📢Have you heard about NCA's Family Referral Incentive Program!?!

For every family that you refer, that registers with NCA, you receive $250 off of your child's tuition or 10 service hours. If you choose the tuition discount, $250 will be taken off your May tuition payment. In order to qualify for the incentive, the new family needs to register and stay enrolled for the entire NCA school year.

So please spread the word, invite a family to our Open House on April 10 from 9 AM-11 AM. We also conduct private tours Monday through Friday from 8 AM-3 PM.

Northside Catholic Academy is a great place to be, and we want to make sure everyone knows! Tell a friend and share the good news! All are welcomed to join our NCA community of love and learning!

School News & Reminders

Stations of the Cross:
Primary School Stations of the Cross (Grades 3 - 4), Friday, March 29 at 2:00, St. Gertrude's Church

Primary School Stations of the Cross (Grades 1 - 2), Friday, April 5 at 2:00, St. Gertrude's Church

Primary School Lenten Prayer Service (Grades K - 4), Thursday, April 18 at 8:30. St. Gertrude's Church

Middle School Stations of the Cross (Grades 5 - 8), Friday, March 29 and April 5 at 2:00, St. Margaret Mary's Church

Middle School Living Stations of the Cross presented by 7th Grade (Grades 5 - 8), Friday, April 12 at 2:00, St. Margaret Mary's Church

*Families are invited to attend any of the above services.
 

Aspire Testing: Aspire Testing Begins Monday, April 1 - 4; Make-up tests Monday, April 8 - 11 (Grades 3 - 8 only)

Oh, The Places We Will Go-Wildcat Summer Camp 2019: June 17-August 2nd-  Reduced Early Registration Fee, $50 (by May 1)  $100 (after May 1) Weekly Rates-Same as last year!!  $225 per week (4+ weeks) $260 per week (less than 4 weeks)   Discounted Sibling Rate-Same as last year!!  $160 per week (4+ weeks)  $200 per week (less than 4 weeks)  Registration closes June 1. ECP available AM and PM.  REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Please see attachment for more details.


NCA Bus Registration: Registration is open!! Register for 2019-20 Before/After School Bus Service by April 12, 2019.  Cost remains the same. Spaces are limited so register right away.

Service Hours:  NCA will be invoicing families for unserved hours in a few months.  Every family must complete 20 hours of service, or you will be charged $25 for every unserved hour.  Please make sure you enter your completed hours on the Quick Link on School Speak.  There are quite a few volunteer opportunities on SchoolSpeak now.  Many that do not require VIRTUS training!  Volunteer today.  

Speak Up’s 7-Week Course: How Do We Talk With Our Children About Race? Children are internalizing implicit messages about race every day. Research shows that children adopt society’s harmful racial biases even when their parents and teachers don’t share those biases. Talking with children explicitly about race and racism is the only thing that has been proven to interrupt problematic comprehensive racial learning experiences. In our 7-week workshop series, participants reflect on their own experiences, explore the research on race and children, deepen their analysis of systemic racism, role play meaningful responses to challenging situations, and learn about developmentally appropriate resources for teaching and raising anti-racist children. 

Each session is typically run by two facilitators with a strong professional background in development, education, and anti-racism. Usually, we pair one white facilitator and one person of color facilitator. Facilitators include Megan Brand, MS Ed, NBCT, Michele Herro, M Ed, Brit Holmberg, MSW, LCSW, Marion Malcome, MSW, LCSW, Rahul Sharma, Psy. D., and Christina Woods, M Ed.  

Sundays, 3:30-6:00, beginning 2/24, at Peirce Elementary

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSPbV4icXXalO-axsp8OW9Qb_iMwkrs8duiPpDYOD3H1THww/viewform

For more info, please email antibiaseducator@gmail.com or NCA parent Amy VanStee at amystrass@gmail.com 

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 the 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 our FACTS online application will be available as of February 1, 2019.  We estimate that you will receive notice of your tax credit scholarship in the coming weeks.  The attached link will get you to the site to start your application, https://online.factsmgt.com/signin/42B45   The online version allows all documents to be electronically uploaded directly into your application. Please see attachment for more details.  
The deadline for consideration of the Guardian Angel Fund is May 1, 2019

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.

