"For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself." - Charles Dickens

It is a great honor to be able to celebrate the Christmas season with your children. Their kindness, enthusiasm, and genuine belief bring us tremendous joy. We wish each of you a beautiful Christmas filled with comfort, love, and faith. Thank you for being part of the St. Barnabas community, and may God bless you all.

Thank You

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving the staff a Christmas “Stocking Stuffer” bonus. The hospitality and kindness shown by the parent/guardian community have brought a huge smile to our faces. Your goodness supports the staff as they enjoy their gift in numerous ways, including purchasing Christmas gifts for their children, traveling home to see family, or celebrating holiday traditions. We thank our generous list of donors.

Christmas Luminaries

Thank you to all who supported our Luminary Project, coordinated by the 8th-grade students, parent volunteers, and Mrs. McGowan. Please remember to light your luminaries before the 4pm Christmas Eve Mass. Kindly share any photos with mmcgowan@stbarnabasparish.org. 

Hiring

We are seeking a qualified and caring teacher for 4th and 5th-grade religion and social studies to join us when we return from break. Should you know of any interested candidates, please invite them to reach out to Mr. Stack (jstack@stbarnabasparish.org) and Ms. Sadowski (gsadowski@stbarnabasparish.org).

Christmas Mass Schedule

CHRISTMAS EVE - Sunday, December 24

• 8am, 4th Sunday of Advent Mass
• 4pm, 3:30pm music prelude
• 10:30pm, 10pm music prelude

CHRISTMAS DAY - Monday, December 25

• 10am, 9:45am music prelude

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD - Monday, January 1

• 10am

EPIPHANY - Saturday, January 6

• 4pm Mass, Concert & Reception to follow

Christmas Break Schedule

Our school will be closed over Christmas break. As a staff, we will rest, rejuvenate, and look forward to welcoming our students back to campus on Tuesday, January 9. 

Sweetheart Soiree

The annual Sweetheart Soiree, hosted by the FSA is Friday, January 12, and reservations are due by December 31. Girls are encouraged to bring their favorite date - father, grandfather, or any special adult. Order your tickets today on MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT.

Mid-Year Testing

Students in grades K - 8 will complete mid-year testing in January. During the week of January 16, students will complete their iReady Diagnostic Test. During the week of January 22, students in grades K-8 will complete our Savvas and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt curriculum-based assessments in Math and ELA. These evaluations provide students, families, and staff information about each student's academic progress to ensure they are challenged and supported appropriately.

Barraco’s Fun Food in February

The FSA is hosting a Catholic School’s Week Fun Food event with Barraco’s on Friday, February 2. Student lunch offerings include pizza, chicken tenders, burgers, and mostaccoli. Orders are due by Friday, January 27 at 3pm.  To place an order, log into your MEMBERSHIP TOOLKIT account. Country House hot lunch is not available on Fun Food days. Questions regarding order placement may be sent to Elise Mayer at elise.mayer@chsd218.org

Preschool & All-School Open House

In January, we will host two admissions events. A smaller Preschool Admissions Info Session on Wednesday, January 24, at 8:15am, and our larger all-school Open House on Sunday, January 28. Both events are an opportunity to showcase the school to prospective families. Our current school families play a significant role in making our school community strong and vibrant, and we invite you to get involved.

Help Us Spread the Word

Do you have local friends or neighbors who are not part of our school? Please extend them an invitation to the Preschool Event or the Open House. If you are active on social media, we encourage you to share any of our posts in the coming weeks and help generate excitement and awareness about St. Barnabas School.

Additional Ways to Support our January 28 Open House

The 10am Mass, led by our Student Council, will feature an 8th-grade student speaker and our Children’s Choir. This Mass serves as a beautiful opportunity to reflect on why we choose Catholic education. We encourage all families to attend.

After Mass, current school families are invited to the school. See your child’s homeroom, chat with classmates and parent friends, and visit the gym for coffee and donuts. At that same time, prospective families will be touring the building. We love that our prospective families have the opportunity for a shared experience with current students and families.

Career Panel

As part of Catholic Schools Week, we will celebrate vocations on Thursday, February 1. We are putting together a panel of professionals to speak to our students about their careers. If you are passionate about your job and interested in speaking with the students, please fill out the INTEREST FORM. 

Trivia Night Save the Date

Save the Date for the annual School Board hosted Trivia Night on Friday, Feburary 2. Doors open at 6pm, and trivia begins at 7pm. Gather together a team of six, or signup as an individual and be placed on a team. Ticket purchase details will be available in January.

The first mass at St. Barnabas was celebrated on Christmas Eve, 1924. January 1, 2024, begins our next 100 years. As we embark on a year of celebration, we invite each of you to become part of the journey. Below is a list of opportunities for faith, family, and friendship. Please take a moment to mark your calendars and prepare your hearts. 

We ask our alum parents to complete this FORM and invite you to share it with siblings and classmates.