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The student news site of Mount Carmel High School

The Caravan

The student news site of Mount Carmel High School

The Caravan

The student news site of Mount Carmel High School

The Caravan

Junior Gabriel Valerio walks around the city searching for a prime spot to take a photo.
Gabriel Valerio finds stories in Chicago’s streets with his camera
Derek Ozuna '27, Staff Writer • November 7, 2025

When the world slowed down during Covid-19, most teens spent quarantine with their screens. For Mount Carmel junior Gabriel Valerio, it was a camera that caught his attention. Valerio...

Mr. Eric Rodriguez is in his first year teaching English at MC.
How Mr. Rodriguez found his purpose in teaching
Alan Gonzalez '27, Staff Writer • October 24, 2025

Some folks enter their professional careers knowing exactly who they want to be. Others, like new Mount Carmel English teacher Mr. Eric Rodriguez, discover their calling through...

Mrs. Mann is the mom of Marty ’25 (right), Garret ’26 (left), and Dan '28.
“She’s my MVP”: The star behind the scenes of all of the wins
Anthony Chavez '26, Staff Writer • October 20, 2025

Overshadowed by all of the championships, the star players, and the legendary coaches lies the real MVP at Mount Carmel: Mrs. Mary Mann. Each school quietly has somebody...

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Mr. Eric Rodriguez is in his first year teaching English at MC.
How Mr. Rodriguez found his purpose in teaching
Alan Gonzalez '27, Staff Writer • October 24, 2025

Some folks enter their professional careers knowing exactly who they want to be. Others, like new Mount Carmel English teacher Mr. Eric Rodriguez, discover their calling through...

Mr. Olaleye has spent time coaching at other high schools and on the college level, including Illinois Wesleyan.
New MC math teacher Coach Olaleye also finds purpose through coaching
Carlos Cerda '26, Staff Writer • October 17, 2025

Sometimes, life doesn’t go the way you expect, but it can still lead you exactly where you’re meant to be. That’s what happened to Coach Adebowale “Coach O” Olaleye,...

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Barbara Burns (far left) chaperones MC student trips to the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago often to make sure all classes can have the opportunity to experience service.
Students exemplify Carmelite values at the food market
Dominic Mancilla '25, Staff Writer • November 1, 2024

Men of Carmel are made inside and outside of the classroom. Every week, two groups of Mount Carmel sophomores generously volunteer to work at the food pantry inside of...

The once-impressive Loretto Academy building presently is unoccupied and in disrepair.
Loretto Academy stirs memories of another era
Artem Massey, Staff Writer • March 4, 2021

The former Loretto Academy, located on East 65th Street, just south of Mount Carmel's campus, has always stood out to me. Its sheer magnitude calls out and demands attention....

Schererville, Indiana, is just 50 minutes from Chicago, but it's a whole different world  (Photo credit: Joey BLS via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons license.)
Schererville offers a quiet alternative
Angel Samperio, Staff Writer • February 5, 2021

I have lived in Schererville, Indiana, since March of 2005. The town has a lot to offer, except at night, when there is little to do besides going to the diner or to Dunkin....

View from a house on 86th street that shows just how average this average neighborhood is.
Avalon Park: a tight-knit, friendly community
Freddie Gist, Staff Writer • January 25, 2021

I come from a quiet area on 86th Street in the Avalon Park area, and since I have lived here my entire life, I can easily say it is very unremarkable. My immediate neighborhood...

Sophomores in Mr. Eric Rodriguez’s and Mr. Tim Baffoe’s English classes created t-shirts raising awareness of domestic violence, teen dating violence, and sexual violence.
Sophomores raise domestic violence awareness through shirt project
Derek Ozuna '27, Staff Writer • October 31, 2025

During October 2025, Mount Carmel sophomores participate in a class project that turns reading into awareness. In conjunction with reading the novel Breathing Underwater by...

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The 1975 Water Polo Team was honored at Midfield the football game on October 17.
MC state champion water polo team celebrates 50th anniversary
Rocco Lopez '26, Staff Writer • October 27, 2025

Whenever people first hear that Mount Carmel’s first state championship team wasn’t a football team, they're always shocked. Most people don't believe that the first state...

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Junior Jeremy Ingram builds a robot to compete in this season of Robotics.
MC Robotics members trying to design state championship
Derek Ozuna '27, Staff Writer • October 24, 2025

Motors hum, tools clatter, and laughter goes through the STEM lab in the Graham-McCarthy wing at Mount Carmel High School as students prepare for another season of Robotics. The...

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Players from MC and Ray Graham jump for the ball during the opening tip-off on October 10, 2025.
Caravan Connection unites MC and Ray Graham students
Derek Ozuna '27, Staff Writer • October 16, 2025

Cheers filled Mount Carmel’s main gym on Friday, October 10, 2025, as students from Mount Carmel High School and Ray Graham Training Center, a Chicago public school that...

