March 20, 2015

Highlights and Successes

• Congratulations to Coach Kevin Palmer and The Varsity Scholastic Bowl Team on winning 3rd at the 32nd annual Masonic State Tournament and winning the IHSA Regional Competition.
• Congratulations to Coach Kevin Palmer and The Varsity Scholastic Bowl Team on winning Sectionals and  advancing to the IHSA State Competition.
• Congratulations to March English Student of the Month Haley Dirkes-Jacks.
• Congratulations to this week’s Viking Pride recipients:  Christian Bergstrom, Elle Bilissis, Gretchen Coleman, Jessica Fishburn, Pat Geregach, Hannah Jaros, Abby Kobilarcik, Jenna LaPiana, Erin Lowe, Bella Luca, Morgan McKernin, Christopher Sander, Natalie Shay and Amanda Vieceli.
• Congratulations to Coaches Martin Zacharia, Dorothy Robak-Iacch, Jacqueline Dickens, Lauryn Funteas, and Michael Bruce and the Fremd Debate Team for their performance at the 2015 ICTA Novice & Junior Varsity State Championship. Awards include:  Public Forum Debate: Junior Varsity Division State Champions: Eric Simon & Annie Zheng, Semifinalists: Abhay Adhyapak & Sharbik Dutta, Speaker Awards: Eric Simon (Top Speaker), Abhay Adhyapak (4th), Sharbik Dutta (7th) Novice Division, Semifinalists: Adith Palla & Rebecca Xun, Quarterfinalists: Bissem Gill & Eugene Kim, Speaker Awards: Bissem Gill (Top Speaker), Rebecca Xun (2nd), Eugene Kim (6th), and Piyush Biswas (10th) Lincoln Douglas Debate: Novice Division, Quarterfinalist: Stephanie Hu, Octafinalist: Andrew Ruan, Speaker Awards: Stephanie Hu (8th), Trent Marean (9th) Junior Varsity Division, Speaker Awards: Mingda Zhang (5th), Surya Veeravalli (7th), Student Judges, Best Ballot: Angie Peng (1st), Sindhu Battula (3rd) Congressional Debate, Junior Varsity Division, Best Legislation: Anusha Thotakura, Novice Division, Best Presiding Officer: Arash Abbas

Note: All highlights after March 20 will be listed in the next blog post.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

March 20	Girls Badminton @ Buffalo Grove Quad - 4:30 p.m. Girls Water Polo @ Naperville Central - 5:00 p.m. Boys Gymnastics @ Hinsdale Central Invite - 6:00 p.m.
March 21	Girls Water Polo @ Naperville Central Invite - 8:00 a.m. Girls Badminton @ PHS - 8:30 a.m. Girls/Boys Track vs. MSL Invite @ North Central College - 8:30 a.m. Boys LaCrosse @ York Invite - 8:45 a.m. Boys Baseball vs. Lake Zurich - 11:00 a.m.
March 23-27	Spring Break
March 24	Boys Baseball @ South Elgin - 11:00 a.m.
March 26	Boys Baseball vs. Prairie Ridge - 10:00 a.m.
March 27	Boys Baseball vs. Naperville Central @ Lenz Field, Jacksonville, IL - 5:00 p.m.
March 28	Boys Baseball vs. Glenbard North @ Lenz Field, Jacksonville, IL - 10:00 a.m. Boys Gymnastics @ RMHS - 4;30 p.m.
March 30	Boys Baseball vs. Cary Grove - 4:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo @ PHS - 5:30 p.m. Girls LaCrosse vs. St. Charles East - 7:00 p.m. Girls Water Polo @ PHS - 7:30 p.m.
March 31	Girls Badminton @ Prospect - 4:30 p.m. Girls Softball vs. Carmel - 4:30 p.m. Boys Volleyball vs. Prospect - 6:00 p.m. Boys LaCrosse @ Lake Zurich - 7:00 p.m. Girls LaCrosse vs. Lake Zurich - 7:00 p.m.
April 1	Girls Softball vs. Mundelein - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ St. Charles East - 4:30 p.m. Boys Gymnastics vs. SHS/Elk Grove @ SHS-6:00 p.m. Girls Soccer @ Barrington - 6:00 p.m. Girls Water Polo vs. CHS @ Palatine H.S. - 7:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo vs. CHS @ Schaumburg H.S. - 7:45 p.m.
April 2	Girls Badminton vs. Wheeling - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ Glenbrook South - 4:30 p.m. Boys Tennis @ Lake Zurich - 4:30 p.m. Boys LaCrosse vs. CHS - 7:00 p.m. Girls LaCrosse @ CHS - 7:15 p.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

