PENN CHARTER FUNDRAISERS. The middle school cross-country team from William Penn Charter School raised $1,400 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society last winter. Students collected pledges for their eight-mile run and selected the organization to receive the donation. The fundraiser capped a successful season: The undefeated team was best in the Inter-Ac. Pictured: team members with coaches Liz Flemming and Bob Gordon	ALL ABOUT AFRICA. Second and third grade Norwood-Fontbonne Academy students have been busy studying every aspect of the continent of Africa. They presented individual or group reports on the culture, geography, language, clothing, food, music and jewelry of the second largest continent in the world. The students even spent days helping teachers construct a “grass hut” to represent an African habitat, and others researched folklore and presented a short play to the enthusiastic audience of parents and friends. (Bottom, l-r) Frances Harkins (Abington), Tamara Brent (East Norriton), Christopher Pawluczyk (Plymouth Meeting). (Back, l-r) Eve Adkins (Chestnut Hill), Shane Davis (Glenside), Olivia Rosato (Plymouth Meeting), Catherine Prestoy (Mt. Airy).	SIPPLE TO PREACH AT ST. MARTIN’S. The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is pleased to welcome Rev. Dr. Peter Sipple, rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, as guest preacher at the 5 p.m., May 1 Evensong. Music selections to be sung by the St. Martin’s Choir include works by Bryan Kelly and John Ireland. St. Martin’s is located at the corner of St Martins Lane and Willow Grove Avenue in Chestnut Hill. To contact the church, please call 215-247-7466.
SUPER FUN-RAISERS! Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Flourtown raised over $25,000 during its fifth annual “Kids Helping Kids” Volleyball Marathon on April 15. The funds will go to Operation Smile, a private, not-for-profit volunteer medical services organization providing reconstructive surgery to indigent children and young adults in developing countries and the United States; the International Healthcare Volunteers, Ghana Mission; and the Mount’s endowment to fund a need-based scholarship. The event was a smashing success, with approximately 300 students participating — the largest number yet. The marathon’s special guests were eight New York City firefighters from the Mount’s adopted firehouse, Engine 24, Ladder 5, Battalion 2, who lost 11 members of their company on September 11, 2001.	UBS CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM GALA FOR UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY. Pictured (l to r), Michael Smyth, president of The Great Britains Automotive Group in Willow Grove and Land Rover Main Line, Wayne, and Willa Kravitz, UCP director of development, admire the style of the new 2006 Limited Edition Jaguar XK ‘Victory’ with Bob Hall, co-chairman of UBS Motor Cars Under the Stars with Dalí and branch manager of UBS Financial Services Inc. in Philadelphia. Motor Cars Under the Stars with Dalí will be held May 2 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For tickets, call 215-248-7609 or visit www.ucpphila.org.

~~ NewsMakers ~~

Historic RittenhouseTown received a grant from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund in the amount of $8,300 and a grant for $14,500 from the Arcadia Foundation.

The Hirshorn Company, a Chestnut Hill-based independent insurance agent serving the insurance needs of the surrounding community since 1931, has been named as a Key Producer by the member companies of Ohio Casualty Group®.

~~ In Real Estate~~

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Blue Bell, has announced the following new affiliations: Sandy Balaban, sales associate; Milford Balaban, associate broker; Lorri Manfaa, sales associate; Rosalie Buccia, sales associate. Also at Long & Foster, Edward McIlvaine was named “Top Producer” and “Top Seller” for March 2005; Craig Fernsler and Patricia Smith were both named “Top Lister” for March 2005.

Paula Seaner and Manjiri Kostas have joined RE/MAX Services-Blue Bell.

Fran Radosh and Carol Mallen have been presented with the RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement Award. Both local Realtors, they have earned the award for being affiliated with the RE/MAX organization for at least seven years and each transacting more than $90 million in sales.

There were multiple award winners from the Lafayette Hill office of CENTURY 21 Alliance at the recent CENTURY 21 awards gala: Tricia Packer received the Masters Diamond Award; Eileen Gray, Centurion Award; Marguerite Koller-Stokes, Centurion Award; Carol Miller, Hall of Fame Centurion; Zsuzanna “ZJ” Jasdi, Centurion Award; Marge Welsh, Masters Ruby Award; Mia Schrank, Centurion Award; and Vern Kaiser, sales manager, who accepted the Centurion Award for the office.

~~ Academia ~~

Mount Saint Joseph Academy juniors Siobhan O’Connor of Doylestown and Christine Dunn of Glenside will receive special awards from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on May 4: O’Connor will receive the American History Award, given to the student shown to be the most academically outstanding in American History, and Dunn will receive the Good Citizenship Award, given to a student shown to be outstanding in the following qualities: honor, service, courage, leadership and knowledge of America.

Six students from Our Mother of Consolation, based on their academic average, were selected to participate in the Academic Octathalon at Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote. The students prepared for two months, led by 7th grade teacher Anthony Iraci. Preparation for the competition included extra work at home and after school instruction in eight academic disciplines: math, science, geography, history, music, art, English (Gulliver’s Travels) and current events. The students were tested for an entire Saturday and on a separate evening competed against seven other schools in a challenging current events super quiz. Seven individual awards were earned by these outstanding students: Timothy Gilbert, 3rd place in history among 6th graders; Maeve Flynn, Brendan Dwyer, Sarah Foley, 1st place in music, 2nd place in art and 3rd place in history and English among 8th graders; Marie Laster and Clair Mouleney, 1st place in English and 3rd place in science among 6th graders.

Chestnut Hill resident Emily F. Fischer has been elected to the Phi Beta Kappa chapter of New Jersey. Emily is a junior at Drew University in Madison, N.J. where she is majoring in biology. She is the recipient of the Schering-Plough Scholarship at Drew and has been on the dean’s list since her freshman year. Emily is a 2002 graduate of Springside School.