February 2025 Parent Pride Newsletter

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We welcome the month of February with having celebrated Catholic Schools Week at the end of January. We truly appreciate your choice of sending your child (ren) to JCA and your support for Catholic education in general. We cannot stress enough that the reason we sit here as an institution is because of the works of Jesus, the Traditions of the Carmelites and Franciscans, and the celebration of our Faith. We do consider ourselves a Family under Christ’s guidance and the works of the Catholic Church. A very special thank you goes to our Parent Association and to YOU for your donations to make the week special for our staff and students.   

Moving forward with the theme of Catholic Schools and Family, I am happy to announce our all-community Family Mass, which will take place on Sunday, February 23^rd @ 10:00 AM in the Mary, Our Sister Chapel, with a breakfast in the cafeteria to follow.  All families are invited and encouraged to attend.  I’d like to thank our Parent Association for hosting this special mass and breakfast; and it is because of the Parent Association and your generous support that we are able to host our breakfast free of charge. 



I hope that your child is finding a great educational rhythm in this second semester and that you are enjoying these (hopefully) last days of cold and snow.  If you were to ever have any questions or concerns, please know that we are here for you. 

Blessings,

Course Selection for 2025-2026 School Year 

It is the time of year where your child needs to begin thinking about their classes for next year! Below is a link to our information page that contains detailed information regarding the course selection process for the 2025-2026 school year. The link contains information about the student course selection process, and the parent approval process. Please reach out to your child's School Counselor with any questions or concerns.  

https:/www.jca-online.org/course-requests/  

February Advisory: Course Selection Process  

Current Freshmen (Class of 2028), Sophomores (Class of 2027), Juniors (Class of 2026): 

·       During the week of February 3^rd, the school counselors will present in all students’ Theology classes regarding the course selection process. Each student will be given a course selection card where they will indicate which courses they are requesting. 

·       Teacher signature approval will be required on the course selection card for all courses that require a pre-requisite. 

·       The course selection card must be brought home, and a parent must sign the card. 

·       Deadline for students to submit course selection cards to their Theology teachers is February 24^th.  

Questions?  

If you have any questions or concerns about your student’s course selections, please email your student’s counselor:  

Mr. Mickey Palmasani (mpalmasani@jca-online.org): School Counselor for Freshmen & Sophomores with last names A-K  

Mrs. Kris Horn (khorn@jca-online.org): Director of Counseling and School Counselor for Freshmen & Sophomores with last names L-Z  

Mrs. Kerri Voltz (kvoltz@jca-online.org): College & Career Counselor for Juniors & Seniors with last names A-K  

Mrs. Jackie Pullara (jpullara@jca-online.org): College & Career Counselor for Juniors & Seniors with last names L-Z  

Every February, people across the United States celebrate the achievements and history of African Americans as part of Black History Month.

In 1915, in ressponse to the lack of information on the acomplishments of Black people available to the public, historian Carter G. Woodon and others began the movement to acknowledge these contributions for week long festitivities.

February was chosen because it incudes the birthdays of Fredereick Douglass, an abolitionist (someone who wanted to end the practice of enslaving people), and former U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln led the United States during the Civil War which was primarily fought over the enslaement of Black people in the country.

In 1976, U.S. present Gerald Ford extended the recognition to “honor the too often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It recognizes and honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history, fro the enslaved people first brought over fro Africa in the early 17^th century to African Americans living in the United States today.

In this feature, we will highlight Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) who was one of the most important Black educators, civil and women’s rights leaders and government official of the twentieth century. In 1904, she founded a school that became Bethune-Cookman University which set educational standards for today’s Black colleges, and her role as an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave African Americans a strong advocate in government. Within this role she served as the highest ranking African American womanin goverment

In 1912, Bethune was elected as the first female president of the American Teachers Association (ATA). Over many years, Bethune founded many organizations and also led several voter registration drives after women gained the right to vote in 1920. In 1940, she became vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP). Additionally, in 1945 she was appointed by President Harry S. Truman to be the only woman of color at the founding conference of the United Nations.

