‘Knights of Honor’ to be inducted Wednesday
LANSDALE » This week will bring two annual traditions for several generations of North Penn School District alumni.
Four distinguished community members will join the latest class of “Knights of Honor” inducted into a district alumni hall of fame on Wednesday night, the day before an annual alumni flag football game on Thanksgiving Thursday.
The 2017 class of “Knights of Honor” include the following individuals [biography has been provided by the district]:
• Dr. Barry Chasen: An educator with the district from 1970 to his retirement in 2004, Chasen served as the district’s primary psychologist, working throughout the district but primarily at North Penn High School. Chasen, who passed away in 2014, was described by longtime high school Principal Burt Hynes as “an outstanding listener whose empathy for others was always evident in his words
and through his inclusive actions.”
“Barry’s sense of humor coupled with his levelheaded approach in all matters enabled him to make sound and reasonable recommendations throughout his professional career, said Burt Hynes. “His caring wisdom endeared him to the entire North Penn community,” Hynes said.
• Carolyn Murphy: Known to her students as “The Frau,” Murphy taught exploratory German and linguistics to middle school students when she started in the district in 1981, and did the same at North Penn High School from the early 1990s until her retirement in 2009. While teaching, Murphy served as an exchange student advisor, board member of the school’s German Club and International Friendship Committee, and helped students from overseas make the transition to North Penn, while planning trips for local students to experience international travel. In 2011, Murphy was elected to North Penn’s school board, and served on the board’s Safe Schools and Education, Community, Policy committee until she passed away in December 2016.
“The education and wellbeing of the children of North Penn were always at the forefront of every idea and action that Carolyn Murphy initiated,” said Anita Sapalidis, a high school French teacher and former friend and colleague of Murphy.
• Bonnie Rosen: A Souderton native, Rosen taught in Reading and founded Wooly Bear Day Care School
in Lansdale in 1979, before joining the North Penn School District in 1995 as a first-grade teacher at Inglewood Elementary School. In 1998, Rosen moved on to the post of Principal at Bridle Path Elementary, and after one school year as a reading, writing, and math coach in 2004-05, Rosen moved on to Oak Park Elementary, where she worked as Principal from 2005 until retiring in 2011.
“Bonnie consistently found ways to find and nurture the positive qualities of all staff members. She was sensitive to areas that needed improvement and discreetly used constructive criticism to help us enhance our teaching skills,” said Jennifer Sweeney, a fifth-grade teacher at Oak Park.
• Benjamin Weber: A member of North Penn High School’s class of 1988, Weber was born and raised in Hatfield and also attended A.M. Kulp Elementary, Pennfield Middle School, and North Penn Junior High. After graduating from Haverford College in 1992, Weber was sworn in as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State in 1993, and since then has been deployed to Turkmenistan, Russia, China, and other hot spots around the world. Weber taught students in China about the American electoral system in 20004 using a term paper he had written at North Penn High School, and credited his social studies teachers and the school’s World Affairs Club with kindling his interest in the outside world.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today without the social studies department at North Penn,” Benjamin explained. “I feel very lucky to have
had a well-supported high school with not only excellent teachers, but excellent infrastructure to do such wonderful things. North Penn is a place where students can take and create opportunities to do some fairly big things.”
All four alumni will be inducted into the district’s “Knights of Honor,” a hall of fame created last year as part of the district’s 50th anniversary celebration. The induction ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. on Nov. 22 at the high school’s auditorium, and those interested in attending are asked to RSVP with Kaity Andrey, district Communications and Development Specialist, at Andreykm@npenn.org or 215-853-1032.
The following day, at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Thursday Nov. 23, alumni from North Penn and Lansdale Catholic High School will take the field at North Penn’s Crawford Stadium in the 2017 Thanksgiving Day alumni flag football game. Over 130 alumni have registered to play in the game, and nearly 50 North Penn Marching Knights alumni will perform on the sidelines with the district’s current marching band members.
Before game day, alumni from Lansdale Catholic will hold a practice at 11 a.m. on Nov. 22 at LC’s football field, located at 700 Lansdale Avenue, while North Penn alumni will practice at 6 p.m. on Nov. 22 at North Penn High School, 1340 Valley Forge Road in Towamencin.
Tickets for the game are $5 per person, with children younger than 5 entering free, and volunteers interested in working during the game can register thorough the district website www.NPenn.org.