Mrs. Urchell's Page

WELCOME to St. Barnabas Preschool! My name is Mrs. Kate Urchell and I am entering my 23rd year of teaching here at St. Barnabas School! My first nine years I taught Kindergarten and these past fourteen years I have enjoyed teaching Preschool. My husband and I along with our four children, are parishioners at St. John Fisher parish, where my youngest, Gavin, is in 6th grade. Jack is a freshman at Brother Rice High School. Our daughter Ellie is a senior at Mother McAuley High School and our oldest, Julia, is a sophomore at Illinois State University pursuing a Nursing degree. I attended Northern Illinois University where I received a Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Merchandising and then attended Governor's State University where I received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education. While I am not busy with my four children, I enjoy reading, kayaking, biking, gardening, cooking, Pinterest-ing, and spending time with my family at our lake house in Michigan.

I would also like to introduce you to my two wonderful aides, Mrs. Katie Cimarolli and Mrs. Lyndsey Paula! Mrs. Cimarolli will be our full-time instructional aide and bring with her eight years of experience as a Kindergarten teacher. She and her husband along with her two sons, Leo and Nicholas, are parishioners at St. Cajetan Parish where her two sons also attend school. Mrs. Paula joins our team as our part-time instructional aide and Bitty Buckeyes instructor. She and her husband are St. Barnabas parishioners along with their children, Halas and Evey, who also attend St. Barnabas School and are veterans of our Preschool program! I look forward to working with my team and sharing all of the fabulous things we have planned for this year!

For many of you this is your child’s first school experience. Thank you for choosing St. Barnabas as your Preschool and giving us the opportunity to be a part of your child’s developmental growth. For others, this will be your second year with us. We welcome you and your child back and we are are excited to see how much your child has grown over the summer. We look forward to teaching your child and hope to provide an environment where your child will grow, be happy and have a love for learning. We encourage communication and are eager to answer your questions. We are looking forward to a great year!