Dear Friends and Parents,

Winter is here and I would like to take a moment to review our inclement weather policy. We set our "indoor recess" temperature at 15 degrees, either actual or wind chill. If the temperature is 15 degrees or above, students will usually go outside for recess. There are certain exceptions to this policy such as ice on the playground. Please make sure to dress your children for cold weather.

Starting in January, students in grades 3-8 will have the option of ordering items off of the staff menu for lunch. Choices include salads, pasta and sandwiches. Please note that you can order off both menus. For example, you could order from the regular menu some days and the staff menu others. January lunch order forms must be turned in by December 10th.

Your child may have mentioned that the courtyard playground was closed Thursday and Friday. In fact our younger students were very excited to see a real crane on their playground. MCA has recently been obtaining bids for some future tuck pointing and masonry repairs. It was decided that the chimney on the north end of our main building would be repaired first. The repairs should be completed in another week or so.

I would like to announce that MCA has scheduled Hearing Screenings for our students in PK3 through 3rd grade. The screenings, which fulfill the State of Illinois Health Requirements, will take place at MCA on Friday, December 7th. Please look for further details via backpack express.

I would like to thank Carrie Weaver and Kate Mulligan for helping out with our November Hot Dog Day.

Sincerely,

Shane Staszcuk,
Principal

Please join me in congratulating the following Middle School Students who received exceptional grades during the First Quarter.

8th Grade

Abigail Grohmann -First Honors & Principals List
Blake Ohren-First Honors & Principals List
Aram Demirdjian-First Honors & Principals List
Michael Ehlert-First Honors & Principals List
Irina Mondescu-First Honors & Principals List

Francis Dela Pena-Second Honors & Principals List
Guada Carter-Second Honors & Principals List
Tyra Jenkins-Second Honors & Principals List

Maria Carter-Principals List
Brandon Giles-Principals List
Connor Heckler-Principals List
Jessica Cheatham-Principals List

7th Grade

Ellen Herr-First Honors & Principals List
Madlen Karnatz-First Honors & Principals List
Amelia Kassa-First Honors & Principals List
Stephanie Miklaszewski-First Honors & Principals List
Natasha Gawrit-Second Honors & Principals List
Cecily Shives-Second Honors & Principals List

6th Grade

Molly Runser-First Honors & Principals List

Sarah Brown-Second Honors & Principals List

Jose Rivera-Principals List

PK -2nd grades and volunteers enjoyed their Thanksgiving Feast on November 20th.

The next PA meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 4th at 8:30 am. The Parents Association has decided to do something different this year. On Tuesday, December 4th, from 7:30 am-8:15 am, we are having a Parents Thank You Tailgate in the school parking lot. We just want to say thank you for responding to all of our requests to assist in volunteering and raising money for our school. So please join us for a warm cup of coffee and some donuts! We then encourage you to slip right in the school and join us for our last PA meeting of the 2007. See how convenient that is? If it is raining that morning and the weather precludes us from having the Tailgate, we will reschedule for another morning. It would be great if any of you are morning people and would like to help with set up at 7:30.

"Tis the season" for some MCA Merry-Making! Come to Parent's Night Out dinner at our very own MCA parent owned (the Casillas family ) Que Rico restaurant on Southport on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 6:30 p.m! There is still time to turn in your forms. So come and join us for a fun night out during the Christmas Season!

Yearbook Ads... we are still accepting ads for the yearbook. The cost of each ad is $25.00. Forms are available at the front desk. The final deadline has been extended to Friday, December 5. Spaces are limited. Questions? please call Jackie at 312 371-7071.

The early history of Irish dance reveals a constant shifting of population through migration and invasions. Each of these peoples brought their preferred types of dance and music. During the eighteenth century, the dancing master appeared in Ireland. He was a wandering dancing teacher who traveled from village to village teaching dance to peasants. Group dances were developed by the masters to hold the interest of their less gifted pupils and to give them the chance to enjoy dancing. The standard of these dances was very high. Solo dancers were held in high esteem and often doors were taken off hinges and placed on the ground for the soloists to dance on. Today, Irish dance is centuries old and continues to have many of the traditions the dancing master started. Solo and team competitions are held all over the world for various age levels.

Alumni Katie Wilhelms knows first hand about competition. Last weekend, and for the 2nd year in a row, Katie's solo dance placed in the top 10 (8th) of all Irish Dancers in the Midwest Oireachtas (In North America, Oireachtasai are qualifying events for the World Irish Dance Championship competition). This is a huge accolade given the fact that she competed against nearly a hundred students. Congratulations to Katie! If you have information about any MCA alumni, please share it with us! You can write to HomeLink in care of bernabe@mo untcarmelacademy.org

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. See you at Mass.

FAMILY MASS SCHEDULE 2007-2008
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 - Jacque Simon

Mount Carmel High School will host Open Houses for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade boys and their families

Thursday, December 6th 6pm-8pm.

Fenwick High School will host a 7th and 8th grade Open House for families from 1-3 pm(doors will open at 12:30) on December 9th. Families will meet in the auditorium for a brief introduction followed by various academic presentations and a building tour.
Interested families can visit www.fenwickfriars.com