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Weekly NCA Newsletter! 
December 19, 2019 - Issue 18
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Dear NCA Families,

The Primary School students, families, faculty and staff enjoyed a beautiful evening of singing last week with the Kindergarten – 4th-grade performance of “All Is Calm, All is Bright—An Evening of Christmas Caroling”. Our littlest angels will put on their Pre School Christmas Show this Thursday afternoon at 1:30 in the Primary School Gym. Then on Friday, the Middle School 6th grade students will share their Christmas joy by caroling outside the school from 7:45 – 8:10 am and at 8:30 am the 5th-grade students will share Las Posadas Prayer Service in St. Gertrude’s Church for our entire school. NCA has a lot happening both inside and outside of the classrooms in preparation for the birth of Jesus.
 

As the winter months are upon us we need to prepare not only for Christmas and the New Year but also for the potential of extreme cold and/or snow. I have asked our teachers to include in their December newsletters a reminder about the new E-Learning policy the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools has allowed schools to put into effect this school year. Schools are now able to offer E-Learning Days so as not to disrupt academic progress due to emergency school closures. As a result, we will be able to count these as days of instruction and not as a closed day. The Office of Catholic Schools requires us to have 180 days of instruction, and we would be able to use up to 4 of these E-Learning Days in the case of any emergency school closures. Please be sure to refer to the 2019-2020 NCA Family Handbook on pages 33-35 to review this policy and the expectations of our teachers, students, and parents.

It is also the time of the year for cold and flu season. NCA does have Medication Procedures in place. In our procedures, we discourage the use of any medication being used by students during school hours. However, we know there are times when the health and well being of the student requires medicine to be dispensed. For any type of prescription drug, a Medication Authorization Form is required to be on file in the school office and the medication must be kept in the school office. For any over-the-counter-medication, including cough drops, Tylenol, liquid cough medicine, etc., a letter from the parent is required and the OTC medication must be kept in the office. When the child needs to use the medication, they can go to the office to get the medicine. NCA needs to follow these procedures for the safety of the children. The Medication Procedures can be found on pages 39 and 44-45 in the 2019-2020 NCA Family Handbook in case you have any questions or wish to review them. We truly appreciate your assistance in helping us with these procedures.

May there be Peace, Joy, and Love in your home this Christmas and the New Year be filled with health and happiness for your family.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Christine Huzenis
School News & Reminders

Transitioning to the Middle School: The event has been rescheduled to Tuesday, January 21st at 6:30 pm in Colletti Hall more information will be sent out after Christmas Break. 

Invest in Kids Act Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship (TCS) update for 2020-2021

Key items to note:

  • Empower Illinois SGO application process begins January 15, 2020, Reservations Open at 6:30 PM Click to Submit at 7:00 PM.
  • The Empower Illinois application process will again be a two-step process.
  • The Big Shoulders SGO application date is January 14, 2020, Time 8:00 AM.
  • Please put these dates on your calendar if you plan on applying.
  • NCA plans to have our Middle School Campus computer lab open for applicants to apply and we will have staff present to assist with the application process.
  • If you received TCS funding for 2019-2020, you still must reapply for 2020-2021. The applications remain on a first come first serve basis. NCA families need to have their tax information together before the application dates.
2019 Heart of NCA Nominations: We are now accepting nominations for the 2019 Heart of NCA. Every year during Catholic Schools Week, NCA honors a volunteer who exemplifies what NCA represents and is an unwavering ambassador for our mission. If you have a volunteer you would like to nominate, please complete the attached form and submit it to Christine Huzenis in a sealed envelope or email at chuzenis@ncaweb.org. Nominations are due January 10.

Catholic Schools Week: We're looking for families who will speak at one Mass at each parish on Sunday, Jan 26. You will receive service hours for speaking at the Mass. If you are available, please contact Shakira at smorrissette@ncaweb.org. 

Service Hours: Remember that every family must complete 20 hours of service every year! All volunteer opportunities are posted on SchoolSpeak. Look often as new opportunities are added all the time! There are opportunities now listed that do NOT require VIRTUS training! All Service hours must be recorded in SchoolSpeak. Please see the quick link on the left side of the website. There are postings for Primary School recess volunteers on SchoolSpeak. 

NCA Calendars: We have NCA 2019-2020 Family Calendars for sale at both campuses. They are $15 and showcase all of the artwork that was sold at the Soiree. The calendars make great gifts, and they have all the relevant school dates and run August - August.  Proceeds go to NCA's arts program. Be sure to stop by the main office and purchase one!


