Winter Break Edition

Twas the Day Before Winter Break

Here is a glimpse of life at Fremd High School on the last day of school before break.

Senior Leonard Lee passes out candy canes to students.

Staff vs. Student basketball games in PE, including fundraiser for families in need.

Orchesis held their annual Holiday Dance Show during the lunch periods.

Beloved custodian, Ken Hester, is retiring after 13 years at FHS. Picture courtesy of Twitter (#fhsspirit)

It's been an emotional couple weeks at FHS. Senior Tim Reidy and friends have started a grassroots movement with Friday pick-me-up notes. These positive vibes are definitely welcome here!

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to the following English Students of the Month: October Student of the Month - Joaquin Grace; November Student of the Month - Cara Ward and December Student of the Month -  Julia Dirkes-Jacks.
• Congratulations to Coach Jessie Monticello and the Fremd BPA Team on their success at Regionals.  State qualifiers include:  Digital Publishing: Jason Yim; Web Site Design Team: Ishan Bhatia, Zach Jordan, Justin Song, Ishan Taperia; Broadcast news Production Team: Javen Joerger, Peter Opinante, Brandon Matuszczak, Michael Parzynski; Entrepreneurship: Kristine Yim; Small Business Management Team: Soon Myung Hwang, Emma Liu, Mingda Zhang; Presentation Management Individual: Priyal Gosar; Presentation Management Team: Yulia Odinolova, Yamamoto, Kristine Yim; Visual Basic/C#Programming: Ishan Taparia; Economic Research Individual: Vikas Reddy; Economic Research Team: Andy Raun, Piyush Biswas; Fundamentals of Web Design: Emma Liu; Graphic Design Promotions: Jason Yim; Entrepreneurship: Yulia Odinokova; Prepared Speech: Stephanie Hu; Visual Basic/C# Programming: Varan Pinto; Fundamental Accounting: Lingqi Kong; and Fundamental Word Processing: Stephanie Hu.
• Congratulations to this week’s Viking Pride recipients: Jennifer Brand, Nolan Cox, Andie Evans, Veronika Filip, Jameson Fonseca, Lily Ho, Karis Jang, Ben Kurka, Tyler Larson, Isa LoPiccolo-Kleine, Batra Suruchi, Rebecca Torres, Ellyce Wong and Madeline Zachman.
• Congratulations to Coach Dan Ruettiger and the Fremd Wrestling Team on their 3rd place finish at the Prospect Tournament:  Award winners include: Mike Rattin-2nd place, Cole Riemer- 3rd place, Adam Kemp- 6th place, Matt Kurtishi- 1st place, Doug Sheehan- 6th place, Alex Jacobs- 1st place, and Zack Nemec- 2nd place.
• Congratulations to Coach Bob Widlowski and the Boys Basketball Team on their victory  over #10 ranked Downers Grove South.  Kyle Sliwa had a career high 33 pts.
• Congratulations to Coach Martin Zacharia and the Fremd Debate Team on their 5th place finish at the Illinois Congressional Debate Association Tournament.  Award winners are as follows:Congressional Debate Varsity Division:  Leonard Lee, 2nd Place Chamber Award & Best Presiding Officer; Nabeela Syed, 3rd Place Chamber Award; Shruthi Kumar, 3rd Place Chamber Award.Congressional Debate, Novice Division: Bill Gao,1st Place Overall Tournament Speaker & 1st Place Chamber Award; Swathy Karthikeyan, 2nd Place Overall Tournament Speaker & 1st Place Chamber Award; Ananth Sriram, 2nd Place Chamber Award & Best Presiding Officer; Alexandre Herrera, 2nd Place Chamber Award & Best Presiding Officer; Ryan Gilski, 2nd Place Chamber Award; Nick Parekh, 3rd Place Chamber Award and Nitin Prabakaran, Best Presiding Officer.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

December 18	Orchesis Show - lunch periods Auditorium Boys Swimming & Diving vs HEHS @ Schaumburg H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Basketball @ CHS - 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball vs. Conant H.S. - 7:30 p.m.
December 19- Jan. 3	Winter Break
December 19	Competitive Cheer Competition @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 9:00 a.m.
December 21	Boys Basketball Tournament @ Wheeling H.S. - 3:45 p.m.
December 22-23	Boys Basketball Tournament @ Wheeling H.S
December 22-23	Boys Wrestling @ Rockford Harlem H.S. - 9:00 a.m.
December 26	Boys Basketball Tournament @ Wheeling H.S.
December 30	Boys Wrestling @ Wheaton Warrenville S. - 9:00 a.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

This feature will return after Winter Break.

