New York District | Division 11
may
THE KIWI
Bronx Science: Volume 5 Issue 2: May
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‘16-’17 Bronx Science Key Club Board PRESIDENT Yingchao He VICE PRESIDENT Carol Zhang SECRETARY Dante Schulz TREASURER Andy Zheng WEBMASTER/EDITOR Jenny Chen
NEWSLETTER STAFF
EDITOR/PHOTOGRAPHER Jenny Chen PR CO:CHAIR Jenifer Zheng PR CO:CHAIR Samantha Vee SM CO:CHAIR Tenzin Amdo SM CO:CHAIR Jenny Chen AUTHOR Carol Zhang AUTHOR Peter Alegre AUTHOR Tenzin Amdo PHOTOGRAPHER Kevin Wu PHOTOS Bronx Science Key Club Page
THE KIWI is published at 75 W 205th Street, Bronx, NY 10468 to promote the objectives of Key Club International, a high school organization incorporated not for profit under the laws of the State of Indiana. THE KIWI is published monthly digitally. For questions, concerns, please contact the editor Jenny at chenje5@bxscience.edu
Editor’s Letter: Let’s Be Real I had incredibly high expectations and standards for myself as webmaster and editor, and to be quite honest, after my first, I felt like I had so much to prove. I had big shoes to fill and with that mentality, I found it incredibly hard to actually finish a second newsletter the way I had imagined it to be. And I guess now being that this newsletter is incredibly late, and the lack of inspiration and confidence that I had over these few months- I am glad to have a board and a support group that understands what I’m going through and constantly reminding me that it’s not necessarily putting out the best looking newsletter out there. It’s about sharing what we experienced and learned over the month- who we’ve gotten to know and what we’ve accomplished as a group and as an individual, and that’s what really matters. With much love and regard, Editor Jenny Chen 2
STAY TUNED
STAY TUNED
Check out peter’s articles about japan day, north face, inwood and more on the next page!
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Date: MAY 1ST, 2016 Location: BEAR MOUNTAIN Description: The north face obstacle run was an upstate event in a mountainous and woods area. The task of the volunteers was to stay in aid stations and provide food and water to those runners that took part in the rigorous runs. Afterwards, when all the runs were over there was a festival for the runners and the volunteers About the cause: To challenge the runner, the north face endurance challenge winds around the hudson river and the catskills TOTAL IN ATTENDANCE: 16 TOTAL IN HOURS: 81 North Face Obstacle Run Leaving my house at 4 AM was very tiring, but was necessary to reach the bus to Bear Mountain to go to the event. At the event, we helped make sure the marathon at Bear Mountain was on track. My task was to help with the food tent and it was exciting to talk to the runners after the run.
Date: MAY 1ST, 2016 Location: jcc Manhattan Description: We helped JCC teach senior citizens how to use certain devices and programs, such as Microsoft Powerpoint, Excel, and Gmail. About the cause: SeniorNet provides nonprofit computer and Internet education for older adults and seniors. TOTAL IN ATTENDANCE: 3 TOTAL IN HOURS: 3 Senior Net After North Face, I headed over to the JCC to teach seniors technology. In the short 2 hours, I was able to teach 2 seniors on using an iPhone, although I personally don’t own one myself. 4
Date: mAY 7TH, 2016 Location: INWOOD north cove Description: We cleaned out the East River area of trash and other garbage that was polluting the shoreline. ABOUT THE CAUSE: serves as a wetlands cove- a stopover for migratory birds TOTAL IN ATTENDANCE: 7 TOTAL IN HOURS: 38 Inwood North Cove River Cleanup I was late to the event and was covered in color from the color run but still came. The cove was incredibly dirty and smelly, and the labor exhausting, but I still found some joy in it. Our job was to the cove by picking up trash like plastic bags and then dumping said trash into a dumpster.
Date: may 8th, 2016 Location: central park Description: we handed out tea and experienced japanese culture ABOUT THE CAUSE: designed by the japanese community to promote a deeper understanding of japanese culture through festivities and activities TOTAL IN ATTENDANCE: 23 TOTAL IN HOURS: 98 Japan Day At Japan Day, I was tasked with handing out tea drinks to the people attending. My tent was relatively calm, but eventually there were no more drinks left. I was then assigned to the other tea tent, but this was way more chaotic I multitasked between tearing open drink packages, carrying them to the tables, organizing them and cleaning up the boxes. The people crowded around our table, and eventually all of the drinks were gone. In total, the volunteers and I had handed out thousands of5 bottles to the attendees.
Date: may 15th, 2016 Location: central park ABOUT THE CAUSE: aids walk is the largest single-day aids fundraising event in the world. Funds raised from the event helps sustain the prevention, care, and advocacy programs for people affected by aids in the tri-state area. TOTAL IN ATTENDANCE: 30 TOTAL IN HOURS: 155
AIDS Walk Walking 6.2 miles was incredibly painful but it was fun to do it with friends. We walked Central park top to bottom, receiving snacks at checkpoints also. Key Clubbers from other divisions 8 & 9 were also there.
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Date: MAY 1ST, 2016 Location: BEAR MOUNTAIN Description: The north face obstacle run was an upstate event in a mountainous and woods area. The task of the volunteers was to stay in aid stations and provide food and water to those runners that took part in the rigorous runs. Afterwards, when all the runs were over there was a festival for the runners and the volunteers About the cause: To challenge the runner, the north face endurance challenge winds around the hudson river and the catskills TOTAL IN ATTENDANCE: 16 TOTAL IN HOURS: 81 By: carol zhang | vice president One of the greatest things about volunteering in the city is that the possibilities are seemingly endless—events range from walks, to soup kitchens, to fancy galas. Still, when you look at the big picture, city kids don’t have access to events that are out in nature, which is kind of disheartening to think about. However, I was able to challenge that notion this month. Despite the fact that we are from a NYC-based Key Club, Bronx Science Key Club was able to volunteer at the North Face Obstacle Course in Bear Mountain from 4/30/16 to 5/1/16.
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We were provided with a free shuttle bus upstate to the mountains by North Face, and even though I had to leave my house at 4:30AM to catch the bus, it still ended up coming more than an hour late. Even though my mood was initially dampened by this, I was really amazed to find out that the course is literally in the mountain range when I arrived—and to find out that the runners run really crazy distances. I volunteered on Sunday, where the runners were almost all running half marathons (and the runner that was in the lead and holding the new record time was running in sandals!) I was already astonished by that because I would get tired from simply running a mile, until I found out that the runners on Saturday were running 50 miles. That’s almost the length of two marathons in one go, and in a rocky terrain! I was able to witness these amazing athletes go through the course from the water station I was placed at, and boy—I was nothing short of amazed. Even in the cold weather and the pouring rain, seeing those people take on such a difficult, long course even in the rain was really inspiring.
Being able to at least help them keep their energy up was enough for me, even if the weather wasn’t the best. Plus, before and after the runners finished the course, they were given access to the festival grounds of the obstacle course, where there were a lot of cool free prizes and entertainment, (this festival also introduced me to my new favorite coffee brand—try Kicking Horse!!) Everyone was super pumped, which really translated to everyone who stepped foot in the venue.
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MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY
MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY "What was your favorite memory for the past service year? "I had an amazing time at LTC, from all the memories and bonds made in those 3 days. LTC left me with an unforgettable experience. I met with people all over New York State and got to know others better, like Dante Schulz, my best friend. I attended workshops with others, like How To Be An Effective Leader. I learnt that I had to be professional and quick thinking. I learnt more about myself and others, and how amazing our club was. It was and is an indescribable experience."" "If you could host a workshop, what would it be and why?" "I would host a workshop on communication, so that people would know how to appropriately talk to coordinators or adults in an appropriate manner." 10
MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY "What event are you looking forward to in the month of May?" "I am looking forward to the Meadow Lake Planting Event because its always fun to go out with your friends and spend the day outside. You get to relax in the park while also doing a good thing for the environment!" "Are you looking forward to anything for the service year?" "One is definitely LTC because everyone has been saying how fun it is and I regret not going this year."
MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY | MEMBER MONDAY
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REMINDERS & UPDATES Submit to the PANDA CLUB!!! CHECK OUT MATT’S GOVERNOR’S UPDATE! SUBMIT ARTICLEs TO THE district, division, and club levels of newsletters! LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND TUMBLR AND INSTAGRAM!! TAKE PHOTOS AT EVENTS AND SEND THEM TO ME AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIRS! CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE FOR UPCOMING EVENTS 12
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