RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, On May 20, 2018, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy (OLMCA) will be celebrating its 130th Anniversary; and,
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of this anniversary by Alderman Thomas Tunney of the 44th Ward; and,
WHEREAS, OLMCA was founded in 1888 under the tutelage of the Sisters of Mercy with about 180 students receiving instruction in the current Casey Hall building; and,
WHEREAS, OLMCA and has operated, in part, from the same school building on Belmont Avenue from 1888 to the present day; and,
WHEREAS, Casey Hall is believed to be the oldest Catholic elementary school building still in use in the Archdiocese of Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, In 1926 the well-known English-Gothic style addition and facade which stretch down Belmont Avenue were added; and,
WHEREAS, By the 1950's, OLMCA had an enrollment of nearly 700 students from the immediate neighborhood; and,
WHEREAS, OLMCA maintains the feel of a neighborhood school while welcoming students from over 20 zip codes; and,
WHEREAS, OLMCA is proud to have a student population which reflects the cultural, religious, and economic diversity of the Lake View community and City of Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, Enrollment in preschool through eighth grade has consistently grown for the past 10 years at OLMCA and is near capacity; and,
WHEREAS, In 2013, OLMCA was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education; and,
WHEREAS, For decades, middle school students have participated in annual service days. The majority of their work has been done with neighborhood and city-wide organizations including: Lakeview Pantry, Cornerstone Community Outreach, Misericordia, The Brookdale, Little Sisters of the Poor, Working Bikes, Ted Stone Forest Preserve, and Sunrise of Lincoln Park; and,
WHEREAS, OLMCA hosts annual community events including a Halloween Trick-or-Treating event, Christmas Lights Festival, Easter Egg Hunt, and Wildcat Den, a playgroup for infants and toddlers...
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