Calvary Christian Academy

Westward, ho! For sure. Thanks to the personal generosity of two 76ers employees, Philadelphia Elite, a club basketball team stocked with many of the city's top players, will have no trouble honoring its commitment to play this weekend in a tournament in California. Yesterday's Daily News carried a story detailing how PE coach Jeff Hancock was robbed of $550, collected from the families of three players, while he was stopped at a North Philadelphia gas station Saturday. Police confirmed Hancock's story and made an arrest.

West Chester Christian won the Keystone Christian Education Association class AAA championship with a 35-31 victory over Mount Calvary of Elizabethtown on Tuesday night in a game played at Chapel Christian in Limerick. The Conquerors reached the championship game with a 41-23 win over Berks Christian on Monday night. The championship qualified the Conquerors to participate in the regional tournament of the Athletic Association of Christian Schools. WCC was beaten, 29-28, in a first-round game by Calvary Christian Academy of Cresaptown, Md., Thursday night in Wilmington.

Marcy S. Ursiny Parker, 27, a third-grade teacher at Pilgrim Academy in Galloway Township, died Thursday from a blood clot in her lung at Virtua-West Jersey Hospital Marlton. She had lived in Marlton for the last five years and was born in Wyandotte, Mich. "She was a magnet for kids in the school," recalled Chris Storr, a physical-education teacher at the Atlantic County academy and a friend since college. "She loved the kids, and, while she could have had a job closer to home, she thought of the kids and school as part of her family.

The photographs made the difference for nurse Megan Petock. They were stark and dramatic. They showed hospital patients from Africa who had long been without medical treatment; they were shown before surgery, and after. Petock, of Holland, pored over the Internet photos, then hopped a train to New York to see the exhibit in person. Before leaving the gallery, she made a personal commitment to volunteer herself aboard the floating hospital Mercy Ships. That day is less than three weeks away.

The photographs made the difference for nurse Megan Petock. They were stark and dramatic. They showed hospital patients from Africa who had long been without medical treatment; they were shown before surgery, and after. Petock, of Holland, pored over the Internet photos, then hopped a train to New York to see the exhibit in person. Before leaving the gallery, she made a personal commitment to volunteer herself aboard the floating hospital Mercy Ships. That day is less than three weeks away.

John Gleeson now knows how coaches at some of the bigger schools feel. The George School coach has always had to protect the few talented players that were available, but he still needed some varsity players to suit up for junior varsity games. However, with more than 50 players in the program this season, Gleeson will have a full JV team to back up his 29-player varsity. "We have a fairly decent second team for a change," he said after his team's season-opening 27-7 home win against Calvary Christian Academy on Saturday afternoon.

While the recent makeover craze dominates television, no amount of car, home, clothing, or body alterations can contend with the ever-changing face of Bicentennial League girls' basketball. In recent years, Springfield High in Montgomery County and Gwynedd-Mercy Academy have departed, with Springfield heading to the Suburban One League and Gwynedd-Mercy settling into the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies. This year, the Bicentennial bid adieu to perennial power Villa Joseph Marie, which bolted for membership with the Catholic Academies.

The biggest question swirling around the Keystone Scholastic Athletic Conference this season concerns the return of Faith Gross to Phil-Mont Christian Academy in January. Gross, a 6-foot-1 senior center, spent her junior year and the first semester of her senior year in South Africa, where her father is working as a missionary. In her first two years at Phil-Mont, Gross scored 805 points. Phil-Mont coach Bill DeHeer said Gross averaged 23 to 24 points a game for her school in South Africa.

IF YOU HAPPEN to get to the Midwest and flick on a Christian radio station, you might hear the voice of the Rev. Edward E. Menaldino belting out a gospel song. As an Assembly of God preacher, Menaldino pastored Pentecostal churches throughout the country, and spent 30 years in Philadelphia as pastor of Calvary Temple, in South Philadelphia, and another six years as interim pastor at the Llanerch Hills Chapel, in Upper Darby. That his songs are still being sung is a testament not only to his powerful voice, but also to the passion of his faith that his voice projected.

The photographs made the difference for nurse Megan Petock. They were stark and dramatic. They showed hospital patients from Africa who had long been without medical treatment; they were shown before surgery, and after. Petock, of Holland, pored over the Internet photos, then hopped a train to New York to see the exhibit in person. Before leaving the gallery, she made a personal commitment to volunteer herself aboard the floating hospital Mercy Ships. That day is less than three weeks away.

The photographs made the difference for nurse Megan Petock. They were stark and dramatic. They showed hospital patients from Africa who had long been without medical treatment; they were shown before surgery, and after. Petock, of Holland, pored over the Internet photos, then hopped a train to New York to see the exhibit in person. Before leaving the gallery, she made a personal commitment to volunteer herself aboard the floating hospital Mercy Ships. That day is less than three weeks away.

While the recent makeover craze dominates television, no amount of car, home, clothing, or body alterations can contend with the ever-changing face of Bicentennial League girls' basketball. In recent years, Springfield High in Montgomery County and Gwynedd-Mercy Academy have departed, with Springfield heading to the Suburban One League and Gwynedd-Mercy settling into the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies. This year, the Bicentennial bid adieu to perennial power Villa Joseph Marie, which bolted for membership with the Catholic Academies.

The biggest question swirling around the Keystone Scholastic Athletic Conference this season concerns the return of Faith Gross to Phil-Mont Christian Academy in January. Gross, a 6-foot-1 senior center, spent her junior year and the first semester of her senior year in South Africa, where her father is working as a missionary. In her first two years at Phil-Mont, Gross scored 805 points. Phil-Mont coach Bill DeHeer said Gross averaged 23 to 24 points a game for her school in South Africa.

Marcy S. Ursiny Parker, 27, a third-grade teacher at Pilgrim Academy in Galloway Township, died Thursday from a blood clot in her lung at Virtua-West Jersey Hospital Marlton. She had lived in Marlton for the last five years and was born in Wyandotte, Mich. "She was a magnet for kids in the school," recalled Chris Storr, a physical-education teacher at the Atlantic County academy and a friend since college. "She loved the kids, and, while she could have had a job closer to home, she thought of the kids and school as part of her family.

Westward, ho! For sure. Thanks to the personal generosity of two 76ers employees, Philadelphia Elite, a club basketball team stocked with many of the city's top players, will have no trouble honoring its commitment to play this weekend in a tournament in California. Yesterday's Daily News carried a story detailing how PE coach Jeff Hancock was robbed of $550, collected from the families of three players, while he was stopped at a North Philadelphia gas station Saturday. Police confirmed Hancock's story and made an arrest.

John Gleeson now knows how coaches at some of the bigger schools feel. The George School coach has always had to protect the few talented players that were available, but he still needed some varsity players to suit up for junior varsity games. However, with more than 50 players in the program this season, Gleeson will have a full JV team to back up his 29-player varsity. "We have a fairly decent second team for a change," he said after his team's season-opening 27-7 home win against Calvary Christian Academy on Saturday afternoon.

West Chester Christian won the Keystone Christian Education Association class AAA championship with a 35-31 victory over Mount Calvary of Elizabethtown on Tuesday night in a game played at Chapel Christian in Limerick. The Conquerors reached the championship game with a 41-23 win over Berks Christian on Monday night. The championship qualified the Conquerors to participate in the regional tournament of the Athletic Association of Christian Schools. WCC was beaten, 29-28, in a first-round game by Calvary Christian Academy of Cresaptown, Md., Thursday night in Wilmington.