Potter's Papers: March 2015 by Linh Nguyen

MARCH 2015

POTTER’S PAPERS FAREWELL EDITION

Garland High School Division 2C Key Club

Volume 1 Issue 12

Caring—Our Way of Life Leadership, Character Building, Caring, and Inclusiveness

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“Even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.” -Stephen Chbosky

EDITOR’S NOTE

CONTENTS Upcoming Events

Letter from the LTG

President’s Corner

Handling Senioritis

Fundraising Ideas

Something Worthwhile

Service Adventures

DCON Information

DCON 2014 Recap

Farewell to Old Board

Our New Club Board

T-O District Staff

Hi Key Clubbers! Well, here it is: the last newsletter of my term as Club Editor. I’ve been both looking forward to and dreading this very issue, because, while the workload has been much more immense than I had initially anticipated, I’ve grown to become quite fond of the monthly 25+ page newsletter that I’m responsible for, and letting go of my baby is not an easy task. I hope that everyone is excited for DCON at the Sheraton in just a week and a half! This will be my first one, and I’m anticipating all of the wonderful things that I’ll discover at the convention with my amazing club members. I am soooo excited to meet new people; thinking about all of the possible new friendships makes me feel super giddy and anxious. Luckily, it won’t be long now! I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the new Key Club Board for the 2015-2016 school year; I believe that the current board made great decisions regarding who was eligible to run, and this will no doubt be reflected in how the club functions next year. Theo has been a great president, and I know that Tiffany will do well in filling Theo’s shoes next year. Thank you everyone for your continual support of my newsletter. Everything is appreciated, and this ending to my career as the Garland High School Key Club Editor is a bittersweet one. Yours in service, Linh Nguyen

COVER PHOTO: Shamira Kabir QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS?: Co n tac t me by e ma il in g lin h n gu yen3412@gmail.com or message me at https:// www.facebook.com/linh.nguyen.3241 for a more timely response.

THURSDAY09APRIL

END OF DCON SUNDAY12APRIL

TRASH BASH SATURDAY18APRIL

MARCH OF BABIES SATURDAY18APRIL

UPCOMING EVENTS

BEGINNING OF DCON

13-... 3-... 3 3_

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To learn more about suicide in teens and adults, go to www.save.org.

Hey GHS Key Clubbers! sdglflbdhetdngbfsgrhdjhsgagdfdjthrs I hope you all had a great Spring Break and a wonderful March! I cant believe this is my last update as President! *le cries* You all have really been such a constant source of joy this past year, and for that I am grateful. But before I leave, there are some things to take care of first. From the looks of it, Gryffindor will be our winner for the most active house in the house competition, so congratulations everyone! It’s very important to stay active in Key Club. For those of you who will be returning next year, make it your goal to be on the winning team next year! For all of you Gryffindor people on the fundraising committee, we’re planning on giving you guys a special party for all of your hard work, so stay tuned! Seniors! I have a list of who is on track to receive their medallions at the end of the year, and when I post the finalized list, I hope to see all of you on there! Be sure to get hour last couple of hours so that you can say you were an active member in Key Club and you’ll have a medal to reflect all of your hard work. Saying you have contributed the equivalent of 1 hour each month to serving others is something to be proud of. Thank you in advance to those who stuck it out to receive their medals, I really appreciate it. We will be sending 14 students to DCON this year, and I am sooooo excited! DCON is such a rewarding experience and I hope all of you at some point can go to DCON to meet all the other wonderful Key Clubbers of the T-O District. You’ll meet some of the best people there. For those of you attending, please get your dues in ASAP! I hope you guys are working very hard to get this last stretch of hours for March/April! We have a lot of events if you still need hours! For those of you who are on track to get 50 hours you are considered an active member by Key Club International, and I am sure the board next year will have benefits for you guys, so continue working hard! To the newly elected board, congratulations! You’re going to grow in so many ways by being apart of GHS Key Club. I wish you all the best and please to be afraid to contact me for any advice or questions! Good luck to everyone in this next year! I hope that I have been able to show you guys even a little bit of what it means to serve others in this past year! You guys have created a myriad of wonderful memories for me, so for that I am very thankful. And for the last time, I LOVE YOU GUYS! <3 Yours in service, Theo

