Dear Friends and Parents,

I hope to see everyone Sunday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel's Fall Fest. The fest will run from noon until 3:00 pm. Activities will take place on the school courtyard.

At this time I need to address an important issue at MCA, namely unscheduled and unannounced parent visits to classrooms. This is a particular problem during morning arrival. The faculty at Mount Carmel Academy work hard to keep communication open and frequent with parents. I ask that parents afford the same courtesy and respect that you give to other professionals.

It is hard to imagine someone walking unannounced into a doctor's office, law firm or business meeting and expecting to conduct important business right then and there. Yet our professional educators are often faced with this situation as they conduct what I consider to be the most important work of all, educating and nurturing your children.

The time from 7:45 am to 8:15 am is an important part of a teacher's day. They are making last minute preparations, conferring with colleagues and greeting students as they enter the classroom. This is not a productive time for a parent-teacher meeting to take place. If you wish to have a meeting with a teacher, please schedule an appointment. If you simply need to drop off a forgotten lunch, an article of clothing or leave a written message for a teacher, please visit the main office. Parents should never proceed to classrooms unannounced.

Thank you in advanced for taking care of this important matter.

Sincerely

Mr. Staszcuk

.

Sincerely,

Shane Staszcuk,
Principal

Choosing a high school for your child is one of the most important educational decisions you will make as a family. In order to help you with this process, MCA has arranged for area Catholic High Schools to have representatives at our school next Tuesday.

I would like to encourage each of you to attend our annual High School Night next Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. The event will take place in the Casey Hall auditorium. Please enter though the Casey Hall entrance at 728 West Belmont. For your convenience the East parking lot will also be available.

The doors open at 7:00 pm and all Middle School students and their parents are welcome to attend. Please note that students will not be allowed to attend on their own and must be accompanied by an adult. Each High School has a display, materials, and a representative present to answer any questions you may have.

I hope that all of you will send your children to a Catholic High School.

Sincerely,

Mr. Staszcuk,
Principal

Family Mass has been a long tradition of Mount Carmel Academy and Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, beginning over a decade ago when some MCA parents and parishioners recognized how good it is for us to come together for prayer and community . Once a month during the school year, each class takes a turn hosting the 9:30a.m. Sunday Mass at the church and reception following in the MCA cafeteria. Please help the families listed below by offering to donate breakfast treats or your time. We look forward to seeing you at the first school sponsored family Mass of the 2007-2008 school year on September 30, 2007! See you at Mass.

FAMILY MASS SCHEDULE 2007-2008
9/30/07 Third Grade - Brenda and John Miklaszewski
10/21/07 Fourth Grade - Susan Gredell
11/18/07 Sixth Grade - Matt and Maria Ambre
12/2/07 Pre-K and Kindergarten - Stacie Michaels
1/13/08 Seventh Grade - John and Brenda Miklaszewski
2/3/08 Second Grade - Ed and Andrea Villasenor
3/2/08 Fifth Grade - Lisa Hebert
4/6/08 First Grade - Flo Albarracin and Kate Mulligan
MAY Eighth Grade - STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP ORGANIZE THIS!

Please call Brenda Miklaszewski at 773-477-2043

Our annual Innisbrook fundraiser continues until September 24. Every family is encouraged to participate. Don't forget that 50% of your sales count toward your Mandatory Fundraising Obligation. The online ordering system makes it easy for out of town friends and relatives to help MCA. In order to use the online ordering system, you must first register your family and assign each student a seller number. This ensures that your child receives proper credit for online sales. The "register sellers" link on the www.innisbrook.com home page is the place to start. Our school number when ordering 111012.

Thank You!

Click here to shop

With limited practice time and only 3 games under their belts, the 5th and 6th grade girls' volleyball season is off to a terrific start! Last Wednesday the game was so close, the parents were holding their breath! The MCA score came up 2 points shy but the girls were amazing and showed promise in so many areas.

Won't you come out on Monday night, September 24 and cheer them on to victory? The game is being played at 7:15p.m. at: St. Gertrude's, 1420 W. Granville (Ashland to Clark, Clark to Granville, turn right, approximately 3 blocks). The gym is on the right hand side of the street across from the church. Opponent TBA.

A big thanks goes to Coach Peterson for a fine job coaching the team!

Click here for the schedule

Market Day®

Dear Parents and Staff Members:

Our school community is participating in a fundraising food program called Market Day. Market Day, the original fundraising food co-op, has been in operation since 1975 and has grown to include thousands of schools just like ours.

Each month, as a participating Market Day school, restaurant-quality food products, from the same vendors that supply many upscale restaurants, will be available for purchase. Market Day products are competitively priced and our organization will earn profit on your purchases.

