THE HIVE
December 2015 CNH District D30S Whitney HS Volume XVIV Issue IX
From your Bulletin Editor Hello Whitney Key Club, I just wanted to remind you all that everyone has a chance to be featured in the monthly newsletter. Send me an article on anything Key Club. It can be about an event you attended or just something you wanted to say. Feel free to message me if you have any questions at all! I really hope you will send in some articles, even if it’s just once every few months. Also, I got quite a few compliments last month about the new newsletter design, so I wanted to thank you all once again for the positive feedback. I hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter as well! :) Thanks again, Amy Wang
Happy December, Key Club!! I can’t believe the last month of 2015 is already upon us! Can you believe it? I know I can’t! Especially when it feels like summer vacation started just yesterday. But we have a lot in store for you in December! We’re not gonna slow down just because the New Year is quickly approaching us. So first of all, as many of you may know, Whitney Key Club is in charge of our annual Operation Christmas/Adopt-A-Family project and we cannot wait to have you all in on our amazing plans to help so many families out this year! When the list comes to you during homeroom, remember to sign up for anything you can - really anything helps and will be appreciated. We are trying to give these families the best Christmas ever and with the giving hearts that are present on our campus, I know that we can do it all together! And I know some of you may feel burdened when donating, but please don’t - we don’t want to ever put any kind of negative pressure on you. We want you to feel comfortable when you donate and to give from your heart: remember even small things can go a long way. So I hope you’re all as excited for Operation Christmas this year as we are!! WOOT WOOT And on another note, I wanted to say thank you to all of you for all your encouraging words and all your amazing acts of kindness throughout the past couple of months! You are such a SUNNY bunch of volunteer with such big hearts and great ambitions - I have no doubts for the future of this club when I see all the passion and love you have for this club and for service. I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in 2016 together. Speaking of the new year, as 2016 approaches us, slowly so does the end of this term. Beginning March/April we will be holding new elections for our executive board and applications for our cabinet and I hope that you are all considering trying out since all of you have so much talent and compassion! Do not feel intimidated to run for an executive position whether or not you have a cabinet position. If you feel that you want to give more to this club and that you have a lot of good ideas on ways to improve it, feel free to join the elections! It’s all about the experience and what you can learn from it. Breaking out of your comfort zone is the first step. When I was a ninth grader, I was so afraid of public speaking and of putting myself out there first. But Key Club was really able to help me with that when I became bulletin editor. So what are you waiting for?? Start thinking about it!! On that note, I sincerely wish you are all dreaming big for the new year and that you are having an amazing start to your December! I am thankful for all of you in my life and I will always be here to answer your questions, comments and concerns, or to just be a friend if you need one :-) Signing off, Frances Lee Whitney Key Club President
From your President
RACE ROC By Danielle Lee
The ROC Race was a great way to spend a Saturday with fellow key clubbers from the home club and the rest of the division. Many of the volunteers got up early in the morning to start preparing for the race and arrived at the site six o’clock in the morning. As soon as the key clubbers arrived, they were offered snacks, a volunteer t-shirt, and were also welcomed by a greeting from other staff members. As soon as everyone was signed in, volunteers received training on how to register participants into the race and provide them with the gear they needed to participate. Some volunteers were assigned to pass out t-shirts and runner pins to the participants, while others collected race fees and signed in the excited participants of the ROC Race. The track in general was very entertaining for the volunteers as well because the obstacles were very enjoyable to look at. Especially because the race was based on the hit TV show Wipe Out, the course was very interesting and fun to watch. Some volunteers were even able to help out the organization and take video shots for the company. Many of the volunteers were able to help out in various aspects of this event. This race was a great way for key clubbers to bond together as well an opportunity to help the community and execute the race as smoothly as possible.
