Faith and fanfare at Holy Name

Holy Name of Mary students and staff take great pride in their school, and that was never more evident than last week. From an open house last Sunday to a trip to Hot Skates on Friday, there were numerous activities to celebrate annual Catholic Schools Week in Valley Stream.

By the end of the week, Principal Richard McMahon was able to sum up the festivities in just a few words. “It’s been great,” he said.

This year’s national theme for Catholic Schools Week was “Faith, Academics and Service.” McMahon said all three of those aspects were captured at Holy Name of Mary School. For faith, there was Sunday mass on Jan. 29 — a regular weekly activity made all the more special by celebrating the parish’s school. For academics, there were a pair of spelling bees, and for service children found ways to help both the local and the global communities.

The National Junior Honor Society organized a “Souper Bowl.” Children were asked to bring in a can of food on Feb. 3 for the Holy Name of Mary Parish Outreach center. A total of 342 cans were collected. Every child who made a donation didn’t have to wear their school uniform that day, and many chose to celebrate the real Super Bowl by wearing Giants attire.

But students would have done it even without the motivation of a uniform-free day. “It’s always good to give to the poor and help families in need,” said Honor Society member Daniel Bosko.

Collecting the most cans were the kindergarten (56) and sixth grade (55). Those students earned pizza parties for their classes.

The Honor Society also organized a spelling bee for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, which served as a fundraiser. “They had sponsors and they would donate money for every word they got right,” said seventh-grader Monica Ferrall.

Money raised from that event will be donated to Reason 2 Smile, according to Honor Society Vice President Natalie Piniero. She said the organization helps build schools in Kenya and also provides school supplies to children there. “Helping other people is what Christians always do,” Piniero said.

Then there was a the regular school spelling bee for students in grades 5-8. It took 14 rounds to determine a winner, with seventh-grader Kevin Higgins emerging as the victor after spelling the word “boulevard” correctly.

Higgins made quite an impression after being knocked out on the first word in last year’s bee. “I didn’t do anything differently,” he said. “I just had to remember the silent letters in every word.”

That annual trike-a-thon, for students in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade, raised money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. McMahon said the annual event consistently generates at least $1,000.

Kindergarten teacher Pat Gallo, who organized the event, said not only do Holy Name’s youngest students learn the importance of helping other children, they also learn valuable bicycle safety skills.

Other highlights from the week included a volleyball game pitting the teachers against the eighth-grade students, an evening concert, a social studies fair and bingo. Open house following the 10:30 a.m. mass on Jan. 29 gave school officials the chance to show off the building to prospective students and parents. McMahon said 35 families came to check out the school and some parents even signed up their children to attend Holy Name of Mary School next year.

McMahon said he believes people choose the school because of its positive atmosphere. Many children were new to the school this year after nearby Blessed Sacrament closed, and McMahon noted how well they were treated by Holy Name of Mary’s long-time students. “We try to preach the concept of being welcoming,” he said.