King Philip Regional High School Student Council members moments before jumping into freezing water for the Polar Plunge hosted by the Massachusetts Association of Student Council in conjunction with the Special Olympics. (Photo Courtesy of King Philip Regional School District)
WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni and Student Council Advisor Barbara Snead would like to highlight recent events hosted by the King Philip High School’s Student Council.
Massachusetts Association of Student Councils:
From Wednesday, March 8 to Friday, March 10, 16 Student Council members attended the Massachusetts Association of Student Councils (MASC) conference in Hyannis. This was the first state conference held since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 1,000 students gathered at the MASC to network, workshop and hear speeches on achieving goals, being yourself and prioritizing mental health from motivational speakers Harriet Turk and Ed Gerety.
The KP Student Council received recognition at the conference as a Gold Council of Excellence. In early February, the council submitted a book that outlines the mission of the Student Council as it pertains to KP and summarized all of the details about its mission, events, membership, constitution and more.
Student Council’s mission is to provide a voice to all students, work with all organizations in the school, be involved in community service and provide an opportunity for leadership development. In order to attain Gold Council status, the Student Council had to receive at least 37 points out of 50 on the scoring rubric.
In conjunction with MASC conference, the Special Olympics holds a Polar Plunge to bring awareness to the “Spread the Word to End the Word” program. The MASC has held other events such as bocce, dances and more to spread awareness about inclusive language surrounding the Special Olympics. All participants in the Special Olympics are able to attend the events for free due to fundraising efforts. King Philip was among the top 10 fundraising schools for the event.
“All of our students started the MASC conference off by jumping into the freezing water to support the Special Olympics,” Snead said. “The efforts to raise funds are important to all of the schools in attendance and the students look forward to participating in fundraising events however they can.”
Friday Night Live:
On Friday, March 17, Student Council members organized and held a Friday Night Live (FNL) event, modeled after the infamous Saturday Night Live program. The evening featured a FNL teacher band, skits including a tribute to Superintendent Zinni both as a parody and in song, and student performances. Six members of the senior class were hosts for the evening.
A panel of teachers decided on the top three performances, which were then awarded Visa gift cards.
“Our Student Council members have really come up with innovative ways to host events like FNL as opposed to a traditional talent show, which really gets the student body out and excited to participate,” Superintendent Zinni said.
Parent’s Night Out:
The Student Council coordinated the second Parent’s Night Out on Friday, March 24, from 5-8 p.m. The council worked with the art club, Art Honor Society, History National Honor Society, bird club, the Leo Club KP Cares, and Healthy KP to allow parents from the tri-town area to drop children in grades K-4 off for a night of fun.
Student Council members coordinated with the different clubs to provide craft activities, sports activities in the gym, movies in the library, along with serving pizza, popcorn and lemonade to the younger students.
There were 60 high school students and approximately 55 younger students in attendance. Officers Cruiser and Bentley, the community resource dogs, also made an appearance at the Parent’s Night Out.
“This event is absolutely wonderful for both the parents and their children,” Snead said. “The students are all having a blast together and parents have a night off where they know their children are not only having fun, but are doing so in a safe environment.”
To learn more about the King Philip High School Student Council, click here.
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Student Council members from King Philip Regional High School at the Massachusetts Association of Student Councils Conference. (Photo Courtesy of King Philip Regional School District)
King Philip Regional High School junior Vicky Cosmo (left) and senior Student Council President Ahunna James (right) perform a Taylor Swift mash-up for the Student Council’s Friday Night Live event. (Photo Courtesy of King Philip Regional School District)