Library Sets Children’s Programs

by Engle Printing & Publishing Co., Inc

Classifieds

FIA frompg 1 Spanish-speaking liaison to Bolivia work teams; work team leaders to Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Bolivia; and full-time shipping personnel.

Currently, FIA is at work in six countries on 10 projects. From water projects in West Africa and Vanuatu to hurricane-rebuilding efforts in Nicaragua and Vanuatu, FIA serves close to a quarter of a million people each year.

In 2020, the organization provided construction assistance to over 1,200 people in

Friends In Action Intl. staff members gathered for a meeting in July 2018.

The Hershey Public Library has added two virtual programs to its calendar of activities. Readers may register by visiting www. hersheylibrary.org and clicking on Events Calendar. After registration, attendees will receive the Zoom link.

Lancaster County Parks and Recreation will offer a children’s program titled “Birds in Winter” on Saturday, Jan. 30, from 11 a.m. to noon. Attendees will learn how to identify and help local birds in the winter.

A Dinosaur Mysteries Virtual Tour will be held on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 10 to 11 a.m. Attendees will SSBVM frompg 1 Donations will be delivered to the food pantry by SSBVM’s principal, Rebecca Harvey, and NJHS members on Feb. 5.

SSBVM students and staff members chose to perform the service projects during the National Catholic Educators Association (NCEA) celebration of Catholic Schools Week. The week’s theme this year is “Faith. Excellence. Service.” “SSBVM takes pride in nurturing loving and productive citizens who care about the condition of their communities,” said Kennedy, noting that the school’s celebration had to be adapted this year because of the coronavirus pandemic with more focus on service projects.

SSBVM, located at 360 E. Water St., Middletown, offers classes for preschoolers ages 3 and 4 and students in kinder-

Vanuatu and Nicaragua. In addition, the nonprofit sent medical or food/water provisions to close to 8,000 people from Bolivia, Moldova, West Africa, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. More than

225,000 people had a chance take a virtual tour of the “Dinosaur Mysteries” exhibit at the Maryland Science Center, led by the science center’s paleontologist. Participants will discover how fossils are found and what fossils can indicate about dinosaurs’ life cycles, diets, behaviors, and ecosystems. After the tour, there will be an opportunity to do two hands-on activities in one’s own home.

These programs are sponsored by Friends of the Hershey Public Library. Readers may contact Rita Smith, children’s librarian, at 717-533-

6555 with any questions. garten through eighth grade. SSBVM is hosting a virtual open house on Jan. 31 at noon. Those interested in learning about SSBVM and the 2021-22 school year may email lstill@ssbvm.org to register.

Currently, the school offers in-person classes; extra parttime staff has been added to perform cleaning duties. “We are in-person, but we have left it to the discretion of the families,” Kennedy explained. “(Virtual students) Zoom into the classroom, so they are interacting with their classmates and their teachers all day long.”

For more information about the school, readers may call 717-944-5371, visit www.face book.com/ssbvmschool or www.ssbvmschool.radiusweb tools.com or follow the school on Instagram at @ssbvmschool. to hear the Gospel, many of them for the first time, through the organization’s outreaches.

Over 80% of FIA’s headquarters’ staff are volunteer or privately funded so more donated dollars can go directly to projects and indigenous villagers.

Many positions can be completed remotely or in person. Interested readers may send their resumes to fia -usa@fiaintl.org or administrators can arrange for further discussion at 717-546-0208.

Miniature Horse Event Planned

The Palmyra Area Lions The adventure course will be Club, in partnership with the available for two separate sesCapital Area Therapeutic Rid- sions from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sating Association (CATRA), will urdays, Feb. 6 and 13. Along offer the Miniature Horse the way, children will learn Adventure Course at CATRA, skills in horse handling, prob168 Station Road, Grantville. lem solving, healthy communiChildren ages 8 to 11 and cation, and volunteer service. their parents/guardians are There is a participation fee invited to join one of these per child or per family. Regissessions with CATRA’s mini tration is required by conhorse, Sarajule, and her pas- tacting robin@catra.net. Proture mates during the ceeds will support CATRA’s upcoming Valentine’s Day expenses for this equineholiday. assisted learning program.

Alex also earned the Eagle Scout Rank, the highest rank in Boy Scouting. Eagle Scouts are required to earn 21 merit badges, 13 of which are specified by the program.

Alex said that his favorite merit badges to earn involved scuba diving, whitewater rafting and snow sports. His most difficult was Bugling. “I had to learn (to play the bugle) from scratch; I took six months of lessons,” he said. “I had to learn 10 songs and make up one of my own. It is the least-earned merit badge.”

Alex earned merit badges at BSA summer camps, during activities with his troop and on his own time, as well as at local “merit badge college” events. For example, he earned his Dentistry merit badge at merit badge college after speaking with a local dentist who was there as a merit badge counselor.

Alex displays his badges on his merit badge sash, which weighs about five pounds. “I really want to thank my family, the leaders and the counselors that have helped me achieve this goal,” he stated.

In addition to his troop activities, Alex has served as the vice chief of program for the Sasquesahanough Lodge of the Order of the Arrow, which is the BSA national honor society. He has also mentored local Cub Scouts in Pack 362 as a den chief and has served as a BSA summer camp counselor.

Now that he is 18, he plans to continue his Scouting career as an adult leader. “(Scouting) helps you in every aspect of your life,” he shared.

Alex, who graduated a year early in June 2020 from Commonwealth Charter Academy, plans to attend St. Joseph’s College of Maine to study science and business administration. “Someday I would like to start my own company,” he stated. “I am excited for the new chapter in my life.”

Troop 262, which is sponsored by St. John’s United Methodist Church in Grantville, is part of the Keystone Capital District of the New Birth of Freedom Council. For more information about Scouting in the greater Harrisburg area, readers may visit www.new birthoffreedom.org.