La Salle College High School goes to the Andes

On Sunday, June 12, 14 La Salle students and three chaperones will embark on a 13-day service trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia, in South America. The students will work at schools and orphanages, painting and paving, planting trees, distributing donated clothes and food to the impoverished of the country. On the eighth day of the trip, the students will be spending a day in the country’s capital, La Paz, to do activities with both the Cristo Rey and San Antonio churches.
In Cochabamba, the group is planning to go to the famous “El Cristo de la Concordia” (Christ of the Concord) statue on San Pedro Hill, which Cochabamba is known for.

Those attending the trip include: Mark Breen-Lopez of Oreland, Michael Clark of Wyncote, W. Gresham Cooney of Oreland, Benjamin Courtney of Jeffersonville, Conor Crowe of Wayne, Christopher DiLella of Andorra, Anthony Mieczkowski of Norristown, Jonathan O’Connell of Collegeville, W. Patrick Playdon of Philadelphia, William Rush of Fort Washington, Matthew Stone of Rydal, Andrew Ventresca of Chalfont, Gregory Woods of Lansdale and David Yusavitz of Mt. Airy.
Also attending are Mike and Lastenia Breen of Oreland (Lastenia is a Cochabamba native and a La Salle Spanish teacher) and Doug Demeter, a faculty member of La Salle.

NewsMakers ~~ Academia

Ryan M. Spigelmyer, son of Kathleen and Melvin Spigelmyer of Flourtown, has received a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of Richmond. Spigelmyer plans to work for the CPA firm Clifton Gunderson in Richmond, Va.

Terez K. Wood, of Germantown, has received an MBA from Eastern University, St. David’s, Pa. Wood, who is employed by the U.S. Department of Commerce as an international trade specialist, attends Sharon Baptist Church.

Margaret B. Sperow, of Chestnut Hill, graduated from Ursinus College with a B.S. in biology and neuroscience. While at Ursinus, Sperow, a Springside graduate, was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu sorority; spent a semester abroad in Australia at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia; and was a summer research intern at Merck. She has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in neuroscience at the University of Tennessee.

Andrew Gilmore, of Chestnut Hill, received an Achievement Award from Arcadia University and has been accepted to study there for the fall of 2005. Gilmore, a graduate of Wyncote Academy, is one of a select group of students to earn the award, which is presented in recognition of achievement and leadership in school, community activities, community service, other special talents or notable achievements.

Monika Wysong, of Mount Airy, was chosen as the recipient of this year's Patricia Burland Award for Excellence in Preparation for Clinical Social Work Practice and Leadership from the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work. Wysong was honored with the award upon the completion of her master's degree in social service from Bryn Mawr College on May 15.

The EPA and American Lung Association recently recognized Springside School and Springfield Township High School for their work in raising community awareness about radon.

Recent local-area graduates of Clarion University include Alicia Denise Bradford, of Mt. Airy, B.A., English; Kimberly Sharron Kelley, of Mt. Airy, B.S., communications; Marlon A. Lyle, of Germantown, B.S.B., management.

Dr. Kim Eberle-Wang, science teacher at Springside School, has been chosen to take part in an exciting collaboration. Katie Duffie, who is with the University of Mississippi School of Engineering, is coordinating a new introduction to Engineering Textbook that they are developing for undergraduates, and she wants to use Kim’s lesson plans that were published on a Society for Mechanical Engineering website as a winner of their Best Practices Award in 2002. The lessons deal with forensic engineering and the World Trade Center disaster. The University of Mississippi is also developing a 12-week long project-based, distance-learning course for high school students that will be broadcast on Mississippi Public Television. There will be four 3-week sections to the course and Kim’s project will be the main focus during the 3-week civil engineering piece.

Catherine P. Pappas, of East Falls, a graduate of Penn Charter, has received a B.A. in English from Colby College.

Jay Kirk, a creative fiction and nonfiction writer from Mt. Airy, has been awarded a $50,000 Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

In a recent competition at Dorney Park, the Upper School and Middle School Orchestras from Springside School both received excellent ratings from the judges. Special recognition awards were given to the flute section of the Upper School Orchestra and to Julia Stepanuk of the Middle School Orchestra, for her solo in “Phantom of the Opera.”

