School Notes

Anne Childs' first-grade class at

Wayne Elementary School

raised $510 in honor of a Radnor parent who died unexpectedly in September.

The money will help create Wendy's Front Porch at the Radnor Memorial Library, in honor of Wendy Ciatto.

The first graders read and collected money on Read for the Porch Day on May 2. The coins and paper money raised were used as part of a math lesson for the young students before being sent on to the library. The children dropped 25 cents in a donation jar for every book they read.

Childs had rosters of guest readers and volunteer parents for the day, including Ciatto's widower, Chris. The class was set up like a porch, with porch furniture and cushions provided as places to read.

The first graders ended the day by signing the child-size rocking chair that will be on Wendy's Front Porch at the library.

The Ciatto family goal is to raise at least $50,000 to develop the physical space and support ongoing programs and upgrades.

Donations can be made at the Radnor Memorial Library's Web site,

» READ MORE: www.radnorlibrary.org

, by indicating that the donation is for the Wendy L. Ciatto Memorial. Donations also may be mailed to Radnor Memorial Library, 114 W. Wayne Ave., Wayne, Pa. 19087. Checks should be made out to Radnor Memorial Library.

Academy of Notre Dame de Namur

in Villanova has named Veronica Collins Harrington the first lay president in the school's 64-year history.

Harrington will succeed Sister Mary Anne Broughton at the all-girls' Catholic independent school in July. Broughton will become the school's executive director of mission.

Harrington has been the upper-school principal at Ursuline Academy, a private Catholic girls' high school in Wilmington, since 2003.

She also has served as principal of Villa Joseph Marie High School in Holland, Bucks County; coordinator of educational services for Philadelphia READS; and an educator for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

She received a bachelor's degree from Gwynedd-Mercy College and a master's from Cabrini College.

A ninth-grade

Haverford School

class recently investigated a Toraja hat, a cowrie shell figure, an illuminated manuscript, a betel box, a Hindi figure, a bronze flask and other items from private collectors and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology.

Anne Guinan, an archaeologist and Assyriologist at the museum, returned to the school for her annual visit. Teams of students were given artifacts to investigate. After researching its object, each team wrote a report on the process that it had pursued in identifying the object.

Guinan evaluated the reports, selected the winners, and returned to present her results and distribute certificates.

Sachin Patel of Phoenixville and Will Nelligan of Newtown Square tied with Christopher Magnani of Havertown and Shariq Khan of Villanova for the Best in Show award.

Guinan, the parent of a Haverford School alumnus, works for the Outreach Education Department of the University Museum through a state grant.

Students at

Russell Elementary School

in Broomall donated 1,071 books to the Reach Out and Read program run out of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Through the program, the books are placed in the hospital's clinic offices in North and South Philadelphia, as well as in Burlington.

- Ed Mahon