A community open house at Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (SSBVM) Catholic School will kick off the school's celebration of Catholic Schools Week (CSW), which will be observed from Sunday, Jan. 30, through Saturday, Feb. 5. The theme of this year's observance is "Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service."

The open house at SSBVM School, located at 360 E. Water St., Middletown, will take place on Jan. 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. "The Jan. 30 open house is for prospective students and their families. We will have family ambassadors giving tours during that time frame," explained principal Angela Warner.

Earlier in the day on Jan. 30 and during Saturday night Mass on Jan. 29 at Seven Sorrows BVM Catholic Church, students will take part in the Mass, serving as lectors and altar servers and performing other duties. The school hand chime choir will also perform during the Masses.

CSW will also give students an opportunity to take part in community service projects. They will collect donations of personal care items, including soap, shampoo and toothpaste, for the Catholic Charities of Harrisburg and gather items for staff members at the Middletown Home. "They have 150 staff members. We are going to put together (gift bags with) hand sanitizer, ChapStick and little snacks for the health care workers," Warner said.

The public is invited to contribute items by bringing donations to the office during school hours or placing them in an outdoor donation bin.

The school has invited local heroes to enjoy coffee and doughnuts on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Students are currently making thank you cards that they will present to the first responders for their service to the community. "We invited EMTs, the fire department and the police departments from Middletown, Elizabethtown and Steelton-Highspire," Warner noted.

The school's National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 2. On Thursday, Feb. 3, there will be a Spelling Bee and a Faith Bee, the latter of which will test the students' knowledge of the Catholic faith. The students who win the competitions at the school level will be eligible to move on and represent the school in a diocesan competition.

"For our current families, there is an open house on Thursday evening," Warner noted. "The students will travel through the classrooms, and we will have different activities for them to participate in. They will also meet their teachers for next year," she said.

Warner explained that the week is designed to showcase all that Catholic schools have to offer. "Our enrollment has been increasing this year, and after our last open house in November, we had (students) enroll in the middle of the year," she shared. "Word is spreading about our strong education that we are able to provide even during this time of COVID."

SSBVM offers classes for preschoolers ages 3 and 4 and students in kindergarten through eighth grade. For more information about the school, call 717-944-5371, visit http://www.facebook.com/ssbvmschool or http://www.ssbvmschool.com or follow the school on Instagram at @ssbvmschool.