Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Coach E. Wins 2013 Golden Apple Award
Curt Ehrenstrom, who teaches AP Physics, Honors Physics and coaches the football and water polo teams at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, was surprised May 1, in his classroom by CBS2’s Rob Johnson. Ehrenstrom was presented with a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching in front of 30 students. Ehrenstrom is also a graduate of Mount Carmel and has been on the faculty for 29 years.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Wherever the big moments are, Ty Patterson isn’t. He isn’t avoiding them, he’s just busy setting them up. That’s the name of the game for the Mount Carmel lacrosse team's selfless senior. With six assists to one goal this season, the 6-foot, 170-pound midfielder/attacker has made a living prepping his teammates for the limelight. “I like being what coach (David Ho) calls the play behind the play,” Patterson said. “It’s definitely the role I was made for. I may not be the fastest guy, or the strongest guy, but I know I can see the field in a way that others can’t.And I like knowing that I can set up scores and put my teammates in position to make big plays.”
Monday, April 29, 2013
Mount Carmel remembers Mike Fitzgerald, Mr. Fight NightThrough the cacophony of cheers and punches on Saturday, April 27th, Mount Carmel Fight Night's Mike Davis expected to hear a familiar voice — that of Mike Fitzgerald. Known as "Mr. Fight Night," Fitzgerald trained boxers for the school's "Fight Night" since 1978. The event is a fundraiser run by the Mount Carmel Fathers' Club. Fitzgerald died in February. "It won't be the same without Fitz, but somehow we know he will be there," said Davis, who trained the boxers for the big event. "Fitz was 'Mr. Fight Night" and to call him anything but that would not be right. "He trained and taught you a lot, including me. It is immeasurable what he did for Mount Carmel and the kids in Fight Night. He loved Mount Carmel and we love Fitz."
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Smith keeps priorities in order"For as long as I've been covering high school football, no one asks for his players to keep their priorities in order more than Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti. Maybe the Hall of Fame coach, in his small piece of the world, is trying to make sure players know what's important." Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune by clicking the link above.
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Coach E. Named Golden Apple Finalist
Mount Carmel High School instructor Mr. Curt Ehrenstrom was recently named a finalist for the 2013 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mr. Ehrenstrom, also known as Coach E., is one of 32 finalists selected from a pool of 510 nominations and 215 applicants representing high school teachers throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. He is the only finalist from a Catholic school in Chicago.
Continue Article Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Mike Flaherty Coaches in All-American GameCoach Mike Flaherty was the West team coach at the 36th annual McDonald's All-American Games at the United Center last Sunday. "I am truly honored to coach these great young men and the chance to coach in the United Center," Flaherty said. "Being a Chicago guy, this is great and to coach that type of talent is really kind of cool."
Continue Article Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Caravan Raises More than $188,000 for St. Baldrick's Foundation Mount Carmel High School students had a lot to celebrate at their St. Baldrick’s assembly last month when more than 60 students, staff, and friends of the Caravan shaved their heads as a symbol of solidarity with pediatric cancer patients. In the process, they raised more than $188,000.00 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation which supports pediatric cancer research.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Local high school baseball players choose Mount Carmel over travel teamHigh school sports remain about playing for the name on the front of the jersey. Those who fail to subscribe to that theory transfer schools. Travel ball, for the most part, remains about the name on the back of the jersey. “The four of us talked about it together at the end of the summer,” Thomas said of his sit-down with Carpenter, Stowers and Munoz. “We decided we like going to Mount Carmel and playing baseball. Mount Carmel has been a good experience for me. The baseball, academics and coaches. I like everything.”
MC Mock Trial Team Makes Their Case at the State TournamentMount Carmel High School congratulates the 2012-13 Mock Trial team on a strong showing at the state mock trial tournament. Special recognition at the 2013 Illinois High School Mock Trial Tournament was given to three Mount Carmel students. Junior Alberto Covarrubias, of Calumet City, took home an award for "Best Attorney." Junior Korey Gallas, of Crown Point, Indiana, won an award for "Best Witness." Perhaps the most impressive Mount Carmel victory of the day was junior Michael Reid's "Best Witness" award. Reid, of Dolton, only had one day to prepare for his role in the tournament.
