Around School

Carmel students and teachers returned to campus in August with many COVID-19 precautions in place – thermal scanners, a hybrid educational plan, television-style classroom cameras, mobile app symptom check, and more. The return to in-person learning, buoyed by a spirit of cooperation, ingenuity, and gratitude for the opportunity, received high marks.

“In the darkness, we have seen Christ’s light shine in our community,” President Brad Bonham notes.

For senior Owen Hodges, the return to school has been reassuring in many ways. When he notices Principal Jason Huther or Chaplain Fr. Christian Shiu scrubbing desks, he feels safe. Hodges could not be more impressed at how teachers and staff seek to proactively guard students’ well-being, from mask enforcement to constant sanitizing. Carmel staff worked through the summer to set this tone, leaving students to now enjoy and benefit from teaching in a way not possible via eLearning. The social interaction with classmates, though limited, also provides a lift.

“Being able to see my classmates in person has made discussion more genuine,” Hodges says. “Our eagerness to participate stems from this physical, in-person connection we are privileged to receive at Carmel.” Returning to school has left Hodges deeply appreciative of Carmel’s efforts.

“The work and effort of the Carmel administration show how dedicated they are to their students’ education and safety,” he says. “I am proud to be a Corsair, and I am so very glad that my parents made the sacrifices they needed to make to get me involved in such a tight-knit, caring Catholic community.”

Admissions decision boxes have been delivered to more than 300 admitted freshmen, with more still to come! This winter, Carmel saw a 10 percent increase in those who took the entrance exam. Welcome, to our Class of 2025!

This spring semester saw more than 19 transfers to Carmel from approximately 10 schools within Lake and McHenry Counties. According to Chief Enrollment and Advancement Officer Brian Stith, in a typical year, Carmel can expect two or three transfers, with five transfers being on the higher end. Stith believes the increase is due to Carmel’s success with its hybrid learning model during the coronavirus pandemic.

On January 17, Carmel Catholic hosted the March for Life Chicago’s Moving the Movement Tour, a pro-life drive-in and socially-distanced rally. The event featured inspiring speakers, including Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Melissa Villalobos, Dr. Brad Bonham, Mark Curran, Carmel Catholic Senior Hannah Arends, and more.

The Carmel Catholic Engineering Department is the proud recipient of a $10,000 grant from The Grainger Foundation. These funds are intended to support the advancement of the school’s engineering curriculum for the STEM program through the purchase of six laptop computers to run engineering-specific software.

Carmel Catholic is participating in Stanford University’s STEP-UP program, which aims to reduce barriers for underrepresented minorities, first-generation college-goers, and disadvantaged students interested in pursuing a major in STEM fields. The program is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Carmel Catholic is proud to announce that professional counseling services are available to its students through a relationship with Youth & Family Counseling of Libertyville (YFC). YFC strives to make its services affordable for families from all walks of life and has partnered with Carmel Catholic to make sure that no student is denied care based on ability to pay.

Youth & Family Counseling