Another Successful Spirit Week Concludes

At Stella Maris Academy High School Campus, Spirit Week has become more than just a fun break from routine—it's a carefully crafted celebration that weaves together school pride, Catholic tradition, and student leadership. In a recent interview, Mr. Jesse Murray and Ms. Jenny Boran shared insights into how this innovative event has transformed the typical homecoming concept into something uniquely meaningful for their school community.

Unlike traditional high schools, Stella Maris Academy faces a unique challenge: "We don't really yet have an organized alumni base, nor do we have a football team, [and] we have no graduates who would be coming home," explained Ms. Boran. "So there is still a desire for some kind of fun week, especially within the fall, that could encourage some school spirit."

The solution? Spirit Week—a ten-day celebration strategically scheduled between two major Marian feast days.

What makes Stella Maris Academy's Spirit Week particularly special is its integration of Catholic feast days. "Instead of just being a five-day event, it stretches out between two feast days," Ms. Boran noted. "What's also really neat is there's multiple saint feast days within that, especially in the beginning of October."

The calendar during Spirit Week is packed with significant celebrations: the Feast of the Archangels, Guardian Angels, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, Saint Jerome, Saint Francis of Assisi, and Our Lady of the Rosary. Each day presents an opportunity to connect fun activities with spiritual meaning.

"We're taking this maybe secular idea of homecoming and infusing it to fit our culture and using it as an opportunity to do these fun extra things also connected to these feast days," Ms. Boran explained.

Practical examples of this fusion included a Latin translation challenge on the Feast of Saint Jerome (who translated the Bible into Latin), wearing pink or floral attire on the Feast of Saint Thérèse (the "Little Flower"), and concluding with a school-wide rosary for world peace on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

A key component of Spirit Week's success is the growing role of student leadership. Despite the challenge of planning such an ambitious event just four weeks into the school year, the student council and leadership class took charge of organizing activities, assemblies, and competitions.

"A victory on that is the fact that we have a leadership class and a student council who did take the lead on these activities," Ms. Boran shared. "And so therefore, there's this opportunity for students to truly be leaders in the Spirit of Spirit Week."

Mr. Murray emphasized the dual meaning of the event: "Celebrate the academy, but also spell out and celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit. Those things can be fused if we can connect the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives with these spirited events. We're winning here on Earth."

Spirit Week at Stella Maris Academy is notable for its high level of participation across the entire school community. "It's cool to see students step up as leaders and then model it. But it's also great to see how active our teachers are in the festivities," Mr. Murray observed.

The creativity displayed by both students and teachers particularly impressed the administrators. "Their creativity, it's just awesome to watch kids and teachers come up with and share. [It] is fun to be part of," Mr. Murray said.

One memorable aspect was "flip day," where students dressed as teachers and teachers dressed as students. "It was a fun way to be respectful," Mr. Murray reflected. "You understand some of the intricacies of how someone dresses and acts and the kids know us and our teachers know the kids because you can pick them out."

Spirit Week featured seven themed dress-up days carefully selected to be accessible for families. "We don't want to overwhelm parents, especially those who have younger students," Ms. Boran explained. "I thought that they did a really good job of picking dress-up days that were pretty manageable with the average closet."

The themes included Minnesota Day (honoring outdoor activities in connection with Saint Francis), pink and floral day for Saint Thérèse, and various house and class spirit days. By the end of the ten days, some students were ready to return to their uniforms, Ms. Boran noted with a smile.

The timing of Spirit Week proved ideal for strengthening the school's house system. Just before Spirit Week began, freshmen and transfer students participated in a "sorting ceremony" where they were assigned to their houses. "This is actually the first weeks where our new house members are part of the house, and they are a member of that house, a family member," Mr. Murray explained. "They are building and competing together.

Despite its success, Spirit Week presents ongoing challenges. The early timing in the school year makes preparation intense, especially for a new student council still learning their roles. "Getting things communicated out and having enough time to plan is a bit of a time crunch," Ms. Boran acknowledged.

Looking ahead, both Mr. Murray and Ms. Boran hope to expand Spirit Week's scope. "There's a hope for our students to continue to take more ownership of some of the events, not just in the planning and leading, but in the preparations," Ms. Boran said. They also envision adding evening events and opportunities for parent involvement, though scheduling remains complex with many students committed to athletic practices.

As Stella Maris Academy continues to grow and evolve, Spirit Week stands as a testament to what makes the school distinctive—a commitment to integrating faith, tradition, and joyful celebration into everyday student life. What began as an innovative solution to the absence of traditional homecoming has blossomed into something far more meaningful: a lived expression of the school's mission to form students in both body and Spirit. With each passing year, as student leaders gain confidence and the community deepens its participation, Spirit Week promises to become an even more cherished tradition—one that future alumni will remember not just for its fun and creativity, but for how it shaped their understanding of what it means to be part of a Catholic school community united in faith and fellowship.