ESCANABA — Students at Holy Name Catholic School (HNCS) are celebrating 2021 National Catholic Schools Week Jan. 31 through Feb. 5 with many special events and activities.

This year’s theme, “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” focuses on the value that a Catholic education provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities, and our nation.

On Monday, Feb. 1, students will start the school week with “color day.” During the day, students wear their grade’s assigned color and will enjoy a fun game show competition in which HNCS sixth graders will compete in a “Wheel of Fortune” game. Deacon Bob Berbohm, Holy Name’s Middle School Catholic Faith Formation teacher, will visit classrooms to talk to students about vocations and prayer.

Tuesday, Feb. 2 is Essential Worker Day, in which students will dress as either a nurse, doctor, police officer or EMT worker — while recognizing that there are many more essential workers in our communities. Students will tune in at 2:40 p.m. to watch part one of the school’s talent show.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3 — Decade Day — students are invited to wear their favorite outfits from either the 1980s or the 1950s. Students will tune in to watch the seventh graders compete in “A Minute to Win It” game.

Also on Wednesday, students will enjoy participating in Market Day in the school gym, in which students use their talents to help the less fortunate. Students in all grades make items to sell to their fellow students, with all monies raised going to Holy Name’s sister school in Honduras, Casa de Belen (House of Bethlehem).

On Thursday, Feb. 4, students will celebrate Mass at 9:10 a.m., and will wear their Holy Name t-shirts (“The Shirt”) to school. Due to the pandemic’s restrictions on crowd sizes, Holy Name students celebrate Mass a bit differently this year — one classroom each week leads the Mass, and the rest of the school watch the Mass live via Zoom.us. On Thursday afternoon, students will enjoy watching part two of the school talent show.

On Friday, Feb. 5, to wrap up the school week, Holy Name students will celebrate Spirit Day by wearing green and white clothing (HNCS colors), and will enjoy watching the eighth graders compete in a “Family Feud” game show in the afternoon via Zoom.us.

Finally, to wrap up the week and show their appreciation for the area parishes, students will share thank you cards they created with local parish priests.

Catholic Schools Week has been celebrated annually since 1974, and always begins on the last Sunday in January. According to statistics from the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), over 1.7 million students are currently educated in 6,183 Catholic schools in cities, suburbs, small towns and rural communities around the country. Students receive an education that prepares them for the challenges of higher education and a competitive work environment. An estimated 99 percent of Catholic school students graduate from high school and 85 percent of Catholic school graduates attend a four-year college. 

For more information on Holy Name Catholic School, please call the school at 906-786-7550 or visit the school’s website, www.holynamecrusaders.com.