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.

December 11, 2015

In Case You Missed It

Here are a couple links to performances from our Music Department:

Choir at Disney over Thanksgiving break

Orchestra Concert on December 10

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to the following music students selected as ILMEA All-State musicians for 2015:  Band: Julia Cai, Melinda Coleman, Cameron Harro, Andy Hong; Orchestra: Bruce Liu, Sarah Akutsu, Andreas Carrero, Nathan Du, Joshua Kim, Brian Lin; Choir: Lauren Berryhill, Angie Cornwell, Quinn Jackson, and Ben Mathew.
• Congratulations to this week’s Viking Pride Recipients:  Nathan Blume, Maria Chemello, Ian Doering, Lisbeth Espinoza, Natalie Perkins, Heather Sternberg, Sarah Valdes, Konrad Waller, Chandler White, Dominik Wrobel, and Timothy Zerfass.
• Congratulations to Coach Martin Zacharia and the Fremd Debate Team on their success at the Barrington High School LD/PF Invitational.  Award winners include:  Lincoln Douglas: Trent Marean, Junior Varsity 2nd Place.  A speaker award was also awarded to the following debater: Trent Marean (2nd JV LD). Public Forum:  Benjamin Wilson & Claire Athanas, Junior Varsity Champions; Abhy Balu and Adith Palla, Junior Varsity 2nd Place; Matthew Grabianski & Piyush Biswas, Junior Varsity 3rd Place; Josh Park & Michael Murakami, Novice Champions; Hannah Chen & Maegan Jong, Novice 3rd Place.  Speaker awards were also awarded to the following debaters: Matthew Grabianski (1st JV PF), Piyush Biswas (2nd JV PF), and Hannah Chen (3rd Novice PF).
• Congratulations to the following English Students of the Month: October Student of the Month - Joaquin Grace; November Student of the Month - Cara Ward and December Student of the Month -  Julia Dirkes-Jacks.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

December 11	Boys Swimming & Diving @ Conant H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Wrestling vs. Hoffman Estates - 6:00 p.m. Girls Basketball @ Hoffman Estates H.S.- 7:30 p.m.
December 12	Bowling vs. Streamwood H.S. @ Streamwood Bowl - 9:00 a.m. Wrestling @ Prospect H.S. - 9:00 a.m. Boys Swimming & Diving @ Barrington H.S. - 9:30 a.m. (diving) Boys Basketball vs. Downers Grove South - 4:30 p.m. Boys Swimming & Diving @ Barrington H.S. - 1:30 p.m. Booster Winter Craft Fair - 9:00 a.m.-4;00 p.m.
December 13	Competitive Cheer Competition @ Stevenson H.S. - 8:00 a.m.
December 14	Bowling vs. Hoffman Estates @ Arlington Lanes - 4:30 p.m.
December 15	Winter Band Concert - 6:00 p.m.
December 16	Bowling vs. Elk Grove @ Arlington lanes - 4:45 p.m. Girls Gymnastics @ Hoffman Estates H.S. - 6:00 p.m.
December 18	Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Hoffman Estates @ Schaumburg H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Basketball @ Conant H.S. - 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball vs. Conant H.S. - 7:30 p.m.
December 19	Competitive Cheer Competition @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 9:00 a.m. Girls Gymnastics @ New Trier H.S. - 12:00 p.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

Name: Katie Giegler

Position: Science Teacher, Instructional Coach and Head Speech Coach

Years at Fremd: Teaching - 9, Student - 4

Life Before Fremd: Was there life before Fremd? For me that is going back to junior high when I thought that I could be a star cross country runner.  Thankfully in high school I found a niche that better suited my talents and interests in the choir and speech team!  I graduated from Fremd in 2003 and in between my time at Fremd as a student and my time at Fremd as a faculty member I went to the University of Illinois and majored in physics and secondary education.  In my free time I worked in my dorm’s cafeteria, was a TA for a physics lab and volunteered with a retreat program. I was thrilled to be hired at this school once I graduated.