Daniel Sunjata: A character who can't be typecastDaniel Sunjata attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and was a linebacker for the Caravan football team, which took two state championships during his tenure. A television and film actor, Sunjata is perhaps best known to audiences for his role as Franco Rivera in the FX series "Rescue Me," in which he co-starred with Denis O'Leary, and for his role as Nurse Eli on "Grey's Anatomy." The actor has had supporting film roles in "Noel," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," "The Dark Knight Rises" and others.
Monday, March 11, 2013
The CARAVAN: Six Caravan Alumni Now FIghting for the IlliniComing from 119 zip codes and 2 states, Mount Carmel possesses a diverse student body, including many talented athletes. It’s no surprise that many of those student athletes remain in-state for college, and enroll at the University of Illinois. In fact, six Caravan alums are now competing as Fighting Illini. The six athletes who are carrying the brown and white to Champaign-Urbana are BJ Futrell ’09 (wrestling), Tracy Abrams ’11 (basketball), Glenn Foster ’09 and Vontrell Williams ’12 (football), and Kevin Johnson ’09 and John Kravetz ’11 (baseball).
Stories from The CARAVAN are written by members of Mount Carmel's journalism class. This story is written by senior Pablo Iglesias. Click on the link above to access the full story and explore more student work at mccaravan.org. Thursday, March 07, 2013
Sunday, March 03, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Mount Carmel beats South Shore in Regional OpenerChristian Searles' 20 points helped lead the Mount Carmel basketball team to a 61-41 win over South Shore Monday in a quarterfinal of the Class 4A Mount Carmel Regional. The Caravan (11-16) will play top-ranked Simeon at 6 p.m. Tuesday in one semifinal. Malik Garrett had nine points and four steals, while Devante Charles had six rebounds. David Nichols scored 10 points with three assists.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Monday, February 04, 2013
Faculty Highlights: Week of 1/28Supported by our access to the technology and the numerous examples of his colleagues, Dara Behzadi asked his Junior Theology students to create 22 second videos (22 seconds to make sure students attend to the directions), that visually illustrate the Beatitudes. Dara had all students view each other’s work and used those videos as a quiz to check for mastery of these nine key guidelines for a moral life from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Friday, February 01, 2013
Monday, November 26, 2012
MC Wins 11th State TitleBig plays were huge in bringing Mount Carmel an 11th state football championship Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. The Caravan’s 28-14 victory over Glenbard North in the Class 8A championship game was built on a quartet of long-yardage plays, two by Draco Smith and two by Justin Sanchez. The Big Four critical to the outcome: a 78-yard touchdown run by Smith; a 63-yard interception return by Justin Sanchez that set up Mount Carmel’s third touchdown; Smith’s 25-yard scoring dance down the right sideline in the fourth quarter; and Sanchez’s 15-yard pick-off that stopped the Panthers’ last good chance to score inside the Caravan 20. Read the full story in the Northwest Indiana Times by clicking the link above.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Mount Carmel's offense rolls in second halfMount Carmel’s offense wasn’t exactly stalled in the first half on Saturday against Lyons Township, but it wasn’t humming, either. The Caravan’s one touchdown drive was a 12-play march that garnered 30 yards in the air and 50, including Draco Smith’s 7-yard scoring dash off right tackle, on the ground. Otherwise, the Caravan gained only 44 yards, the last eight of which set up Ivan Strmic’s 47-yard field goal. There was a similarity to how the offense sputtered against Providence, a game the Caravan narrowly won. But the second half against the Lions? Mount Carmel gained 176 yards and scored 35 points, a touchdown on every possession leading to a 45-10 rout in a Class 8A quarterfinal game. And while the two scores set up by botched Lyons kickoff returns at the start of the third quarter were the shock treatment that led to a 24-10 lead, the drive that put the game away may have been the 14-play, 59-yard excursion against a wind gusting to 31 mph. The 7 minute 13 second drive was capped by Don Butkus’ 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal to make it 31-10.
