School type private, coed Established 1962 Tuition 11,100 USD Number of students 1,400 | Denomination Roman Catholic Phone +1 847-566-3000 Colors White, Brown, Gold | |
Authority Similar Adlai E Stevenson High Sch, St Viator High School, Libertyville High School, Grayslake Central High Sch, Lake Forest Academy Profiles | ||
Carmel Catholic High School is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic high school run jointly by the priests and brothers of the Order of Carmelites and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Located in Mundelein, Illinois, Carmel serves all of Lake County, as well as some of the surrounding counties, and southern Wisconsin. An institution of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Carmel Catholic is one of three Carmelite-run high schools in the Chicago area, the others being Joliet Catholic High School and Mount Carmel High School.
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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. 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 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. The cross itself is used to symbolize Christ and faith. 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, 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. The three tipped crown is suggestive of both the trinity as well as the Kingdom of Heaven.
At sinister chief (upper right quadrant) is a laurel of ivy 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 Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.
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 offers 20 Advanced Placement (AP) courses: Biology, Chemistry, Physics (C: Mechanics), U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, European History, World History, English Language, English Literature, Spanish Language, French Language, Latin, Studio Art, Music Theory, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, Psychology, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics.
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 in its interscholastic athletics program.
The school sponsors both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, golf, hockey, soccer, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The school sponsors men's teams in baseball, football, and wrestling, while sponsoring women's teams in cheerleading, gymnastics, pom poms, and softball. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors an ice hockey team.
The following teams have won their respective IHSA sponsored state tournament:
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 Fine Arts wing was opened in 2013. 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 cappella 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. 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, and she directed it from February 1982 until her death in June 2009.