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(from left) Sophomore broadcasters Cal Covotsos and Brendan Daigler get ready for their live broadcast on Marquee Network.
Caravan Media Group broadcasts on Marquee Sports Network
Carlos Cerda '26, Staff Writer • October 10, 2025

What might it feel like to be a high school student and call your school’s football game on live national TV? For a group of Mount Carmel students, that dream actually came...

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Christy Salters Martin addresses the sophomore crowd on October 2.
Champion boxer and domestic violence survivor gives a speech to the sophomores
Rocco Lopez '26, Staff Writer • October 10, 2025

On Thursday, October 2, former world champion boxer Christy Salters Martin spoke in the main gym, not because she was giving a boxing lesson to this year's fight night fighters...

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A group of students in Mrs. Jennifer Davis’ class display the MC brotherhood and how much their teachers care for them.
Why Mount Carmel is something to be thankful for
Carlos Cerda '26, Staff Writer • November 7, 2025

At Mount Carmel High School, the word “brotherhood” means something real. Every day, students walk through the halls surrounded by people who push them to be their best,...

Seniors painted "Caravan" on their chest for the Brother Rice Football game on October 3, 2025.
Games are better when we pack the student section
Rocco Lopez, Staff Writer • November 7, 2025

In December of 2023, then-junior Matt Malloy wrote a piece in this publication calling out his fellow peers for not showing up to Mount Carmel sporting events. Almost two...

Students from MC Spanish classes sing together during October's school Mass, which celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month.
MC’s voice can rise higher with a choir
Derek Ozuna '27, Staff Writer • October 10, 2025

Music brings people together, and one thing Mount Carmel High School currently lacks is a choir. While the school excels in sports and has some academic strengths, it does...

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Junior bowler Derrick Rucker prepares to knock down the pins at practice on November 5, 2025.
MC bowling looks to improve on great previous year
Anthony Chavez '26, Staff writer • November 6, 2025

The crash of pins resounds in the alley as the Mount Carmel bowling team gets ready for the upcoming season. With each toss off the ball, focus and grit develop, and the team...

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(from left) Matthew Smith '28, Coach Makana Bourke, Henry Massaro '29, Quintin Knight '29, Kyron Wright '27, Bryce Mason '26, Wyatt Knight '27, John Swift '27, Coach Bob Szyman '65 participated in the Spooktacular Regatta on November 1 and 2, 2025.
MC Sailing has first competition at Spooktacular Regatta
Carlos Cerda '26 and Staff Writer November 4, 2025

The team practices at Jackson Park Yacht Club, where the weather on Lake Michigan changes fast. Head instructor Mr. Robert Szyman ’65 said that even with some practices...

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The Red Hats signal a play agaisnt Loyola Academy on October 24th.
‘Just as valuable as the starting QB’: Meet the Red Hats
Rocco Lopez, Staff Writer • October 31, 2025

When most fans think of the Mount Carmel football team, their minds immediately jump to players such as wide receiver Quentin Burrell, quarterback Emmett Dowling, or defensive...

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Junior Gabriel Valerio walks around the city searching for a prime spot to take a photo.
Gabriel Valerio finds stories in Chicago’s streets with his camera
Derek Ozuna '27, Staff Writer • November 7, 2025

When the world slowed down during Covid-19, most teens spent quarantine with their screens. For Mount...

The Red Hats signal a play agaisnt Loyola Academy on October 24th.
‘Just as valuable as the starting QB’: Meet the Red Hats
Rocco Lopez, Staff Writer • October 31, 2025

When most fans think of the Mount Carmel football team, their minds immediately jump to players such...

Mr. Eric Rodriguez is in his first year teaching English at MC.
How Mr. Rodriguez found his purpose in teaching
Alan Gonzalez '27, Staff Writer • October 24, 2025

Some folks enter their professional careers knowing exactly who they want to be. Others, like new Mount...

The cast of MC's production of A Few Good Men rehearses on April 29 in the Barry-Hughes Performing Arts Center.
A Few Good Men is inaugural play in BHPAC
Christos Dimas '25, Staff Writer • April 29, 2025

In the spring of 2023, the Mount Carmel Drama Department returned after a pandemic hiatus and performed a theater festival with several short acts. The performances were a...

All of the musicians from both MC and Notre Dame had a great time.
The fun of playing with the Notre Dame Jazz Ensemble
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer, News and Features Editor • April 11, 2025

“Oh my god It’s my turn,” were the thoughts running through my head before I started playing. On Friday, April 4, the Notre Dame Jazz Ensemble came to Mount Carmel...

Brother Pedro talks with guests in the Huddle at the 2023 Gala.
Br. Pedro joins MC Campus Ministry
Jack Breakey '24, Staff Writer • December 5, 2023

A new Carmelite intern has joined the Mount Carmel community. Brother Pedro Mira is now working with MC Campus Ministry, and his main mission is to help students in their...

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