January 2019

Hello NCA Families.
 

January is a busy month as we get resettled from the Christmas break and return to learning. All of our teachers have a lot of curriculum to cover, so please assist us to support your child in both their academics and with NCA school and classroom expectations.

In the middle of all the academics, next week we take time to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. This is a time when schools across the country enjoy what it means to be part of a faith-filled community. Through events planned at the school level, we can focus on the values and spirit that Catholic education provides to our students. There is a listing of all the planned NCA Catholic School’s Week events in this week’s newsletter. I would like to thank our team of NCA teachers who serve on the Catholic Identity Leadership Team. They planned and worked along with Ms. Shakira Morrissette, faculty & staff, and administration to put together the Catholic Schools Week events.

In addition to celebrating Catholic Schools Week next week, I would also like to invite our parents to an assembly we are hosting on the topic of bullying. Together with the support of the NCA Parent Organization, we are hosting an assembly called The Power of One. This performance will take place next Thursday, January 31, at the St. Margaret Mary Gym at the Middle School Campus. We have two assemblies scheduled—9:00 am for grades 4 -6 and 10:00 am for grades 7 & 8. The performances are geared for elementary age students and will have skits presented by actors who portray what bullying is, what can be done about it, and how each child has the power of one to report and deal with bullying when they see it. I hope parents are able to join us for this assembly.

The topic of bullying and showing kindness and respect are current issues that I know needs to be addressed in our school community. I am presently working with the NCA School Board, other area Catholic principals, and Fr. Wachdorf to help me provide resources to our students, parents, faculty, and administration in order to meet these needs. I will keep our families posted as we move forward in ascertaining these resources. My hope is to provide workshops for parents, additional professional development for faculty & administration, and learning opportunities through assemblies and speakers for our students.

Earlier this school year we held Coffee with the Principal at both the Primary School and Middle School to discuss new ideas, possible improvements, and what families like about NCA. Please see the attached link for a review of some of the feedback administration received. We will schedule additional “Coffees” in the spring and we can revisit some of the comments offered by our families and hear new ideas and feedback.

As we prepare to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, I want to take this opportunity to thank our families who make the commitment and sacrifice to send their children to NCA. We take the responsibility of teaching, nurturing, and instilling our faith values with your child to heart.

With Blessings,

Christine Huzenis

Principal
 

School News & Reminders

Tax Letters: 2018 Tax letters are coming home today in the Wednesday Envelope!! 

The Power of One: Parents are invited to an assembly scheduled for our 4th - 8th graders on Thursday, January 31, at the St. Margaret Mary Gym. The assembly is called The Power of One and is a series of skits presented by actors who will portray what bullying is, what can be done about it, and how every child has the power to report and deal with bullying when they see it. This is a performance that is geared for elementary age school children. We will have two performances on Thursday, January 31, with the first performance at 9:00 am for 4th - 6th grade and a second performance at 10:00 am for 7th & 8th grade.  I hope parents will be able to join us as NCA addresses an approach to prevent bullying and provide our students with the tools they need to help deal with it.
 
Lunch Changes: Starting in March FSP will require all lunch orders to be completed online. Details regarding this change will be coming home soon. The FSP online ordering details will be in the Wednesday's Envelopes in your child's backpack.

NCA 2019-20 Registration is now open: 📢 🎉WHOOP WHOOP!!!! Register anytime before Jan 31 and receive the EARLY BIRD $200 DISCOUNT PRICE!🎉

Important Change to Guardian Angel Scholarship Application (GASF): For the 2019-2020 academic year, NCA has moved to a new independent review company.  We are moving from Smart Aid to FACTS Grant and Aid Assessment.  FACTS maintains a larger client base and possesses greater reporting information which will allow the NCA Scholarship Review Team to better access family’s needs and make scholarship awards which meet the needs of the families and NCA. If you believe your family will require financial assistance the FACTS online application will be the assessment company we use for next year.

Looking to Volunteer: Here are the step by step directions to complete your Virtus training. Please see attachment and make sure you follow step by step and complete the entire process at one time. It will ensure all documents are logged correctly. If there are any questions please contact Jen Reyes at 773-271-2008 or jreyes@ncaschools.com. Remember all families must complete 20 hours of service. Please check School Speak for Volunteer opportunities.

Need Service hours??? Looking for volunteers to sell Queen of Hearts raffle tickets after Catholic Schools Week Masses. Sign up on SchoolSpeak today! There are lots of new opportunities that have been posted on SchoolSpeak under Volunteer.  Please help where you can!

