The Buzz

Greetings SBPS Parents and Friends:

Thank you to everyone who made Halloween a lot of fun here at St. Ben’s! Our kiddos from preschool through eighth grade had a great time. We couldn’t do it without all our volunteers from the Home and School Association - thank you!

We kicked off our basketball season last weekend. This weekend, we invite all winter sports athletes and their families (think basketball, cheerleading and bitty sports) to the 10AM Mass on Sunday with Father Ryan. We will come together as a faith community to give thanks and praise to our Lord, as well as to ask Him to bless our teams with healthy and joy this season. Students are encouraged to wear their spirit wear or uniforms. We hope to see you there.

We have some opportunities coming up for parents to grow in faith. We will be kicking off Be Still Fridays on Friday, November 7. From 2-4PM, we will open up the church for people to come in and spend some time in prayer. We’ll leave the side door in between the rectory and church open. Come in before dismissal and enjoy some prayerful peace. Or, head on over to church after you pick up your children and spend 5-10 minutes in quiet prayer as a family. We know many of you get here early for dismissal. Instead of sitting in your car and scrolling through the Internet, why not spend a little time with our Lord?

Additionally, Father Rayan will be leading an adult workshop on the Power of Prayer on Tuesday, November 11. This is a great gift to give yourself, especially as we look forward to the coming Advent season.

On Tuesday, November 11, we celebrate Veteran’s Day. We invite ALL VETERANS in our parish and school families to join us for the 8:30AM Mass in Church. We will have a special guest sing the Star Spangled Banner after Mass and will also give a special blessing and gift to all the veterans who attend. Afterwards, our grades 1-5 students will join us outside on the corner of Leavitt and Byron for a color guard ceremony performed by local members of the military. Any veterans are also invited to help with this ceremony as we pray for our country, all veterans and those brave men and women serving our country today.

We will also be hosting a parent coffee on the topic of mental health, how to recognize early warning signs and how to seek resources. The parent session is on Friday, November 21 in the upper school library. (please note that I had the wrong date in the Buzz last week). There’s no charge, but we’d like guests to register so we can plan accordingly. See more information below.

There’s no school tomorrow Friday, November 7th for a professional development day. Our teachers will spend the morning receiving training on how to complete the report card using the new scoring system. In the afternoon, we will spend time with our next steps of the DePaul RISE DE&I training. We are hosting a day off basketball camp on this day for grades 1-7. Please check out information below on how to register.

There’s a lot more important information below. Be sure to check out the following:

• Be Still Fridays - Church open on Fridays from 2-4PM

• Winter Season Kick off Mass on Sunday, November 9 at 10AM

• Veteran’s Day Mass - November 11, 2025 - All Veteran’s Invited

Please find listed below important dates:

• November 7, 2025 - No School on Friday, November 7 for a Professional Development Day

• November 7, 2025 - Grades 1-8 LVL Day off Camp -see registration below

• November 7, 2025 - Be Still Fridays - Church open for quiet prayer from 2-4PM

• November 9, 2025 - Blood Drive at St. Ben’s Church - see information below

• November 9, 2025 - Winter Sports Kickoff Mass with special blessing for student athletes at 10AM

• November 10, 2025 - 2025 Annual School Fund kicks off today - please consider making a gift to this year’s Annual School Fund

• November 11, 2025 - The Power of Prayer by Father Ryan - Adult Faith Formation at 7PM

• November 13, 2025 - Mom’s Night Out by HSA

• November 14, 2025 - PK-8 Open House for Prospective Families from 8:30AM to 10AM

• November 14, 2025 - Be Still Fridays - Church open for quiet prayer from 2-4PM

• November 21, 2025 - It Takes a Village:  Recognizing Early Signs of Mental Health Challenges in Our Youth

    & Open Q&A - Parent Coffee from 8:15 -9:15AM

• November 21, 2025 - Be Still Fridays - Church open for quiet prayer from 2-4PM

• November 25, 2025 - last day of Trimester 1

• November 26-28, 2025 - Thanksgiving Holiday break

May God be with us always!

Ms. Rachel Gemo, Head of School

Ms. Gemo’s Prayer Corner

Prayer for Veterans

Dear Lord,

We honor our veterans, worthy men and women who gave their best when they were called upon to serve and protect their country.

We pray that you will bless them for their unselfish service in the continual struggle to preserve our freedoms, our safety, and our country’s heritage, for all of us.

Bless them abundantly for the hardships they faced, for the sacrifices they made for their many different contributions to America’s victories over tyranny and oppression.

We respect them, we thank them, we honor them, we are proud of them. We pray that you will watch over these special people and bless them with peace and happiness.

By Joanna Fuchs