School Notes

Patrick McGonigle of Meadowbrook was one of the three students from Virginia Tech who won the 2007 Ameriprise Financial Planning Invitational, earning $10,000 in scholarship money to support the financial-planning program in the university's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The semester-long competition involved preparing a comprehensive financial plan that would yield retirement income for a fictional couple. The students had to present their plan to a panel of recognized experts from across the country.

McGonigle, a 2003 graduate of La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor, is a senior majoring in apparel, housing and resource management.

A mock automobile accident designed to educate students about the dangers and consequences of drinking and driving is being organized by teachers from Abington Senior High School, the Abington Police Department, and district students representing Friends Against Alcohol and Drugs.

The organizers will create a staged accident in the driveway of the high school on Wednesday morning. The township said the mock accident will incorporate police, fire and rescue vehicles. Only students from Abington Senior High School are invited to attend.

Later that afternoon, a follow-up assembly will be held for students with individuals from Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation Hospital who will share testimonials about how alcohol-related accidents have changed their lives.

An art exhibition showcasing the work of students from the Hill School in Pottstown will be displayed in the school's Center for the Arts from 6 to 7:15 p.m. Wednesday.

The exhibition, free to the public, will feature art from the Memory Project, an outreach program for orphaned children around the world. About 15 art students created Memory Portraits, paintings done from digital pictures of orphaned and homeless children from Mexico and Ecuador. Later this month, the portraits will be mailed to the two countries.

The Hill School is at 717 E. High St in Pottstown. For more information, call 610-326-1000, Ext. 7339.

Artwork created by students in the North Penn School District will be displayed from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m Thursday at North Penn High School.

The event is free to the public. The school is at 1340 Valley Forge Rd., Lansdale. To learn more, call Joanne Harris at 215-368-9800, Ext. 456.

Chris Nolte, a senior at Upper Moreland High School, recently received the Edward Foy Memorial Scholarship from the Upper Moreland Police Benevolent Association.

The $1,000 scholarship, given to a student who plans a career in criminal justice, is named for an attorney for the township's Police Benevolent Association who died of cancer. Nolte plans to attend Pennsylvania State University this fall. - Erica Lamberg