Holy Family's Culture Day Brings the World Into One School

June 18, 2026

On a Friday morning in late March, the classrooms of Holy Family Catholic School in Des Moines looked a little different than usual. Tables draped with artifacts, photographs, and food stretched through the building. Students stood beside their displays with pride. Parents wove through the crowd. The smell of dishes from across the globe drifted through the air.

It was Culture Day. And this year, it was bigger than ever.

Normally, only one culture is celebrated each year, rotating from year to year. The school picks a culture represented by at least one of its students and devotes the day to it. Students like Joseph Tung has patiently waited for his turn.

Tung, an eighth grader, has been at Holy Family long enough to watch Culture Days come and go. Each year, he'd watched other students take their turn, and this year, finally, it was his. Standing beside his display on Myanmar, Joseph was beaming.

"We were so excited," he said of himself and his friends. "We prepared all this. We were anxious about it too."

His table told the story of a country many of his classmates might never have encountered. Joseph wanted to share what foods people eat in Myanmar, and how Myanmar's culture was impacted and freed from British colonial rule. It was a point of pride, not just a school project.

We all belong

But this year, for the first time, Holy Family wasn't celebrating just one culture. They were celebrating all of them: Asian cultures, African cultures, European cultures, Hispanic cultures, all on the same day.

"We just wanted everyone to feel included in Culture Day," said School Counselor Maren Friedman. "Our motto this year for this school is that we all belong. And so, representing all the cultures in Culture Day was pretty important to us."

Friedman, who described herself as having been specifically drawn to Holy Family because of its diversity, sees the school's character as something deliberate and deeply felt. 

"I think it is intentionally called Holy Family because everyone feels included when you come here," she said.

On Culture Day, that inclusive spirit means all hands on deck. Teachers, staff, and volunteers each take on a role, whether helping with food, supporting student presentations, or organizing the dance performances later in the gym.

A father’s surprise

Many parents attended this year’s Culture Day, but one went a step further.

Abel Sale, an eighth grader, arrived at his display prepared to share his African heritage. There, he found an extra presenter he hadn’t expected: his father, Nayte Amanuel, dressed in traditional African dress. He hadn't told his son he was coming, and Sale was grateful to see him.

"It was kind of difficult to explain," Sale said, "because I never really went to any of those countries. But it was really nice for my dad to be here because he has real experience."

"They grew up here," Amanuel said of his son and his classmates. "In a cultural way, they don't know everything (about our culture). So if I can support, that's why I'm here."

A child born and raised in Iowa, connected to a heritage he's never seen firsthand, learning it through his father's presence. That dynamic captured something essential about what Culture Day is for. 

When asked if he felt connected to his culture even without having been there, Abel said yes and said it felt "excellent" to see it celebrated at his school.

Their culture is important

Culture Day is not unique to Holy Family. Other Diocese of Des Moines Catholic Schools celebrate similar events, but according to School Administrator Paulette Theisen, celebrating students’ cultures is a core piece of Holy Family's culture as well.

"It represents how important their culture is to all of us," Theisen said. "And it was also a chance — an opportunity — for us to get to know our community a lot better, and we can share with each other."

Theisen described the most powerful part of the day as being able to "identify with our classmates, our peers, our teachers, and just share what we're made of and who we came from."

Theisen pointed to the school's motto and physical spaces as evidence that diversity isn't an afterthought at Holy Family. It's embedded in the culture itself, visible even in the hallways. She credited the families themselves for making that possible.

"It's a very close, tight community,” she said. “They're very supportive. They're very engaged with their children."

There was one logistical wrinkle this year that gave Theisen a laugh. The event was scheduled on a Friday during Lent, a day which usually requires Catholics to abstain from meat – an ingredient common in many of the foods prepared for Culture Day.

With Fr. Nivin’s blessing, the school came to a compromise. Students under 14 were permitted to eat freely, but adults were encouraged to observe the Lenten fast. Theisen made a mental note. Next year, don't schedule it during Lent.

Telling their story

Back at his table, Joseph Tung was still talking to anyone who would listen about Myanmar, about its food, about its history.

He'd waited years for this moment. He'd watched other students step forward and tell their stories. And now, on a March morning in Des Moines, surrounded by his friends who were so excited right alongside him, it was his turn.

That's what Culture Day at Holy Family is. Not a performance. Not a requirement. A moment when a kid gets to stand up and say: This is where I come from. This is who I am. And I’m so glad to share it with you.