Name:   Dave Yates  

Position:   Math Department Chair, Girls Basketball Coach

Years at Fremd:  12????????????//

Life Before Fremd:  How much time do you have?  2 years at Gordon Tech, 2 years at Lewis University, 6 years in Arizona, 1 year at Mahomet –Seymour and then came to Fremd.

Hobbies/Interests:  Reading, exercising, yard work

Insider Tip for Parents:   Sometimes it’s hard as children grow to know how we can stay involved in their lives and academics.  We go from being present as helpers in their kindergarten classes to having to show our ID just to get into the building at high school.  We as teachers want you involved!  Join the teachers’ schoology website, email the teachers with questions you have, attend open house, volunteer thru the booster club, follow their grades online……be active in the school community.  The four years go by fast, as I know well.  We want you involved.

Ask the Principal

Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.

March 13, 2015

Ask Not What Your Teacher Can Do For Your Learning, Ask What You Can Do For Your Learning

In 2011, John Hattie published a book called, Visible Learning for Teachers. In it, he reported the results of his meta-analysis of others’ meta-analyses. (A meta-analysis is a research report that compares and contrasts the findings of multiple studies in order to find trends, discrepancies or relationships within a bunch of research reports.) The purpose of his study was to find out which factors have the greatest impact on student learning.

So what is the single greatest influence on student learning?

According to Hattie, it is having students self-report their grades. The idea is that the student herself knows better than anyone--including the teacher--how much she knows and how well she knows it.

What can you do with this information?

In the days leading up to a significant test/paper/project, ask your student what grade she will likely earn. If she says, “Probably a B,” then you should ask, “What would it take for you to get an A?”

This process of thinking about how much a student knows and what she must do to improve is critical to learning. (1) It serves as a goal-setting exercise, of sorts. (2) It helps students to understand what mastery looks like. (3) And it tells them that, with a little more effort and attention to detail--grit, anyone?--they can do better.

With one week to go before Spring Break (I thought it would NEVER get here!) there’s a pretty good chance that most classes will have some sort of assessment. Take a few moments this weekend to ask your student: What grade will you get on that upcoming project, and what will it take to do just a little better?

Highlights and Successes

• Thank you to all who contributed to the success of  Writers Week XXI, held in the Kolze Auditorium from Feb 23-27. The week featured 16 professional writers, 18 faculty members from four departments and over 100 student writers and performers.
• Three Fremd students were recognized with a Gold or Silver award from the Chicago Regional Affiliate of the 2015 Scholastic Writing Award program.  Students and their teachers are invited to the 2015 regional Award Ceremony at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus on March 26, 2015.
• Grade 9-12 GOLD Award:
• Naman Agarwal Personal Essay/Memoir Pulp Nonfiction Gold Key William Fremd High School Palatine Colene Brockman
• Grade 9-12 SILVER Award:
• Jessica Lu Personal Essay/Memoir Stag Silver Key William Fremd High School Palatine Sarah Braverman
• Annie Zheng Personal Essay/Memoir Peace, Love, Palmolive Silver Key William Fremd High School Palatine Gina Enk
• Annie Zheng Personal Essay/Memoir The Curious Case of the Immortal Guppy Silver Key William Fremd High School Palatine Gina Enk
• Annie Zheng Short Story This Is What Happened Silver Key William Fremd High School Palatine Gina Enk

