[TYPO3-50-general] Typo3 Phoenix Page categorization: extending Node and Aloha editor

[Dmitri Pisarev]

Hi!

I'm trying to create a very simple Phoenix website.
It should display a categorized list of people with image and short text 
for each, then there should be a single page view for each person. Trivial.
Now the design part. I see two ways to do it with Phoenix:
1) Use standard TYPO3CR, having TYPO3:Page node for each person. Then 
loop through all of the $rootNode->getChildNodes('TYPO3:Page'), grab an 
image and some preview content for each record and display it in a list 
view in a plugin.
BUT, I need some method like 
$rootNode->getChildNodesByCategory('TYPO3:Page', $category);
For that, I need to extend the Node class. I would choose Class Table 
Inheritance for that.
Or are there better ways?
2) Code a new Package from scratch, with my own model for every Person. 
Looks simple, but will I still be able to edit my own records via admin?

IN SHORT:
a) How to extend existing core classes?
b) How to edit my own objects with Aloha editor in backend?

I will be really grateful if someone could give me a hint, as I really 
have done all I could myself. Sorry, these are just my first steps with 
FLOW3...

Thanks in advance!
Dmitri.