Monday, October 22, 2012
MC Grad Lynch '09 Turning Heads at NIUAfter each game, containing another superb run/pass performance, Jordan Lynch seemingly receives another honor.
And the Division I talent evaluators who wrongly pegged him as an athlete, not a quarterback, should be demoted.
At this rate, I would urge Lynch to include a trophy case on his Christmas wish list. Through Northern Illinois University’s first seven games, the junior has earned three Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the week honors, an honorable mention distinction for the Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week and recent inclusion to the Manning Award Watch List, named in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Faculty Highlights: Week of 10/13Dr. Jon Berry has been introducing his Film Genres Class to a decade by decade history of movies, making sure students are exposed to classics like North by Northwest, Citizen Cane, and others. What a fantastic opportunity for the YouTube generation to examine the art and the history of this medium and consider its evolution over time. Click on the link above to read more of the success stories from our classroom in recent days.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Fast start paces Mount Carmel to routStar senior quarterback Don Butkus threw two touchdown passes and added a third rushing score as the No. 5 Caravan scored five touchdowns on their first 10 plays from scrimmage in thrashing the Vikings 52-0 in a Catholic League crossover Saturday at Gately Stadium.The Caravan (6-1) throttled the overmatched Vikings (1-6) with their size, speed and precision. One play after a Kyle Thomas blocked punt gave Mount Carmel first and goal at the two-yard line, Butkus started the onslaught with a sneak for the opening score.He was just getting started. Butkus threw touchdown passes of 16 yards to Dominic Villa and 47 yards to Vincent Speller as Mount Carmel erupted for 35 points in the less than nine minutes to start the game.
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Faculty Highlights: Week of 9/3A tangent to this ‘game theory’ is captured by Fr. Marlon’s research project on the Apostles in Theology II. Students each have an Apostle or “Athlete for Christ,” on whom they will create a ‘baseball card’ style depiction and account of their background, their Christian story, their martyrdom, their role in their life and times and their “Hall of Fame” contribution to the Church’s history. The front side of these ‘baseball cards’ will feature an original “action shot” that students will draw and of course, the back of the card will feature the Apostle’s “statistics.” Again, Fr. Marlon’s project provides data, dimension and formatting specifications to guide the boy brains to success.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Faculty Highlights: Week of 8/27In studying literary symbols, Mr. Antonietti escorted his English I students on a mini ‘field trip’ to the grand concourse of our campus so that students might look up and examine the historic symbols on the front of our 1924 building.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Scouting the 2012 CaravanThe Caravan have several starters returning from last year's Prep Bowl champions and it will depend on how well they get the younger kids to jel. Like every year, the schedule is tough, but each year Mount Carmel tends to rise to the challenge. This could be an exciting year with a nice playoff run if the team stays focused and doesn't have a lot of injuries.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Mount Carmel Graduates Recognized for Excellence in Writing
Mount Carmel High School congratulates Peter Smagacz’12, of Chicago (Hegewisch), and TJ Laurisch ’12, of Dyer, IN, who were recognized for excellence by the Young Playwrights Festival competition. Laurisch received Honorable Mention and Smagacz was a finalist for his play Safe & Sound. The students submitted works to the competition for an assignment in their Advanced Placement (AP) English class. They competed against students from throughout Chicago, the suburbs, and Northwest Indiana. After being named a finalist, excerpts from Smagacz's play were performed Monday, August 13 at the Chicago Dramatist Theater. Saturday, May 05, 2012
MC Teacher Tom Niklas inducted into the Hall of FameIt will probably be tough for Tom Nicklas to fight back the tears in a few weeks when he walks out of his classroom at Mount Carmel High School. The memories are as long as the commute from his home in Valparaiso, up Stony Island Avenue and a left turn on West 64th Street to the place he has called home for the last 30 years. Nicklas, who is a math teacher and the school's golf coach for the last 25 years, is retiring. Friday night, Nicklas, a 1967 Valparaiso High School and 1971 Western Michigan grad, was inducted into the Mount Carmel Hall of Fame in a dinner and ceremony. Even the gruff-voiced "Coach Nick" is elated over the honor.
