G A R L A N D K E Y
H I G H
S C H O O L
C L U B
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orations
Texas-Oklahoma volume 2 issue 1 region 9 division 2s
Table of Contents 3- message from the president 4- letter from the editor 5- monthly recap 6- upcoming events 8- key club info 9- articles 14- major emphasis 17- contact info 18- district officers 19- club officers
03
a message from the president Hey Key Clubbers!
It has been a little over two months since school started, and the confusion with the new situation has subsided. Some recent events; our board has just found two key clubbers to fulfill the position of Treasurer and Historian and we hosted our first meeting. Sheena Vaghela, a sophomore, has taken on the responsibilities of being our Historian, and Kevin Lam, a senior, took on the position of Treasurer. Garland High School’s Key Club hosted its first General Meeting on September 30th, 2020. We were able to discuss future events and discuss information about our t-shirts and dues. There are still some things our club needs sorting out, but we’re faring well. I’m extremely optimistic about the club and its future activities, and hope that our new members (as well as current and returning members) will enjoy the community enough to stay with us next year. There is an event called Neighbors Helping Neighbors (where volunteers are cleaning up litter and doing community art) occurring during fall intersession, so I’m excited to see how the members feel about that. Looking forward to the next month with the club! Sincere Regards,
Christine Nguyen
04
letter from the editor Hey Key Clubbers!
We've survived the first 9 weeks of school and soon we'll have to survive 9 more, which should be interesting. I am so happy with the turn out at our meetings, so far this year. The officers and I truly appreciate every new and old member and we hope to have meetings that are worth your while, even in this online format. Volunteer opportunities are starting to roll in (all socially-distanced of course), so if you haven't signed up for any I recommend that you do! Not only can you get a few hours, you can also get to know your fellow Key Clubbers early on. Another easy way to get hours (especially with the pandemic) is writing articles. Articles are just 300-400 words and an image that are about Key Club. If you don't know what to write about, there are sample prompts on the Texas Oklahoma Key Club website which can give you some inspiration. If you have any questions regarding articles, don't hesitate to reach out! Yours in Service,
Akshaya Chandra
05
M MO ON N TT H H LL Y Y R R EE C CA AP P congratulations! We are very excited to welcome our newly appointed historian, Sheena Vaghela, and our new treasurer, Kevin Lam!
first meeting! We had our first two general meetings this month, and we can't wait to get this year started!
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UPCOMING E SUN
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riddle of the month What can you hold in your left hand but not in your right? your right elbow
VENTS: OCT GENERAL MEETINGS Join us at 3:15 after school
BOARD MEETINGS All officers must attend the two board meetings every month.
NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS VOLUNTEERING EVENTS There will be socially-distanced clean-ups through out the week within the Oaks Neighborhood.
ET O N
All meetings will occur online. Calendars only include events planned at the start of the month and are subject to change. Events can be added or canceled.
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Mission Statement Key Club is an international, student-led organization that provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership.
We Are Global Key Club is a growing organization with global reach. With 1000s of clubs in more than 38 countries, the impact of Key Club members can be felt all over the world.
We Learn Through Action High school student members of Key Club perform acts of service in their communities, such as cleaning up parks, collecting clothing and organizing food drives. They also learn leadership skills by running meetings, planning projects and holding elected leadership positions at the club, district and international levels.
Core Values - Leadership » Leadership is grounded in humility and service to others. A true leader listens, recognizes, and empowers. - Character building » Character is built by everyday acts of kindness, integrity and teamwork to grow stronger relationships and communities. - Caring » Compassion for others is a cornerstone of the Key Club experience, inspiring action and service to one’s community. - Inclusiveness » We welcome people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to join in serving and making a positive difference in our world
COMMUNICATION USING ONLINE PLATFORMS
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By Christine Nguyen, President Considering the current pandemic, it is crucial that clubs are able to efficiently communicate with each other and their members. Online platforms such as GroupMe, Instagram, Google Classroom, and Remind are some that GHS’s Key Club uses to spread information to our members as well as other organizations. Members are able to reach us on multiple platforms, which is one of the reasons why we use so many. Without something like Remind, we’d have to email out information, and that would not be efficient, especially having to ensure that no one is missed. Google Meet is the platform that Garland High School uses for classes, so the club decided to use it for our meetings as well. So far, we have held our Introductory and 1st General Meeting, as well as a couple Board Meetings using the application. The high participant capacity allows for us to communicate live with every member. Its chat function is also a benefit- those who do not wish to speak up vocally are able to type out their inquiries. Remind and GroupMe are our main source of intercommunication. We are able to create and join groups- the district and individual clubs have their own group- to which we use to expand on said intercommunication. GroupMe also is for our board members to discuss events, set up meetings, and stay organized. Functions like polls and creating calendar events are exceptional aspects that contribute to the pros of using the app. For communication with members, we use Remind. It is an app that allows for Key Club to send out mass- reminders, announcements, and links. It automatically sends to every individual, that way, no one is left out by accident. This platform is widely used throughout the district and is available on all cell-devices, so it doesn’t make anything difficult (accessibility-wise) for anyone. Not only do we use platforms like Remind for spreading announcements and overall information to our club members, but we also use social media like; Instagram! For the students who tend to spend time on their phones using social apps, they are able to easily see any announcements that they may have missed from Remind. It also gives Key Club a good idea of how many people are seeing the post, unlike Remind. Another benefit is the visual aspect of announcements. Reading a large chunk of text is not fun for anyone, so by making a graphic and posting it on Instagram, more people are more likely to read it. Using modern technology, Garland High School’s Key Club has established a stable form of connectivity within itself and extrinsic communities. We have been using GroupMe, Remind, and Instagram for years, so it is likely we will continue using the aforementioned applications this year. While Google Meet is relatively new, until COVID-19 is less of a problem than it is now, we will also be continuing its utilization.