Throughout her life, she receivced sevaral awards and recognitions including a memorial statue in Washington, DC in 1974 and a postage stamp in 1985. Her final residence is a National Historic Site and in 2002, Bethune became the first AfricanAmerican to be represented with a statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol.

Once again, JCA students have been invited to attend the 14^th Annual Black Teen Summit scheduled for Friday, February 14, 2025 from 8:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Joliet Junior College. The empowerment conference is a great opportunity for students to enhance their social consciousness, increase their leadership skills, learn about several collegiate opportunities, and meet with numerous community resources. For additional information or to register, please reach out to Ms. Cameron at lcameron@jca-online.org

The Annual Appeal is the foundation of fundraising to maintain academic achievement within our school. The school community of parents, alumni, faculty/staff, and friends contribute financially to help bridge the gap between the cost to educate a student and the cost of tuition. JCA’s tuition covers only 86% of the actual cost of educating a student. As a faith-based school our mission is to limit tuition increases for all families.

Your contribution helps us make up the difference – but, more importantly, your contribution makes a difference! Join us in keeping Joliet Catholic Academy strong by making your gift to the Annual Appeal today.

YOU are the DIFFERENCE!

SPRING SPORTS 2025 REGISTRATION IS OPEN

The following 3 steps must be completed before the first day of spring sport tryouts/practice listed below:

BASEBALL, BOYS TENNIS, GIRLS SOCCER, SOFTBALL: MARCH 3^RD (Time/Place TBA)

BOYS VOLLEYBALL: MARCH 10^TH (Time/Place TBA)

If this process is not completed by the dates listed, the athlete will not be able to tryout and/or participate in practices or competition. 

Step 1:  Get your annual physical exam.  Athletes must use the IHSA Physical form that can be found under the Athletic tab on the JCA website, in the drop down, “Sports Physicals.”  Physicals are good for 395 days (13 months) per the IHSA.  If your athlete participated in a fall and/or winter sport and their physical is current, there is no need to turn in another copy. Physical forms must have the athlete and parent signature.

Step 2:  Turn in current sport physical to the main office, or by emailing ddispenza@jca-online.org.  Pictures, screenshots, jpeg, jpg, or any other picture format, ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. Only PDF forms will be accepted. 

Step 3:  Complete online registration at https://www.gobound.com/il/schools/jolietcatholic#. Your registration is not complete until the sports fee is paid.  

JCA Parents,

We are Kristen and Darrel Swienton, co-chairs of the Jubilate committee. We have two sons, Quinn, a senior, and Rylan, a sophomore. Our experience with JCA has been nothing short of amazing. The school has provided an incredible environment for our boys to grow and thrive into the exceptional young men they are today, and we couldn’t be prouder.

When Quinn started as a freshman, we were new to JCA and didn’t come from a feeder school. While we were familiar with a few JCA families, we felt just as nervous as our son did stepping into this new chapter. That nervousness led us to skip Jubilate that first year. We didn’t know many parents and felt out of our comfort zone. Looking back, we truly regret that decision.

We missed out on an incredible opportunity to connect with fellow parents, form meaningful friendships, and support JCA’s largest fundraiser that benefits the entire school community. It also made us reflect: how could we encourage our boys to meet new people, get involved, and embrace opportunities if we weren’t willing to do the same? The next year, we made it a priority to attend Jubilate, and we haven’t looked back since.

Attending Jubilate opened so many doors for us. We’ve met wonderful families, become active volunteers on the Jubilate committee, and found joy in giving back to a community that has given so much to our boys. Let’s not forget the amount of fun had at Jubilate. This year we will be interactive with trying your luck at the JCAsino, along with dinner and dancing.

With Jubilate fast approaching, as co-chairs of this year’s event, we want to personally invite you to join us. We promise this event will not disappoint!  If you have any questions reach out to Christine M. Voss, Director of Special Events. We promise, you’ll be glad you came!

For more information, visit Jubilate 2025 | JCAsino Royale