Calendar Reminders

A few calendar reminders for some upcoming days off and early dismissals:

• NO School - Friday, September 25
• 1:30pm Student Dismissal - Wednesday, September 30 and Friday, October 2 (After Care available until 6pm)
• 11:50am Student Dismissal - Thursday, October 8 (No After Care)
• NO School - Friday, October 9 and Monday, October 12

Fall Fest - Next Weekend!

Saturday, September 26 is a day to celebrate all things St. Barnabas and the incredible community we are. The planning committee has an extraordinary day planned, and we hope you can join us.

• Mums Sale - Saturday morning, 9am - 12pm: Fill your front porch, or make someone's day and gift them a beautiful fall mum from the FSA's annual flower sale. Pick up your pre-ordered mums on the convent grounds. $12 for large 9” pots. Order today.
• Parish Mass - Saturday, 4pm - 5pm: Please join us for the 4pm Parish Mass. We will be honoring our student-athletes, and all fall sports athletes are encouraged to wear their team jersey. We will also be blessed with the beautiful voices of our Children's and Adult Choirs. It's one of the best Masses of the year, and we hope to see you all there.
• Fall Fest - Saturday evening, 5pm - 10pm: After Mass, head over to the parking lot and school grounds for an all-ages celebration. Drinks and food available for purchase, and the kids can enjoy a petting zoo, music, chalk, and bubbles. View the invite.
• Big Bucks Raffle - Saturday evening, around 7:30pm: The Grand Prize drawing takes place during Fall Fest. Who will have a winning ticket? $10,000, $20,000, or $50,000 could be yours. We could use your help in selling more tickets. Share the purchase link with friends and family, or consider purchasing another chance. Purchase Big Bucks.

Log Your Volunteer Hours

New this year! It takes many hands and hearts to make St. Barnabas the joyful, loving, and extraordinary community that it is. Whether you coach, chaperone, help at an event, serve at Mass, volunteer in a classroom, join a committee, work gym duty, or lend a hand behind the scenes, you are the Hands of Christ in action. We invite all families to self-report volunteer hours throughout the year so we can celebrate the incredible time, talent, and love our community gives back.

• Coaches, auxiliary group leaders, and volunteers who give time almost every week should report hours monthly/ seasonally with a summary of hours rather than for each volunteer shift.
• Occasional volunteer shifts (field trip chaperones, lunch duty, Service Day, gym duty, etc.) should report their hours after the event.

Thank you for showing up, pitching in, and helping make St. Barnabas the joyful and loving community it is.

The form will continue to be linked at the bottom of each newsletter in Quick Links and in the Family Resources section of our website.

Diverse Learners Night

Parents and guardians of 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students with Student Support Plans/IEPs are invited to attend a Catholic High School Info Session on Wednesday, September 23, 7pm at Church Hall. Representatives from nine area Catholic high schools will share information about learning support services at their schools. Learn more.

This is a community-wide event. Families from all area grammar schools are encouraged to join us - please help spread the word to your friends at other area schools.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday, October 7, from 4pm - 7pm, and Thursday, October 8, from 1pm - 6pm. Junior High students (6th, 7th, 8th grade) are encouraged to attend the conference with their parents/guardians. All Conferences are held in-person and are 10 minutes in length. You may register for up to two conferences per child. The registration link will be shared next week.

Extended Day Attendance

To help us schedule staff for Extended Day and ensure your child knows whether and when they should attend After Care, please complete the Extended Day Attendance Form. If your child's schedule doesn't change weekly, you only need to fill this out once per trimester. Extended Day Attendance.

Note: If there are ever any last-minute changes, please email Mrs. Meghan Jones, Mrs. Sue Connolly, and your child's homeroom teacher. 

The Bro Joe Panini

To celebrate and welcome the Augustinian community, Calabria introduced the "Bro Joe Panini." Head to Calabria to get a delicious panini, and $1 from every sale will be donated back to St. Barnabas. View the details.

Uniform Sweatshirts

Beginning next week, we will offer our uniform sweatshirts for same-day purchase at the front desk. The quarter-zip and crewneck style dress-code approved sweatshirts will be available in a range of sizes. Check out the details.

Note to all families: Put names on apparel! A quick Sharpie marker on the clothing tag prevents our lost and found pile from growing.

Buckeyes First Day

The Beverly Review annual Back to School issue came out this week. We loved seeing our St. Barnabas Buckeyes represented so well in the first day photos - check it out if you missed it. View the Beverly Review issue.

After School Enrichment (ASE)

Registration is now open for our new series of After School Enrichment Classes. With eight class offerings across a range of ages and interests, there is plenty to choose from. We encourage prompt registration, as spots are limited. Classes begin the week of September 28. New this year: register in the attached Google Form, and we will bill the class fee to your tuition statement; no need to send in cash or a check.