"It's been a great run for me," Nicklas said. "I got to be around a great group of people and teach some great students. Academics and being a good person is what is important here. Read the full story in the
Northwest Indiana Times.
Friday, February 03, 2012
Williams a salesman for IllinoisVontrell Williams, who is 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals and was named the No. 20 defensive tackle in the nation by MaxPreps.com. He was a second-team Tribune All-State selection. "Illinois struck me as a place with the most opportunity," Williams said. "We're not rebuilding. We're here." Read the full story in the
Chicago Tribune.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
2012 ALUMNI HONOREES SELECTEDOn January 10, the Alumni Hall of Fame committee convened to deliberate over an impressive list of nominees for awards to be presented at the May 4 alumni banquet. Members of the committee include all past alumni presidents, current board officers and the alumni director. The list of Hall of Fame honorees includes: Kevin Dowling ‘96, Vince Scannell ‘77, Marty McGarry ‘72, Chris Chelios (H), Patrick Doyle (H), and Thomas Nicklas (H). Click on the link above to view the full list of all Honorees.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Big Ten Basketball: The Most Exciting FreshmenFor the Illini, it is the 6'1" PG Tracy Abrams. Here Illinois tabbed the No. 43 prospect in the nation according to ESPN.com. Abrams is a 6'1" point guard will nice speed, handles and pure PG instincts. He is being eased in to a bigger role with the team, playing about 15 minutes per game and scoring four points, but he has been a force in the passing lanes with over a steal per contest.
Read the full story on
bleacherreport.com.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Local Teams set for playoffsIn Class 8A, No. 7 Mount Carmel (6-3) will host No. 10 Hinsdale Central (6-3), which is coached by former Crete-Monee and Rich South coach Rich Tarka. Mount Carmel is making its state-record 26th straight playoff appearance.
Read the full story in the Northwest Indiana Times.
Mark your calendars now! The game will take place Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Gately. Come out and support the Caravan in their 26th consecutive playoff run. Let's Go MC!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Caravan topples Vikings Mount Carmel's Don Butkus and the Caravan offense needed a bounce back week after a tough game and eventual loss last weekend. Butkus provided most of that offense himself to lead the Times No. 1 Mount Carmel to a 51-6 thrashing of St. Laurence on Friday night. Butkus threw for 166 yards on 11 of 14 passing with three touchdowns through the air. The junior quarterback also rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown on four carries. "We had a pretty bad game on the offensive side last week so we tried to come out fired up," Butkus said. "This week at practice we worked real hard and tried to come out strong in this game and put up some points. I feel pretty comfortable. I feel like my wide receivers really did a good job.
Read the full story in the
Northwest Indiana Times Monday, October 03, 2011
Bowling scholarship recipient has designs on a perfect game 
Dylan Norris is still getting familiar with his new Chicago digs as a freshman at DePaul University. "I don't know of too many bowling alleys around here," said the Valparaiso resident, who was a four-year letter winner with the Mt. Carmel bowling team, helping the Caravan to a Catholic League title his senior year. "So I don't really know where to go." But who needs bowling alleys? Especially when you can roll in your own room. "I know Wii has a motion sensor video bowling game, and there are a couple of others," Norris said. "They're fun, but they've got a long way to go to fully simulate the real thing." That's where Norris may come in. He is currently studying game design at DePaul, thanks in part to a pair of scholarships he received from the Indiana United States Bowling Congress.