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CHANGES TO COME By kevin Lam, Treasurer
Amidst this brand new school year, we are facing new challenges and experiences among ourselves. With drastic changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be many changes to be made towards Key Club this year. In terms of changes to be made, I will be working towards a goal inclusive of tasks normally handled by a treasurer such as that of handling money and dues as well monitoring and maintaining the budget and financial records. In addition, however, there will be plans set to handle the dues and funds in a manner safe and sufficient for keeping everyone
With the pandemic, we are facing
on both sides of the transactions safe and
hurdles with not only the social
satisfied. Although it may not seem too
distancing, decreased availability of
difficult, handling transactions during this time
members, and reduced volunteering
is an obstacle as dealing with virtual and in-
opportunities but also the overall
person funds causes a secondary source of
experience of Key Club itself, the
monetary budgeting not present in the previous
community. However, I will do my best
years. Fortunately, I will do my best to keep all
to maintain the connection and bonds
said monetary collections in an organized
held between members by keeping this as
manner making it easier for both parties to have an idea as to what is going in and out of the budget, and to easily recognize any indifferences among the budget itself. Although everyone is going to have a varying preference as to how they want to perform transactions, I will put in my effort to keep everyone satisfied.
easy and simple as before granting fellow members a sense of comfort during this trying time. And with hopeful changes to be made this upcoming year, the sense of community between members will be more powerful than ever before.
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VOLUNTEERING WITH KEY CLUB By Sheena Vaghela, Historian I joined Key Club last year as a freshman and I really enjoyed volunteering. I got a chance to make a difference in my community and realized how much I enjoy helping others. Now, originally I joined this club just because my friends joined but along the way, I learned so much . For starters, joining Key Club gave me the opportunity to become much more involved in my community. Volunteering events such as cleaning the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard and helping out at various marathons was honestly much more fun than I anticipated. As I started to volunteer more and more, I noticed I would get excited and that is how I realized that I actually genuinely enjoy helping others and being involved in my community. Not only did Key Club allow me to be more involved in my community, but it also gave me an opportunity to make a lot of new friends. Like I said before, I joined this club my freshman year, and you could imagine what it is like going to a new school and only knowing a select group of people who went to middle school with you. Now, this club had so many members which made me think that it must be fun if it has this many people and I was right. Joining Key Club allowed me to make new friends and grow closer with the friends that pushed me to join this club in the first place.
I’With this club, I’ve met so many amazing people, made so many friends, became much more involved in my community, and learned so much about myself and for these reasons, I rate my Key Club experience a ten out of ten. I’m grateful that I made the decision to join this club last year and I’m super happy to now serve others at my school as an officer of such an awesome club!
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VIRTUAL KEY CLUB EXPERIENCE By Yi Wong, Vice-President
With the present experiencing a pandemic and schools have opened their doors with the options of virtual schooling, technology has been more important than ever for young students, and clubs are included in such a situation. Our key clubs have used social media before for communications, such as GroupMe and Remind as a messaging system between the entire club. Along with the resources of Google Classroom as another source of reminders for events, and we use other resources such as Facebook and Instagram before. And with the access and advantages of technology, I believe it makes clubs more connected, efficient, and successful. Through GroupMe, we are able to communicate and talk with board members easily and just quickly without needing to have a meeting and only discuss issues at the meeting. Which makes things overall more effective, as board members could have different schedules during and after school which would make it difficult to communicate all together for issues that could be easily decided upon if given the chance. Especially with
And finally, I think social media apps can also make clubs more successful. As stated before, they can help with communication of ideas, events, and other important information between board members and other members of the club. And with it all, it can provide a good and slightly more interactive experience considering we aren’t able to be face to face. Even though the pandemic will make it more difficult in finding alternative ways to get hours and commune with the community. I think that technology and social media apps have made this be more successful than what it could have been if it weren’t for technology. We wouldn’t be able to have a club that is united or a club that has a direction and understanding of what it can do for the future. And so I think technology and social media is a great help and assistance to not only
our Key club, but to many others without them fully virtual schooling, it makes meetings much better and a good way as an realizing it at first. alternative since not everyone can be at school. And for the usage of Remind, we use it to communicate with events, or questions, and even talk directly to some members. Which can be useful and helpful, when members are either gathering for an event, just have random questions, or even are doing separate tasks and need to join together. And so this makes it overall a good thing to have for our club. Social media apps are helpful and useful in regards to reminders for either meetings, events, or possible vital information. And with everyone using the app. It makes it easier and better for everyone to get the information and makes everything more efficient in trying to get to meetings. Especially in regards to the fact that people could be at school or at home, and they would need to log onto a meeting in Google meets. Providing a quick and efficient way to both remind and inform members in important information they may have forgotten about. Which overall is a benefit for a time where everyone is distanced from each other, communication is essential.