Need for Recess Volunteers: NCA is looking for parents to volunteer and earns service hours to assist our teachers in supervising outdoor and indoor recess for Grades 1 - 4. We have these volunteer times listed on SchoolSpeak. This does require parents to be Virtus trained. I am hopeful we can find parents who are open to assisting us. Thank you.

Wildcat Summer Camp: Plans are underway for the 2019 Wildcat Summer Camp. Details coming home soon! We look forward to another exciting year of camp!

🎟️Queen of Hearts Raffle 50/50: The pot is over $20,900!!!!  Need we say more!!  Tickets are sold daily at the Double Bubble at 6036 N. Broadway up until 6:00 pm on the night of the drawing and at the Edge of Sweetness till 4:00 pm on the day of the drawing.  Drawings are every Saturday at 6:30 at the Double Bubble.   See you there!!  Will you find the Queen??

Jan 27: Primary & Middle School Open House

Jan 27-Feb 2: Catholic Schools Week: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.

Jan 27-Celebrating Parishes:  Attend mass at your parish and receive a prayer card created by our students.  Then head over to NCA for our Catholic Schools Week Open House. Visit the classrooms, talk with teachers, and see all the learning that happens at both our Primary School and Middle School.

Jan 28-Celebrating Community:  Be sure to visit the following area Starbucks to receive a "friendly" cozie on your hot drink that was designed by our NCA students. NCA wants to share our desire to make our community be happy, feel peace, and share a smile. Share a picture of your cozie at #NCACares.
(List the addresses of the Starbucks.)

Jan 29-Celebrating Vocations: Our pastors will be attending an Archdiocese-wide meeting on this day. However, we have invited them to join us on February 12.

Jan 30-Celebrating Families: Watch your child's folder for a special note that will be coming home.

Jan 31-Celebrating Students: Students will come to school dressed in their favorite color. The Primary School students will participate in relay games and 4th grade knockout in the afternoon while our Middle School students will work with their fellow classmates to play Team Trivia.

Feb 1-Celebrating NCA Spirit: Students should come to school dressed in their NCA spirit wear and/or gym uniform.  We will begin the day with an All-School Mass at 8:30 in St. Gertrude's Church.  In the afternoon the Primary School will work in teams to play Brain Bowl in the gym.  The Middle School students will participate in a volleyball tournament with the winning team playing against the faculty. 

Feb 2-Celebrating Families: We will have announcements in SchoolSpeak, advocating families spending time together in work, play, worship, and service.
 

The National Geographic Bee was last week at NCA Middle School. There were 18 contestants, and It was conducted by John Wirtz our 7th & 8th grade Social Studies teacher and Gloriane Kubistal our 5th & 6th grade Social Studies teacher.

The questions were tough, but our students handled them very well. Xavier Gonzalez, our 6th-grade student, was runner up and Kobe Nguyen our 8th-grade student was not only the winner this year but also won two years ago. Kobe Nguyen will go on to represent NCA in the regional competition. We are so proud of all of our smart, and oh so sharp students! We wish Kobe the best of luck at regionals! We know he's going to do a fantastic job representing NCA! 💙⛪️💙📚

Our second-grade students were warming up with hot coco while having reading time today! What a great way to kick-off a three day weekend! Nice and cozy while learning with friends! ☕️💙☕️💙

Spring Sports Registration is NOW OPEN on SchoolSpeak – Girls Lacrosse, Boys Volleyball, Boys Lacrosse, Bitty Basketball, Bitty Volleyball

Girls Lacrosse (Grades 5-8)

NCA plans to field three teams (one team for grade 5, one team for grade 6, and one team for grades 7/8). Based on registration numbers, we may combine 5^th and 6^th grade into one team.

$100 registration fee, includes uniform. The fee also includes the use of a school-owned stick, goggles, and carrying bag. Players are responsible for their own mouth guard and cleats (optional; tennis shoes are fine too). Registration deadline is Fri, Feb 8. Late registrations incur a $50 fee and are at the coach’s discretion (if rosters are complete and submitted to the league, your child may not be permitted to register late). All students must be registered via SchoolSpeak. Uniforms are ordered and based on SchoolSpeak registrations.

We never want any child to not join a team because of the cost. If you need a reduction in fees, please contact our Business Manager at 773-743-6277, however, even if you receive a reduction in fees, you still need to register your student on SchoolSpeak to ensure they will be issued a uniform.

Lacrosse coaches: if you have any children playing girls’ lacrosse, you do not need to pay their registration fee. We appreciate all the time you commit to coaching our student-athletes!

