Skating Party Tonight

Join us at 5:30pm for the annual Back to School Skating Party hosted by the FSA. All are welcome to this parent-child event. Kick-style scooters, rollerblades, and roller skates are welcomed in the parking lot; electric scooters and bikes are NOT permitted.  Helmets are strongly encouraged.  Learn more.

If you take any photos at the event, please upload them to this Google Drive so we can share with the yearbook committee; OR email them directly to sbyearbook@stbarnabasparish.org and include "2024.09.06 Back to School Skating Party" in the subject line. 

Early Bird Winners

Congrats to the five Big Bucks Early Bird winners - Maureen Cooney, Caroline Connors, PJ McGrath, Barnabas Parent Foundation, and Bridget Hunter! Winning tickets are rewarded $1,000 and go back in the pool for another chance at a win on September 28 at our Grand Prize drawing during Fall Fest. 

There is still time to purchase (or help sell) more tickets. Reach out to any of the ticket captains detailed on our website or purchase directly online via Give Central. Learn more.

9-11 Mass of Remembrance

On Tuesday, September 10, please join us at our 8:45am weekly school mass. The 8th-grade students will lead our 9-11 Mass of Remembrance and share the story of Welles Crowther, The Man in the Red Bandana. Learn more.

Google Classroom and Power School

Access to PowerSchool and Google Classroom is now open. 

Google Classroom - is the primary means of communicating assignments, upcoming tests and quizzes, and class notices. We encourage families to check Google Classroom at least once per week to stay connected to the student's curriculum. Login details were emailed to all families on Wednesday morning from Technology Director, Mrs. Kathleen Davies. If you did not receive the student log-in, please contact Mrs. Davies. We recommend downloading the Google Classroom app to your phone.

PowerSchool - student's schedule, attendance record, and current grades for homework, classwork, tests, and quizzes, are logged in PowerSchool. Login credentials for each student are included with the Information Sunday packets. If you have misplaced your login, please contact Mrs. Sue Connolly. We recommend downloading the PowerSchool app and adjusting your settings to receive an automatic weekly summary. Learn more.

Illness

The start of the school year brings lots of new - and unfortunately, new germs and illnesses are often part of the picture. While minor illnesses are a normal part of childhood, they can add worry and stress to households. We require parents/guardians to report all illnesses and infectious diseases to our Main Office at 773-445-7711 or via the absence reporting form. We hold this information confidential, and our staff never shares names with the broader school community. We use this information to track the spread of infection and practice extra sanitization in exposed areas. We currently have reported cases of impetigo, and we ask you to watch for this in your child. A healthcare provider should diagnose and treat impetigo, a common and highly infectious bacterial skin infection. You’ll need prescription antibiotic medication to treat most forms of impetigo, and individuals are typically no longer contagious 24 hours after beginning antibiotic treatment. Learn more.

Scrip Tuition Savings

Raise Right (known as Scrip) is an optional tuition assistance program St. Barnabas offers. Families can purchase gift cards from Raise Right and earn credit toward their tuition. Families may earn over $1,000 off their tuition if utilized to its fullest. The program sells gift cards from hundreds of national and local brands. For example, purchasing a $100 Milanos Pizza gift card will earn you $10 in tuition credit.  With the RaiseRight app - purchasing is easier than ever! Please contact the Scrip Coordinator, Julie McGrath scrip@stbarnabasparish.org, for more information, or follow the steps on our website to get started.

The Scrip enrollment code is: 8BBED57221192

Picture Day is Coming

Picture Day for Preschool—Grade 7 is next Friday, September 13. VanGogh photographers will be on-site during the school day to photograph each student. Students should wear dress clothes attire (collared shirt, sweater, simple dress, etc). Families are encouraged to pre-order their pictures before next Friday. Make-up pictures will take place on Tuesday, October 29.

Collection for Service Day

Once again, we are collecting items to support our Service Day organizations. We are requesting gently used shoes (all sizes) for Share Your Soles or food pantry items for Pro Labore Dei. Items may be brought to the Main Entrance of the school anytime before October 4.  

School Safety Lockdown Drill

On Thursday, September 19, we will hold a school safety lockdown drill for the entire school. We understand that thoughts and discussion of school shootings, especially with the tragic shooting in Georgia earlier this week, can cause stress and fear. The purpose of a school lockdown drill, which we complete annually as required by the Illinois School Safety Drill Act (105 ILCS 128/20), is to protect the people in the building from 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. Read more or opt your child out.

FSA Floral Mums

The 4th Annual Mums sale is back! Pre-order 9" potted mums through Membership Toolkit for $11 each. All orders can be picked up at the school on Sunday, September 29, from 9am to 12pm. At the time of pick-up, a variety of colors will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Order today!

Save the Date

Be sure to mark your calendar for a couple of exciting events we have coming up!

• Saturday, September 28 - Our Parish Fall Fest begins with 4pm Mass, and the celebration continues at the parking lot and convent lawn. The evening concludes with our Big Bucks Grand Prize Raffle Drawing!
• Saturday, October 12 - Homecoming and Buckeye Football at Beverly Park!

Student Council Induction

Earlier this week, our 12 Student Council members received a special blessing and took their oath of office. We look forward to a year filled with initiative and leadership. View the album.

Opportunities for Students

Registration details for each event are linked below:

FAITH -

Parish Children’s Choir: Grades 2 - 8

School Mass Choir: Grades 6 - 8

Altar Servers: Grades 6 - 8

ARTS -

School Band: Grades 4 - 8

AFTERSCHOOL ENRICHMENT -

Chess Lessons: Grades K - 8

Yoga: Grades PK - 8

Run Like a Cheetah: Grades K - 4

Irish Dance: Grades PK4 - 8

Cub Scouts: Grades K - 5

PARENT & CHILD CLUBS -

Adventure Guides & Blackhawk Princesses: all grades

YOUNGEST BUCKEYES -

Bitty Buckeyes: children aged 18 months - 3

Volunteer During School Lunch

We welcome Virtus-trained parent volunteers to help with student support during our lunch periods. Learn more

Treats for Teachers

Thank you to the generous families that quickly and generously supported our online campaign for Treats for Teachers, which we announced last week. We look forward to stocking our breakroom and could not do it without your generous support. We hope to maintain these treats throughout the year; learn more.

Mass this Weekend

Please join us for a special 10am Mass on Sunday, September 8 to honor Union Workers. Learn more.

#ListeningChurch - Be Part of The Conversation

How can we be a more welcoming church? Please join us on Monday, September 16, at 7pm in the Church Hall. Pope Francis has invited all the people of God to pray, discern, and share their thoughts on how the Holy Spirit is leading the Church to move forward. This listening session will focus on our experience in our four local SPR parishes and our hopes for the future. All are welcome! RSVP to Margie at mwegrzyn@stbarnabasparish.org or 773-779-1166 x546.

Bob Valente, father to three St. Barnabas alumni and uncle to two alumni, recently underwent his third lung transplant. We ask you to all pray for Bob’s recovery and the well-being of his family. During the Valente family's time of great need, we share a fundraising page that was created on their behalf.

Thank you, parents, for your commitment to your child’s education! It was our honor to see so many parent faces at our Back to School Night event last night. We also thank our teachers for sharing themselves with our community and for preparing your classrooms for our parent guests.