Hello all! The clock is ticking down to the moment where I will retire as Vice-President of this club and I can only say that I have been more than grateful for being elected and for the opportunity to contribute to Key Club International, an organization that is admirable in its efforts to help the local community and the world as a whole. Frankly, just as with most people, I joined Key Club my freshman year as a requirement in order to get into college. It was another club filled with some other people that I couldn’t say I really cared for. And I won’t say that I went through some sort of butterfly-esque transformation deep within my soul because of this club. But I will say that it taught me to value volunteerism, and being in Key Club was a one way ticket because now I can’t see volunteering as anything but necessary. I hope I have in some way been a part of an organization that has influenced your drive to help one another. I hope that in some way I have helped the community and the world smile more than they did before. And I know that I gave my everything to this club this year, and I can only hope that this was made evident by my actions. Key Club is much, much more influential than you know and invaluable to those who participate in it. Signing off for the last time, Ashley Tsao, VP

Handling

. . . AND OTHER END-OF

Finding Motivation

I have reached the point in my life – and I'm sure my fellow seniors have as well – where I am ready for college and my motivation is hanging by a thread. Piles and piles of various applications filled out. Letters upon letters from colleges received. You want to get in to your dream school. You're worrying about how you will afford it. In short, you're preparing for the world ahead of you. But when you're so occupied with what's ahead, it's easy to forget what is right in front of you. You forget to do homework, you sleep either too much or too little, and you just flat out abandon your responsibilities. No matter what grade you're in, we've all been there. The good news is that no matter how lazy you may have gotten, it is never too late to get back on track. Now how do we fix a lack of motivation? Although not permanent, rewarding yourself can provide that extra boost to get things done. For example, perhaps treating yourself to a movie after you finish all of your homework. This way, you will have something to actually work for and you will want to finish faster. Many of you are probably thinking right now, “That's not really motivation!” and you're right, motivation comes from inside, not from rewards. But nevertheless, it's a great trick to get things done. Another great trick is to make a to-do list and mark off everything that you have completed. Once you can organize your goals and see for yourself how much you need to do, your problems just magically seem less daunting. Both these tricks will help when you just need that extra little push. Now that we've addressed some tricks, let's discuss how to really find motivation. Surely, there has got to be a secret that will allow you to work hard and get things done, right? How else do other people do it? Well, the sad answer is that there is no such way. In a perfect world, you will always have energy and never run out of motivation. You won't need incentives or rewards to do things, you will just find that motivation inside of you. However, we do not live such an ideal world. The harsh reality is that motivation cannot be infinite, we are all human beings and as such, we tend to get overwhelmed by things and lose our motivation periodically. This is a fact of life and accepting it is the key to success. These lazy days may happen from time to time, but never let them dictate your life. A small obstacle in the road may slow you down, but it can never stop you. Keep your head up high, Key Clubbers! Don't get discouraged by what's ahead, we only have a few weeks of school left after all! -Tam Nguyen