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HOTO By Dylan Dam, Secretary Key Club means a lot to me. When I first joined my school’s Key Club, I just came in with the mindset that I would just join the club for more stuff to put on my college resume. I never knew how important it was to volunteer and to help around my community. Key Club is a club where I can express my gratitude towards my society and others around me by volunteering. My Key Club experience consists of many hours of volunteering. I worked concessions, food pantries, carnivals, and many others. I always felt at home and at ease when volunteering. I would be around friends and I would make some new ones. Some of my favorite volunteering events include carnivals and environment-cleaning events. At carnivals, I met many kids some of which had very similar interests as I did when I was younger. I met kids who were in orchestra, I met kids who loved math, and I met kids who were very enthusiastic in the things that they loved to do. I could relate because that’s exactly what I was like when I was their age. I really enjoyed meeting new people and helping them out. It made me feel good about myself. I was also appointed as my Key Club’s Secretary. So far, I have completed all of my monthly forms early and earned extra points for my club! However, COVID-19 has impacted my society and Key Club greatly. So far, we haven’t had anything in person. Everyone has been taking classes online, everyone is social distancing, and everyone is staying safe. Key club has many risks especially during this pandemic. It’s very difficult to volunteer while social distancing, so the coronavirus is even disrupting recruitment for our Key club.
With the coronavirus pandemic limiting basically all social gatherings, our Key Club has taken several precautions to adapt to the upcoming school year. This has affected my Key Club experience a lot. However, with this pandemic going on, I look forward to adapting to the virus and continue volunteering. So far, we have recruited a handful of freshmen. Our board made a welcoming email to send out to freshmen who showed interest in Key Club at our Spirit Night before the coronavirus pandemic. My true Key Club experience has just begun, and I can’t wait to see what lurks ahead and what our Key Club will become!
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MAJOR By joining March for Babies Step Up! you are helping moms and babies across the country, during a time when it’s needed most. Thanks to you we are adding new programs and resources to help families during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. More than 10 million kids enter a children’s hospital like Children's Health across North America every year. To provide the best care for kids, children’s hospitals rely on donations and community support, as Medicaid and insurance programs do not fully cover the cost of care.
Kiwanis International and UNICEF have joined forces to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus—a deadly disease that steals the lives of nearly 31,000 innocent babies and a significant number of women each year.
EMPHASIS
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The Thirst Project is a nonprofit organization that works with the support of young people to END the global water crisis by building freshwater wells in developing communities that need safe, clean drinking water.
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No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. - Charles Dickens
CONTACT US
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@garlandkeyclub
garlandhskeyclub@gmail.com
text @garlandkey to 81010
garlandhskeyclub.com
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'20-'21 district officers
DISTRICT GOVERNOR KAREENA
PATEL
governor@tokeyclub.com
DISTRICT EDITOR KAITLIN
TRAN
editor@tokeyclub.com
DISTRICT TREASURER RAJ
PATEL
treasurer@tokeyclub.com
TECH PRODUCER ALINA
DAM
techproducer@tokeyclub.com
DISTRICT SECRETARY VIVIAN
THAI
secretary@tokeyclub.com
CONVENTION LIAISON KAITLYN
ROEHR
cl@tokeyclub.com
REGION 8 ADVISOR DENNIS
HOGAN
region8@tokeyclub.com
19
'20-'21 club officers
PRESIDENT CHRISTINE
NGUYEN
nguyechr010@students.garlandisd.net
VICE PRESIDENT YI
WONG
wongyi000@students.garlandisd.net
SECRETARY DYLAN
DAM
damdyl000@students.garlandisd.net
WEBMASTER JAKE
WENDLING
wendljak000@students.garlandisd.net
EDITOR AKSHAYA
CHANDRA
akshayachandra10@gmail.com
CLUB ADVISOR MORGAN
SHAEFFER
mshaeffer@garlandisd.net
TREASURER KEVIN
SECRETARY TONY
lamkev000@students.garlandisd.net
LE
leton000@students.garlandisd.net
HISTORIAN SHEENA
DIVISION 2S LTG TISHA
GAUTAM
tishagautamkci@gmail.com
LAM
VAGHELA
vagheshe000@students.garlandisd.net
Caring: Our Way of Life