On the first Saturday of November, Key Clubbers who would be in attendance at Fall Rally South 2015, went to Kennedy High School to bond with fellow division members while also getting ready for FRS 2015 by memorizing cheers to creating spirit gear. As Key Clubbers began to arrive at Kennedy High School, we all began by sitting down and talking to Key Clubbers while waiting for the rest of the Key Clubbers to arrive. Once everyone arrived, the spirit coordinators took us outside to go through multiple bonding games including a rendition of Rock, Paper, Scissor and we also played Hug-a-Bear and those who lost also had punishments including of the chicken dance to the “How Do You Feel” Cheer. It was really fun getting to meet new Key Clubbers as in many of the games, we were paired with Key Clubbers from other school and thus was able to meet Key Clubbers all over the division. After we finished playing multiple bonding games, it then was type for the spirit cheers and a preview of a spirit battle. We started to relearn all the cheers as the spirit coordinators took us past each cheer about two times and then we had a “preview” of a spirit battle. It was really fun and interesting as Key Clubbers were able to see a preview of what was to come at Fall Rally South. Learning all the cheers together as a division definitely was an amazing feeling as all of us screaming our hearts out definitely was the highlight of my day to see all of the division members come together for a fun-filled afternoon. Afterwards, we got to begin to create our Fall Rally South spirit gear which included of a tutu or cape, and other schools in the division also was selling pins, t-shirts, tanks, socks, and much more! It definitely was fun to make our own cape/tutu as we were able to make the cape into something we liked whether it would be drawing a sun in the back of the cape to making the cape look like an apron. It was so fun to see all the unique designs that would be made for Fall Rally South. Fall Rally South came the weekend after Fall Rally Spirit Night and FRS was an amazing experience as we were able to bond with club members going on rides, able to meet Key Clubbers all over the CNH district, and cheer our hearts out together with D30S. It was an extremely amazing moment to see and hear all of D30S cheer together as it was a defining moment of just how spirited we are. Fall Rally South has and always will remain a special event for me as I was able to scream my heart out, have so much fun with other Key Club members, and get to meet people from different divisions and see how spirited they were.
FALL RALLY SPIRIT NIGHT By Isabelle Lee
F A L S L O U R AT L H L Y
By Frances Lee Fall Rally South – the ultimate spirit event for losing your voice in the midst of all the screams resonating across the Golden Bear Amphitheatre in Six Flags. As we circle the park looking for a more thrilling ride and more spirit battles to fight, we see color after color past us in a blur. Yellow, teal, red, black, purple… they’re everywhere – showing their spirit and their love for this amazing service organization. This was my second and last Fall Rally South. And to be quite honest, it was really stressful. But you know what? It was really really worth it. To see our Whitney Key Club members enjoy themselves and bond by playing “Heads Up”-like games, it only made me feel better about the days leading up to the event itself. Sure it might have been hard and pretty scary to think that someone might forget their medical form, but all in all, it was worth the time and the effort because of the impact it had on the people who were able to finally go. Fall Rally South was an unforgettable experience – not only because I got a heart attack when 2 of our members were late to the bus check in, but because it reminded me why I love what I do so much. Sometimes it all becomes too much, but moments and events like Fall Rally make me realize that I love what I do because I love to serve our members and my home, school, and community. As our club walked from rollercoaster to rollercoaster, participated in random hug wars, screamed our lungs out, we fell in love with the atmosphere and with our family. We might not have won the spirit stick as the sun division, but we DID make a difference by raising $1,900 for Pediatric Trauma Program and by showing Cali-Nev-Ha that division 30 south was not going to go down without a fight. Honestly, Fall Rally South IS an opportunity to go to Six Flags and ride so many rides (like X2), but it’s much more than that. If that’s the only reason you’re motivated to go, it’s honestly not the right one for a Key Clubber to go in with. Fall Rally South is an experience worth so much more than $54. It’s our chance to renew our passion for this service organization and to be reminded that teenagers have so much potential to do good in this world. The money that we earned that day was money that WE earned as a collective, family effort. And for that, I am so proud. I am absolutely proud of our home club. Our division. And our district. And to think that in a couple months I won’t be able to see this again makes me feel so bittersweet. But I only get happier when I think how many people will have the opportunity to feel this same feeling after me in future terms.
Buena Park
By Karen Long
Thanksgiving Decorations After the end of first quarter comps, we came back to school with a bang on Monday with the start of Key Club Week! Each day of the week had a different theme for what to celebrate. How did we celebrate? For two of the days, we wrote thank you cards for the lovely staff at our school and left a little note inside everyone’s locker. We hope the notes added an extra bit of sunshine to your day! Friday’s theme was Connect the K’s, meaning we would celebrate with a different branch of the Kiwanis Family. Key Club is a member of the Kiwanis family, and the Kiwanis family is made up of several different clubs such as Circle K International, Builders Club, and Aktion Club. There’s a club for everyone! So how does this relate to Thanksgiving Decorations? On Friday, we teamed up with Whitney’s Builders Club, which is similar to a Key Club for the 7th and 8th graders here, for a joint service project. And what better way is there to bond with the younger students than to make decorations to help bring more happiness and holiday spirit at the local nursing center on a Friday? Together, we drew and made tons of turkeys, pumpkins, cornucopias, paper chains with the colors of fall, and even more turkeys! Although all I can say about the turkeys I tried to make is that they were pretty interesting, I hope everyone at the nursing center appreciated our efforts and that they brought more of Division 30 South’s sunshine there.
By Victor Phong
New Member Orientation
It’s always great to have new members; after all, the new members could mean the growth of a person, or better yet, the growth of a community or the world. Whitney High School’s Club Rush marks the time when incoming members and returning members can sign up for Key Club, and start receiving volunteer hours after paying their dues. To official celebrate the newcomers, our Key Club held our annual New Member Orientation, where we introduced the logistics behind our international family. This meant discussing the “hierarchy” that ranges from home clubs to the international organization, and Spirit events like DCON and Fall Rally South. But with hard work came fun; our cabinet ran ice breakers, and even gave the new members pumpkin cookies and pins that they were able to keep. The biggest hope our club has is that more members that will represent the spirit of Key Club to any person at any time, and that through Key Club, they will develop bonds and characters that will carry through the rest of their lives. While it’s a possibility, a new member may participate for the sole purpose of taking volunteer hours, rather than giving back to the club or the community. While Key Club invites all, it’s imperative to remind all members new or veteran, that giving is one of the four pillars of Key Club; you’d be in the wrong place if you didn’t have a knack for giving.
It’s the season for giving, and what better way to demonstrate that than to give back to our community through service? Unfortunately, there are many children around the world who don’t get to enjoy the same privileges as we do. Although can’t go directly there to those countries to give food and shelter to them, we can do the next best thing-volunteer! The day before Thanksgiving, Key Clubbers and CSF members went to the Samaritan’s Purse processing center in Irvine to help with one of their biggest projects: Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child was started to teach young children around the world the meaning of love. Churches and youth groups participate by packing shoeboxes filled with clothes, toys, and supplies to donate to less fortunate children for Christmas. The children receive the gifts that were packed with love and gain much more than just the small gifts in the box; they learn the value of love. Our club participated by sorting out the boxes that had already been donated, taking out inappropriate items and replacing them with better gifts. We also taped the boxes and prepared them for shipping. The work may have been tiring and even repetitive, but what kept us going past four hours was the fact that another child would someday receive this gift and come to learn what service really meant. That day, we got much more than just sore hands and calluses. We were able to give back to a community in need with our dedication.
Shoebox Packing
By Iris Xu
d e c e Monday
Sunday
6
7
Tuesday
Wedn
1 Operation Christmas begins
2
8
9
operation christm 13
14
15
16 Last day of O mas
20
21
22
23
27
28
29 Rose Float Decorating
30
m b e r Thursday
nesday
Friday
Saturday
3
4
5 Christmas Tree Lighting HOPE Food Bank Candidate Training COnference
10
11
12 Hike the Halo
mas 12/1-12/16
Operation Christ- 17
18
19 December DCM
24
25
26
31
Contact Cabinet(:
Frances Lee, President - sweet2frances@gmail.com Iris Xu, Vice President - itzmeiris98@gmail.com Isabelle Lee, Secretary - isabellelee2424@gmail.com Karen Long, Treasurer - long.karen09@gmail.com Amy Wang, Bulletin Editor - amywangh32@gmail.com Amy Lee, DIrector of Activities - amylee90703@gmail.com Christina Hur, Director of Activities - christinahur16@gmail.com Eunice Shim, Director of Fundraising - euniceshim07@gmail.com Jason Park, Director of Fundraising - jasonoftheparks@gmail.com Danielle Lee, Director of Publicity - danielle9lee@gmail.com Joshua Ahn, Director of Publicity - joshahn2000@gmail.com Kiristina Theam, Historian - kctheam@gmail.com Richard Tee, Historian - richardtee2000@gmail.com Victor Phong, Kiwanis Chair - victor_phong@yahoo.com