Classes Offerings:

• MONDAYS - Craft Club with Ms. O'Neill, Gr. K - 3
• MONDAYS - Salsa Dancing with Ms. Sanchez, Gr. 3 - 8 
• MONDAYS - Drama Club with Ms. McCabe, Gr. 5 - 8
• TUESDAYS - Yoga with Ms. Guerra, Gr. K - 3
• TUESDAYS - Calming Creations with Ms. Bachler, Gr. 3 - 8
• WEDNESDAYS - Dance It Out Ms. Zordan, Gr. 1 - 3
• THURSDAYS - STEM with Mr. Morris, Gr. 3 - 5 
• THURSDAYS - Yoga with Ms. Guerra, Gr. 4 - 8

Student Band

Student Band lessons begin on Monday! Led by Director Mr. William Gula, all students in grades 4 - 8 are welcome to join. Student Band meets weekly during the school day to develop skills on the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and snare drum. Interested students should return the contract and payment to the school. View the Student Band details.

Family School Association (FSA)

All parents are invited to the FSA Kick-off Meeting on Wednesday, September 23 at 7pm in the Outdoor Classroom. The FSA is an engaging, inviting way to get to know other parents in the school community and is an invaluable part of our school's fabric. They plan many of the fun events we enjoy throughout the year - Skating Parties, Fun Food, Spirit Day, Mother-Son and Father-Daughter events, Scholastic Book Fair, and more. Your volunteer time commitment can be large or small. Complete the Interest Form to join the mailing list.

Adventure Guides

All families are invited to join the Adventure Guides Father-Son group or Blackhawk Princesses Father-Daughter group. These groups offer a wonderful parent-child bonding opportunity, help parents and students build new friendships, and foster a sense of community.

Details about some upcoming Adventure Guide activities are on our website. Details about Blackhawk Princess are coming soon. Get involved with Adventure Guides. 

Join the Equity & Inclusion Committee

The School Advisory Board invites all interested parents, guardians, and faculty members to join the Equity and Inclusion Committee. Our goal is to foster a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive environment for every member of our school community. If you are interested in joining or learning more, please reach out to Jana Elion at janaelion14@gmail.com.

Service Day

Donations Wanted: We are seeking donations for some of the organizations we will support on Service Day. A collection table is available in the school's Main Hall and the Preschool Building. Kindly contribute by Tuesday, September 29. Learn more

• Care of Animals - Dog treats, dry dog food, leashes, and no-pull dog harnesses. Or check out the Amazon Wish List for The Blue Island Stray Dog Shelter. Note: If ordering from the Amazon wish list, please ship items to your house and bring them to school. 
• Books - New or gently used children's books.
• Used Crayons - Bring in your broken, used, well-loved crayons to be repurposed into like-new crayons.
• Shoes - New or gently used shoes in men’s, women’s, and children’s sizes. Children's sizes are especially requested. To help us stay organized, please zip-tie or bag pairs of shoes together.
• Financial Contributions - Donate online if you'd like to further support the missions of the organizations we serve.

Chaperones: Wow, we have offers from 125 parents to help out as chaperones. Thank you for generously sharing your time. We will be sharing additional details with parent chaperones next Friday. IF you are behind on your Virtus compliance, you received an email from Mrs. Connolly with the steps you need to take. Please complete it over the weekend; volunteers who are not up to date in Virtus will not be allowed to participate.

Additional Details: Service Day is a 1:30pm dismissal. There is NO hot lunch, all students must bring a bagged lunch. Dress code for the day is school spirit wear or gym uniforms.

Skating Party - Thank you to the many families that came out to celebrate together at the annual Back to School Skating Party. We also extend a huge thank you to school parents Carly Hurd and Katie Rao for organizing on behalf of the FSA. Carly and Katie have been running the skating party for years, and their enthusiasm and excitement make it a hit every year.

Michelle Brett - We heard everyone had great fun at the 8th grade parent party. Thank you to Michelle Brett for opening up your home to kick off a banner year for the Class of 2027.

Men’s Club Kickoff - Thank you to all who came out to last night's Men’s Club Kickoff, and a big thanks to Patrick Doig, Matt Kreiter, and Pat Witz for leading the event. If you missed the meeting but are still interested in getting involved with the Men’s Club, be sure to complete the Men’s Club Interest Form.

Smart Families - Thank you to the families who came out to our first Parents Smart Families Session. We look forward to the partnership we are building. Learn more.

Culture Club - Many thanks to our incredible students in Culture Club, Mrs. Gaytan, and Ms. Sanchez for their creativity and work leading the Hispanic Heritage Assembly earlier this week. And we extend thanks to our special “guest dancers” Fr. Homero Sanchez and Br. Joe.