Wareham High School students honored for speaking, writing, service

May 2, 2020

Students in Wareham High School’s Key Club have recently been awarded for their writing and speaking skills, as well as their commitment to community service.

The Key Club is a global organization that helps high school students develop character and leadership skills while providing community service. The District of New England and Bermuda Key Club has over 200 clubs, and recently held a remote convention in lieu of its annual gathering.

Wareham’s Ava Sullivan took second place in this year’s oratorical contest. The assignment was to write and deliver a three to five minute speech on the theme of how the diversity of heritage, personality, and leadership contributes to the Key Club. 

In her speech, Sullivan said “diversity is a very beautiful thing, and it’s crucial to have a community of people with different thoughts and backgrounds.” 

Emily Roberge won third place in the essay contest, based on the same theme.

In her essay, Roberge wrote “I have learned something from every member of our diverse Key Club. Whether it be different ideas for community service projects, or just plain courtesy and selfless service, there is much to learn from my Key Club peers.”

Roberge also won the monthly report contest, which is determined based on the cumulative scores for the monthly reports submitted during the 2019-2020 Key Club year. 

Wareham High School’s club was also one of only five schools in all of New England that won the Diamond Distinguished Key Clubs award. The honor is given to the top one percent of clubs, based on their overall performance in the combined areas of club administration, membership and leadership development, Kiwanis family involvement, service and fundraising as judged against a pre-established standard of excellence.

Wareham High School also took second place in its division for the Single Service Award and the Annual Achievement Award. 

The Wareham Key Club was recognized with the Single Service Award based on a project where club members helped Camp Sunshine in Casco Maine, a camp that serves families with children who suffer from a life threatening illness.

The Annual Achievement Award is based on the highest scores for overall performance when considering the amount and type of community service contributed.