Friday the 13th Edition

Spring Sports Award

The Fremd Viking Booster Club is proud of all our student-athletes and want to remind you of the upcoming Spring Sports Awards Night, Wednesday May 25th at 7pm in the main gym. As with every Sports Awards, the Booster Club is organizing the cookie/snack drive.  Please consider signing up to bring in cookies for a post event snack.  You can drop them off at the tables in the main hallway on your way into the ceremony.  

With over 700 student-athletes this spring, we will need well over 100 dozen cookies to have enough for the kids and their families.  

Please sign up for Spring Sports Awards Cookie Signup!

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:

1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on VolunteerSpot: http://vols.pt/xVQtrX
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on VolunteerSpot)
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - VolunteerSpot will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy!

Note: VolunteerSpot does not share your email address with anyone.

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Tim Hamman and the Boys Gymnastics Team on taking 3rd place at the MSL Conference Meet.  Award winners include:  Eric Barnd: 2nd All Around, 2nd High Bar and Ryan Roth: 1st Floor Exercise.
• Congratulations to Coach Tim Hamman and the Boys Gymnastics Team on being the IHSA Sectional Champions.  Award winners include:  Cole Patton: 1st Place Floor Exercise; Chase Jauch: 4th Place Floor Exercise, 1st Place Parallel Bars, 3rd place High Bar, 2nd All Around; Eric Barnd: 1st Place Pommel Horse, 2nd Place Vault , 3rd All Around; Ryan Roth 2nd Place Floor Exercise, 4th Place High Bar and Daniel Classon: 4th Place Pommel Horse.
• Congratulations to Coach Chris Grattoni and the Fremd High School Math Team for earning eleventh place at the ICTM State Competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Saturday, May 7th. The Freshman Algebra 1 Team earned 5th place (Hannah Chen, Kristina Chen, Suchet Kumar, Kevin Li, Anthony Mu, and Flora Zheng). Suchet Kumar earned 9th place for his individual performance on the Algebra 1 written competition. The Sophomore Geometry Team earned 10th place (Kevin Chen, Gretchen Coleman, Kashif Javid, Ed Li, Advay Mahajan, and Adhith Palla). Freshman/Sophomore 8-Person Team earned 4th place (Hannah Chen, Kevin Li, Anthony Mu, Flora Zheng, Rose Dinh, Kashif Javid, Ed Li, and Elizabeth Perez). Kristina Chen and Kevin Li earned 8th place on Frosh/Soph 2-Person Team. Kevin Chen and Adam Quinn earned 8th place on the Oralist Competition.
• Congratulations to sophomore Edward Li for earning an honors distinction by placing in the top 150 students nationwide on the  U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.
• Congratulations to seniors Daniel Classon and James Feng on being named as Semifinalists in the US Presidential Scholars Program.
• Congratulations to senior Jiamin Huang on being named to the 2015-16 Northwest Suburban Daily Herald Academic Team.
• Congratulations to Coach Matt Duncan and the Fremd Boy’s Tennis Team on taking 1st place in the Crystal Lake Central Tournament.  Awards include:  1st doubles champions Jame’s Feng and Justin Piotrowski and 3rd doubles champions Jaya Ruthala and Kei Matsuoka.
• Congratulations to this week’s Viking Pride Winners:  Caitlin Adolphsen, Sam Arnson, Kristina Chen, Ryan Farrahar, Emily Keith, Erick Leyva, Travis Ligon, Jack Rosenwinkel, Omran Samadi and Alex Vega.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