g Senioritis

F-THE-YEAR AFFLICTIONS

Not Ready

I’m going to admit it here and now; I am never prepared. I confess that I allow laziness to pull me down when I have a responsibility. I know that I do things last minute as much as humanly possible. Unfortunately, I am sure to bring some others down with me as a result. I do this because I have been able to be at the least “adequate” at everything I do. However, once someone like me got cozy with “adequate” I slowly allowed myself to succumb to the acceptance of “inadequate”. I have tasted a sip of the lethargic drink of “almost average” more than once or twice. Okay, that’s not true. I have taken several chugs of that addictive beverage whenever I can. I became apathetic about my responsibilities and pushed them as far away from me as I can so that I can “focus on myself and my happiness”. That was and has been a complete lie to comfort myself and justify my actions. It was not difficult to believe because people would accept the result of my work as the best that they will get from me. Senioritis has become the biggest struggle for me. Senioritis is like that grandma who makes you love her by giving way too much candy every day whenever you ask or even just open your mouth. It is all fun and games until one day you wake up losing teeth, gaining weight, and suffering from diabetes and obesity. That is me now. I am the little kid who cannot play with the other kids because I cannot keep up and I just told myself “I am happy with how I am”. No, that is not how it should be. And as corny as it may sound, I have Key Club to help me realize that. I am a part of the board of the Key Club at my school and I honestly believed that it would be an easy, breezy, beautiful year to slack off in. I tried so hard to do so, but I never realized how much people would actually depend on me once I joined the club. It is not that the club will not function without me, but it is the honor of the promise that I kept that is expected of me. And sometimes, that should be enough. I am not often ready or prepared for what is asked of me and the other officers remind me that I cannot allow myself to continue like this on this club, at least not under their watch. My Key Club has forced upon me what the actual weight of responsibility feels like and its consequences for trying to cheat it. Key Club has made me realize that I must become a better person by fighting that senioritis and taking in that responsibility. I hope to continue fighting the sloth and that my years in college, I surround myself with people similar to the Board to remind me constantly not to settle for almost adequate. -Raquel Palma

Fundraising Ideas for DCON

We’re getting closer and closer to DCON and I’m already really excited about it! Another big part of DCON is fundraising and preparing for the annual event. Once again, I’ve compiled another list of fun fundraisers for you guys to choose from! (However, some of these may take more than two weeks to plan, so you can even use them to kick off the next Key Club year with new ways to fundraise). 1. Fundraiser Night at a Restaurant (Chipotle is a good one): This is an easy one and a lot of you guys have probably been doing this already. 2. Game Night!!!: There was a club that hosted a Tap Project event. During this event, attendees (who can pay an entrance fee) put down their phones (after opening up the site on their phones: http:// tap.unicefusa.org/) and can play various games. (You guys could also donate some of the proceeds toward an organization too). 3. Give your members (or even the entire school) an opportunity to pie their teachers or Key Club sponsors or members in the face: Have a goal, say $10 or so. Once $10 has been donated, one of the people who volunteered to be pied will be pied! After another $10 has been collected, then that person (or another person) can be pied again, and the same with the next $10 and so on. (Make sure that whoever plans this event makes sure that everyone who is to be pied agrees with it! Many teachers and sponsors will probably say yes if you ask them ahead of time.)

4. Host an event during which people can pay a fee ($1 or something) to have a card (and a flower or chocolate) delivered to their friends. (This kind of fundraiser is especially popular during Valentine’s Day or Christmas). 5. Have a money jar: This can be used to encourage competition and participation between grades. In this fundraiser, there could be four jars for every grade (9, 10, 11, 12) and people could donate to vote for one of the grades (a penny is one vote; a nickel is five; a dollar is a hundred, etc). The fundraiser could also be open to the entire school, not just Key Clubbers. By the end of the event, there could be a party or something for the winning class. Utilize these fundraisers to fund for DCON or ELIMINATE or another organization. Have fun! -Tiffany Yang