🎟️Queen of Hearts Raffle 50/50: $44,600!!!  Come out and join us for the Queen of Hearts Raffle!!  The drawings are at 6:30 pm at the Double Bubble on Broadway.  You can buy tickets at the Double Bubble, Edge of Sweetness right next door and the school offices.  Tickets are 6 for $5.00. We could all use over $22,000!  Play and YOU may find the Queen!! 


Simple Super: All NCA families are encouraged to attend a "Simple Supper" with St. Gert's parishioners this Wednesday, March 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in the Social Hall. This is a Lenten tradition at St. Gert's where the community comes together for reflection and to share a simple meal of homemade soup and bread. The food will be provided this Wednesday by the Commonweal Community of St. Gertrude.  Kids are also welcome and there will be PB &J sandwiches for them.  We hope to see many NCA families there this Wednesday!

March 29: NCA Family Dance in St. Gertrude Gym from 6 PM- 8 PM

March 30: NCA’s Annual Knockout Tournament and Team Photos

April 3: Professional Development Early Release:

Greetings NCA Community!

Your Parish School, Northside Catholic Academy, is kicking off its School Board Membership identification process for the 2019/2020 school year. The Board of Specified Jurisdiction is looking for candidates from our broad community which includes Parishioners, alumni/ae and parents of alumni/ae, leaders within the community (including business, education and other leaders), and parents.

One common myth is that you need to be a parent of a student to be on the school board. That is not the case and in fact, the Board needs a number of “independent” school board members to operate effectively.

While the board needs many different perspectives, we are especially in need of the following areas of insight:

* Facilities management

* Architecture and Construction

* Higher education

* Marketing and Admissions

Please consider if you or someone you know could bring a valuable perspective to our school board and reach out to Brian Pavona (brian.james.pavona@gmail.com) & Sarah Millar (sbm618@gmail.com) if you would like more information.
 

Thank you for your support!

💙Mark your calendars and be sure to dine out at Candlelite Chicago Sunday, Aprill 7, 2019!

🍽️A percentage of the proceeds go to NCA! So join us for a delicious meal for a good cause!

 Congratulations to our 8th-grade boys for winning their Championship Bracket game and bringing home a banner! This is a win for the entire 8th-grade class who have supported each other throughout the years by attending each other’s games, cheering each other on, making banners/signs, and being great all-around cheerleaders for each other. The 8th-grade boys have won their championship game in the championship bracket four years in a row (5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8th-grade years). As a team, they have only lost three games in five years (two in the 4th-grade playoffs and one loss in 7^th grade). It has been quite a ride!

We wish our 8^th graders well as they get ready to move on to their high school years, and we thank you all for being such good role models and always showing your Wildcat Spirit. This would not have been possible without the incredible commitment and coaching of Eric Ottoson and John Wrenn. You two have been the best coaches for our boys, and we sincerely thank you! Thank you also to the parents, families, and staff who have supported our boys throughout the years.

Congratulations to all our NCA Basketball Teams! It has been such a fun season in the gyms, and we loved seeing you all play!!

 
Save-the-Date for NCA’s Annual Knockout Tournament and Team Photos

Sat, Mar 30 2:00 pm in St. Gerts gym. Times for team photos have been provided by all the coaches and a hardcopy will come home with your child(ren) this week notifying you of your team photo times. NCA’s 4^thAnnual Knockout Tournament immediately following pictures in St. Gert’s Gym. Register now on SchoolSpeak. Registration is $10 per entrant in advance or $15 at the door.

Bitty Basketball and Bitty Volleyball Registrations are Open until April

Bitty Volleyball (Co-ed, grades 2-4)
Bitty Volleyball registration for girls and boys in grades 2-4 is 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 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 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 

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

 
10th Annual Loyola Academy Basketball Spring Jamboree: The Loyola Academy Boys Basketball Program has completed another successful season, winning our 3rd straight Regional Championship and advancing to the IHSA Sweet 16. We are excited to announce an opportunity to get in the gym this Spring with our staff and work on your game. This is the 10th year we are offering Our Basketball Jamboree and hope that you can attend. Sunday, April 14th is the date from 9-11:30 AM. Our staff and former players will be on hand to work with your son on his fundamentals for an extended period of time. Please see the attached registration info and you can email me to hold a spot. Finalize your registration by sending in the registration form and payment.

Please see attachment for more details.

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