• Congratulations to Coach David Yates and the Girls Basketball Team on taking 2nd place at the State Championship!
• Congratulations to the following Congressional Debaters for winning chamber awards at the ICDA Championship at Harper College: Shruthi Kumar, Nabeela Syed, Kamalesh Srikanth, and Leonard Lee.
• Congratulations to the following Varsity Debaters for qualifying for the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament: Matt Carlins & John Komoll and Zachary Jordan & Ishan Taparia.
• Congratulations to Leonard Lee for being elected Best Presiding Officer at the NSDA Congressional Debate Tournament.
• Congratulations to Haley Gorecki on being named The Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
• Congratulations to swimmer Dan Suero on his successes at the State Tournament - Athletes with Disabilities:  5th place, 200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle; 6th place, 50 Freestyle and 2nd place Breast Stroke.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

March 14	Girls Water Polo vs. FHS Invite @ Loyola Academy, 9:00 a.m. Boys Water Polo vs. Stevenson Quad @ Stevenson, 1:30 p.m.
March 16	Girls Softball vs. Fenton - 4:30 p.m. Boys Lacrosse @ Glenbrook North - 5:00 p.m. Girls Badminton @ Glenbard North - 5:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo vs. HEHS @ Schaumburg HS - 7:30 p.m.
March 17	Late Start - 8:50 a.m. Girls Badminton @ Hinsdale South - 5:30 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. St. Charles East - 6:00 p.m. Girls Water Polo vs. HEHS @ Palatine HS - 7:45 p.m.
March 18	Girls Softball vs. Prairie Ridge - 4:30 p.m. Girls Water Polo @ Barrington - 5:30 p.m. Boys Gymnastics @ HEHS - 6:00 p.m. Boys Water Polo @ Barrington - 7:30 p.m.
March 19	Orchestra Concert - HEHS, 7:30 p.m. Girls Softball vs. New Trier @ Northfield PD Duke Child’s field - 4:45 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. Lake Zurich - 6:00 p.m.
March 20	Girls Badminton @ Buffalo Grove Quad - 4:30 p.m. Girls Water Polo @ Naperville Central - 5:00 p.m. Boys Gymnastics @ Hinsdale Central Invite - 6:00 p.m.
March 21	Girls Water Polo @ Naperville Central Invite - 8:00 a.m. Girls Badminton @ PHS - 8:30 a.m. Girls/Boys Track vs. MSL Invite @ North Central College - 8:30 a.m. Boys LaCrosse @ York Invite - 8:45 a.m. Boys Baseball vs. Lake Zurich - 11:00 a.m.
March 23-27	Spring Break
March 24	Boys Baseball @ South Elgin - 11:00 a.m.
March 26	Boys Baseball vs. Prairie Ridge - 10:00 a.m.
March 27	Boys Baseball @ Naperville Central - 5:00 p.m.
March 28	Boys Baseball vs. Glenbard North @ Lenz Field - 10:00 a.m. Boys Gymnastics @ Rolling Meadows - 4:30 p.m.
March 31	Late Start - 8:50 a.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

This feature will return next week.

Ask the Principal

Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.

March 6, 2015

Nominations for the Distinguished Graduate Award

Each year at the Honors Convocation in May, a distinguished Fremd High School alumni is recognized.   The award recognizes a Fremd High School graduate for achievement in their profession and philanthropic contribution to their communities.  The award provides current students with role models for exceptional accomplishments. Those nominated must have graduated at least 10 years ago; demonstrate a high level of achievement with significant accomplishments in their field; and exhibit leadership, character, and service to their community.  Parents, staff, retired staff, and all interested parties are asked to make nominations.  Self-nominations are welcome.  Please click on the following link to nominate a graduate by April 6th:  http://fhs.d211.org/info/alumni/distinguished-grad-nomination/.