Hobbies/Interests: I love to read!  My ideal vacation day is sitting at a lake with a good book but have found traveling to areas outside of my comfort zone to be a pretty awesome way to spend my time. My husband (a math teacher here at Fremd as well - my life is very ingrained in this school!) convinced me to go to Kenya and Ethiopia to climb mountains and experience the culture, which was pretty amazing.  At home, I love watching the Cubs and my favorite TV shows are Friends, NCIS and West Wing.  I am also a self professed science nerd who wants everyone else to love science - when my mom got a salad spinner, I got REALLY excited about teaching her the physics behind it.  Mostly I am happiest when I am with my family, playing with my 7 month old son.  Learning all about his developmental milestones has been so interesting.

Insider Tip for Parents: Help your student find a club or activity or sport to join.  Fremd is a big place but there are so many wonderful ways to make it smaller.  It also gives them one more teacher who looks out for them and cares about them!  In that same thread, let them spread their wings during high school.  There are many adults who will support them if they start to fail or have problems but it is such an important skill for them to learn to advocate for themselves.

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.

Course Selection for 2016-2017

Pretty soon, your student will start the process of selecting courses for next year. Teachers are starting their course recommendations soon, so I wanted to give you some information to help your student to navigate this process effectively. Remember the Power of 15? (Check my post from September 18 for a refresher.) We want your student to leave here with 15 college credits, so part of the course selection process should be to determine a path that will get your student into a dual credit or AP course in specific subject areas before he/she graduates.

Here are some things you can be doing right now to help your student with the course selection process:

• Start the conversation with your student about course preferences for next year. For every course, find out why they are interested. There should be a purpose behind every decision.
• Look at the Curriculum Guide under the Academics tab on our school website to see the common next steps in a sequence, as in the chart below, select the one that best fits your student’s interests and abilities. Are there multiple levels of the same course? See if your student is interested in moving up a level to be appropriately challenged.

• Start the dialogue with your student’s teachers. Or better yet, have your student reach out to them. Ask them which course best suits their interests and abilities. If the teacher doesn’t mention the course your student is interested in taking, ask about that course specifically. Teachers can only base their recommendations on the concrete information they possess about a student, including grades and skill levels. Some wildcards in this discussion include your student’s areas of interest, career aspirations, and motivation. Being proactive about the courses your student wants to take will make it easier for the teachers to make their recommendations.

Harper’s Promise

The deadline for freshman students to apply for Harper’s Promise is December 15. I’ve included this information in my blog before, but I want to include just one more push.

So far, just over 100 freshmen have applied for the opportunity to go to Harper at NO COST. If I had to guess, the 550 students who haven’t filled out an application yet see themselves leaving Fremd and going directly to a four-year university. Without question, graduating from a four-year institution should be the goal. In that case, please consider applying for Harper’s Promise as insurance. Insurance exists to protect you in case life doesn’t turn out the way you envisioned. Four years is both a short AND a long time. A lot happens in that amount of time. Don’t believe me? Look back at how much your freshman student has changed since 5th grade. It wasn’t that long ago, was it?

The best part about this insurance? It’s free to you! The application can be filled out in five minutes. You have nothing to lose, and a free education to gain. Copies of the application are available in our Student Services Office, or you can access the application here.

Holiday Craft Fair

Looking for unique gifts? Be sure to stop by our Fremd Viking Boosters Annual Holiday Craft Fair on Saturday, December 12 from 9am-4pm. Over 250 crafters offer handmade items, seasonal decor, stocking stuffers, sweet treats, gourmet food, pet items, art, jewelry, and more. Concessions are available all day. The Viking Spirit Shop will be open. Free admission. Proceeds directly benefit our students.