The season runs mid-April to end-May. It is a short season, only five or six Sundays of games and finished before Memorial Day Weekend. Practices begin after basketball season ends (mid-March). March practices will be indoors in one of our gyms. Outdoor practices for  7^th/8^th grade will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Rogers Park near the middle school. Practices for 5^th and 6^th grade are TBD based on coach availability (looking for interested coaches; no experience necessary; we can train you and there are coaching clinics available). 

Boys Volleyball (Grades 5-8)

NCA plans to field one team for each grade, however, if there are not enough for a grade level team, we will contemplate combining grades to form a team. If there is more than one team per grade, teams are split at the coach’s discretion. Our 5^th graders will likely be playing against one or two 5^th grade teams and mostly 6^thgrade teams; this is a great introduction for our 5^th graders and gives them a leg up the following year.

$100 registration fee, includes a uniform (shirt and shorts). Players are responsible for their own knee pads (highly recommended). Registration deadline is Fri, Feb 8. Late registrations incur a $50 fee and are at the coach’s discretion (if rosters are complete and submitted to the league, your child may not be permitted to register late). All students must be registered via SchoolSpeak. Uniforms are ordered and based on SchoolSpeak registrations.

We never want any child to not join a team because of the cost. If you need a reduction in fees, please contact our Business Manager at 773-743-6277, however, even if you receive a reduction in fees, you still need to register your student on SchoolSpeak to ensure they will be issued a uniform.

Volleyball coaches: if you have any children playing boys’ volleyball, you do not need to pay their registration fee. We appreciate all the time you commit to coaching our student-athletes!

The season runs mid to late-March to end-May. Playoffs follow the regular season. Practices begin after basketball season ends (mid-March). One to two practices per week at one of our home gyms. Games can be any night of the week M-F, 5:15-8: 00 pm. Typically one game per week, sometimes two. All games are played at Queen of Angels. Queen of Angels is located at 4520 N. Western Ave. (Western and Montrose). Parking is available in the lot one block north of the gym or on the street.

Boys Lacrosse (Grades 7-8, maybe 6^th grade depending on registration numbers; we need at least 15 boys to field a team)

NCA plans to field one team of 7^th and 8^th graders combined (maybe 6^th depending on registration numbers).

$125 registration fee, includes a uniform (shirt and shorts). Additionally, each boy will be required to purchase their own equipment including a helmet, shoulder pads, arm pads, gloves, cleats, a stick, and mouth guard. Equipment costs will average $250 with the biggest cost being the helmet and stick. There are often sales at Dick’s, and Play It Again Sports on Ashland Ave. is also a good option. 

Registration deadline is Fri, Feb 8. Late registrations incur a $50 fee and are at the coach’s discretion (if rosters are complete and submitted to the league, your child may not be permitted to register late). All students must be registered via SchoolSpeak. Uniforms will be ordered and based on SchoolSpeak registrations.

We never want any child to not join a team because of the cost. If you need a reduction in fees, please contact Leigh Holzman at 773-743-6277, however, even if you receive a reduction in fees, you still need to register your student on SchoolSpeak to ensure they will be issued a uniform.

Lacrosse coaches: if you have any children playing boys’ lacrosse, you do not need to pay their registration fee. Still, sign them up on SchoolSpeak so they will be issued a uniform. We appreciate all the time you commit to coaching our student-athletes!

The season runs mid-April to early-June. Practices begin after basketball season ends (mid-March). March practices will be indoors in one of our gyms. Outdoor practices will be held twice a week at Rogers Park near the middle school. Games will be held on the weekends at various suburban fields.

Bitty Volleyball (Co-ed, grades 2-4)
Bitty Volleyball registration for girls and boys in grades 2-4 is now open. This is the perfect opportunity to start building volleyball skills before your child starts playing on an NCA team in 4^th/5^th grade. Bitty volleyball is an introduction to volleyball fundamentals. We need all boys and girls interested to sign up and register on or before Monday, April 1. Register on SchoolSpeak under the Athletic Section (scroll down to the bottom of the SchoolSpeak homepage). Our spring session will be 4 weeks and is scheduled as follows. Registration is $40 per child.

Bitty Volleyball will take place in our primary campus gym on the following Fridays:

Fri, April 5

Fri, April 12

Fri, April 26

Fri, May 3

6:15-7: 15 pm in the primary campus gym for all 2^nd – 4^th graders.

