Carmel High School (Mundelein, Illinois)
Encyclopedia
Carmel Catholic High School is a co-educational
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...

, college preparatory, Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 run jointly by the priests and brothers of the Order of Carmelites
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...

 and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by their initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. BVM Sisters work in twenty-five U.S...

. Located in Mundelein, Illinois
Mundelein, Illinois
Mundelein is a village in Lake County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 31,064.-History:The community now known as Mundelein has been inhabited since at least 1650, when the Potowatami Indians were known to have been trading with French fur traders....

, Carmel serves all of Lake County
Lake County, Illinois
Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...

, as well as some of the surrounding counties, and southern Wisconsin. An institution of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...

, Carmel Catholic is one of three Carmelite-run high schools in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 area, the others being Joliet Catholic High School and Mount Carmel High School
Mount Carmel High School (Chicago)
Mount Carmel High School is an all boys, Catholic high school in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, the school has been operated by the Carmelite order of priests and brothers since 1900...

.

History

In the early 1960s, the Carmelites and the Sisters of Charity were asked to build separate but similar Catholic high schools for the northern part of the Archdiocese of Chicago; an area corresponding roughly to Lake County
Lake County, Illinois
Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...

. The boys school opened in 1962, with the girls school opening the next year. Following a lengthy planning process, the decision was made by the Carmelites and the BVM Sisters to combine the two schools and establish a Board of Directors. This was done beginning in the 1988–89 school year.

School crest

In 2007, the school adopted a new crest
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....

 as a symbol of the school. While the design was arrived upon by a committee from within the school community, an alum was responsible for the final physical depiction.

Beneath the school's name is a shield per cross
Division of the field
In heraldry, the field of a shield can be divided into more than one area of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name...

. The cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...

 itself is used to symbolize Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 and faith
Faith in Christianity
Faith, in Christianity, has been most commonly defined by the biblical formulation in the Letter to the Hebrews as "'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". Most of the definitions in the history of Christian theology have followed this biblical formulation...

. The shield is outlined in gold, while the cross is depicted in brown; the school colors.

At dexter chief (upper left quadrant) is a lamp of knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...

, which represents the life and spirituality of the school community, and the desire to lead the best possible life. The top of the lamp (below the flame) has four steps, decreasing in size, to represent the four years a student spends at the school.

At dexter base (lower left quadrant) is the year of the school's opening (1962), as well as abbreviations O. Carm and BVM which represent the founding religious orders of the school (the Carmelites, and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary). This was given a lower quadrant to visually represent the anchoring of the teaching of the two orders to the school. This quadrant represents the tradition upon which the school is based.

At sinister base (lower right quadrant) is a chained heart, topped with a crown. The heart is used to symbolize the school as being more like a family than institution. The three–linked chain represents a community bond, and also harkens to a heraldic symbol of accepting difficult service and sacrifice, which is a central tenet of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. The three tipped crown is suggestive of both the trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...

 as well as the Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...

.

At sinister chief (upper right quadrant) is a laurel
Laurel wreath
A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the bay laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head...

 of ivy
Ivy
Ivy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...

 which is used to symbolize friendship. It further metaphorically suggests that friendships formed at the school branch out beyond the community.

Awards and recognition

In 1985, 1996, 2002, and 2007, Carmel Catholic High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School
Blue Ribbon Schools Program
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...

 Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...

.

As of 2007, the school was one of only five schools nationwide to be honored as a Blue Ribbon School on four separate occasions.

Community service

The school emphasizes an awareness of community as its most important aspect, and as such encourages students to become involved in extracurricular activities and requires students to perform 40 hours per year of external community service.

Academics

The school emphasizes a college preparatory curriculum.

The school offers 17 Advanced Placement (AP) courses: Biology
AP Biology
In the United States, Advanced Placement Biology , is a course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level biology course....

, Chemistry
AP Chemistry
Advanced Placement Chemistry is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and earn college-level credit.-The course:AP Chemistry is a course...

, Physics (B)
AP Physics
AP Physics defines three categories of high school physics courses: A, B, and C. Category A refers to general introductory physics courses that are not mathematically rigorous...

, U.S. Government and Politics
AP United States Government and Politics
Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics, also known as AP US Gov & Pol, AP US Gov, AP Go Po or AP Gov, is a college-level course and examination offered to high school students through the College Board's Advanced Placement Program...

, U.S. History, European History
AP European History
Advanced Placement European History is a course and examination offered by the College Board through the Advanced Placement Program...

, World History
AP World History
Advanced Placement World History is a college-level course offered through the College Board's Advanced Placement Program designed to help students develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts and interactions between different types of Human societies...

, English Language, English Literature, Spanish Language
AP Spanish Language
Advanced Placement Spanish Language is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.-The course:...

, French Language
AP French Language
Advanced Placement French Language and Culture is a course offered by the College Board to high school students in the United States as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level French course...

, Latin (Virgil) Latin Literature
AP Latin Literature
Advanced Placement Latin Literature was one of two examinations offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program for high school students to earn college credit for a college-level course in Latin literature.Due to low numbers of students taking AP Latin Literature, it was discontinued...

, Studio Art
AP Studio Art
AP Studio Art is a series of Advanced Placement Courses divided into three different categories: AP Studio Art Drawing, AP Studio Art 2D, and AP Studio Art 3D.-The portfolio:...

, Music Theory
AP Music Theory
Advanced Placement Music Theory is a course and examination offered in the United States by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school students who wish to earn credit for a college level music theory course.-The course:Some of the material covered in the course...