Please see order form attached.

Queen of Heart: 13 weeks in and still going strong!!  Join in on the Fun!!  You can buy your tickets in the school offices, The Double Bubble, the Edge of Sweetness or the Sovereign.  The drawing will be at 6:30 on Saturday at the Double Bubble!  This week come and join the Athletic Committee for some Holiday Cheer and Wildcat fun!!  Hope to see you there!!

 
Important Dates:

 December 18: Holiday Open House at Primary School at 6:30 PM

December 19: NCAPO Candy Cane Day
 
December 19: NCA Soiree Out of Uniform Day bring $2.00 or $5.00 and come out of uniform. All proceeds benefit the NCA Soiree.

December 19:  Preschool Christmas Program Primary School Gym @1:30 PM

December 20:  All-School Prayer Service—Los Posadas
St. Gertrude Church @ 8:30 AM- Middle School late start 8:10 at Primary School Gym 
 
December 20: Red & Green Dress Down Day- Christmas Classroom Celebrations- Early Release Day- MS Campus 1:50 - PS Campus 2:10- ECP available at both campuses
 
December 23 - January 3: Christmas Break
 
January 6: School resumes
 
January 7: NCA Soiree Meeting PC Cafeteria 6:00 pm

January 8: Professional Development Early Release: MS Campus 1:50 Dismissal- Primary School Campus 2:10 Dismissal- ECP available at both campuses
 
 
NCA Soirée tickets are now on sale just in time to invite family and friends over the holidays! February 22, 2020 will be a spectacular evening you won't want to miss.
https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/communicate/eventtickets.action?auctionId=341694878
Did you know that when you shop for the holidays at smile.amazon.com AmazonSmile donates to Northside Catholic Academy?

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

So when shopping online this holiday, please be sure to shop AmazonSmile and select Northside Catholic Academy!

 

Our 6th-grade students are learning all about Mesopotamia “the cradle of Civilization”. Last week 6th grade practiced being scribes ( people who could read and write the first written language ever... Cuneiform). They used a stylus and wrote on clay tablets. We heard lots of remarks about how hard it was and how illegible their writing was. It took 12 years for someone to become a scribe. We think they did pretty good for the 50 minutes they had. 

Our 4th and 5th graders cheer on the Loyola Women’s Basketball team with their favorite mascot!
Mrs. Kubistal, Mrs. Elezi, and Mrs. Huzenis were honored to attend the Flatts and Sharpe performance at Martyr’s on Saturday to see some of the NCA students perform. They were blown away and in awe of how talented the bands were. They are so proud of the hard work the students have put in. 
5-8th grade students had a blast at the winter formal this past Friday. They were dancing the night away, playing games for prizes, taking pictures at the photo wall and eating their weight in concessions. Thank you to Ms. Morrissette for allowing us to use her gigantic games, thank you to the NCAPO who donated the gift cards, thank you to Mrs. Holzman for all of her behind the scenes work getting us our supplies and ordering us decorations, and thank you to all of the parent and teacher volunteers who made our night safe and fun!! 
Our weather has been a little unpredictable, but the children have learned to have fun whether we are inside or outside. They are doing a great job at socializing and playing together in Extended Care.

NCA Wildcat Athletics 🐾

If you have any questions about our NCA Wildcat Athletics, please contact either our AD Dave Scholtes (dscholtes@ncaweb.org) or Assistant AD Seamus McGowan (smcgowan@ncaweb.org)
 

Winter Break Basketball Clinic

Looking to sharpen those basketball skills over winter break??? Coach Roti is offering a skills and drills basketball clinic on Dec 30th. More details listed in the flyer posted below.


**** NEW Wildcat Spirit Wear Sale!!!!!

Show your support and get your NCA Wildcat spirit gear today!!! Photos of the Spirit Wear are attached.
 

NCA Basketball Week #4 Update🐾🏀

The 5th-grade boys' Blue team made some plays down the stretch but ultimately couldn’t catch AACA. These Wildcats lost 33-22 to AACA

The 5th-grade boys' White team put up a great fight playing short-handed on the road against FXW Green. They crashed the boards on offense and played sticky defense but in the end, the Wildcats lost 19-14.

The 8th-grade girls A/Blue team took it to St Hilary a second-time last night - beating them 43-18. They are playing like a well-oiled machine! Get out and watch these girls!

