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

Mrs. Chappetto speaks at Holy Name Cathedral on May 14, 2024, as the first woman to give an MC commencement address.
Mrs. Chappetto makes MC history with commencement speech
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • May 18, 2024

“I keep doing my best to worry about giving my best here,” said Mrs. Julie Chappetto as she prepared for Mount Carmel’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 14.  In...

(pictured left to right) Ms. Eleanore Menke, Mr. KC Perlberg, Mr. John Stimler, and Mr. Walter Perez are some of the most dedicated employees at MC.
Appreciating some of MC's most dedicated workers
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • May 16, 2024

Throughout Mount Carmel every day there are a number of faculty and staff of whom most students don't really ever get an understanding for how much they contribute to the...

Dale Twine 25 is a tennis player at MC and is in the honors program.
Dale Twine--Caravan Superfan
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • May 1, 2024

When one attends an MC extracurricular event, then junior Dale Twine is certainly recognizable. No matter how big or small the student section, if there is even one at all,...

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The majority of MC sophomores have Mr. Dan Claahsen for class each day.
Mr. Claahsen sets his new standard
Jack Breakey '24, Staff Writer • February 29, 2024

This year, Mount Carmel has welcomed Mr. Dan Claahsen as the new US Government teacher for the sophomores.  Mr. Claahsen grew up in Bridgeport before moving out to Crestwood...

Ms. Jackson started working at MC this past August.
Welcome to Mount Carmel, Ms. Jackson
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • February 29, 2024

There’s a new face in the counseling office. Ms. Rachel Jackson applied to be a counselor at MC last spring and began working at the start of the school year in August....

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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 its 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...

The Japanese  Garden, located on Wooded Island in Jackson Park, offers a quiet refuge in the midst of the city. 
Photo credit:  Steven Kevil via Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons License.
Jackson Park: rich in history
Patrick Hatzis, staff writer • January 22, 2021

Jackson Park is located between Lake Michigan and Stony Island on the east and west and between 56th street and 67th street to the north and south on the South Side of Chicago,...

Once a year, MC alums who are Vietnam veterans speak to MC juniors.
MC Vietnam vets return to tell their story
Jack Breakey '24, Staff Writer • May 3, 2024

On Tuesday, April 29th, MC held an annual assembly for the juniors in Mr. Brooks Nevrly’s and Mr. Tim Baffoe’s English 3 classes for them to meet these alumni veterans....

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Along with the parents of Mr. Kevin Hansen, for whom the award honors, Mr. Caribee Collier stands next to the well-known green jacket after winning.
Mr. Collier is 2024 Green Jacket honoree
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • April 19, 2024

Around this time of the year in 2015, the Mount Carmel community was in a state of shock and grief. The passionate and dedicated theology teacher, Mr. Kevin Hansen, had just...

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Members of the cast rehearse a scene for the upcoming production of A Separate Peace.
Drama Club returns with A Separate Peace
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • April 12, 2024

On Friday, April 19th, the MC Drama Club will put on their first full production in years in the Student Center, presenting A Separate Peace, based on the novel by John Knowles....

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There were 77 representatives from colleges all over the country that gathered in the Cacciatore Gym to provide MC students with info.
Students explore options at the College Fair
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • March 26, 2024

With the third trimester recently starting at MC, students have become excited to be yet another step closer to the end of the school year. This time of year also means that...

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MC shavees raised money to fight childhood cancer before getting their heads shaved in front of the school.
MC goes bald for Baldrick's
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • March 23, 2024

On March 14, 2024 in the Cacciatore Athletic Center Mount Carmel hosted its annual St. Baldrick’s event, shaving heads in culmination of fundraising to fight pediatric cancer....

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Sophomores Stephen Winkler (left) and Will Walsh (right) talk with MC alum Andrew Walsh ‘97 (center) of the Chicago Park District. (Jack Breakey)
Job Fair offers summer opportunities to MC students
Jack Breakey '24, Staff Writer • March 16, 2024

Friday, March 15th, Mount Carmel hosted their Summer Job Fair on the floor of the Cacciatore Gym. Mr. Craig Ferguson ‘79, the current Director of Planned Giving and Alumni...

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The two state championship trophies that were won this year.
The best athletic year of this century
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • June 5, 2024

There have been 26 state championships won across all sports in Mount Carmel history, and two of them happened this year.  It has been an awesome athletic year here at...

Mount Carmel players and campers break out from a huddle during last year’s basketball summer camp.
Summer camps open the door for future members of the Caravan
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • May 31, 2024

Mount Carmel’s summer baseball camp is one of the many reasons as to why I decided to attend this school.  While I might not play on the baseball team today, that camp...

42 juniors were inducted into the Elysian Chapter of the National Honor Society this year. The application process requires students to write an essay, ask teachers for multiple letters of recommendation, and hand in a resume. It’s a perfect example of why junior year can be both challenging and rewarding at the same time for students.
My dreaded, but also rewarding, junior year
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • May 17, 2024

I remember letting out a sigh of relief on the way home from my first day of my sophomore year.  A senior at the time was giving me a ride to and from school and explained...

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The two state championship trophies that were won this year.
The best athletic year of this century
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • June 5, 2024

There have been 26 state championships won across all sports in Mount Carmel history, and two of them happened this year.  It has been an awesome athletic year here at...

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MC Water Polo overcame adversity this season and played hard until their final game against St. Ignatius on Saturday, May 4th.
Water Polo team treads through unique season
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • May 9, 2024

Mount Carmel’s water polo program started a long tradition of athletic success by winning the school’s first state championship back in 1975. Almost fifty years later,...

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(left to right) Wyatt Knight, Alex Kazmierczak, Gavin McGovern, Matthew Potter, and (background) Kyron Wright return from practicing in Jackson Park Outer Harbor on May 4, 2024.
MC sets sail with a new Caravan team
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • May 6, 2024

In all of the 124 years of history at Mount Carmel there have been many sports programs, but not in any of those previous years had there been sailing. That changed this school...

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Mrs. Chappetto speaks at Holy Name Cathedral on May 14, 2024, as the first woman to give an MC commencement address.
Mrs. Chappetto makes MC history with commencement speech
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • May 18, 2024

“I keep doing my best to worry about giving my best here,” said Mrs. Julie Chappetto as she prepared...

Dale Twine 25 is a tennis player at MC and is in the honors program.
Dale Twine--Caravan Superfan
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • May 1, 2024

When one attends an MC extracurricular event, then junior Dale Twine is certainly recognizable. No matter...

Dimas and Siegal proudly pose with their plaques that indicate they are tied for first in academics for the class of 2025. Standing with them are Mr. Andreas Dimas ’88 and Mrs. Kristen Dimas, who welcomed Siegal into their home last year.
Classmates then roommates now rival candidates
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • April 29, 2024

While some students may already have their minds set on their summer vacation, a select group of juniors...

Members of the cast rehearse a scene for the upcoming production of A Separate Peace.
Drama Club returns with A Separate Peace
James McCormac '25, Staff Writer • April 12, 2024

On Friday, April 19th, the MC Drama Club will put on their first full production in years in the Student Center, presenting A Separate Peace, based on the novel by John Knowles....

Students can find banned books, such as these pictured from Mr. Baffoes classroom, throughout the MC English Department.
MC teachers utilize the importance of banned, challenged books
Matthew Malloy ‘25, Staff Writer • October 30, 2023

Words are more powerful than actions. They can hurt more than a punch to the stomach while at the same time can be more comforting than a hug.  Literature is important,...

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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The student news site of Mount Carmel High School