Schedule Reminders

• Today, May 24 - 11:50am dismissal today (11:40 Preschool), No Aftercare

• Monday, May 27 - NO School, Memorial Day 

• Wednesday, May 29 - 1:30pm Dismissal (1:20 PK), Staff Development 

We hope you all enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend. Let us take time to pause, reflect, and pray for the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed for our nation.

Service Day

Thank you to the nearly 600 people who participated in our Service Day last Friday. It takes a village - and the village certainly showed up! To the countless volunteer chaperones, site leaders, and staff members who played a role in organizing the day - we are so grateful. To our students, thank you for bringing your smiles, enthusiasm, and strong work ethic. - you made an impact on the lives of so many.  Picking up litter, pulling weeds, preparing heartfelt letters and meals, sharing in warm conversation, helping non-profits organize their centers, and most importantly, playing an active role in educating yourself on the needs of others - it is part of what makes St. Barnabas so special. Thank you to everyone. We truly are the hands of Christ. Please enjoy this reflection video with highlights from the day.

Student Council Election Results

This year’s Student Council elections for the upcoming school year took place earlier this week. We were in awe of the 40 students who served as candidates. Every single speech and campaign was filled with courage, creativity, and brilliance. We heard many wonderful ideas and we admire the student's initiative and steadfast dedication to making St. Barnabas the best it can be. We also thank Mrs. McGowan and Ms. O’Neill for guiding the election process, our current 8th grade Student Council members for moderating the speeches, and all of our 4th - 7th grade students for respectfully and attentively listening to the candidate speeches. We congratulate our newly-elected 2024-25 Student Council:

• Commissioner General: James Kaskie
• Assistant Commissioner General: Molly McShane
• Commissioner of Religious Affairs: Rose Grant
• Commissioner of Finance and Charitable Affairs: Evan Prendergast
• Commissioner of Athletics: Turner Liss
• Commissioner of Diversity and Inclusion: Stella Lopez
• Secretary: Quinn Griffin
• Commissioner of Spirit: Mary Herber
• Commissioner of Assemblies and Activities: Nora Murrihy
• Commissioner of Safety: Leo Curley
• Commissioner of Publicity: Brendan Connolly
• Commissioner of Ecology and Environment: Fionn Styczynski 

Staff Transitions

Goodbyes are never easy, and as we come to the end of the school year, we bid farewell to the following staff members: Mrs. Carolina Campos, Ms. Brittney Carr, Mrs. Peggie Grossman, Mrs. Vickie Long, and Ms. Elizabeth Stalla. We thank each of them for sharing their talents, time, and love with our students and school and wish them well with their next chapter. 

Register for Fall Soccer

In addition to the ongoing Football, Cheer, and Girls Basketball registration - Fall Soccer is now open. Soccer opportunities available for all students PK - Grade 8. REGISTER today via TeamSnap! Golf (Grades 5 - 8) will launch at a later date.

Car Parade Honoring the Graduates

Save the Date - next Thursday, May 30, as we honor our Class of 2024 with a Car Parade. A tradition that developed during COVID as a means to safely congratulate the graduates has grown into a beloved tradition as the 8th-grade students (and parents) enjoy a parade of cars throughout the parish on the eve of the graduation liturgy. We will share a map next week and invite you all to step out and cheer on the grads. The parade will depart from the St. Barnabas parking lot at 7pm next Thursday - join us!

Ridge Run Volunteers

This Monday morning, Memorial Day, our neighborhood celebrates the annual BAPA Ridge Run! St. Barnabas serves as a water station for thousands of runners participating in the day. If you can join Ms. Sadowski at 7:45am to help out, please email her at gsadowski@stbarnabasparish.org. 7th-grade students are welcome to join for service hours!

Good luck to all our Buckeye runners (students, staff, alumni, parents, and grandparents). We’re rooting for you!

Dress Down Next Friday! 

Do you know Danny Fahy?! He lights up the hallways of St. Barnabas every Thursday when he helps out in classrooms, the lunchroom, stocking the teacher snack lounge, and working hard organizing for our Admin team. Danny is a parishioner of St. Barnabas and a Special Olympics athlete. In honor and all of the Special Olympics athletes, next Friday, May 31, we will be hosting a $3 Charitable Dress Down. Dress down in red to support the Kids Helping Kids Special Olympics initiative. Contribute ONLINE or send cash to school (exact change only please).

SUMMER CAMP - Lots of summer camp options at St. Barnabas this June. Details and registration are linked HERE.

KEY DATES - Check out some of the big dates for next year, including the first day, last day, and extended holiday vacation dates; linked HERE.

REQUIRED MEDICAL FORMS - Medical forms for next school year are due NO later than Sunday, August 18 at Information Sunday. Details found HERE.

YEARBOOK PHOTO SUBMISSIONS - Have school moments you'd like to share with the yearbook committee? Email pictures along with a quick note of names and event, to: notification.photos.306402649@treeringphotos.com.

We have many to thank at this busy time of year!

CHAPERONES - As the year winds down, our students have been enjoying some field trips with their class. Field trips simply could not happen without the extra eye of our school parents. Thank you to the many, many parents who have taken time out of their day to help out and chaperone our students.

ART FAIR - We are exceptionally proud of cultivating and honoring the fine arts, and this would not be possible without your support! The Art Fair this past weekend was a true celebration of creativity. Thank you to art teacher Mrs. Bachler for leading the way, to parents Meghan Jones and Danielle Geradi for lending a hand, and Culture Club. 

TALENT SHOW - Courage and talent! We had a blast watching our school talent show this past week. We thank our students for sharing a piece of themselves, and we thank our Student Council, and Mrs. McGowan and Ms. O’Neill for helping to put on an impressive show!

8th GRADE - The send-off our 8th-grade students receive is extraordinarily special. It would not be possible without the help of dedicated parents. In the past two weeks, they have enjoyed a White Sox Game, Dinner & Dance, Athletic & Arts Banquet, a trip to Top Notch, and some great photo opportunities. Thank you to the many parents who helped lead these fine events: Stacy Antonopoulos, Rich Baudo, Frank Bilecki, Nidia Blas, Kerri Collado, Maria Frausto, Cortney Harris, Becky Healy, Kathleen & Joe Herber, Rotunda Jordan, Kimberly Kilpatrick, Kianda Lee, Amy Long, Kirstin Lund, Beth & Melissa Maclay-Ryan, Mary Morgan, Phoebe Page, Kandace Phillips, Mike Rom, Margaret & Jim Smith, Susan Stanczak, and Tanya Weekley. If we missed anyone, please know that we are so thankful to each parent for dedicating your time, energy, and love.

Join us in wishing Father Jim Donovan a happy birthday and happy anniversary! This week, Father celebrated both his birthday and 37th anniversary in the priesthood. Thank you for guiding our parish into the next 100 years; we are so grateful for your leadership.