership enrollment form can be found here.

Please consider attending the Booster Club Dinner Dance on November 22nd at the Cotillion in Palatine.  It is their primary fund raiser.  Literally hundreds of items will be up for live and silent auction, and other prizes will be available the night of for those in attendance, including a pair of emerald earrings (valued at ~$4,000) in honor of this the 20th annual Dinner Dance. You can purchase tickets on events.org/fremd or through a Booster Board member.

Finally, please consider volunteering for Booster activities.  20% of any group does 80% of the work and Boosters is trying to change this.  Please fill out the Volunteer form (found at http://fhs.d211.org/parents/viking-boosters/), and indicate something you might want to do. This is not a lifetime commitment.  They will not call and harass you.  This does not commit you to join Boosters.  It does not commit you to do an activity.  It does give them a group of folks to whom they can send an email to if they have a need in the Spirit Shop or Concessions, etc.

Highlights and Successes

• Congratulations to Darius Sanchez and the Boys Cross Country Team on placing 3rd at the Bartlett Flyin’ Hawk Invite.  Medal winners include:  Danny Peterson 8th, Matt Fossing 12th, Joe Smaga 15th and Jack Buban 17th.
• Congratulations to Coach Lou Sponsel and the Viking Varsity Football Team on their win over Hoffman Estates High School 48-17, and their 37-7 win over Schaumburg High School.
• Congratulations to Coach Steve Keller and the Boys Soccer Team on their 5-0 victory over Elk Grove High School on Senior Night.
• Congratulations to the following debaters who competed at the Hersey High School Student Congress Invitational:  Madisen Hursey, 1st Place Chamber Award, Varsity Division; Praneet Dara, 1st Place Chamber Award, Novice Division; Nabeela Syed, 2nd Place Chamber Award, Varsity Division; and Leonard Lee and Amulia Nambiar, Best Presiding Officers, Varsity Division.
• Congratulations to Coach Ryan Moreau and the Fremd Boys Golf Team on taking a 3rd place finish in the MSL Conference Tournament.  Payton Kim shot a 77 (6th place medal), and James Feng and Jason Doering both shot 81 (top 20 medals).
• Congratulations to golfer Jaehee Hur on winning 4th overall at the Conference Golf Meet.

Student Newspaper Now Online!

The Viking Logue has moved to an online platform. Check out their latest news and information at http://vikinglogue.com/.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

October 7	Late Start (8:50 start)
October 7	Boys Golf Regional (Hilldale)
October 7	Girls Volleyball @ Schaumburg (for MSL West crown)
October 8	Girls Golf Regional (Glencoe)
October 9	Girls Swimming & Diving vs. PHS (4:45 p.m.)
October 9	Boys Soccer vs. Buffalo Grove (7:00 p.m.)
October 9-11	Girls Tennis MSL Conference
October 13	Columbus Day – No School
October 15	PSAT Test
October 16	Girls Swimming & Diving vs. HEHS (4:30 p.m.)
October 17	Musical Assembly (Auditorium, periods 5-8)
October 17	Viking Football vs. Conant (7:30 p.m.)
October 18	Orchestra Festival (Gym/Café, 7:00 p.m.)
October 21	Late Start (8:50 start)
October 22	College Night (11:50 dismissal, PHS 6:30-8:30 p.m.)
October 24	Viking Football vs. Barrington (7:30 p.m.)
October 28	Halloween Fest (4:30-6:00 p.m.)
October 30-Nov. 1,6,7	Musical (7:00 p.m.)

For a more complete list, please visit our Athletics Page.

Staff Spotlight

Name: James Sheehan

Position: Student Supervisor

Years at Fremd:  12 years

Life Before Fremd: I was an electrical engineer. My claim to fame is that I worked on the Hunting Ridge room addition.

Advice for Parents:  Don’t give your children everything they want, but give them everything they need.

Ask the Principal

Q:  My student’s activity has not made it into your Highlights and Successes yet. Why?

A:  Because this blog is relatively new, I’m still trying to find the best way to gather this information. Before my next blog post, I plan to notify coaches/sponsors that I need their help tracking their team’s progress. The highlights and successes that have been listed to date are there because of communication between the coach/sponsor and my office. We will work on getting every club/activity’s highlights posted here.

Q:  My students seems to be having issues in a class due to conflicts with the teacher’s personality or teaching style. As a result, my student is feeling more stress than normal, and this situation is impacting his/her performance in the class. What should I do?

A:  This is a great question! The teacher holds the key, so we want students and parents communicating initially with him/her. Parents are frequently reluctant to approach a teacher about an issue for fear of retribution toward the their student(s). I have found this rarely to be the case, and teachers cannot make necessary changes if they don't know about concerns. If working directly with the teacher seems to be getting nowhere, then it is time to involve the department chair, who can help all parties see the issue from a broader perspective. The chair will also be able to provide solutions/resolutions that extend beyond a teacher's influence. Here's a tip for the first time your student approaches his/her teacher: Instead of saying, "You aren't explaining things clearly," say "Even after you explain this, I am having a hard time understanding how to do it." Both statements say roughly the same thing; the second statement will be received much better by the teacher.

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Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org or use the Contact Form at the top of the page to send me a question/comment. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.