St. Stephen - St. Edward School celebrates National Catholic Schools Week

WARWICK — Beginning with a family Mass on Sunday, Jan. 26, and concluding on Saturday, Feb. 1, St. Stephen - St. Edward Elementary School, 75 Sanfordville Road, joined parochial schools throughout the nation in the celebration of National Catholic Schools Week.

Sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), the annual observance begins on the last Sunday in January and runs all week with open houses and other activities for students, families, parishioners and the public in general.

The theme of National Catholic Schools Week this year was "Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service," the central components of Catholic education in 6,600 schools throughout the nation.

St. Stephen - St. Edward School has been the parish elementary school of Saint Stephen the First Martyr Parish, serving children in grades Pre-K to Eight, since 1965.

The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and also AdvancED, a accreditation organization described as the world's largest education community.

St. Stephen - St. Edward School celebrated Catholic Schools Week with several events. During the week teachers and children offered special programs for visitors on open-house days.

Each of the students in Lynn Huchital's seventh-grade class, for example, researched the life of a special saint and portrayed that person in costume in a "wax museum" like setting.

On Tuesday, "pajama day," all of the students were asked to bring an item of non-perishable food to be distributed to the Warwick Ecumenical Council Food Pantry.

And on Thursday, Jan. 30, the school offered a free pancake breakfast for seniors and their guests.