Read the full story in the Northwest Indiana Times.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Lenti becomes state's all-time leader in winsSince Frank Lenti took over as Mount Carmel’s football coach in 1984, the Caravan has won games all over the state in all kinds of weather. The latest victory came Saturday on a gorgeous afternoon in Westchester and was easier than most: 62-8 over an outmanned St. Joseph team. The Caravan starters got some reps in ahead of next weekend’s Catholic League Blue opener against Brother Rice and had their helmets off, done for the day moments into the second quarter. It’s a drill we’ve seen so many times before, Mount Carmel putting away an opponent with machine-like efficiency. But this was no ordinary win for Lenti; that much was apparent from a quick glance along the sideline and up in the stands, which were fuller than you’d expect for what didn’t figure to be much of a game. Near the north end zone was Chargers basketball coach Gene Pingatore, who knows a thing or two about milestone wins; he has 862 victories in 42 seasons and could pass Steve Goers’ state record of 881 this winter. What Pingatore and everyone else came to see was Lenti becoming the winningest football coach in Illinois history. Saturday’s victory was his 307th, passing Richards’ Gary Korhonen for No. 1 all-time.
Read the full story in the
Southtown Star Friday, September 16, 2011
Vontrell Williams Picks IllinoisMount Carmel defensive end Vontrell Williams orally committed to Illinois on Friday afternoon. Williams chose Illinois from among more than 10 scholarship offers, including Indiana and Kansas. "My family and I thought it was the best opportunity for me," Williams said. "There is a chance for early playing time, and it's close to home."
Read the full story in the
Chicago Tribune Tuesday, September 06, 2011
MC launches new social media pagesWe are thrilled to inform you that you can now find Mount Carmel High School on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Social Media is yet another outlet for us to promote the many accomplishments of our students, staff, and alumni. We look forward to posting academic, athletic, and extracurricular achievements as well as photos of classroom and school activities to these sites. In addition, the Caravan Broadcast Network will continue to play an important role in promoting Mount Carmel through student-created videos. We are excited about this opportunity to give you timely updates of all the great things happening at Mount Carmel. Click on the link above for more information!
Friday, September 02, 2011
Week 2 Football CapsuleThe breakdown: The Caravan will need to do what it does best: run the football. QB Don Butkus made good decisions against Simeon. Morgan Park likely will try to rattle Butkus, a junior starting his second varsity game. As long as RB Brandon Greer performs like he did in the second half against Simeon(12 carries, 147 yards) and Butkus makes the proper reads, the Caravan should prevail.
Read the full story in the SouthtownStar
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
In Memory of Kevin DowlingThe 15th Annual Kevin Dowling Scholarship Fund Golf Outing will be Sept. 9 at Gleneagles Country Club in Lemont. Kevin was co-captain of the Mount Carmel High School football team in 1995. He became very ill on the practice field during the extreme heat of August and passed away on Aug. 26 of that year. A scholarship fund was created to keep Kevin’s memory alive and to help other children achieve their educational goals. Hole sponsors, donations and golfers are sought.
Visit http://www.kevindowlingscholarshipfund.com/
Super 25 Countdown: Mount CarmelOne of the consequences of Mount Carmel’s legacy of football success — 10 state titles overall, 14 trips to the finals under coach Frank Lenti — is a degree of fan scrutiny few programs can rival. So Caravan Nation was wondering what to expect when Chris
Sujka, the most prolific runner Mount Carmel has had at quarterback, graduated after a run to the Class 8A title game last season. The heir apparent was junior Don Butkus, the grandnephew of Bears legend Dick Butkus. ‘‘Everybody was asking me how Donnie was doing in winter workouts,’’ senior receiver Frank Kelly said. The answer, according to Kelly and Lenti, is very good indeed. That’s one reason the Caravan, who are ranked fourth in the Sun-Times’ preseason Super 25, might be primed for another big season.
