Dear Friends and Parents,

Welcome back to MCA! I want to thank everyone for helping to make the first week of the 07-08 school year a successful one. I enjoy the that I have gotten to know so many of the students and families over the last two years, and look forward to getting to know the many new students and parents just as well. It is going to be a great year.

My family and I enjoyed a wonderful summer. In July, I spent a week in Monterey, California attending the Summer Institute on Educational Leadership sponsored by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. I look forward to incorporating some of the new ideas I learned from fellow Principals from across the nation.

On behalf of the entire MCA staff I want to thank the Parent Association and all the families that contributed to the end-of-the-year staff bonus checks. Your generosity is truly appreciated!

The summer was a busy time at MCA with numerous school tours, registration and all the things that happen behind the scenes to make sure that school is ready for day one. I hope you notice how clean our school looks. We continue to improve the physical plant of Mount Carmel Academy. This summer we focused on painting with every classroom and the cafeteria receiving a fresh coat of paint.

Lastly, the office staff and administration worked hard over the summer to revamp our registration materials and procedures. I welcome your comments and suggestions regarding our new registration procedures. As always, our staff is always seeking continual improvements to make Mount Carmel Academy even better.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call me at 773-525-8779.

Sincerely,

Shane Staszcuk,
Principal

I am pleased to announce that MCA has arranged for vision screening for our students on Wednesday, September 5. Dr. Andrea Johnson-Grote and the staff of Perle Vision, located at 3136 N. Lincoln, will administer the screenings. Dr. Andrea Johnson- Grote is a local optometrist who graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1998 specializing in pediatric eye examinations.

Please note that this is only a screening and it does not replace the need for a complete vision examination. If your child currently wears glasses/ contact lenses they will not be screened.

If for some reason you do not want your child to be screened, please send a note indicating such to the school office no later than September 5, 8:30 am.

A big "MCA Thank You" to parent Heidi Kulsavage for helping us to provide this valuable service to our students.

Once again MCA will be participating in the Lakeview East Fine Arts Festival on September 8^th and September 9^th. We need student volunteers to help in the children's arts and crafts area where we will offer temporary tattoos for kids. We also need parent volunteers to help supervise the children and pass out postcards advertising our 2007-08 Open House dates.

Anyone able to volunteer please contact Tatiana Demirdjian at 312-587-9758 or t.demirdjian@gmail.com

Thank You!

MCA faculty old and new enjoyed a night of socializing

MCA has been approached by a representative of the Girl Scouts of Chicago about forming an after- school Girl Scouts program at Mount Carmel Academy. If there are any parents interested in serving in a leadership role please contact the school office. We are interested in exploring hosting Girl Scouts at MCA if we are able to find parent leaders and if there is an interest among our students.

MCA students and administration are all "smiles" as the first day of school was a big success!

Beginning Sunday, September 10th, the celebration of the Children's Liturgy of the Word will resume at the 9:30AM Mass and continue weekly. If you are new to the parish or have never experienced CLW at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, we invite children ages Kindergarten through fourth grade to participate.

The purpose of CLW is to give young children of preadolescent age the opportunity to hear the Sunday scriptures from the Children's Lectionary (approved for use by the American Bishop's in 1993). Trained catechists escort the children out of Mass before the first reading and rejoin the congregation during the Preparation of Gifts. During this time, children gather in Eden Chapel (the daily Mass chapel behind the Sacred Heart Shrine) to listen to the readings of the day, participate in a dialogue explaining the readings, recite the Creed and participate in their own General Intercession, praying for the needs that the children find pertinent in their lives.

This is intended for children. While we do understand the anxiety of some parents letting children go on their own, it is expected that the adults remain in church to participate in the Liturgy of the Word with the rest of the congregation. If children are not ready to be separated from parents, maybe waiting until children are a little older to participate might be the best solution.

The children take home an activity sheet to reinforce the day's readings or seasonal themes. A new parent newsletter published by Loyola Press will also be sent home with the children monthly, a perfect way to bring the Mass and its message home for discussion throughout the week.

CLW is becoming a staple in parishes with a large population of young families with elementary age school children. We are blessed at OLMC to have dedicated men and women who give of their time and talents as catechists to this ministry which is so vital to the families of OLMC

Stephen Palanca
Director of Liturgy
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish