The Strengthening Families program for parents and youth ages 10-14 will begin 5:30 p.m., tonight, Feb. 18 in the middle school cafeteria. Whitehall-Coplay School District has been offering this program for four years.

This is a seven-week series of activities for parents of young teens as well as the teens themselves. It is designed to help kids stay on the right track, pick good friends, make wise decisions and plan for their futures.

Parents learn things they can do to support their teens while giving them both love and limits, two key ingredients for navigating through the teen years.

The program is free and includes dinner. It is for all families and anyone who is about to raise a teenager.

Families can register by contacting Mr. Bugbee, middle school principal, at 610-439-1439.

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Whitehall High School’s Student Council is sponsoring a Keystone Pub night, along with a Chinese auction, to benefit Four Diamonds Fund (childhood cancer foundation) 6-9 p.m. tonight, Feb. 18. Please come out and help Student Council reach its goal of $10,000.

Also, to help raise money for Four Diamonds Fund, Student Council will be hosting a mini-thon 2-8 p.m. Feb. 19. Students will dance for six hours.

Anyone interested in making a donation can send it to the high school, c/o Student Council Mini-Thon, 3800 Mechanicsville Road, Whitehall, 18052.

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The Whitehall High School softball team is running a designer handbag bingo 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at American Club of Coplay, 300 Cherry St. Doors open 11:30 a.m.

Contact Rita Spanitz at rspanitz@gmail.com for more information and tickets.

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Mark your calendar and plan to come out for Zephyr Elementary’s McDonald’s Night 5-8 p.m. Feb. 29. It will be at the 2137 MacArthur Road location.

Come out to support Zephyr Elementary School, and see teachers and staff serving up dinner for you!

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Under the leadership of Leah Saliby, an eighth-grade English teacher at the middle school, the Snack Pack Pals program was started to help the neediest of children in kindergarten through eighth grade. With Snack Pack Pals, several food items are sent home over long weekends with students who have severe hunger needs to help them have something to eat before they return back to school.

More than half of the district’s student population qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. The need is very real and is here in the Whitehall and Coplay areas. Some of these children rely on the breakfast and lunch programs as their only source of nutritious meals.

Saliby is gearing up for spring break, March 24-28. She is in dire need to restock the food that was distributed to students over the Presidents Day holiday. Saliby will need food to distribute by March 17. Her team will assemble the bags March 21.

If you would like to make a food donation, Saliby is most in need of shelf-stable milk, macaroni and cheese boxes, fruit cups and Chef Boyardee cans. Other needed food items include small boxes of cold cereal, fruit cups, applesauce cups, juice boxes/pouches, fruit snacks, packs of cheese/peanut butter crackers, graham crackers, granola bars, individual servings of macaroni and cheese, and microwaveable bowls of Chef Boyardee.

If you would like to help in other ways or have any questions, contact Saliby at salibyl@whitehallcoplay.org. Your help is greatly appreciated.

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It’s that time of year again for the Pasta for Pennies campaign to begin at Zephyr Elementary School to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Each student received a small box to collect spare change. Each homeroom teacher received a larger box to collect the money from the students when their boxes are full.

There are some great events that are going to be happening throughout the campaign to help raise money for this great cause. The classroom that raises the most money will receive a pasta lunch catered by Olive Garden, which includes pasta, bread sticks and salad.

Last year, $4,129.85 was raised. Let’s see if we can beat that this year!

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Kindergarten registration for the 2016-17 school year is underway. Parents or guardians can begin the registration process by completing the online registration. Log on to the school district’s website, whitehallcoplay.org, and follow the instructions.

To complete the registration, parents or guardians will be given an appointment (April 1-7) to bring their child to Gockley Elementary School to meet with the guidance counselor, principal, school nurse, ESOL teacher and reading specialist for a brief assessment.

The deadline to register students online is March 18. A child must be 5 years old before Sept. 1, 2016.

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Do you have any school news? This column is a compilation of upcoming school events in the Whitehall-Coplay School District. Teachers, administrators, parents, students, coaches, PTSAs, club advisers and any other community members are invited to share their upcoming activities. Email me at jamb87@hotmail.com with Whitehall-Coplay School News in the subject line at least a week before an event.