COEUR d'ALENE — Round and round they went, peals of laughter surrounding Isaac Zember as elementary school students festooned him with blue and green streamers.

"I don't know, not great," the Holy Family Catholic School eighth grader said with a laugh Friday afternoon when asked how he was doing under all that crepe paper.

OK, he admitted, it was a pretty fun way to wrap up National School Choice Week.

"I love that we get to build our community so much in our school," seventh grader Quinn Bailey said. "We get to hang out with different grades and really be a community together."

Quinn's fellow seventh grader, Brooklyn Stroud, said Holy Family's National School Choice Week celebration always makes for a good time.

"We do a lot of fun games and we always do fun dress-up days during the week," she said. "I really enjoy it."

National School Choice Week 2026 began Sunday and ends today. Holy Family Catholic School in Coeur d'Alene was one of 256 schools and nonprofits that hosted events and activities throughout 34 of Idaho's 44 counties.

The goal of National School Choice Week is to raise awareness and share information about the K-12 learning options available, from public, charter and magnet schools to private, online, homeschooling and other nontraditional learning environments.

“It’s been a crazy week, but it’s been a fun week,” said Jennifer Sather, preschool and pre-kindergarten teacher.

Holy Family's current enrollment is 230 students from preschool to eighth grade. Throughout National School Choice Week, students swapped their traditional uniforms for pajamas, sports jerseys and colorful outfits to match their buddies in other grades.

This week was also Catholic Schools Week, giving Holy Family even more reason to celebrate.

"I love that National School Choice Week is the same week as Catholic Schools Week so we can do it all together," Sather said.

Catholic Schools Week is usually observed through Masses and events that bring together students, families, parishioners and community members.

Holy Family Principal Sue Styren said Sisters of Mercy and area priests visited the school as part of the festivities. She said students don't need to be Catholic to attend Holy Family, but 90% of its students are Catholic, up from 80% about five years ago, when she joined the staff.

“The reason isn’t that we don’t allow non-Catholics to come, it’s that we have many families convert after being here," she said. "We don’t push it; we are quietly evangelizing.’”

Hilary Whipps of Coeur d’Alene is a Holy Family mom with two daughters, one of whom is in pre-K.

“They do such a good job of incorporating the older grades with the younger grades, and I love the school involvement,” she said.

Her husband grew up attending parochial school in Boise, and they both grew up Catholic, Whipps said. That's part of what drew them to Holy Family.

"We were looking for somewhere that had a preschool where we could start our daughter with good family values," she said. "And I enjoy being able to be a part of the school and being more involved as a parent.”

Holy Family will turn 30 this coming year. It has been at its current location on Kathleen Avenue for 28 years, Styren said.

During a meeting with faculty and staff at her previous school, Styren said the question was asked, "Why Catholic school?" She said she’d never forget the answer.

“One of our dads, he said, ‘Hope,'" Styren said.

Quality academics and faith formation meant a lot to that dad and his family.

"Faith formation means they have hope for the future, they have hope in God, they have hope in a community they can hope to build and grow with a future in Christ," Styren said. "He said, ‘Whether you’re Catholic or whether you’re not, we all want the best for our community.'"

    Students revel in a game of beach ball volleyball while seated in the gym on Friday at Holy Family Catholic School in Coeur d'Alene. The "on your pockets" game was one of several joy-filled activities that ended National School Choice Week and Catholic Schools Week festivities.
  

    Pre-K student Godrich Marchese and classmates wear yellow scarves on Friday as they rehearse a special National School Choice Week dance in Jennifer Sather's class at Holy Family Catholic School.
  

    Seventh graders Quinn Bailey, left, and Brooklyn Stroud giggle as they participate in an all-school game of seated volleyball Friday at Holy Family Catholic School.
  

    Even the grown-ups get in on the fun on Friday as sixth-grade teacher Jackson Smith goes for a beach ball during Holy Family's National School Choice Week and Catholic Schools Week festivities.