May 13	Boys Gymnastics State @ Hinsdale Central H.S. Boys Tennis Conference @ Prospect H.S.- 3:30 p.m. Boys Baseball vs. Buffalo Grove H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Badminton State @ Eastern Illinois University Girls Sectional Water Polo @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Boys Sectional Water Polo @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Boys Track & Field Conference @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 4:45 p.m. Girls Softball vs. Palatine H.S. - 4:45 p.m. Girls LaCrosse @ Stevenson - 6:15 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. New Trier H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
May 14	Boys Gymnasticas State @ Hinsdale Central H.S. Boys Tennis Conference @ Prospect H.S. - 8:00 a.m. Boys  Volleyball Invitational @ FHS - 9:00 a.m. Boys Baseball DH vs. Mundelein H.S. - 10:00 a.m. Girls/Boys Water Polo Sectional @ FHS - 11:00 a.m.
May 16	Girls Softball vs. Barrington H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ Prospect H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Lacrosse vs. Jacobs H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
May 17	Girls Softball vs. Conant H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Volleyball MSL Crossover @ FHS - 6:00 p.m. Girls Soccer Regional @ Carmel H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
May 18	Boys Baseball @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Girls Softball Crossover @ FHS - 5:00 p.m. Boys Volleyball MSL Championship @ FHS - 7:00 p.m.
May 19	Girls Track & Field State @ Eastern Illinois University - 12:30 p.m. Girls Softball Championship @ FHS - 5:00 p.m. Boys Lacrosse @ Cary Grove H.S. - 6:00 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.

Last Call for Graduation Signs

LAST DAY TO ORDER GRADUATION SIGNS IS FRIDAY, MAY 6th!

Signs come with a lawn stake and are suitable for outdoor display to celebrate graduating seniors.  Order now for only $15. Signs can be picked up starting May 13th at the Spirit Shop.

Visit www.events.org/graduationsigns to order your today!

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Brian Newby and the  Boys Water Polo Team on  winning the MSL Conference Championship!
• Congratulations to Coach Ray Roth and the Girls Water Polo Team on winning the MSL Conference Championship!
• Congratulations to Coach Bob Hanson and the Girls Badminton Team on winning the IHSA Sectional!
• Congratulations to the following medalists at the State Journalism Tournament:  Emma Davies - 4th place Broadcast News and Emma Milojkovic - 6th place Yearbook Copy Writing.
• Congratulations to this week’s Viking Pride winners:  Yunju Cho, Gina Choi, Rebecca Davis, Shion Fujimori, Margaret Griffin, Sydney Hill, Ava Jennings, Gabrielle Lytle, Dayana Mena Perez, Arinze Okammor, Rebecca Ratajczyk, Rebecca Rutkowski, Esther Shim.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

May 6	Girls Track & Field Conference @ Buffalo Grove H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ Elk Grove H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Softball vs. Schaumburg H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Track & Field @ Lockport Township H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Girls Soccer vs. Barrington H.S. - 6:30 p.m.
May 7	Prom - The Renaissance - 6:00 p.m. Boys Tennis @ Crystal Lake Central H.S. - 8:00 a.m. Girls Water Polo Triangular @ FHS - 9:00 a.m. Boys Water Polo Triangular @ FHS - 9:00 a.m. Boys Baseball DH vs. Warren Township - 9:00 a.m. Boys Lacrosse vs. Glenbrook South H.S. - 1:00 p.m. Boys Gymnastics Sectional @ FHS - 2:00 p.m.
May 9	Girls Softball @ Hoffman Estates H.S. -4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ Barrington H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Lacrosse @ Huntley H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
May 10	Boys Baseball vs. Stevenson H.S. - 4;30 p.m. Girls Soccer Crossover @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Girls Softball @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Lacrosse @ Nequa Valley H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Boys Volleyball @ Barrington H.S. - 6:00 p.m.
May 11	Girls Water Polo Sectional @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Girls Softball vs. Conant H.S. - 4;30 p.m. Boys Water Polo SEctional @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball vs. Barrington H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Girls Soccer MSL Championship @ FHS - 7:00 p.m.
May 12	Boys Tennis Conference @ Prospect H.S. - 3:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo Sectional @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Girls Water Polo Sectional @ FHS - 4:30 p.m. Girls Track & Field Sectional @ Buffalo Grove H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Volleyball vs. Schaumburg H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Girls Lacrosse vs. Warren H.S. - 7:00 p.m.