UNLOCKING A NEW CHAPTER with the KEY October to April, 2015: the months flew by, and sadly, I'm nearing the end of my first and last term as a Key Club officer. I spent a while pondering about how I should write my last article with the objective to make it be memorable and be an accumulation of my high school Key Club career. That’s it. *Drum roll* This article serves as a ‘reading’ through my Key Club memory lane. 10/31/2014: My first official act as Fundraising chair The first fundraiser I planned for our Key Club was the Homecoming/Halloween themed Polaroid Photobooth. Everyone drenched in black and gold, some showcasing ‘Texas’ mums, and just the overwhelming excitement that comes with Homecoming made the day momentous. Not only was it my last GHS Homecoming, but my first Key Club fundraiser. The Polaroid Photo Booth's purpose was to act as a fundraiser for ELIMINATE, but this small activity served to permanently capture the exciting day for many students and staff as they smile into the camera with their spirit wear or halloween costumes along with their friends. 01/31/2015: The last major fundraiser for Key Club was the Dodgeball Tournament The event’s aims were to fundraise for DCON and engage members in a fun activity. Though there were some stressful moments, the Dodgeball Tourney was ultimately a success as we were able to rack in $600 and make new memories with our fellow Key Clubbers and peers. What I’ve attained from being Fundraising Chair for this amazing club is that, like the Polaroids, Key Club always provides new memories and reflects upon the old ones, regardless, it remains with you forever. To be able to experience the things within this club is gratifying as I am able to reflect and develop my skills as an individual striving to be actively involved in my community. I c

consider myself privileged with the opportunity to not only be on a board with diligent officers and be able to lead a wonderful committee (GO GRYFFINDOR), but to be in a club that strives to put value in volunteer service. The international level depicts diversity as Key Clubbers join to achieve the same objectives: to develop ourselves as leaders and individuals, demonstrated in our service. There are many service organizations; however, I think that the learning experience acquired from Key Club is one you would not be able to get in any other organization. Let’s be honest, most of us joined this club because it was deemed "The Cool Kids’ Club aka Asians club.” We started as individuals, most mere fishies, once you’ve reached your senior year, you experience an epiphany: some of the most fun memories imprinted in your brain are from Key Club events, some of the most cherished friends and inspiring people you’ve ever met are your fellow Key Clubbers. You’ll remember the committee competitions and how Gryffindor (WHOOP WHOOP) was always in the lead. To conclude: there are many things you can get out of Key Club: new friends, fun experiences, pride in knowing you helped someone, yes, even free stuff, but the most valuable lessons are improving yourself. Once that is done, you will be able to do much more with a greater impact. Though my Key Club high school career has come to an end, my active service will not. Likewise, this gratifying, unforgettable experience will ‘Shirley’ stay with me. With the same KEY as I started with in 2011 as a rather awkward Shirley, I’m using it again to lock that chapter in 2015 as the Shirley now. -Shirley Banh

Doing Something Worthwhile

Oftentimes, donations and money collections seem to go to a nameless brand of people that simply need help. They have a giant question mark over their face and we fumble around to figure out their identity as if we were playing a game of “Name that Pokémon!” But let me give you some points of reference. When Key Club collects money for UNICEF we are collecting money for children in Syria who have known nothing but brutal, violent Civil War for their entire lives. For the children who are born into refugee camps and have never lived under any roof except for welfare issued plastic tarps. I distinctly recall being touched by a picture that CNN posted on their Instagram of a maybe three or four year old Syrian refugee boy, with his bright eyes shining, grinning next to a foot tall snowman that he had just made. We donate to little boys who are unaware of politics and smile as if a snowman were the most magical thing in the entire world. When we collect socks for immigrants from Central America we are attempting to alleviate the pain of a child whose parent has given almost everything for the slim chance that their child would get out from countries such as El Salvador that may have been ridden with violence. For the boys and girls who have successfully escaped,

girls who have successfully escaped, only to be rejected by yet another nation, only this time, they don’t have their parents. They’re young, younger than us with big, brown eyes attempting to make sense of a foreign political system in an unfamiliar state. When we make tie blankets for young girls in Honduras we try to bring some sort of warmth to girls who have been left out in the cold by society, unfortunate enough to lose a parent and scorned by those who had previously abused them. We buy them bright nail polish to emphasize that they can still be children after everything that has happened to them. So when glitter is sprinkled along their brow from a fun makeover and their nails are a mix of hot pink and bright blue and their face is framed by two pigtails, the language gap between them and us doesn’t seem so big. I’m not ignorant. I know that we are not and cannot be the universal savior. But I do understand that there is a reason why Key Club does what it does. And it’s for the people behind the money and the blankets and the socks. Sometimes, there has to be a quantifiable reason for doing what we do. And maybe, just maybe, if we were able to recreate a picture of all the people we’ve helped in our heads, our actions might seem worthwhile. -Ashley Tsao

KITTY IRENE PHILLIP (K.I.P.)

