All Saints Catholic School-Davenport students Kai and Toshiro Brown wear kimonos during a family trip to Japan earlier this summer.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — What started out as “Show Us What You Are Doing This Summer” evolved into “Where in the World is an All Saints Family.”
Last summer, All Saints Catholic School Principal Mindy Altman asked families to submit photos of their summer activities to the school’s Facebook page. Having completed her second year as principal in May, she is more familiar with the school’s diverse families and their travels. So, she changed the title of this year’s summer photos sharing activity. Many All Saints families travel to foreign countries to visit family or for vacation.
The Where in the World theme is not limited to places outside the United States, said Stacie DeVries, the school’s building coordinator. Pictures are welcome from families of students participating in or attending athletic events, staycations (local travel), family vacations in the U.S. or outside the country.
Families have submitted photos from Africa, Lebanon, Japan, Alabama, Michigan, Iowa, New York, gymnastics camp, Vacation Bible School, dirt track racing and more, Altman said. She posted photos from her visit to western Iowa this summer. “This has been really fun,” she continued. “We are building community together. The posts keep us together even if we are not physically together.”
Recently Altman was shopping in a big box store and ran into an All Saints family there. After the kids figured out who she was outside the school setting, they shared their vacation stories. “They were excited to share.”
Families submit photos and information primarily through Facebook Messenger and then Altman shares them on the school’s Facebook page. A number of students are Vietnamese and return to Vietnam during the summer and at other times of the year, DeVries said. The families take extra suitcases full of items to Vietnam and return home with suitcases filled with Vietnamese apparel and other items for themselves and members of the Vietnamese Catholic community at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. Many students wear traditional Vietnamese clothing for the school’s annual cultural day held in May.
This summer, a mom of an All Saints family was on the phone with a seamstress in Vietnam giving measurements for traditional Vietnamese attire for Altman and one of her daughters. “My daughter is 5’9” which is pretty tall compared to the average height of Vietnamese women,” Altman said. “The seamstress said my daughter was taller than her tape measure.” Some adjustments would be necessary, she noted. Altman and DeVries cannot wait to see where in the world their students and families go the rest of the summer.