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

Staff Spotlight

Grattoni's Math Team is competing at State on Saturday

Name: Christopher Grattoni

Position: Math Teacher, Head Math Team Coach, and Math Test Prep Sponsor

Years at Fremd: Teaching - 9, Student - 4

Life Before Fremd: I graduated from Fremd High School in 2001, so it would be more accurate to talk about “life between Fremd” rather than “life before Fremd.” I went to Northwestern University for my undergraduate degree (class of 2005), where I double-majored in Mathematics and English Literature. During my time at Northwestern, I worked as a computer lab tech, a librarian’s assistant in the Northwestern math library, and a Blackboard support specialist for Northwestern’s Academic Technologies department. After undergrad, I earned a master’s degree in Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science in 2006 from Oxford University and a master’s degree in secondary education from Northwestern University in 2007.

Hobbies/Interests: I enjoy doing recreational mathematics and programming. I love learning about new technologies and finding new or interesting ways to apply mathematics. Every year, I look forward to final projects in Multivariable Calculus because I am always so impressed by the creative and mathematical ability of my students. Here are some published projects from some of my former students: http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/search.html?query=fremd.

I also enjoy gardening, cooking, going on bike rides, hiking, reading, and watching reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Insider Tip for Parents: Fremd has a lot of free ACT/SAT prep opportunities for students! We have after-school prep classes, as well as a half-period ACT/SAT math prep course the runs during lunch periods.

Ask the Principal

Q: What are the rules for parking lot pick-ups? When (if ever) can we use the bus lane?

A: When we reconfigured the parking lot last year, we considered a drop-off lane, but when we weighed that against the possibility of losing roughly 30 parking spots in order to accomplish this we knew we had to strike a balance. (Those of you who have tried to obtain a parking pass understand the importance of every square inch out there!) Consequently, student drop-off hasn’t changed substantially over the years. Here are the “best practices” I can suggest:

• The bus lane is for buses only--at all times of the day. I know it looks convenient, but it also brings increased traffic to our front door where the majority of students enter/exit the building. While you can predict the bus arrival times (6:45-7:30) and departure times (2:45, 4:00 and 5:25) there are often field trips and school events that require buses to use the lane at unpredictable times.
• Pull into an open parking spot and wait for communication from your student before you drive to the main through lane in front of the school.
• No open parking spots? Consider waiting away from the building in the far corner of the lot. There is less traffic out there. Pull up to the front when you receive communication from your student.
• The school remains the safest way for your student to get to/from school. More bus riders also means less traffic in the lot to overwhelm novice drivers.

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 Shark Tank Edition

Shark Tank Comes to District 211!

Student teams from Palatine, Fremd, Conant, Schaumburg, and Hoffman Estates will present their business ideas to community “sharks” for seed money to start real businesses!

Students enrolled in B397 Business Incubator have worked all year to develop a viable business idea. They have worked not only with their classroom teacher, but have had unprecedented support from community content-experts and mentors. The best teams from each school are selected to compete at the District Pitch Night for real funding.

Please join us on Monday, May 23 at 6:00 pm in the Conant High School auditorium! All students, parents, and community members are welcome! Please contact Patti Ertl at pertl@d211.org if you have any questions.

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Jeremy Herriges and the Girls Track Team on taking 2nd place at Glenbrook South invite.
• Congratulations to Coach Jim Aikens and the Boys Track Team on winning the Travis ABC Track Meet Invitational at Hersey High School.
• Congratulations to Coach Tim Hamman and the Boys Gymnastics Team on taking 3rd place at the  Hawk Invite.  Eric Barnd placed 2nd All Around, 2nd Pommel Horse, 2nd Vault, and 2nd High Bar.
• Congratulations to  April English Student of the Month Kellie Halloran.
• Congratulations to the following Viking Pride recipients this week:  Maxwell Chan, Joaquin Grace, Jr., Jesus Librado Nava, Liam MacGillivray, Amulya Malapaka, Imelda navarro, and Rebekah Seidman.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

