Advancement Update

VIRTUAL GALA

On February 25, 2021, with the wonderful support of our Board of Trustees, our donors, and our entire McAuley community, McAuley’s annual gala went virtual this year in a fun, upbeat, successful, first-ever livestream Celebration. Normally, this event is held in person at Beverly Country Club, but we were inspired by our teachers, staff, and students who have survived and thrived throughout their experience this year as virtual instructors and learners.

During the gala, emcee Carey Temple Harrington ‘86, former Vice President of Institutional Advancement, guided over 3,000 virtual viewers through a nostalgic tour of iconic McAuley places - past, present, and future-ready. The virtual gala was a joyous celebration of McAuley, filled with many videos from alumnae, friends, and family who admire the empowered McAuley women in their lives. Also featured were current McAuley students - the stars of the show - who shared their talents of singing and dancing in true McAuley excellence. Many familiar faces made a special appearance including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Alderman Matt O’Shea, Sister Rosemary Connolly, RSM, Sister Cathleen Cahill, RSM, and comedian Pat McGann and his wife Sara (Phillips ‘96), who all shared uplifting messages for our McAuley community.

Boosting the competitive spirit, this event featured a trendy, healthy raffle and a covid-friendly auction that ignited the compassion of record-breaking bidders. We are so grateful for our McAuley community who helped us raise nearly $400,000 for tuition assistance. During this year’s mission moment, viewers witnessed the powerful story of a family who was impacted by the generosity of donors. This overwhelming support is a true testament to how McAuley continues to remain “MIGHTY” throughout any obstacle.

3,000

VIRTUAL VIEWERS

10 TIMES MORE

THAN 2020 ATTENDEES

650+

DONORS

380

PELOTON RAFFLE TICKETS SOLD

$400,000

RAISED FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE

FORE THE MACS: PLAYING IT FORWARD GOLF OUTING

Save the Date! August 26, 2021 | 2:00pm | Ridge Country Club

This annual fundraiser raises money for the Tradition of Excellence Scholarship at Mother McAuley. Last year, we raised $87,000, which means 87 incoming legacy freshmen received financial assistance! Check your email for more details! For further information on being a sponsor or attendee, email alumnae@mothermcauley.org.

ADMISSIONS Save the Date

Open House

Mother McAuley welcomed more than 200 potential family members to our Spring Open House. The building was filled with faculty and staff members as well as students. Members of the Mighty Mac basketball and volleyball teams participated in drills to bring the McAuley spirit to our main gym and club members filled the small gym. Families were escorted on personal tours by our student ambassadors from the Athletic Center to our Performing Arts wing! For more information or a personal tour, contact Director of Admissions, Carli Weiler Rowan ‘08 at cweiler@mothermcauley.

OPEN HOUSE I September 26th 11:00am-1:00pm 8th GRADE SHADOW DAY October 11th

Class of 2025 MAC Facts

OPEN HOUSE II November 4th 6:00pm-8:00pm ONE LAST LOOK OPEN HOUSE December 2nd 6:30pm-7:30pm ENTRANCE EXAM for 8th Grade Students December 4th

STUDENTS FROM 45

ZIP CODES

27

FEEDER SCHOOLS

129

ARE LEGACY STUDENTS

24

RECEIVED THE AGATHA O’BRIEN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

MAC Market Saturday dates:

July 10th July 24th August 14th August 28th September 11th September 25th

MAC Market is currently accepting vendors. Space rental cost is $40 per day.

Interested in becoming a vendor or have questions about MAC Market, please contact us at: McAuleyMothersClub@gmail.com

NAME THE YEAR & WIN SOME GEAR!

In honor of Father’s Day, here is a photo of McAuley girls and their fathers at the Senior Father-Daughter Dance. Can you guess the year this photo was taken?

Email alumnae@mothermcauley.org by July 31 with your guess and all correct responses will be entered into a raffle for McAuley gear!

Shop the MACS Ltd. Shop the MACS Ltd. store with the store with the QR code QR code below! below!

PRINCIPAL

FROM THE

Dear Friends,

When the global COVID-19 pandemic prohibited in-person learning for Illinois schools, Mother McAuley’s faculty and staff were equipped with the “write stuff” to immediately deploy an online learning platform. Since 2013, McAuley has utilized mobile technology devices and provided or required subsequent training for faculty, staff, and students. All of our classes had already been working in Google Classrooms, which allowed us to employ eLearning days in place of traditional snow days for two years prior to the pandemic. So when COVID-19 disrupted in-person learning in the spring of 2020, we were able to easily pivot to our established eLearning platform.

With a summer to plan creatively and effectively, we launched a hybrid learning program when we returned to school in August of 2020. Students learned 50% in the classroom and 50% through live, synchronous instruction with the use of web cameras deployed in every classroom. Any students or families who felt it best to eLearn completely were welcome to commit to this structure on a rolling, quarterly basis. After spring break, with vaccinations on the rise and cases beginning to drop, we were thrilled to return fully in-person without any disruption! We were also excited to see an unexpected but welcomed change in our attendance rate – the hybrid option increased daily attendance from 96% to 98.5%!

Outside of the classroom, we also carried on, when allowed, to hold seasons for all twelve of our sports, our annual musical, and actively pursued club events and meetings for all our organizations. A special thanks to Mighty Mac faculty and coaches for their dedication and commitment to our students.

With the McAuley way of creative and critical thinking, we also offered an incredible on-campus prom experience in which the big gym was transformed into an enchanted garden. We are incredibly grateful to our Brother Rice friends for welcoming McAuley to hold our graduation outdoors on their turf football field. Graduates lined the field donning their traditional white dresses and carrying red roses while parents, guardians, and special guests looked on from the stands. We celebrate the fact that graduates earned over $53 million dollars in college scholarships, have a 100% college acceptance rate, and that 85% of graduates were accepted to their first choice college or university.

Wow, what a year! Despite it all, the Mighty Mac spirit was just as vibrant as ever. We are indebted to our students, families, faculty, staff, alumnae, donors, and community for their loyal commitment and unwavering support. Go Macs, indeed!

Boldly,

Eileen Boyce O’Reilly ‘03 Principal