Fall Fest is Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Saturday, September 26, we come together to celebrate our St. Barnabas community.

Mums Sale - Saturday morning, 9am - 12pm: If you pre-ordered flower mums from the FSA, remember to stop by for pick-up between 9am - 12pm. Color selection is first come, first served. A limited quantity of same-day (cash only) plants may be available for $15 each.

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.

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 are 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 will take place around 7:30pm during Fall Fest. Who will have a winning ticket?! Please see our note above on how you can help us sell out!

Fall Fest Spirit Wear: We have a limited-edition collection for Fall Fest. Visit the sales table on Saturday night for same-day purchase, or order online for delivery in mid/late October. Comfort Colors shirts and crewneck sweatshirts, classic quarter-zip, and even a baby-sized Buckeye shirt. View the collection

Help Serve Food & Drinks: The planning committee is searching for a few more volunteers to serve food. No cooking - only taking tickets and serving food for an hour. If you have questions, please contact Pat Wirtz at pwirtz@alumni.nd.edu or 312-286-0722. Sign up to Volunteer

Homecoming, Next Week

Dress Down and Pep Rally on Monday - All students are invited to show their school spirit and dress down on Monday in honor of our Pep Rally. Spirit wear, school colors, gym uniforms, team jerseys, and cheer uniforms are all welcome. Non-uniform bottoms are permitted. We will celebrate our fall sport student-athletes with a pep rally at 1:45pm. Like most school-day assemblies, this is a student event, but we invite 8th-grade parents to attend. 

Football Games on Sunday, October 4 - The BC Knights take on St. Cajetan at Beverly Park. The 4th-grade game kicks off at 12pm, JV at 1:30pm, and Varsity at 3pm. 

Calendar Reminders

A reminder that we have two 1:30 dismissal days next week:

• 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

Register for Winter Sports

Registration for Boys Basketball (Grades 3 - 8) and Girls Volleyball (Grades 4 - 8) is now open! All students are invited to participate. Tryouts for Grades 6, 7, and 8 will be held in October. 

Register promptly; we cannot accept late registrations.

• Register for Boys Basketball > registration deadline October 8
• Register for Girls Volleyball > registration deadline October 15

Safety Drill

On Thursday, October 1, we will hold a school-wide Intruder Lockdown Drill. We understand that thoughts and discussions of school shootings and emergencies may cause stress and fear. The school lockdown drill (required by the Illinois School Safety Drill Act) helps prepare the people in the building for a potential emergency. As with fire drills and other safety programs, we hope and pray that these drills always stay drills, but it’s critical to teach our school community what to do quickly and correctly in an emergency. We encourage all students to take part in this important safety measure. If you do not want your child to participate, please complete the exemption form.

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. Register for PTC

Fun Food for Halloween

Barraco’s Fun Food is on Friday, October 30. Thank you to the FSA for bringing this fun tradition to the students. This is also a great day to volunteer for lunch duty. Orders are due October 20. Place your order.

Witch Ride

The St. Barnabas Parent Foundation's annual Witch Ride is back. Register to ride at the Thursday, October 22 event. The foundation is also looking for new board members for the 2027–2028 school year. If you love getting involved, supporting our teachers, and planning fun events for our community, they’d love to have you! Learn more about the foundation and the event.

Uniform Reminders

With chilly weather arriving, we wanted to share a few uniform reminders:

• Please label all sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, and jackets with the student's name to avoid lost items.
• Students may wear any layers when traveling to school and at recess, but during the school day, they may wear only approved layers. 
  - Sweater: plain crewneck or cardigan sweater in navy, red, or white.
  - Sweatshirt: Quarter-zip or crewneck with white St. Barnabas logo in red, black, or gray.
  - Layers must be worn over uniform shirt (polo or gym).
• Girls may wear solid-color tights or leggings in black, navy, gray, red, or white. Pajama bottoms under skirts and jumpers are not permitted during the school day.
• Backless shoes, slippers, and boots (such as Uggs) are not permitted.

Uniform Sweatshirts are now available for same-day purchase at the front desk. Stop by the Main Office to purchase a quarter-zip or crewneck (available in gray color only). Check out the details.

Service Day, Next Friday

Service Day is next Friday, October 2. On this day, 650 students, chaperones, and staff will gather to live out our Root Belief - We are the hands of Christ. Our Preschool - Grade 3 students will complete their service projects at school, and Grades 4 - 8 will travel off campus to 11 different service sites in the Chicago area. Please review all the details outlined below:

Arrival and Dismissal - All students should arrive at the regular 7:45am morning bell. We will dismiss at 1:30pm (1:20 PK); After Care is available. 

Bagged Lunched for All - There is no hot lunch service. All students should bring a lunch and water. Preschool - Kindergarten should bring their usual daily snack. 

Dress Code - All students should wear school spirit wear or gym uniforms. Closed-toe shoes are required for all, no Crocs or sandals. Many of our Grade 4 - 8 students will be spending time outdoors; please dress accordingly. Greater Chicago Food Depository volunteers must wear pants; students in shorts will not be allowed to travel to this service site.

Chaperones - Thank you to the 100+ parents who volunteered to help on Service Day! Due to buses, parking spots are extremely limited in the lot; if driving, please walk or use street parking. Please arrive at the Church by 8am, and proceed to the volunteer check-in area. We encourage you to wear school spirit wear, and you’re welcome to bring a bagged lunch to eat with the students. Each service project will wrap up at a slightly different time throughout the day (the majority will finish between 11:30am - 12pm); please review your estimated work times here > Service Day Chaperone Roster. 

Afternoon Reflection - At 12:15pm, students and staff in grades Kindergarten - Grade 8 will gather in the Church for a Service Day Reflection. We will share student experiences, pictures, and reflect on the momentous day. All parents are invited to join us in the Church at 12:15pm. After the reflection, students will return to the school building and be dismissed with their homerooms at 1:30pm (1:20pm for PK).

Support - we are seeking donations of children's books, used crayons, shoes, and dog care items. If you can help out, please bring items to school by this Tuesday. View the donation details.

After School Enrichment (ASE)

After School Enrichment begins on Monday! Several classes have reached max capacity, but a few still have spots available. 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. Register for ASE

Classes still open for registration:

• MONDAYS - Drama Club with Ms. McCabe, Gr. 5 - 8
• MONDAYS - Salsa Dancing with Ms. Sanchez, Gr. 3 - 8 
• TUESDAYS - Calming Creations with Ms. Bachler, Gr. 3 - 8
• THURSDAYS - STEM with Mr. Morris, Gr. 3 - 5 
• THURSDAYS - Yoga with Ms. Guerra, Gr. K - 3

Log Your Volunteer Hours

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

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.

Student Band

There is still time to join the Student Band! 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.

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. Thank you to the Men’s Club for the idea and for collaborating with Calabria to bring this fun idea to life. View the details.

FSA Kick-off - Thank you to our FSA leaders: Caitlin Andersen, Sara Powers, Karolyn Johnson, and Patricia Lewis for hosting a wonderful Kick-off meeting. It was great to see both new and returning faces. We look ahead with excitement to the enriching events and strong commitment to community that the FSA brings.

Diverse Learners Panel - Thank you to our Director of Student Support, Mrs. Jeana Reichard, for coordinating a helpful evening for parents throughout the South Side. Your knowledge and expertise in supporting diverse learners strengthens the neighborhood. We appreciate the parents who attended - thank you for your commitment to supporting your children. We also thank the representatives from Brother Rice, DeLaSalle, Marian Catholic, Marist, Mother McAuley, Mount Carmel, St. Ignatius, St. Rita, and St. Laurence for sharing their time.