RETURN OF KOA THE PANDA

One fine afternoon, K.I.P. was walking down the street like any other kitty day, but then out of the blue-poof-a creepy old hag in a raggedy clay brown robe appeared before him. K.I.P. was frightened out of his wits and screamed "WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT!", on and on till the hag yelled "Oh, will you quit yapping?!?". Then, with a flick of her wrist, and a stiff cracking noise, she shut the cat's lips like an oyster. Once that happened, the old hag's face lifted just a little as if weights were obliterated from her dainty old shoulders...almost making her look a bit less horrendous. She then explained, "Look boy, look at my face for what do you see? You see the face of death around the corner. The face of vanity's every fear in one soul, for I am cursed. Cursed to become ugly forever. But, my dear, forever doesn't exist. Permanence is as real as those mythical creatures hiding in the woods. There is only one way to break me from this sin, and it is if my fiancé were to become a good man. Sadly, fate has engaged us." In such shock for the news K.I.P. was so freaked that he could've made Carney people lose their job. Since when did the Higher Ups engage him and this rag called a thing? Now, he has to fix her? If he was any other being, he would've said she was lying straight through her teeth-or whatever those tree trunk colored things were-but K.I.P. is no ordinary cat. He's a fool. K.I.P. shook his head in reply to her asking if he's willing to make her beautiful, and in return she gave him the instructions to how to fix the curse. It was quite a simple task; find your passion besides your narcissism. As a fool, K.I.P. saw this as an impossible thing to do, for all K.I.P. knew how to do was love and care for nobody but himself. (Which brought out the truth that the only reason he accepted the challenge was to have a pretty bride.) Knowing he'd have to go out of his comfort zone to find his passion, the very next day he packed his bags and left. He aimlessly travelled for weeks being stopped every so often by strangers. They all asked him if they could borrow one article of anything from him, and like the fool he is, he said yes. This few moments became a game to him: to see how many people he can make smile with nothing in return. After months of travelling and helping people, K.I.P. found himself without any remnants of narcissism and completely naked, for he fell in love with helping people around him. His foolishness let everyone take advantage of poor simpleton K.I.P. Poor kitty realized he had lost all of his beauty and belongings, so he decided to finally go home. With so much time that passed by, he had totally forgotten into why he took that journey because all that filled his mind was to help the people and community around him, so he had forgotten about his fiancée. When K.I.P. opened the door to his almost forgotten house, he was shocked to find the fiancée cooking in his kitchen. She didn't notice him till she felt the draft come in, but she knew whom he was when she turned. Even though K.I.P. was taken advantage of, he did all those things out of the kindness in his heart and loved helping his community. Key Club was made for people sort of like K.I.P. because they have people who care about their community and do service projects for the good of their city. In the end of all the hard work, Key Club does great things for everyone- like the ELIMINATE project- and asks for nothing in return, but they get to see a beautiful accomplishment and end. -Sabrina Palma

