MUM DAY: a Hoban tradition

Imagine arriving at a high school with over 900 kids and strolling through the halls early that morning and listening to the Sounds of Silence- no not the Simon and Garfunkle tune, but the total absence of adolescent conversation throughout the entire school. I believe this tradition dates back to well over 20 years now, and it is an admirable effort to get the kids psyched about our arch-rival St. Vincent- St. Mary in our annual football game with them; this is one of many events that we partake in during the week leading up to the big game.

Each day this past week had a special theme: Monday's Patriotic Day, Tuesday's Pirates of Hoban Day, Whacky Wednesday (mismatch clothing), and my personal favorite- Thursday's Hoban through the decades. We had kids outfit themselves from everything to greasers, gals in poodle skirts, disco style bell bottom pants, and leggings, swatches, and "boom boxes" of the 80's! (Wouldn't that generation have loved the I-Pod craze of today!) Then, on Friday, all the kids sport their MUM Day shirts to school and practice the fine art of remaining silent ALL DAY LONG! For many of them, this is quite a task. The seniors actually sleep at the school Thursday night decorating all the halls and gym for the big pep rally Friday afternoon. I've chaperoned this event in the past, but the idea of staying up all night long with a bunch of 17 year olds has somewhat lost its appeal to me the older I get.

Go Knights!