The Big Events Ahead Edition

Writers Week Approaching

The 23rd installment of Writers Week will take place February 6-10. In addition to several student and faculty writers, Fremd High School is proud to host many accomplished writers, including:

• Jeremy McCarter, co-author of Hamilton: The Revolution (written with Lin-Manuel Miranda)
• Taylor Mali, a poet who may be most well-known for his spoken word gem, “What Teachers Make.”
• Chicago writers Billy Lombardo and Joe Meno
• Writers Week favorite Mary Fons
• Former Fremd English teacher AJ Pine
• And many more

Check out the schedule and author bios at https://writersweekfhs.com/

Register Soon for the Dinner Dance

The Booster Dinner Dance is February 11 at Meridian Banquets in Rolling Meadows. Have you purchased your tickets? Time is running out to reserve your spot at what is shaping up to be one of the best-attended dinner dances in the 22-year history of the event. Register at events.org/Fremd.

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Elise Saisi and the Girls Gymnastics Team on placing 2nd at the Mari- Rae Sopper Invite.   Sam Shirmer was the vault champion, Abby Moran took second on floor, and Courtney Ng took second on beam. 
• Congratulations to the Fremd Jazz Ensemble (Matt Moore - Director), Jazz Lab Band (JT Teichert, Jeremy Figlewicz – Directors), and the Jazz Combo (JT Teichert – Director) for their Division 1/Superior ratings at the 40th Annual Northshore Jazz Festival at Glenbrook South HS this past Saturday.  All three jazz groups received straight Division 1 ratings in their individual divisions from the collegiate band directors and professional jazz musician adjudicators.  The Jazz Combo also tied for first place in the Jazz Combo division.  Bassist Joey Ranieri was awarded the top jazz combo soloist award for the festival.  John Kim (alto saxophone, Jazz Lab Band) and Jacob Cushman (drums, Jazz Combo) were also awarded soloist medals in their divisions.
• Congratulations to the Scholastic Bowl teams for their success at Saturday’s Fremd Invitational Tournament. The Varsity A Team took 2nd  and the B Team took 5th  in the competitive Academic Division, which had some of the top teams in the state. In the Frosh-Soph tournament, the A Team took 2nd in the competitive Academic Division and the B Team won the Scholar Division. Additionally, last Saturday at Stevenson High School’s History Bowl tournament, the Varsity team took 2nd overall.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

January 27	ILMEA Music All-State - U of I Boys Swimming & Diving Meet vs. Schaumburg H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys/Girls  Basketball @ Schaumburg H.S. - 5:30/7:30 p.m. Boys Wrestling MSL Championship @ Prospect H.S. - 7:00 a.m. Girls Bowling Conference Meet @ Arlington Lanes - 8:00 a.m. Competitive Cheer Sectionals @ Conant H.S. - 3:20 p.m. Boys Basketball vs. Grant H.S. - 5:30 p.m.
January 28	ILMEA Music All-State @ Peoria, IL Competitive Dance State @ Bloomington, IL
January 31	Girls Gymnastics Regionals @ FHS - 6:00 p.m. Girls Basketball @ Hoffman Estates H.S. - 7:30 p.m.
February 2-4	Variety Show - Auditorium, 7:00 p.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

Name: Ruben Hinojosa

Position: Physical Education Teacher 22 years,

Years at Fremd: 15 years

Life Before Fremd: PE teacher at Winston Campus Junior High, Financial Advisor/ Insurance and Mutual Fund Sales

Hobbies/Interests: Hanging out with my 2 boys Chase (7) and Brody (5), Playing golf and reading.  Yoga.  Working on improving our home with my wife Michelle, 13 years.

Insider Tip for Parents: As difficult as it is push off being a friend of your children until they are on their own, and remember that it is ok to let our kids fail every once in a while.

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.

The Media Center Update Edition

Big Changes to Media Center Underway

On December 23, our Media Center began its transformation and facelift. Periodically, I will offer some pictures to document the progress toward a new and improved learning space for our students. The project will be completed this summer, ready for use by August 14.

Before demolition (December 23)

Removing the paneling (January 10)

Some of the interior walls have been removed (January 20)

View is from the Tutoring Center, looking into Media Center Room 1 (blue carpet). No wall!