Read the full story in the Chicago Suntimes
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
US Hockey Hall of Fame only the beginning for CheliosCraig Ferguson knows why Chris Chelios, his old hockey teammate at Mount Carmel, succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams on the ice. “More so than anyone else I know, he made his own way,” Ferguson said of Chelios, named Monday to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. “It wasn’t like today, when there are so many junior programs. Chris had to do it himself.” A journey that began in Evergreen Park and included stops in San Diego, Moose Jaw, Madison and Sarajevo before he made the NHL will culminate in Chicago in October, when USA Hockey honors Chelios.
Read the full story in the
Southtown Star
Monday, June 13, 2011
MC takes fourth placePlaying for third place is a glass half-full or half-empty proposition, as Prospect and Mount Carmel showed Saturday afternoon. Prospect welcomed a do-over after losing to Providence in the Class 4A semifinals. But Mount Carmel had a harder time getting motivated for the game at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Meet the Class of 2011 ValedictorianKevin Carey, son of Denise and Jack Carey of Beverly, was named valedictorian at Mount Carmel High School for the Class of 2011.
With a cumulative grade point average of 4.96, Carey edged out another local graduate, Kevin Kosiewicz, son of John and Elizabeth Kosiewicz of Evergreen Park, for the top spot. Kosiewicz was named Salutatorian. The pair led a talented class of 192 graduates who have already earned over $11.5 million dollars in college scholarships and financial assistance.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Football recruiting bitsCentral Michigan has been active in the Chicago area this spring, recently adding two oral commitments, including Mount Carmel safety Brandon Greer.
Read the full story in the
Chicago Tribune Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Caravan Volunteers at Ridge RunOn Memorial Day, fifteen Mount Carmel students and staff supported one of the 19th Ward's most important annual events. The team from Woodlawn manned a water station as thousands of people from all over the country participated in the Ridge Run.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dart '80 Receives Justice AwardJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice presented the John Jay Medal for Justice to Sunitha Krishnan, founder and president of Prajwala; Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of Children's Defense Fund;, and Thomas J. Dart, Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois; on Tuesday, April 5 at a ceremony in the Harold M. Proshansky Auditorium at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue.
CUNY.edu Friday, April 08, 2011
'Father Tony' new MC PresidentA Southlander who started on two Mount Carmel state champion football teams, graduated from Yale University and later became a Carmelite is set to lead the school. On June 15, the Rev. Tony Mazurkiewicz will take over as the president of Mount Carmel High School.
Southtown Star Michigan State's Arthur Ray is back after battling cancerMichigan State linebacker Denicos Allen was working with a tutor in the athletic academic center Thursday when Arthur Ray Jr. walked in and told him he was back. "He said, 'I'm strapping up, I[m back,'" Allen said. "I thought, unbelievable." Ray, a 6-foot-2, 297-pound offensive tackle, a part of the 2007 recruiting class for then-new coach Mark Dantonio, practiced for the first time as a Spartan after a long battle with bone cancer, complications and infections.
Mlive.com
A Channel of Grace and the Brown ScapularDavid, to the best of his ability, explained the concept of the scapular associated with the Carmelite order. He suggested it for protection and told him to read the pamphlet to know more. And so, an ex-criminal learned, right there in the plastics scrap yard, the role of sacramentals and all about God’s love and protection.
The Integrated Catholic Life Thursday, April 07, 2011
Fr. Tony Mazurkiewicz, O.Carm. Appointed Next President of Mount Carmel The Mount Carmel High School Board of Members announces that Fr. Tony Mazurkiewicz, O. Carm. has been appointed the school’s next president. He will assume his duties June 15, succeeding Fr. Carl Markelz, O. Carm. who is stepping down after 15 years as president. Fr. Mazurkiewicz currently serves as a faculty member in the Theology department, and as an enrollment and admissions representative in the Office of Mission Effectiveness. Fr. Mazurkiewicz, a 1992 graduate of Mount Carmel, was recommended to the Board of Members by a presidential search committee including Carmelites, trustees, faculty, parents, and alumni.