Following the journey of Koa the Panda, he is on a quest of finding the ultimate solution humanity needs: world peace. This peace is a treasure that is desired by many but is nearly impossible to find. Koa the Panda made it his life mission to be able to find world peace for humanity because it will be able to solve all the problems in the world. The first stage of finding this treasure is to visit the mountain of humility. The mountain of humility is one of the hardest areas to surpass because even though you’re so high, you’re not above anyone. This is a hard concept to grasp for all people, especially Koa the Panda because he is the richest in bamboo. Koa the Panda has the world’s largest bamboo mining factory in the world that creates over a billion pieces of bamboo daily. The area of the mountain of humility can only be found by asking someone you would never ask advice from. Koa the Panda asked his father, Khoa the Panda. Khoa the Panda was the eldest and most beautiful panda of the land that Koa the Panda was extremely jealous of. Koa the Panda finally realized that he had to ask Khoa the Panda for this information or he will never be able to find the Mountain of Humility and save the world of all of its problems. So when Koa the Panda slowly approached Khoa the Panda, Khoa the Panda knew exactly why he was there. Through humility, Koa the Panda decided that he needs other people to help him on this journey so instead of Khoa the Panda telling him where the mountain of humility was, the information just came to his mind. Koa the Panda learned the first step of this journey to world peace. You need to accept the fact that everyone is equal and that you need other people to help you in your life. Koa the Panda began his journey toward the Mountain of Humility. The journey was extremely long and will cost a great amount to Koa the Panda’s life. He will have to give up his bamboo factory because he will be traveling to distance lands and will be unable to keep up with the factory maintenance. Koa the Panda was pondering upon this question for a long time but finally decided that he will abandon everything to go search for the world peace. This choice was the start to the adventure of Koa the Panda being able to save the world through his acts of kindness and heart to voluntarily leave everything to help others. That is the true meaning of helping and volunteering. -Shanon Quach

ADVENTURES IN KEY CLUB If I could explain key club in a two words, it would be fun and volunteering. Key club this year has been such a blast for me, even though it's only been my first year as a Key Clubber at my school. I have been to many, many events and I can say that almost all of them have been so much fun for me, and the great thing is that we are also volunteering while we are having fun at these events. When I went to my first meeting for key club, I can tell you that I was surprised that we were supposed to get 13 hours every bimonth, and in total we were supposed to get a whopping 50 hours. However, now that I think about it, 50 hours are not that much, because personally, I think that going to events are so much fun; even though there might have been some that I did not enjoy as much as others, they were still fun to go to. Also, what I love about Key club is that we get to meet other key clubbers from different schools, and then whenever we go to events, such as divisional events, I can meet up with them again. Not only that I get to make friends at different school, but I

even made many of my friends at Garland High School through key club! I have made so many fond memories this school year and most of them are from key club, which I didn't expect to impact me this much before school started. For example, during autumn fest, which was probably my favorite event, we got to make cool hats (to advertise the hat making station) and help kids make them. We also got to help in the game area, and I remember there was this one girl who would always win and won about six prizes. There were three bouncy houses in front of the games area and I was able to play in them with some of the kids, because some of the kids were too scared to go up the one I was watching over. Unfortunately, this year is almost coming to an end, however, I know that next year will be just as good as this one; it might even just be better than this one. I’m actually really excited for the events that are going to be held next year. -Shamira Kabir

helping people, changing lives Many people will ask why Volunteer? There are the usual answers to this question such as, "to give back to the community" or "because I care about this community" or "I feel good when I volunteer". So why volunteer? Volunteering provides us with opportunities to build ties with people we would normally not connect with and with that are opportunity to create a deeper sense of shared trust in community. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to change people’s lives, even including your own. It gives you the satisfaction of playing an important, beneficial role in someone else’s life, helping people who may not be able to help themselves. Volunteering is a way of giving back to your community while developing important social skills, and gaining valuable work experience all at the same time. Many would describe volunteering it as any unpaid job, which involves spending time doing something that aims to benefit others. In that case, volunteering at an animal hospital, for instance, would be a great opportunity. We’ve all seen the stories on TV about animals in need. This is where you take charge of your life and contribute a little of your time and energy into helping others. You’re bound to get more out of it than you put in. There are so many beneficial ways of getting involved in and giving back to your community. Volunteering is a rewarding experience and by giving up a few hours of your day to go help your community is a great experience. Why not spend a little time helping others, because in the end, what goes around comes around. Volunteering is not only effective, but it’s a good way to meet people, learn, and develop social skills. By helping or supporting others, you learn and use new skills gaining confidence, building relationships and become more involved. Thus, volunteering is about giving your time, energy and skills freely. As a volunteer you have made a decision to help others and your community on your own accord, free from the pressure to act from others. Volunteers express a sense of achievement and motivation, and this is ultimately generated from your desire and enthusiasm to help. It may be true that no one person can solve all of the world’s dire problems, but what you can do is make that little corner of the world where you live just that little bit better. -Jackie Sandoval

