Parochial schools celebrate

February 5, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Karl Henkel

BOARDMAN

Though the snow caused a brief interruption in Holy Family School’s Catholic Schools Week activities earlier this week, participants hit the ice Friday morning as the events began to wrap up.

“Almost every year at Catholic Schools Week, we seem to get a snow day,” said Tina Kali, marketing representative for Holy Family. The snow canceled the events scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

But on Friday, the Ice Zone at 360 McClurg Road in Boardman was packed with students, parents and teachers ice skating, playing video games or enjoying a snack.

“A lot of parents take time off work to come and be a part of this,” Kali said. “The kids enjoy this every year.”

Katherine Kali, 9, a fourth-grader at Holy Family, said one of the best parts of Catholic Schools Week was the number of parents who participated.

“That’s really cool,” she said. “Because a lot of kids don’t get to do that with their parents.”

The ice skating was one of the final events of the week before today’s Family Fun Night, which starts after a 4 p.m. Mass.

“The kids love it here,” said Michelle Dilulo, the school’s vice president. “They love the food, the games, the ice skating. Even the ones who don’t know how to skate.”

Later in the day, students participated in buddy-readings in which children in fourth through eighth grade partnered with those in kindergarten through third grade and read stories.

“I think it helps them a lot because they can’t read yet,” said Angelina Savatina, 10, who, along with fellow fourth-graders Joshua S. Evan, Jayda Benson and Katherine, said they enjoyed buddy-readings and acting as mentors to their younger schoolmates.

Parents said the buddy system, used at different points throughout the year, helps the overall school atmosphere.

“It’s fantastic,” said Laura Keltey, a cafeteria aide at the school who was at the ice rink with her son, Joe, and her daughter, Mary-Kate. “It fosters a sense of community and family. I see the older kids walk by and high-five the younger ones” at school.