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coaches Martin Zacharia, Mike Bruce (Congressional Debate) and Jackie Dickens (Lincoln-Douglas & Public Forum Debate) and the Fremd Debate team on their success at the CoIllinois Congressional Debate Association Tournament. The following students won awards:  Congressional Debate, Varsity Division: Nabeela Syed, 2nd Overall Tournament Speaker and 1st Place Chamber Award;  Congressional Debate, Novice Division:  Shreya Mukherjee, 1st Place Chamber Award; Hari Krishna Yagatili, 2nd Place Chamber Award; Ananth Sriram, Best Presiding Officer; Hari Krishna Yagatili, Best Presiding Officer; and Srihari Prakash, Best Presiding Officer.
• Congratulations to Nabella Syed on making it to the Semifinal Congress of the annual Glenbrooks National Debate Tournament, which drew competitiors from 35 states.
• Congratulations to swimmer Grace Grzybek on medaling at State in the 100 Back and finishing 12th this year. Grace was also Honorable Mention All State.
• Congratulations to the 400 free relay Team on taking 14th place at State and the Medley Relay Team on taking 17th place.
• Congratulations to Coach Bob Widlowski and the Boys Basketball Team on winning 2nd place at the Mundelein Thanksgiving Tournament. Patrick Benka and Kyle Sliwa took All- Tournament.
• Congratulations to the this week’s Viking Pride recipients:  Melissa Adrian, Sarah Akutsu, Evelyn Ayala, Jeffrey Bellino, Lauren Berryhill, Adam Cajandig, Nicolas Flowers, Caleb Franceschi, Takehiro Handa, Gabriella Iaccino, Mariana Kanellos, Adam Kemp, Andy Kraft, Amelia Marshall, Noemi Mena, Eden Schultz,Nick Seroni, Peter Seyring, Joe Unger and Jason Yim.
• The Harper Area High School Art Show Reception was last night.  Fremd Award Winners are: in 2D- 1st Annie Cha, 2nd Lauren Gregory, 3rd Stephanie Dodgen, Honorable Mentions:  Jade Danford-Klein, Liz Han, Linqui Kong. 3D-1st Phoebe Fu, 2nd & 3rd Emma Aftelak, Honorable Mentions: Hillery Benjamin, Sonia De LaTorre, Mia Algrim  and the Harper Facuty Award Winner (Best in Show 2D) Lauren Gregory.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

December 4	Boys Basketball vs. PHS - 6:00 p.m. Girls Basketball vs. PHS - 7:30 p.m. Wrestling @ PHS - 6:00 p.m. Variety Show - 7;00 p.m. Auditorium
December 5	Freshman Placement Testing - 7:00 - 10:30 a.m. Girls Bowling @ Arlington Lanes - 9:00 a.m. Wrestling Triangular @ FHS - 9:00 a.m. Girls Basketball Shootout @ FHS - 10:00 a.m. Boys Basketball @ Elk Grove H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Variety Show - 7:00 p.m. Auditorium
December 6	Competitive Cheer Competition @ Crystal lake Central H.S. - 9:00 a.m.
December 7	Girls Bowling @ Arlington Lanes - 4:30 p.m.
December 8	Late Start - classes start 8:50 a.m. Scholastic Bowl Tournament @ FHS -3:00 p.m. Girls Gymnastics @ Conant H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Winter Choir Concert - 7:00 p.m. Auditorium
December 9	Girls Bowling @ Arlington Lanes - 4:30 p.m. PLTW Information Meeting - 7:00 p.m. Student Cafeteria
December 10	Winter Orchestra Concert - 7:00 p.m. Auditorium Boys Basketball @ Hoffman Estates H.S.

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

Staff Spotlight

Mr. Baima is Director for V-Show this weekend.

Name: John Baima

Position: College Counselor

Years at Fremd: 16

Life Before Fremd: Worked at several schools in three different states and in CPS.  Also worked as a counselor at a YMCA on the north shore of Oahu.

Hobbies/Interests: Hanging out with my family and traveling.

Insider Tip for Parents: Have your child fill out his/her own college applications!!!  There is nothing wrong with assisting and advising, but this is an important life lesson for students who are beginning to take the next step toward independence.

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.