Our goal this year is to earn $4500.00. We can earn this money without our students going door-to-door, without purchasing products we wouldn't ordinarily purchase, and with the knowledge that all products are of exceptional quality and covered by a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!

The order sheet will be coming home once a month with your student. Please take a few minutes to review it and place an order. We are confident that this fundraising program will not only benefit our school and the programs we support, but will also benefit you as the consumer.

You can find out more about Market Day and even place your order online at www.marketday.com. Register your e-mail address to receive reminders to order and special offers for online customers. Our Market Day account # is 8255.

Please give Market Day a try! We look forward to seeing you at our Market Day sale on October 6, 2007 at 10: 30am

THANKS!
Michelle Hueser
Market Day Chairperson
Phone 773.213.4313

Private music instruction and music performance is a valuable skill to develop for children. Skills learned through the discipline of music transfer to many facets of life including discipline, communication skills, and cognitive skills.

Beginning band is customized to focus on the specific learning needs of children grades 4-8.

Band is focused on:

Fundamentals of Music, Proper Musical Technique, Focused warm-up, Reading skills and Performance

Mr. Franklin, who is also our PK3 Teaching Assistant, has a masters degree from The Chicago College of Performing Arts in music performance and is currently a student of Laurie Frink.

For more information about joining Mr. Franklin's extra-curricular band program or to schedule a private music lesson, please contact him at franklin@mountcarmelacademy.org

Click here for the Band 2007 sign up form

Click here for lunch menu and order forms

If you are interested in assisting the Faculty member of your child's grade with projects, dances, field trips, events, room parties and networking with other parents in the grade, please consider becoming a room parent. I would like to get these positions in place ASAP. I will also need room parents for Music/Gym/Art/Tech, so if that interests you, let me know;Please address any queries or forward contact information to me at: amgawrit@aol.com or 773-267-5881.

Thanks in advance.
Andrea Gawrit
Room Parent Coordinator

Chess is a great way for kids to increase their brainpower while socializing with their peers. The class is open to students in grades Kindergarten to 8th. Classes start Friday, September 21.

Click here for Chess Wizards

MCA's middle school flag football team launched the season with a HUGE win over St. Clement (12-0) a couple of weeks ago. They have shown outstanding effort so far this year with their opponents. Coach Van Cleaf is very excited about the team and is hopeful to make the playoffs again this year. Games are played at Arrigo Park, 801 S. Loomis Street, Chicago IL 60607. (See link for a map) It sounds far but it is a mere 20 minutes from MCA's parking lot!

Come out and join the Wildcat pride. Wear your maroon and gold and help cheer this year's team to victory. Coach Van Cleaf has offered autographs from the players to all preschoolers who come out with their family and show their school spirit. Just tell your parents to write him a note and he'll make sure to get you the autograph!

Click here for the schedule

Welcome to "Dancing with Class" - Fall 2007. This year, Mount Carmel Academy has been invited to take part in the Dance-Off Event at the Chicago Cultural Center! Come join your classmates in a 10 week dance instruction program brought to you by "May I Have This Dance," in which you'll be learning the Merengue, Swing, Waltz, Tango, and Salsa to prepare for the Dance-Off! Dance classes will meet on Thursdays after school in Casey Hall 2:45-3:45 starting next week, Sept. 20. Our instructor will be Coleen MacDonald, who has been teaching Ballroom Dance at Mount Carmel for the last few years. The class size will be limited to 30 students, 15 boys and 15 girls, so sign up quickly - it will be first-come- first-serve. The cost for the 10-week session will be $50/student, checks payable to Mount Carmel Academy.

Click here for the sign up form

Drama Club will meet Tuesdays after school, starting October 2nd. This club is available to 4-8th grade. We will learn about theatre and participate in theatre games & rehearse a performance. Flyers can be found outside the main office & other questions can be directed to Ms.Nikki Lint at nikkilint@gmail.com.

A VERY SPECIAL OFFERING! YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS GREAT OPPORTUNIy JUST IN TIME FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS!
Professional Photographer, Bozena Budzynska (mom of 6th grader Filip and alumni, Helenka!) has for the third year in a row, offered to photograph your family! This year, she is offering 3 options! Two include Christmas CARDS!
Bozena will be setting up her portable studio in Casey Hall on Saturday, October 13 and 20. Please call for an appointment 312 664-2271 and visit www.bbphotographs.com to see "some" of Bozena's work.
The standard sitting fee charge of $100 is being lowered to $25.00 for this MCA exclusive session. Bozena will donate 100% of the sitting fee towards the Christmas bonuses for MCA Teachers!