WRENTHAM - King Philip Regional High School students in the National Honor Society have collected coats to help those in need of all ages. The Coats for Kids was sponsored by Anton's Cleaners.

In addition, the Leo Club, the student branch of the Lions Club, focuses on helping the communities of Norfolk, Wrentham, and Plainville through community service. Since the beginning of the school year, club members have participated in events such as the Norfolk Haunted Train Ride, the Crackerbarrel Fair, Plainville Fall Fest, and the Norfolk 5K Drug Abuse Resistance Education road race.

The Leo Club held its induction ceremony in late October, and 92 new members were welcomed. The club has 241 members for this school year. The special guest for the evening was former Plainville Police Chief and Lion's District Governor for 33K Ned Merrick. Other activities include the towns' speech contests, a talent show and drives for Toys for Tots, food, and soldiers.

Speakers address students

Several speakers have visited with the Health Careers Club, including Dr. Maranda Bliss. The dentist is affiliated with Pearlman and Associates of Foxboro. Brian Heckahorn, CPO of Hanger Orthotics and Prosthetics in Easton also spoke. Both speakers provided material and information that enhances the students understanding of the various opportunities and career directions in health care.

Sports boosters update

The King Philip Boosters, with the assistance of Sean McInnis, high school basketball coach, held a 3-on-3 basketball tournament in November. The tournament was open to fourth grade players through adults. Also, a free clinic was held for elementary students.

The KP Boosters largest source of revenue is its membership drive. You can download a membership form from www.kingphilipboosters.com. Simply click on "becoming a member" under the Quick Links section. You can also download a membership form from the KP Web site, www.kingphilip.org. The KP Sports Boosters Club meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. in the teachers' lounge at the high school (in the hall between the cafeteria and the library).

This column is compiled by staff writer Stephen Peterson. Peterson can be reached at 508-236-0377 or via e-mail at speterson@thesunchronicle.com.

Peer Leader activities

The Eighth Annual Peer Leadership Conference sponsored by the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office was recently held. The following King Philip students from Peer Leadership and SADD attended the "Preventing Violence for Safer Schools" with advisor Jenna Gallagher. Emily Botaish and Kristen Parkinson attended the workshop titled "Bystander Approach to Violence Prevention." Emily Crocker, Maddy Firth, Lexi Kirwin, Carrie Langhauser, Meghan Montgomery, Catherine Owen, and Molly Plaehn attended the workshop on "Drugs, Alcohol, and Violence." Caitlin Anderson, Amanda Koechel, and Anna Rabasco attended the workshop on "Hazing."

Other Peer Leadership events have included:

Drug Awareness Week: Held the end of October in which posters were displayed throughout the school showcasing statistics pertaining to the lack of drug and alcohol use at KP to illustrate to students that it is "cool to be clean." Awareness pencils with fun slogans were also distributed.

Pen Pal Program: Interschool program where members exchange letters with elementary school students as positive role models. Fundraising Activities: Peer leaders are brainstorming fundraising activities to help the club raise money and also plan to donate half the proceeds to the reborn middle school DARE program.

Student council events

Student council events have included:

Four King Philip Student Council members attended the Southeastern Massachusetts Association of Student Councils fall conference at Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston. The conference includes many workshops dealing with leadership and education that are run by student council members from different schools. The four KP representatives were Sara Annis, Janessa Barrett, Kevin Cameron, and Caroline Horne.

Officer Shop: Six KP Student Council members attended an officer building workshop at Holy Cross. The members who attended were Janessa Barrett, Kevin Cameron, Cody Carneiro, Alyssa Cote, Nicole Reilly, and Kathryn Spencer. Each member went to two workshops where they learned about time management, teamwork, speaking, and school spirit.

This column is compiled by staff writer Stephen Peterson. Peterson can be reached at 508-236-0377 or via e-mail at speterson@thesunchronicle.com.