Imagine this: the entire school is gathered together in the Athletic Center to take a school-wide photo. As the photos end and everyone prepares to head back to class, St. Luke’s Head of School Dr. Mary Carter comes to the microphone and announces, “Enough with the pictures, it’s time for Head’s Holiday!” Immediately, a roar of excitement fills the room, and confetti blasts in all directions. Everyone is clapping and cheering, gearing up for a school favorite: Head’s Holiday!
The tradition of Head’s Holiday started at St. Luke’s in February of the 2022-2023 school year when students were surprised with a full day of pure joy, fun, and friendship. On the school-wide holiday, students and faculty are excused from all classes and spend the day choosing from several activities to do and delicious foods to eat.
The activities offered at the 2024 Head’s Holiday included: an aquarium touch tank, basketball, board games, puzzles, a chess tournament, coffeehouse music performances, crafts, ping pong, face painting, tattoos, an inflatable obstacle course, Just Dance, glow-in-the-dark mini golf, movies, nail painting, pickleball, paint by numbers, poker, reading, and mural making.
Additionally, some foods served throughout the day were chicken tenders, waffle fries, pizza, soda, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cones.
In a survey reflecting on the holiday, many students mentioned that their favorite activity from the day was karaoke: “There is no better feeling than singing ‘505’ or ‘Everyone Wants to Rule the World’ with friends. It was really fun and energetic,” said Samuel Thomas ‘26.
Another favorite activity from the day was the magician, TJ Tana, who put on dazzling tricks for the school. “He had a great stage presence and mind-boggling tricks,” said Rylan James ‘27. Some of Tana’s magic included manipulating Rubix Cubes, guessing a card, levitating a table, teleporting a ring, and many more breathtaking tricks.
Furthermore, several students expressed how much they enjoyed the bouncy obstacle course. “My favorite part of Head’s Holiday was racing my friends on the bouncy house and bonding with so many people during different activities,” said Sadie Sherman ‘28. Another physical activity that was many students’ favorite was the glow-in-the-dark mini golf course, run by Girls’ Varsity Golf coach Alec LeBris.
The two most popular parts of the 2024 Head’s Holiday were the candy truck, offering a large selection of full-sized candies, and a petting zoo. Eleanor James’s ‘31 favorite event from the day was the candy truck because “every kid’s dream is to have full-sized candy bars.” Across from the candy truck was an outdoor petting zoo, filled with goats, donkeys, ducks, and bunnies that many students enjoyed petting.
Aside from the activities and food throughout the day, some students said that other aspects of the day were their favorite. Armana Mehta ‘31 said, “Another thing was seeing everyone super excited and happy — especially when Dr. Carter came up to announce that it was Head’s Holiday”. Hannah King, school librarian and member of the planning committee for Head’s Holiday, explained that her favorite part of the day was seeing the finished product from months of planning: “The best part of the day for me was walking around and seeing students and faculty/staff engaged in all sorts of fun all over the building. It was great to see the hard work of planning come together into such a joyful outcome.”
Overall, many St. Luke’s Students expressed how much they enjoyed celebrating the 2024 Head’s Holiday with the school community, and that they look forward to it again next year. Magicians, petting zoos, karaoke, and candy trucks… Who knows what next year will bring?
