Oct. 28, 2024

Dear Families of Holy Name,

November 1 marks a holy day where we remember the “Hall of Fame” of great Christians that lived and died for Jesus.  All Saints Day is commemorated by attending Mass.  This year, the school will be offering Mass at 9am on Friday and Fr. Robb will say it.  Thank you to Fr. Tim for coordinating this opportunity.  I hope you can make time to attend a Mass before the All Saints Festival held that evening.  Please check your church bulletins or join us at the 9am Mass here at Holy Name or join our High School at St. Annes at 8am.

We are asking students to either wear the dress code or come as a saint or an angel.  The T-shirt day will be moved to Nov 8.  Martyred saints that are typically shown with their instrument of death will be allowed, but they must be plastic, foam, or made of cardboard.  For example, St. Paul was beheaded and he is frequently shown holding a sword.  The student can bring the sword, but it must be plastic, foam, or cardboard.  No metal.  The teacher will have final say in the classroom and any props cannot be a distraction to learning.  There may be other options that you could use.  St. Peter is often holding a key.   The evangelists are often depicted as a man, lion, bull, or eagle.  St. Cecilia is frequently playing a musical instrument or St. Francis holds an animal with the stigmata.  Juan Diego may have roses and/or the Tilma.  I trust in your creativity and Pinterest capabilities.  A white sheet goes a long way.

Due to the late notice, preschool will go to Mass on Friday instead of Thursday and will still have their party.  As a Catholic school, we hope you can highlight saints and heroes.  Depictions of evil are not helpful in promoting our faith.  Witches are unfortunately real and work contrary to our mission.

In the evening, the All Saints festivities begin at 6pm and go to 8pm.  There will be games, a bake sale, a saint costume contest, the martyr museum, and lots of fun and fellowship.  See the flier on our website for details.

Peace and joy,

Nathan Vande Hey
Principal