Wallingford Elementary School students in Mrs. Gaur’s second-grade class raised $1,860 for the American Red Cross by selling milk and cookies. Parents donated homemade chocolate chip cookies, including gluten-, dairy-, and nut-free goodies so all could participate. Students learned about setting goals, counting money, marketing, and community service. Bottom row (left to right): Zach, Norah, Maddy, Brett. Middle row: Addison, Charlize, Jane, TJ, Genni, Harlan. Back row: Mr. Jake, Mrs. Gaur, Kyree, Trevor, Maggie, Eli, Domenic, Jonathan, Celia, Finegan, Ariya, Ms. Dana. Absent: Jayla and Ian. Photo by Antoinette Barrett

Sixty-three Swarthmoreans signed up to run during the Nov. 23-24 Philadelphia Marathon Race Weekend. Photo by Melissa Hoy

Wallingford resident Beatriz Urraca, a Spanish professor at Widener University, is co-winner of the Fitz Dixon Innovation in Teaching Award. Together with her colleague Stephen Madigosky, she developed an interdisciplinary course, “Coffee Culture and the Environment in Costa Rica,” weaving together social, environmental, and economic issues—and coffee. The course, which involves travel to Costa Rica, covers “all aspects of coffee from cultivation to cup. We deal with farmers, roasters, co-ops, exporters, researchers...[and] everything in between, combined with an exploration of Costa Rican culture, politics, and some pretty cool visits to national parks,” Urraca says. The photo, taken by Madigosky, shows Urraca (right) and a former student, Ritamarie Smedile, also from Wallingford. The photo was taken at Starbucks Hacienda La Alsacia in Costa Rica.

The Swarthmorean is proud of the Strath Haven High School boys soccer team, which made it to the state championship two years in a row! This picture from last Saturday night’s game in Hershey shows Emmet Young with the ball in front of the backline. Other players (l. to r.): Jake Hooper, Charlie Shankweiler in goal, Harris Hardy, and Simon Bolinger. The team came home with the runner-up trophy. Photo courtesy of Susanna Hooper

On November 9 former Swarthmorean editor Beth Gross was spotted at the Philadelphia airport by incoming editor Rachel Pastan as both were coincidentally traveling to Boston on the same flight. Gross was with her husband Bob, and also Penny and Phil Weinstein, formerly of Swarthmore, currently of Martha’s Vinyard. The two couples were on their way to a memorial service in Cambridge, Mass., for Eva Travers, a former Swarthmore College professor and a pioneer of the college’s education department. Travers died last July.

Linton Stables and Ann Foster of the Swarthmore Senior Citizen Association (SSCA) enjoy their roomy new digs in the Swarthmore United Methodist Church at 129 Park Ave. They hope people—senior or not—will stop in any time between 9-4 weekdays. “Younger people bring energy,” Foster says. Stay tuned for news of new programming.

Tucker and some of his friends from Providence Animal Center visited the Swarthmore Farmer’s Market last Saturday. To learn more, or meet other dogs and cats looking for homes: providenceac.org.

On November 11 the planet Mercury transited in front of the sun. Mary Anne Klassen, Senior Laboratory Lecture in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy at Swarthmore College, and several students, including Karina Cooper, set up three telescopes (two with solar filters and one projecting an image of the sun onto a surface) for viewing. The transit proceeded at a stately pace over a period of five hours—despite the fact that Mercury is our fastest planet and is named after the Roman god with wings on his feet.

On September 21, over 150 Strath Haven High School Luminaria Club members and volunteers spent the day assembling 20,000 luminaria for the quickly approaching Luminaria Fundraiser. The fruits of their labor will show in a fantastical luminaria display on January 1, 2020. Now we need your help; the ordering window is open! Please follow the instructions left with you by your block captain, or access the online signup to place your order by the November 30 deadline. Thank you for helping us reach our goal of raising over $30,000 to support the ABC Strath Haven Scholars and other students in need from the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District. Pictured in the photo are (l. to r.): Lizzie Healy, Danielle McNeely, and Maggie Forbes.

Congratulations to the Strath Haven boys soccer team for their 2-0 victory over Archbishop Wood in the PIAA 3A Championship semifinals! The team will play Lower Dauphin at Hershey Park Stadium in the state finals this Saturday, November 16, at 6:30 p.m. Varsity Team (in no particular order): Peter Boerth, Ethan Cardi, Nick Chaves, Harris Hardy, JT Holstein, Luigi Mao, Matt Pizzirusso, Yianni Savidis, Quinn Vandellos, Tim Wright, Emmet Young, Simon Bolinger, Johnny Francis, Robbie Guiday, Sal Kaufman, Andrew Lowman, Joey Malaczewski, Sami Rizk, Riley Shorey, Ethan Birch, Jake Hooper, Paul Semos, Charlie Shankweiler, Beckett Strachan, Nicky Dignazio, and Traeger Hogarth. Coaches are: Ryan O’Neill, Head Coach, Varsity; Tim Styer, Asst. Coach, Varsity; Mark O’Neill, Asst. Coach, Varsity; and Bob Richards, JV coach & asst. coach, Varsity. Photo by Susanna Hooper.

Wallingford native and Strath Haven High School alumnus (2002) Eric Venturini was recently presented with the President Abram W. Harris Award by the University of Maine Foundation. The award recognizes an alumnus from each of UMaine’s colleges who demonstrates exemplary and extraordinary leadership, contributions to his or her community and/or service to University of Maine. Eric is the son of Marian and Glenn Venturini, who report that “His greatest joy is his wife, Julia (whom he met at UMaine in 2002), and their two young children, Mariella and Teo.”

Swarthmoreans abounded at last Thursday’s gala fundraiser for Senior Community Services at Springfield Country Club. Pictured here are members of the board of Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association, and friends. Seated, left to right, are Maria and Jim Mooney, Linton Stables, Ann Foster, and Linda Heffernan. Standing in front, left to right, are Gudrun Weinberg, Susan Cherner, Mayor Marty Spiegel, Frances Sheehan, Amy Pollack, Sheila Bell and Judith Neale, and in back are Louise Coffin and David Pollack. Missing from the photo were several Swarthmoreans including SCS Executive Director Arthur Weisfeld and his wife Virginia Brabender, and Dave and Cathy Harden.

Students and family members of Wallingford Elementary School mustered last week at the eighth annual Veterans Day assembly, including a salute by the WES third grade, patriotic music, slideshows of military family and friends, a presentation of America’s White Table in honor of absent service members, and a moment of silence for the fallen. WES welcomed members of military units stationed at Fort Dix, N.J., including guest speaker Lieutenant David Godlewski, father of 3rd grade student Quincy. Continuing their observance, the 3rd grade marched in the Media Veterans Day parade on Monday, November 11, and visited the Veterans Memorial on West Chester Pike. Above, Air Force Master Sergeant Maddox and Airman First Class Petrone from Fort Dix met with WES 3rd graders. Photo by Antoinette Barrett.

Robert Heasley of Swarthmore is co-chair of an upcoming conference sponsored by the Men’s Center for Growth & Change, of which he is co-director and president. The “Men and the #MeToo Movement” conference, November 14 and 15, will be held at Houston Hall at the University of Pennsylvania. The event is open to leaders and professionals who work in settings where sexual harassment and abuse occur, and who work to prevent harassment and sexual violence. Information is at www.menandmetoo.org.