Holy Name Catholic School celebrates Class of 2020 with Mass and graduation ceremony

Holy Name Catholic School celebrated the eighth grade Class of 2020 on Tuesday evening, Aug. 11 with a special Mass in the Holy Name Catholic School Gymnasium celebrated by Father Rick Courier and concelebrated by Father Francis DeGroot and Father Timothy Ferguson. Following Mass, a graduation ceremony was held.

At the ceremony, Class Representative Kamryn Patmythes gave the commencement address, sharing memories and advice for her fellow classmates. Patmythes also thanked family members and friends for their support. HNCS Principal Joseph Carlson also addressed the students, sharing his own memories of the past eight years with them.

Father Timothy Ferguson, pastor of St. Joseph and St. Patrick’s Parish in Escanaba, gave the final blessing at the graduation ceremony.

Also at the graduation ceremony, all of the graduates were given Holy Bibles as graduation gifts with their class Bible verse bookmarked: “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter: Whoever finds one has found a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price; no amount can balance their worth. Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; and those who fear the Lord will find them. Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright, for as they are, so are their neighbors also.” – Sirach 6:14-17 1:9.

Photo description of HNCS Graduates in their caps and gowns:

Photo courtesy of Korinne Lamoreaux, EverWild Photography. While all the graduates wore masks and were socially distanced for the Mass and ceremony on Aug. 11, Lamoreaux snapped individual photos of each graduate unmasked, and later cropped and arranged them into this group photo:

Graduates are: (front row, left to right): Madelyn Wilson, Sydney Sands, Kiera Reimer, Riley Martin, Sophia Derkos, Isabella Belhumer, Seth Wisotzkey, Carter Beversluis, Mara Liss, Autumn Peloza-Sexton, and Roman Zeise. Middle row, left to right: Zachary Barron, Isaac Sarles, Evert Olson, Spencer Kareckas, Anthony Derkos, Carley McInerney, Logan Fields, Jacob Brown, Thomas Benoit, Samantha Manninen, and Gabriel Mantela. Top row, left to right: Kamryn Patmythes, Katelyn Rexford, Natalie Spreitzer, Ella Boney, Piper Burrows, Ellah Cooper, Natalie Williams, Annabelle Neumeier, and Parker Ryno.