Some 50 or so upper students at St. Andrew’s Schools are expected to turn their faces into painted skulls, and dozens more may bring photos of their dead relatives when the schools’ chapel celebrates Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, on Oct. 30.

The idea by the schools’ Mexican-American, Episcopalian chaplain and two world languages and visual arts teachers is to teach the girls of St. Andrew’s Schools how Mexicans celebrate — rather than mourn — lost loved ones.

It will be the first Dia de los Muertos event to be held in St. Andrew’s chapel, said chaplain Annalise Pasalo.

“It’s part of my culture. I am Mexican-American,” Pasalo said. “Being in Hawaii, Mexican culture is not as prevalent. However, Day of the Dead is becoming more mainstream. I really wanted the girls to see the true origin of the holiday. It is not Mexican Halloween. It’s my chance to share my culture.”

St. Andrew’s Dia de los Muertos celebration will be especially personal this year for Pasalo, whose grandfather Robert Castro died last year in Oregon.

Pasalo plans to put a photo of Castro on her family’s “ofrenda,” or Dia de los Muertos altar.

“This is the first year that my grandfather will be on our ofrenda,” she said. “It’s emotional, having lost the patriarch of our family.”

Many of the Dia de los Muertos traditions can be found in the animated musical film “Coco,” which won the Oscar for best animated feature film, Pasalo said.

“Now with ‘Coco,’ kids are familiar with the idea,” she said. “I thought it was very, very authentic.”

Dia de los Muertos represents the effort by the Catholic Church in Mexico to embrace an ancient Aztec pagan ritual honoring the dead.

“When Christianity arrived in Mexico, they had to marry the beliefs,” said Nydia Santiago-Cordero, who teaches world languages, including Spanish, at St. Andrew’s. “The Aztecs believed the highest state of being is the dead. This (living) is a dream. There’s is the reality.”

There have certainly been other Day of the Dead celebrations among Hawaii schoolchildren, such as skeleton paintings by a class at Maryknoll School in 2011. But none of Hawaii’s Catholic parishes have done anything on a large scale, said Patrick Downes, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

St. Andrew’s celebration is expected to involve 175 girls in grades six through 12, including 40 to 50 who plan to paint their faces like skulls, perhaps decorated with flowers. They’re also encouraged to wear bright dresses with embroidered floral prints to help make the event festive.

“It’s not macabre,” Pasalo said. “Death is not scary. It’s something that’s OK to talk about, but we don’t have a lot of forums for that in our society.”

Visual arts teacher Alethia Donathan said, “We’re trying to have the girls be more empathetic to other traditions and cultures. We’re losing a lot of that.”

The students will be invited to bring photos of dead relatives to sit on a special ofrenda in St. Andrew’s chapel.

St. Andrew’s Dia de los Muertos event will borrow some aspects of the traditional Mexican celebration while ignoring others.

It’s planned for 30 minutes on Oct. 30, versus the two-day Mexican celebration on Nov. 1 and 2, which coincides with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Families in Mexico typically set out a loved one’s favorite foods on the family ofrenda, but no food will be allowed in the St. Andrew’s chapel — although there may be some sugary skulls.

But there will be traditional marigolds, which have a scent that’s supposed to help guide the dead. And the entire commemoration — including two hymns and two readings by students — will be conducted in Spanish.

Families in Mexico often have a big feast, sometimes held in cemeteries where family members are buried.

“It’s joyous, it’s loud,” Pasalo said. “There’s music and people are dancing. It’s not scary. It’s a celebration.”

At the very least, as Donathan said, “this will be a learning experience for the girls.”