Bitty and Junior Basketball (Co-ed, grades K-3)
Bitty and Junior Basketball registration for girls and boys in grades K-3 is now open. This is the perfect opportunity to start building basketball skills before your child starts playing on an NCA team in fourth grade! Bitty Basketball is an introduction to basketball fundamentals while Junior Basketball takes it to the next level and readies the players for NCA team competition. We need all boys and girls interested to sign up and register on or before Monday, April 22. Register on SchoolSpeak under the Athletic Section (scroll down to the bottom of the SchoolSpeak homepage). Our spring session will be 4 weeks and is scheduled as follows. Registration is $40 per child.

Bitty Basketball and Junior Basketball will take place in our primary campus gym on the following Saturdays:

Sat, April 27

Sat, May 4

Sat, May 18

Sat, June 1

2^nd - 3^rd grade (Junior Basketball) will be held from 8:30 am – 9:45 am.

K - 1^st grade (Bitty Basketball) will be held from 9:45 am – 11:00 am.

NCA Boys and Girls Basketball
All NCA games are posted on our website at www.northsidecatholic.org (click on Athletics and Athletics Calendar). A packed gym is a fun gym. Come on out and cheer on our NCA Wildcats! You can also view games (by the team) on the CCYL league website at

https://chicagocatholicyouthleague.teamsnapsites.com/basketball-schedule/# (click on Basketball and Schedules).

And please remember, all families are required to staff our gyms on your team’s assigned days. Your team parent will invite you to sign up to help out. The only exception is our coaches families who are not required to staff the gym because of the enormous amount of time they already dedicate to our kids. Thank you for your help!

8th Grade Basketball Pack the Gym Night: 
Pack the Gym is this Thurs, Jan 24 at St. Margaret Mary. Help our 8^th graders raise money for their 8th-grade class trip. Concessions will be available for purchase. Schedule for the night:  

🏀5:00 pm 8th-grade girls vs. Pope John

🏀6:00 pm 8th-grade boys B team vs. OLMCA

🏀7:00 pm Rose ceremony for both 8th-grade boys team (last home game); 8th-grade girls rose ceremony will be held Feb 5 during their final home game

🏀7:15 pm 8th-grade boys A team vs. IC-St. Joe White

🏀8:15 pm 7-grade girls A team vs. Sacred Heart Red

Loyola University Ramblers Basketball – NCA Day with the Loyola U Women’s Team

Thanks to all the NCA families who cheered on the Loyola University Women’s Basketball Team at the Gentile Arena Sun, Jan 20^th.  It was the Loyola U National Girls and Women in Sports game as well as Youth Basketball Day! Our NCA girls got to take part in a free basketball clinic before the game, and our 5^th and 6^thgrade girls got to play a scrimmage game during halftime. After the game, the LU Ramblers signed posters for the girls. It was an awesome day in the LU Gentile Arena!

Basketball Program at Winnemac Park

The Chicago Park District is hosting a winter basketball program for all 8-10-year-olds at Winnemac Park. Thursdays, 6:00-7: 00 pm, Jan 20-Mar 14. Cost is $37. Please see attachment for details and registration information. 

NCA Spiritwear

Our Spiritwear site formerly known as My Locker is now known as Spiritshop.com. Same company, different name. Click on the link below to access NCA spirit wear items. You can design your own t-shirts, hoodies, hats, shorts, etc. with our NCA logos which are available on the site. Order your spirit wear today and come out to the fields and courts to cheer on your favorite Wildcats! https://www.spiritshop.com/school/illinois/chicago/northside-catholic-academy

Wildcat Photos Needed
Calling all parents! Please forward any athletic pictures from our fall sports programs to Shakira Morrissette at smorrissette@ncaweb.orgfor inclusion in our weekly newsletter and on our website.

Community News

St. Ignatius Parish Annual St. Pat’s Party: Sat, March 2^nd, 1300 West Loyola Avenue in the St. Ignatius Gym. Doors open at 6:00 pm. Dinner is served at 6:30 pm. Featuring live music, the World Champion Trinity Irish Dancers, the Shannon Rovers, corned beef dinner, and drinks. Adults $25 ($30 at the door), Seniors $15, Children 12 and under $10. Tickets available at St. Ignatius Rectory (773-764-5936) and after Sunday Masses at St. Ignatius Parish. Come join us for an evening of fun and great entertainment!

Loyola University Ramblers: Please click links below for info and schedules for the LU Mens and Womens Basketball Teams. Come cheer on the Loyola Ramblers with Sr. Jean at the Gentile Arena, and don’t forget to wear your scarves!

https://loyolaramblers.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=159

https://loyolaramblers.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=158