Damorian Flowers, 10, a fourth-grader at Raye-Allen Elementary School, plays Monday with Hot Wheels and wrestler action figures at the Ralph Wilson Youth Clubs in Temple. Local students were out of school for the Columbus Day holiday, with the day reserved for teacher-parent conferences. Columbus Day is set aside to honor Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World on Oct. 12, 1492. It became a federal holiday in 1937 and is now celebrated the second Monday in October.