Amanda Meiers, of Lafayette Hill, a 2003 graduate of Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, made the deans list both semesters of her sophomore year at the University of Pittsburgh.

Independent Paris L. Frazier III, of Mt. Airy, has announced his candidacy for Controller of the City of Philadelphia.

Margaret O’Neill was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most respected undergraduate honors society in the U.S., on May 13. O’Neill, a 2003 graduate of Springside School, is a senior in the honors program at Rutgers University.

At the Lafayette Hill office of CENTURY 21 Alliance, Carol Miller, sales associate and Hall of Fame Centurion, was ranked among the highest sales producers for the company for the first quarter of 2005 (68/2,3000 sales associates in gross closed commissions); Joe Fanning, sales associate, was ranked among the highest sales producers for the company for the first quarter of 2005 (64/2,3000 in gross closed commissions); Eileen Gray, sales associate, was also ranked among the highest sales producers for the company for the first quarter of 2005 (10th in closed units and 42/2,300 in gross closed commissions); Patricia Packer, sales associate, was named the office’s top producing sales associate for April.

Alexander Falk, a sophomore business, organization and society major from Chestnut Hill, was awarded the Mr. and Mrs. Lanious B. Keiper Prize at Franklin and Marshall College’s recent awards ceremony. The Keiper Prize is given to the student in the sophomore class whose grades for the first semester show the greatest advance over the first year. Falk, a 2003 graduate of Trinity-Pawling School, is the son of Pamela Falk, Chestnut Hill.

The Long & Foster® Companies, the largest privately-owned residential real estate and related financial services company in America, reported May 2005 total sales of $7.2 billion for the month, an increase of 29 percent over May 2004. It was the best May in the Company’s 37-year history.

 

 

ELLES PARLES TRÈS BIEN! Eighth grade French students from Springside School collected honors in both the Philadelphia chapter and the national rankings of the National French Contest 2004. The students and their regional and national rankings are indicated: Row 1 (left to right): Katie Wisniewski (9 Philadelphia, 10 National), Kelsey Trueblood (3 Philadelphia, 4 National) and Sofie Yavorsky (10 Philadelphia, 11 National); Row 2 (left to right): Nicole Carbone (4 Philadelphia, 5 National), Nicole Lynn (10 Philadelphia, 11 National), Kelli Parks (9 Philadelphia, 10 National), Lauren Voye (2 Philadelphia, 3 National), Emily Walkenstein (6 Philadelphia, 7 National) and Charlotte Hass (11 Philadelphia). Not pictured are Mackenzie Hill-Strathy (4 Philadelphia, 5 National), Amanda Hone (10 Philadelphia, 10 National) and Mel Bavaria (11 Philadelphia).		DR. SCOTT KOZIN, of Wyndmoor, hand & upper extremity surgeon at Shriners Hospital for Children, was given top honors in Philadelphia Magazine’s annual “Top Docs” issue. Dr. Kozin has volunteered his services overseas, most recently at the Mulago Hospital in Uganda. He is an assistant professor at Temple University School of Medicine and a member of several professional organizations, including the American Orthopaedic Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Dr. Kozin received his undergraduate degree at Duke University and attended Hahnemann University School of Medicine. He was a resident at Shriners Hospitals for Children and a fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
GRAND FRIENDS. Norwood-Fontbonne Academy 6th grade students recently celebrated “Grandfriends Day,” which is a special time for the students to show their love and appreciation for their grandparents or a cherished friend. Over 100 people gathered to share a wonderful luncheon and activity period and everyone had a great time. (From l.-r.) Jean Delaveau (Chestnut Hill), Patrick Dwyer (Chestnut Hill) and former NFA student Regina Dwyer (Chestnut Hill).	A BEE'S LIFE. On Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m., the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will present a family program called A Bee's Life. Have you seen the honeybee hives at WVWA? Are you curious about the social lives of bees? Would you like to meet a beekeeper and find out how he works with these insects? Join us for this hands-on program to learn about these fascinating and beneficial animals and the job of working with them. You will see inside a hive, watch the bees work, and taste different kinds of honey. $4 per person, ages 5 and up. Call 215-646-8866.

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