Judge and Mrs. Edward E. Russell, of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, announce the engagement of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth Russell, of Somerville, Mass., to Laurent Pierre Poulain, also of Somerville. He is the son of Mr. Robert Poulain, of Sevis, France, and Mrs. Brigitte Rault, of Roumare, France. Russell is a project coordinator at Novartis Institute of Bio Medical Research in Cambridge, Mass. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, from which she also received an M.S. in nutrition science. Mr. Poulain is a technical support engineer at Progress Software in Bedford, Mass. He is a graduate of The Ecoles Pour l’Informatique et les Technologies Avancées (EPITA) in Paris, with a diploma in IT engineering. An April 2007 wedding is planned.

Crefeld School senior Jeremy Campbell was recently named a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship program.
Four Bishop McDevitt High School students have been named commended students in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship program.
They are Lindsay Budnick, John Erb, Luke Giordano and Liu Kaylin.

Lentz-Larson Wedding

Margaret Kimberly Lentz and Justin Buck Larson were married on July 7.
The ceremony took place at Chico’s Hot Springs resort in Pray, Montana. Uncle of the bride, the Honorable Jeffery P. Minehart of Chestnut Hill, officiated at the ceremony.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Lentz, of Ambler. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Larson, of Shreveport, La.
Robin Worgen, sister of the bride, of Flourtown, and Katie Crawford served as bride attendants.
Kimberly is a graduate of Wissahickon High School and Villanova University. She is employed by Big Sky Airlines in Bozeman, Mont. Justin is a graduate of Louisiana State University. He works in construction

Robert and Diana Irons of Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia, welcomed their first-born on Aug. 18. Laura Brooke Irons weighed in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 20 inches tall. The maternal grandmother is Gloria Lacey of Glass House Mountains, Queensland, Australia. The paternal grandparents are Charles W. and Bridget W. Irons of Chestnut Hill.

MURAL DEDICATION. Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the Philadelphia School District, was surrounded by students in front of John S. Jenks elementary school’s mural on Sept. 29. Vallas visited the school for a ceremony dedicating the school’s mural project, which was completed at the beginning of the summer. Students recited poetry and sang songs about the rainforest, which is the subject of the mural, and the current fifth and sixth graders watched as school administrators, community representatives and representatives from NetworkArts, an organization that promotes education through art, cut a blue ribbon in celebration. The current fifth and sixth graders created many of the pieces used on the mural last year. (Photo by Kristin Pazulski)