April 29	Boys Tennis Invitational @ Hersey H.S. - 3:00 p.m. Girls Softball @ Elk Grove H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball vs. Hersey H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Track & Field Invite @ Prospect H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Soccer @ Naperville N. H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Girls Badminton Varsity Conference @ Fremd H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Boys Gymnastics Conference @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Boys Lacrosse @ Barrington H.S. - 7:30 p.m.
April 30	Boys Tennis Invitational @ Hersey H.S. - 8:00 a.m. Boys & Girls Track & Field Relays @ Palatine H.S. - 8:30 a.m. Girls Badminton Conference @ Fremd - 8:30 a.m. Boys Tennis @ Crystal lake S. H.S. - 8:30 a.m. Boys Baseball DH @ Cary Grove H.S. - 10:00 a.m. Girls Soccer @ Naperville N. H.S.- 11:00 a.m.
May 2	Girls Water Polo Crossover - TBA Girls Softball vs. Hersey H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball vs. Palatine H.S. - 4:45 p.m. Boys Volleyball vs. Stevenson H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Boys Water Polo MSL Crossover @ Fremd - 6:00 p.m. Girls Lacrosse vs. Carmel H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
May 3	Boys Tennis @ Palatine H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Volleyball vs. Conant H.S. - 6:00 p.m.
May 4	Girls Softball @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ Palatine H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Soccer @ Wheeling H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Lacrosse @ Highland Park - 5:00 p.m. Girls Lacrosse @ St. Viator - 5:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo MSL Championship @ Buffato Grove H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
May 5	Girls Badminton Sectional @ Fremd - 4:00 p.m. Boys Tennis vs. Hoffman Estates H.S. - 4:30 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.

Q: What is a reasonable amount of time for a teacher to input grades? Get back to me by email?

A: Unfortunately, I have addressed these questions in prior issues of the blog. Keeping track of your student's academic progress should be a seamless process, without barriers. Our general rule is to respond to every email/voicemail within 24-48 hours (preferably 24). We tell teachers to make sure that multiple stakeholders--students, parents, counselors, administrators--have current information about student progress. "Current" is a subjective term, but it should be a rare incident where homework is not returned and/or grades are not communicated within a couple weeks. (Big papers and projects are exceptions to this rule.)

If you have emailed a staff member who does not reply, please notify the staff member's department chair, especially if it seems to be a trend with a particular teacher. In regard to grades, I'd encourage you to reach out to the teacher to express your desire to receive more frequent updates about your student's grades. Again, the department chair is a crucial link in this process.

The Lean Edition

Highlights and Successes:

• Congratulations to Coach Nick Mamula and the Varsity Boys Lacrosse Team on beating Stevenson in OT 7-6.