The 7th-grade boys' Skyline team had 36-14 win over St. Hilary last week. Everyone scored and it was a great team effort!

The 4th-grade boys had two games over the weekend. They beat Hardy Prep in a close game but lost to ICSJ.

Upcoming NCA Basketball Schedule

Dec 18th

--7th Gr Boys WHITE vs. St. Andrew 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM at St. Gertrude Gym,

--8th Gr Boys Blue vs. St. Andrew 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM at St. Gertrude Gym

--8th Gr Boys White vs. St. Josaphat Blue 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM at St. Gertrude

Dec 20th

--7th Gr Girls WHITE vs. OSM 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM at St Margaret Mary Activity Center,

--7th Gr Girls Blue vs. OSM 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM at St Margaret Mary Activity Center,

--8th Gr Boys White vs. St. Benedict Gold 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM at St Margaret Mary Activity Center

Dec 21st

--8th Gr Boys Blue vs. Francis Xavier Warde 4 PM – 5 PM at DePaul College Prep
Tis the season! Stop by and see Santa as he visits with kids of all ages at Theater on the Lake. Create a new holiday tradition and enjoy free hot chocolate and cookies at The Lakefront Restaurant before heading to Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo, just one block west. No admission and all are welcome!  Mention that you are from NCA and a bottle of wine will be donated from the Theatre on the Lake to the NCA Soiree!!

Change in St. Gertrude Rectory Hours

The Rectory will close at 4:45 pm on Fridays beginning Friday, September 6.

St. Gertrude Religious Ed Teacher Needed
Have you been thinking of a way to give back or make connections at St. Gertrude? Consider becoming a catechist! Catechists teach Religious Education classes, which at St. Gertrude are offered to children in grades 1-8. Classes are taught on 

Sunday mornings from 9:00-10:15 am. Other catechists teach brief lessons of faith based on the Sunday readings in our Kids Word program. This takes place during the 10:30 am Masses in Church and is for children in grades K-4.

The goal of catechists is to share their faith and the lessons of God and Jesus by creating age-appropriate lessons, teach the traditions of the church, and build community with the families of their students. Catechists are usually not professional teachers, just willing parents and parishioners who enjoy kids and want to help them grow in a personal relationship with God, participate in the sacraments, and develop a mature conscience and integrate faith in all areas of their lives.

Candidates must either be Virtus-certified or willing to take training that educates participants on the signs of child sexual abuse, the methods, and means by which offenders commit abuse, how to prevent it, and submit to a background check. 

Interested in Being Catholic?
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process by which adults learn more about the Catholic Church. This free program begins on Sunday, September 8 after the 10:30 am Mass in the Ministry Center and meets until Pentecost.

Many people who begin RCIA are non-Catholics seeking to become Catholic or at least to explore whether Catholicism might be a good home. Those who complete the process and decide to become Catholic are initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. Others who take RCIA are already Catholic but want a deeper understanding of their faith foundation.

The RCIA process does not ask those who have been baptized in another faith to give up their denominational experiences. Rather, the RCIA process seeks to add new colors and designs to their existing faith life tapestry. In addition to attending Mass, the RCIA process includes weekly gatherings of breaking open the Word of God, sharing our stories, and learning about our faith traditions.

For information about the RCIA process at St. Gertrude or to register for the program, contact Kevin Chears at kchears@stgertrudechicago.org or call the Rectory at 773.764.3621.
Volunteer Sign Up Directions
1. Go onto SchoolSpeak.com
2. Click on the Quick Link that says Volunteer
3. There you will see NCA’s volunteer opportunities.  All volunteer opportunities require Virtus Training unless otherwise noted.
4. Click on the sign up you want.  Find a spot to sign up!
5. Remember every Family needs 20 service hours!
Volunteer Requirements
1. Completion of form 7703
2. Completion of Online background screening (eApps database)
3. Completion of CANTS form (DCFS background screening – paper only – must be submitted annually)
4. Submission of a signed Code of Conduct form
5. Completion of the Virtus training (must pre-register online)
 All forms and other information regarding these requirements can be found on the NCA website under Volunteer. Thank you for working with us to ensure the safety of all children!
 
Copyright © 2018 Northside Catholic Academy. All rights reserved.

Primary School Campus: 6216 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago, IL 60660
Phone: 773-743-6277  Fax: 773-743-6174

Middle School Campus: 7318 N. Oakley Ave., Chicago, IL 60645
Phone: 773-271-2008  Fax: 773-764-1095

www.northsidecatholic.org 
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