Dear Friends and Parents,

Welcome 2008! I hope that each of you and your families enjoyed a relaxing, fun-filled Christmas vacation. It was clear that our students and staff were eager to return to school. Everyone returned refreshed and excited to learn. Sixty degree temperatures in January certainly made it a little easier.

December was a very busy month at MCA! Enjoy the photos of just a few of the many special events. One of my favorite moments was the beautiful and moving Christmas Eve 4:30 pm Mass at OLMC. All of the children in the choir sang wonderfully and their participation in the liturgy made Christmas all the more memorable. Special thanks to Steve Palanca, Monika Johnson and Paul French for all their hard work in preparing the students of MCA!

Two of our most popular after-school enrichment programs begin sessions this week. "May I Have This Dance" Ballroom Dance program begins their next 10-week session this Thursday. This class is open to students in grades 3-8. Limited spots are available. Chess Wizards also returns this Friday. Registration forms can be downloaded from the QuickLinks section.

Sincerely,

Shane Staszcuk,
Principal

Happy New Year MCA Families,

I just wanted to send a quick note to thank everyone who came out for the PA Tailgate a few weeks back. It was cold, but we had a great time. I would also like to say that our first parent's night out at Que Rico was a great success! Look for another parent's night out in early 2008.

As we say goodbye to 2007 and hello to 2008, remember that there are simple ways to give back to our school by doing things we do everyday. If you have a Target Red or Target Visa card, you can register your card and 1% will go to Mount Carmel Academy. It's simple, just go to http://Target.com/coe and designate MCA by putting in school code 5820. If you shop at Target as much as I do, together we could build a new wing on the school!

Also, don't forget to collect those milk caps when you enter your local Starbucks and remember we get 5 cents per cap! And, the sleeper fundraiser of them all is the box tops for education. For every box top you turn in, the school receives 10 cents! I mean, think about the possibilities! You could start your morning off this holiday season by grabbing a Starbucks egg nog latte, go to Target and buy your kids Post cereal, Kleenex and Zip Lock bags (all of which have box tops on them) and then pay for it with your Target card! Exciting, isn't it?

In all seriousness, thank you for all you do for our school and I hope you all have a healthy and happy New Year!

Lisa

MCA's after school Drama Club was a smashing success! Students enjoyed innovative games designed to bring out their creative talents. They developed their own skits and acted them out, AND put on the production "A Better Mousetrap". Under the direction of veteran stage person Ms. Nikki Lint and Mrs. Blake, the players included Natasha Gawrit (mouse), JoJo Brown (man), Sarah Brown (metal bar), Amy Soria (metal bar), Mary Pat Bannon (woman), Jordan Weaver (catch), Grant Hougo (catch), Matthew Gomez (corner) and Anya Jhaveri (corner), who really did build a mousetrap! Everyone had fun and Ms. Lint and Mrs. Blake enjoyed getting to see another side of the students personalities!

The 4/5th grade girls bball team WON a hard fought game against FXW at St Andrews. The final score was 14 to 8. The girls played very well in a great team victory! What a fitting end to 2007.

You know those colorful order forms that come home every month and have steak, cookies, lobster, and all sorts of other goodies on them? Well that is an ongoing fundraiser that MCA participates in and allows our school families and parishioners to order food that perhaps you would otherwise be buying at Costco. It's simple, you choose the items you want, and either send the form back to school or order online, designating MCA as your institution, and then come pick up your items in the school cafeteria on a designated Saturday. Last month we raised over $400 from Market Day! So, please continue to support this worthwhile and yummy fundraiser.

Market Day Help

Michelle Hueser has graciously chaired the Market Day committee and she will be unable to continue in this role next year. We are looking for someone to chair this wonderful committee. If we do not get anyone to volunteer by the end of the year, we may have to discontinue this MCA tradition. If interested, please email Lisa Hebert at lpecothe@depaul.edu The new chair would need to be trained by Michelle this year and it would help if they attend one Market Day to learn the process.

January Market Day does not have anyone to help out for the sale. If any volunteers can help out, that would be great! Please contact Michelle Hueser @312-706-3251.

A big "Thank You" goes to Mrs. Johnson for a job well done!

"Our Very Own" Music Teacher Monika Johnson is a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest and she needs our vote!

Please help to make Monika's recipe "America's Favorite Recipe" by going on-line and voting for her "Orange Marmalade-Chorizo Pizza" in the Pizza Creations Catagory. With all of our votes, she may just win it! Please pass this on to anyone you think may take the time to vote! Thanks everyone! Click here to place your vote- http://bakeoff.com

Coach Villasenor led the 4th grade boys basketball team to victory in their first game. The boys played St. Edwards, whose team had three times as many players as the Mount Carmel team.

5th graders worked on Ecosystems in Science. Living things need energy and here are some samples of Food Webs created by Amanda Reed and Johnny Tucci in Kidspiration. Every student in Mrs. Peterson's class picked a consumer or producer to add to hanger "food web" mobiles. Check them out in the classroom!

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