• Congratulations to Coach Jim Weaver and the Girls Softball Team on sweeping South Elgin in a DH.  13-0 in game 1.  10-0 in game 2.  Jess Mazur and Hannah Ban combined for a No Hitter in game 2.
• Congratulations to Coach Tim Hamman and the Boys Gymnastics Team on their 3rd place finish at the Conant Invite:  Award winners include:  Ryan Roth: 3rd Place Floor Exercise; Eric Barnd: 2nd Place Pommel Horse; Eric Barnd: 1st Place High Bar; Ryan Roth: 2nd Place High Bar; and Eric Barnd: 2nd Place All-Around.
• Congratulations to Coach Ray Roth and the Girls Water Polo Team on placing 2nd at the Mundelein tournament.  Overall the team  went 2 wins 1 loss.
• Congratulations to Coach Jim Aikens and the Boys Track Team on beating Palatine in the dual track meet for the City title. Fremd won 82-64
• Congratulations to Coach Brian Newby and the Boy’s Water Polo Team on winning the Waubonsie Valley Tournament.
• Congratulations to this week’s Viking Pride winners:  Charles Hoy, Jr., Rin Kawahara, Nikita Knudson, Jacob Leczycki, Stephanie Naumowicz, Larry Ni, Brock Rubin, Carly Sanofsky, Sarah Stapleton, and Amanda Truver.
• Congratulations to the Fremd Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Winds for the performances at the “Chicagoland Invitational Concert Band Festival” on Saturday.  All three bands performed very well and had outstanding clinics with three collegiate band directors.  Congratulations to the Wind Ensemble (directed by Jeremy Figlewicz) for being awarded three straight “Division 1/Superior” ratings from the collegiate adjudicators in the 2nd Tier Division.
• Congratlations to the following Fremd students who won awards at this year’s Harper writing contest.:  Drama:  Julia-Jacks   First Place - Title: “Asylum"; Second Place - Hannah Horton - Title: “Silent"; Essay:  Second place: - Julia Azzarello,  Title: “Graffiti: Art or Menace”; Honorable Mention:  Zoe Che, Title: “Color Me Surprised”;  Honorable Mention:  Alexandra Jusi, Title: “The Fighter”; Fiction:   Naman Agarwal, Honorable mention: Title: “Pulp Nonfiction"; Honorable Mention: Kashif Javid, Title: “Strength"; Honorable Mention: Annie Zheng, Title: “Crow-Heart, Ghost Girl" and Poetry: Honorable Mention: Zoe Che, Title: “Why My Ex Writes Poetry and Not Me: A Slam Poem about How I Hate Slam Poetry”
• A note of appreciation to the Boys Baseball Team for volunteering at the Spring Games Area 18 Special Olympics at Prospect high school this past weekend. The team has been involved in this event for the past 12 years.

Upcoming Home Activities and Varsity Events

April 22	Boys Track & Field @ Hersey H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball @ Rolling Meadows H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Track & Field  @ Glenbrook South H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Volleyball @ Palatine H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Boys Gymnastics @ Hoffman Estates H.S. - 6:30 p.m.
April 23	Prom Ticket Sales - 8:00 a.m.-Seniors,  9:30 a.m. - Juniors                                   Boys Tennis @ Downers Grove South H.S. - 8:00 a.m. Girls Badminton @ East Aurora H.S. - 8:00 a.m. Girls Water Polo @ St. Charles H.S. - 8:30 a.m. Girls Softball @ Libertyville H.S. - 10:00 a.m. Boys Volleyball @ Palatine H.S. - 10:00 a.m. Boys Baseball DH vs. Glenbrook North - 10:30 a.m. Boys Lacrosse @ Schaumburg H.S. - 10:20 a.m. Girls Lacrosse vs. Libertyville H.S. - 12:00 p.m. Girls Soccer @ New Trier H.S. - 12:00 p.m.
April 25	Girls Softball @ Palatine H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Baseball vs. Conant H.S. - 4:45 p.m. Boys Water Polo vs. Hoffman Estates H.S. - 5:00 p.m. Girls Water Polo @ Hoffman Estates H.S. - 5:30 p.m. Girls Lacrosse vs. Warren H.S. - 7:30 p.m.
April 26	Academic Teams Reception - Cafe, 7:00 p.m. Boys Track & Field @ Elk Grove H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Tennis vs. Barrington H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Track & Field @ Barrington H.S. - 4:45 p.m. Boys Volleyball @ Hoffman Estates H.S. - 6:00 p.m.
April 27	Boys Baseball @ Conant H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Girls Softball @ Barrington H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Tennis @ Wheaton-Warrenville South H.S. - 4:30 p.m. Boys Water Polo @ Mundelein H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Girls Water Polo vs. Mundelein H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Girls Lacrosse @ Lake Zurich H.S. - 7:00 p.m.
April 28	Boys Tennis vs. Conant H.S. - 4:45 p.m. Boys Volleyball @ Palatine H.S. - 6:00 p.m. Girls Water Polo vs. Naperville Central H.S. - 6:30 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.