, Calculus (BC)
AP Calculus
Advanced Placement Calculus is used to indicate one of two distinct Advanced Placement courses and examinations offered by the College Board, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC....

, and Computer Programming (AB)
AP Computer Science
Advanced Placement Computer Science is the name of two distinct Advanced Placement courses and examinations offered by the College Board to high school students as an opportunity to earn college credit for a college-level computer science course...

. In the '09-'10 school year, AP Statistics
AP Statistics
Advanced Placement Statistics is a college-level high school statistics course offered in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program...

 will be offered to students for the first time.
The school also requires every student to take religious classes.

The school also offers honors courses in the following subjects: Mathematics, English, World Languages, Science, Business, Social Studies, and Religious Studies.

Athletics

Carmel's athletic teams are named Corsairs, and the school's colors are brown, gold, and white. Carmel competes in the East Suburban Catholic Conference
East Suburban Catholic Conference
The East Suburban Catholic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 13 Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois . The conference became independent in 1974....

 in its interscholastic athletics program. Carmel also fully participates in the state playoff and championship series sponsored by the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...

 (IHSA).

The school sponsors both men's and women's teams in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, soccer, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. The school sponsors men's teams in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

, and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

, while sponsoring women's teams in cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

, pom poms, and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team.

The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament:
  • football: 2003–04
  • gymnastics (girls): 1991–92, 1992–93, 2009–10, 2010–11)

Fine arts

Carmel Catholic's fine arts program includes chorus, band, drama, and visual arts.

The drama program produces one play and one musical per year. The school's current long-range strategic plan includes the construction of a new fine arts wing by 2012. The drama program is a troupe of the International Thespian Society and has had students participate in the Illinois High School Theatre Festival.

The choral program has a number of different choirs for students to join: Concert Choir, Treble Choir, Advanced Choir, as well as two show choirs, Co-Choir and Treble Choir, and one jazz/ a capella group, Parkway Singers.

In the band program there are many different groups: The Jazz Band, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble. During the football season, the Marching Band plays at all home games and at as many playoff games they can get to.

Street Scenes is a fundraising event that takes place once a year in February. Beforehand, students are required to raise money for the school. If students do not raise money they are required to pay a fee (usually $100) to compensate. Street Scenes is the major fundraising event for the school and lasts for three days. One of the nights is a Student Night, the other two allowing access to adults 21 or older. The students perform a musical and the entire school is turned into a themed hub of entertainment. The classrooms are transformed to include live performance stages or restaurants. On adult nights, the gymnasium is turned into a casino.

Street Scenes Student Show was originally organized by Mary K. "Sissy" Deprima, mother of alumna Marietta DePrima
Marietta DePrima
Marietta DePrima is an American TV actress best known for playing the role Sally Rogers, opposite her television husband, veteran actor, Eric Allen Kramer, on the ABC/UPN sitcom, The Hughleys....

, and she directed it from February 1982 until her death in June 2009.

Notable alumni

  • Marietta DePrima
    Marietta DePrima
    Marietta DePrima is an American TV actress best known for playing the role Sally Rogers, opposite her television husband, veteran actor, Eric Allen Kramer, on the ABC/UPN sitcom, The Hughleys....

     (1982) is an actress (The Hughleys
    The Hughleys
    The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L...

    ).
  • Al Salvi
    Al Salvi
    Albert J. Salvi is an attorney, former radio talk show host, and a former Illinois State Representative and Republican candidate for United States Senate and for Illinois Secretary of State....

     (1978) was a former Illinois state legislator
    Illinois House of Representatives
    The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...

     and 1996 Republican U.S. Senate nominee
    United States Senate elections, 1996
    The 1996 elections to the United States Senate coincided with the 1996 presidential election, in which Democrats Bill Clinton and Al Gore were reelected President and Vice President of the United States, respectively....

    .
  • Rick Santorum
    Rick Santorum
    Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...

     (1976) was a United States Senator (R—
    Republican Party (United States)
    The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

    PA
    Pennsylvania
    The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

    ) (1995–2007)
  • Scott Stahoviak
    Scott Stahoviak
    Scott Edmund Stahoviak is a former Minnesota Twins first baseman. He was born on March 6, 1970, in Waukegan, Illinois. He attended Creighton University, and was an integral part of Creighton's NCAA College World Series appearance in 1991...

     (1988) was a Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     first baseman and first round draft pick (1991) for the Minnesota Twins
    Minnesota Twins
    The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

  • Mike Wagner
    Mike Wagner
    Michael Robert Wagner is a former American football player with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He won four Super Bowls as a safety on the famed Steel Curtain defense.-Playing career:...

     (1967) was an NFL safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers
    Pittsburgh Steelers
    The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

    , and played for their championship teams in Super Bowls IX
    Super Bowl IX
    Super Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...

    , X
    Super Bowl X
    Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....

    , XIII
    Super Bowl XIII
    Super Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...

    , and XIV
    Super Bowl XIV
    Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...

    . He was a member of their "Steel Curtain
    Steel Curtain
    The Steel Curtain was the nickname given to the front four of the famous defensive line of the American football team Pittsburgh Steelers during their 1970s dynasty years. This defense was the backbone of the Steelers dynasty, which won 4 Super Bowls...

    " defense.
  • Jeff Zgonina
    Jeff Zgonina
    Jeffrey Marc "Jeff" Zgonina is an American football defensive tackle for the Houston Texans in the National Football League...

     (1988) was an NFL
    National Football League
    The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

     player for the Houston Texans
    Houston Texans
    The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...


External links

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