And here is a video of what the finished product will look like, more or less:
Conceptual Video of New Media Center

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Jerry Moon and the Fremd Chess Team on winning a 3rd place trophy at the Naperville Central Tournament.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

January 20	Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Barrington H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Basketball vs. Conant H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Girls Basketball vs. Conant H.S. - 7:30 p.m. Staff Winter Family Fun Night - Student Cafeteria - 5:15 p.m.
January 21	Scholastic Bowl Tournament - all school, all day Boys Wrestling @ Libertyville H.S. - 9:00 a.m. Girls Gymnastics Invitational @ Fremd H.S. - 11:00 a.m. Girls Bowling Invitational @ Brunswick Zone Mount Prospect - 9:00 a.m. Boys Basketball vs. Bartlett H.S. - 6:00 p.m.
January 24	LATE Start - 8:50 a.m. start Girls Basketball vs. Palatine H.S. - 7:30 p.m.
January 25	Girls Gymastics Conference Meet @ Buffalo Grove H.S. - 6:00 p.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

Name:

Dan Ruettiger

Position:

PE/Health

Head Wrestling Coach

Years at Fremd:

5

Life Before Fremd:

West Leyden High School- Student Advocate

Yorkville High School- PE/ Drivers Ed.  

Hobbies/Interests:

Water Skiing/ Wakeboarding

Hunting

Training

Music

Reading

Insider Tip for Parents:

Let them fail. It’s an inevitable part of life that we all must learn to deal with. So, with that, let them struggle in dealing with that failure as well. Stepping in too soon while they deal with that failure is just as bad as stepping in when you see them start to fail.

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.

The Internship Edition

D211 looking for Internship Hosts

District 211 would like to partner with businesses in the community to help prepare our students for their future careers.   Do you own, manage, or work at a local business that could benefit from a high school intern for the summer?

One way to collaborate is to offer summer internships to our students.  A high school internship is a unique opportunity for a student to gain invaluable knowledge, experience and confidence in future college and career decisions. Each internship is flexible based on the mutually agreed upon conditions between the company and the student.  It can range anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months in length.   

High School Internships can be paid or unpaid — though, if they are unpaid, they’re usually subject to stringent labor guidelines. In the U.S., federal law mandates that unpaid interns must not benefit the company economically or be used to displace the work done by paid employees. The primary purpose of a high school internship is to get experience in a job field.  Internships focus on giving the intern the best training possible to help them in the future, by rotating the responsibilities they have, by shadowing a professional, by integrating them into the work force of the company.  

District 211 appreciates the time and effort it takes to host an intern.  The district has made the process as streamlined as possible.  The host needs to have work for the intern to do as well as skills to teach the intern aside from the basic employability skills.  The host needs to designate a supervisor or mentor, set aside a physical space, and give an orientation of the business to the student.  It can provide leadership opportunities for your employees, while also giving the company a chance to evaluate prospective employees for the future.

Our high school students are mature and computer savvy and can provide valuable insights and a fresh perspective.  The high school internship and career exploration program is such a valuable hands-on learning experience which cannot be replicated in the classroom.   We hope to be able to collaborate with businesses to positively impact our communities by developing creative solutions that will shape the future.

To be an internship host, contact Jan Brottman (jbrottman@d211.org), the Career Advisor at Fremd, or complete the google form:  https://goo.gl/forms/UasgE2ysMv7W9lbu2.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

January 13	Orchesis Show - Auditorium, 7:00 p.m. Boys Swimming & Diving @ HEHS 4:30 p.m. Boys Basketball vs. HEHS - 6:00 p.m. Girls Basketball vs. HEHS - 7:30 p.m. Boys Wrestling Varsity Dual @ HEHS - 6:00 p.m.
January 14	Boys Swimming & Diving @ Hinsdale Central H.S. - 8:30 a.m. Boys Swimming Relays @ Glenbrook South H.S. - 12:00 p.m. Girls Basketball Tournament @ Dekalb H.S.
January 16	Martin Luther King Day - No School Girls Basketball Tournament @ Dekalb H.S. Girls Varsity Triangular @ Fremd H.S. - 1:00 p.m.
January 18	Girls Bowling vs. Conant H.S. @ Arlington Lanes - 4:45 p.m.

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

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.