Highlights and Successes

• Congratulations to Coach Dave Yates and the Fremd Girls Basketball Team on winning the Super Sectional and qualifying for the State Championship!
• Congratulations to Boys Basketball All-Conference players Zach Schoffstall and Xavier Williams.  Congratulations also to Xavier Williams on winning All- Area.
• Congratulations to the Fremd High School Math Team for earning second place at the ICTM Regional Competition at Harper College. The Freshman Algebra I Team (Kevin Chen, Rose Dinh, Kashif Javid, Edward Li, Adith Palla, Elizabeth Perez) earned first place. Edward Li and Kevin Chen earned first and second place, respectively, with their individual scores on this event. The Sophomore Geometry Team (Andy Hong, Andrew Hwang, Shingo Ito, Akash Mukherjee, Airi Nakayama, and Adam Quinn) earned second place. Mark Guo earned second place for his individual score on the Sophomore Geometry Contest. Finally, both F/S 8-Person Team (Kevin Chen, Rose Dinh, Kashif Javid, Edward Li, Lucy Cho, Andy Hong, Emma Liu, and Airi Nakayama) and Jr/Sr 8-Person Team (Julia Cai, Mark Guo, Angie Peng, Ann Rajan, Varshini Ramanathan, Jeemin Sim, Jun Tomita, and Jennie Yang) earned second place on their contest.
• Congratulations to Jennie Yang for qualifying to take the AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination). Students must score in the top 5% of the AMC 12 Math Contest or earn a raw score of at least 99.5 to qualify to take the AIME. Jennie Yang has been recognized by the MAA with the highest score in the school (114.0). In addition, Kevin Chen (freshman) and Adam Quinn (sophomore) have been recognized for earning a score over 90.0 as a freshman or sophomore. The AIME is a 15-question, 3-hour test where the answer to every question is an integer between 0 and 999. The exam will take place on Thursday, March 19th.
• Congratulations to BPA award winners from State:  Yulia Odinokova, 2nd place in Interview Skills and 4th place in Entrepreneurship; Michael Zhou, 4th place in Java Programming.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

March 6	Girls Basketball vs. IHSA State
March 7	Girls Track & Field @ Proviso West Invite - 9:00 a.m. Boys Gymnastics vs. Addison Trail & Wheaton Co-op @ Glenbard West - 10:00 a.m.
March 11	Girls Water Polo @ Wheeling -5:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo @ Wheeling - 7:30 p.m.
March 12	Girls Water Polo @ St. Viator - 5:00 p.m. Boys gymnastics vs. East-West Meet @ Barrington - 6:00 p.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

Name: Colene Brockman

Position: Dean of Students

Years at Fremd: 2 years

Life Before Fremd: I grew up in Novi, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. I attended Novi High School where I played tennis, soccer, and volleyball. Upon graduating high school, I moved to Ann Arbor and went to the University of Michigan where I received my bachelor’s in English and Education. While attending Michigan, I spent some time teaching 5th grade in Cape Town, South Africa. Once I earned my bachelor’s, I spontaneously moved to Katy, Texas, which is right outside of Houston. In Katy, I taught Senior and Sophomore English and served as the varsity tennis coach. The past two years, I’ve been at Fremd where I’ve taught English, served as the Dean, and finished up my master’s work at DePaul University.

Hobbies/Interests: I enjoy playing tennis, working out, traveling and reading. When I hear about exciting new restaurants in the city, I am quick to go try them out when and if I have the time. Lately, especially with the weather this winter, I’ve enjoyed catching up with the shows on my DVR and watching Netflix- House of Cards has me hooked!

Insider Tip for Parents: It probably comes as no surprise that your child’s high school years fly by in a flash, and all of the sudden he or she is headed off to college. Fremd has resources available that help students prep for that daunting ACT assessment. The English and Math Departments offer after school tutoring sessions throughout the school year where students receive advice and feedback focused specifically on the ACT. Also, there are many resources online that offer tips and tricks for tackling the ACT. While it may seem simple, understanding how the test is written and what the test makers look for can provide a huge advantage to those students that choose to take the ACT. See www.act.org for more details!

Ask the Principal

Are you curious about something at Fremd but have never asked? Email me at ktenopir@d211.org. If your question is pertinent to a wider audience, I will include it in the next blog post.