From birds to snakes, students at St. John Neumann Regional School must have felt as though they were on an episode of "National Geographic."

In conjunction with Catholic Schools Week 2014, students at the school's Palmerton campus on Wednesday were treated to a visit by Dan Kunkle, executive director of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center.For the past week, the school with campuses in Slatington and Palmerton observed Catholic Schools Week, where the theme was "Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service.""It's always a pleasure to come back here," Kunkle said. "We have a very good relationship with the school."Kunkle told the students, "Birds are really interesting, really fun."As part of his presentation, Kunkle showed students a slide show presentation on regional birds."Maybe you'll start taking notice to the birds around you," he said. "There's about 10,000 (bird species) in the world."He then asked some of the students why they liked birds.Some of the responses were because birds can do neat things, they like their colors; because birds can change their colors throughout the seasons; and because birds can fly.Afterward, Clare Kubik showed students a brief slide show on reptiles.Kubik then showed live specimens to the students, some of whom volunteered to see them up close and personal.Wednesday also featured Our Nation, as students dressed in Red-White-Blue attire, and wrote out cards to those who keep us safe locally, expressions of gratitude. At Slatington, pupils heard a presentation from storyteller Kathy Long.On Friday, students celebrated faculty, staff and volunteers, as all students were scheduled to report to the Palmerton campus for Mass in Sacred Heart Church. They then heard a presentation on "Little Al, the Dinosaur." There were also Prayer Partner Activities and ice cream provided by the Home & School Association.On Thursday students celebrated vocations. It was PJ Day at the Palmerton campus and Crazy Hat & Sock Day at the Slatington campus. Also at Slatington, there was a Special Persons Luncheon and Scholastic Book Fair. Students also went snow tubing at Blue Mountain Ski Area.Tuesday featured the program, Our Students, as students at both buildings created gratitude cards. The Palmerton campus held an in Special Persons Luncheon and Scholastic Book Fair.Monday featured the program, Our Community, and had an open house and a Meet and Greet at both campuses. At Palmerton, it was Crazy Hat and Sock Day; at Slatington, it was PJ Day, along with a Scholastic Book Fair.The weeklong celebration began last weekend, with Our Parish: Our Parish Liturgies, student special presentationPupils in grades K-3 attend the school's Slatington campus, while students in grades 4-8 attend its Palmerton campus.To arrange a tour of the school, call the Slatington campus at 610-787-2935, or the Palmerton campus at 610-826-2354.For more information, visit

www.sjnrschool.org.