GET READY FOR A

T-O DCON THE SHERATON IN DALLAS, TX. APRIL 9-12, 2015 REGISTER TODAY! See more about DCON on pages 19-21!

DivisionaL Fun

Earlier this month we had a divisional barbeque and I must say it was a lot of fun. To be honest I hadn’t been to a divisional event before so I did not know what to expect but I knew I was going to enjoy my time there because the event was taking place somewhere that I hold dear to my heart: Cottonwood Park. Many of you probably don’t know this but I used to live in Richardson for a good part of my life and I used to go to that park everyday as child, so going to the barbeque was a plus for me because it allowed me to visit a part of my childhood. When I had arrived at first, it was a bit awkward at first because I didn’t really know anyone there since Garland people hadn’t arrived yet and there were only North Garland people there. At that moment I had wished I had gone to other previous events so that I would know more people but luckily I was able to converse with people, getting to know them as the event was just getting started. I got to know more of these people throughout the event as we did ice breakers, played games, and ate delicious hot dogs and hamburgers fresh from the grill. It was so much

much fun and I think the best part of the whole event was the spirit contest as well as pie-ing Steve in the face. We may have lost the spirit contest, but we all know that Garland obviously has the most spirit. And our spirits never died down because Theo got to be the first person to pie Steve so everything worked out. I honestly did have a lot of fun that day and I would like to thank all the divisional officers for putting this event together. And I would also like to encourage you all of to go to events like this because they’re fun and you get to meet a lot of new people and see how other clubs work. Also as another bonus you can also get some hours for it if the money you’re paying is going to something like the ELIMINATE Project. Don’t miss out on any opportunities to meet new people, eat good food, have lots of fun, and also get hours in the progress. So look out for more future divisional events make sure to pencil it in and go because you don’t want to be left out of the fun. -Iris Wong

DCON—A NO-BRAINER DCON is right around the corner and I am beyond excited to reconnect with members of the Mighty T-O District! For those of you who are not familiar about the importance of attending DCON, here are some reasons to attend. 1. Elect the new board. It is very important, especially if you are a newly elected officer, to take part in voting for the new district board. This is the perfect opportunity to meet people who want to help you out throughout your time as officer, so take the time to get to know everyone because you will not regret making any friends! For those of you who are not yet board members, you can sit in on forums for whatever board position you might be interested in and you can also take the time to get to know your past and future LTGs while at DCON. In many ways, you can think of DCON as a network of wonderful people who will be very useful in the future as well. 2. Participate in competitions. It may not seem like it, but Quiz Bowl is so exciting to watch and I imagine it’s even more fun to participate in as well! The are over 75 trophies up for grabs and whatever talent you have, whether it’s singing, dancing, public speaking, or even essay writing, there’s bound to be a competition you can compete in, so take the time and look through the resource package! 3. Learn how to be professional. Everyone dresses so sharply to caucus, you can’t help but marvel at how professional everyone looks! For those attending House of Delegates as well, Parliamentary Procedure will help you understand how formal meetings are conducted. There is also the great leadership luncheon and the banquet on Saturday night, which everyone always looks great when they go. Being around a group of very well dressed people has definitely inspired me to carry myself as more of a professional than just an average teenager. 4. Extend your K- family to the rest of the district. Although we may not realize it, we are all apart of the might T-O District and DCON is the perfect opportunity to meet the rest of your fellow Key Clubbers inside the K-family! The experiences each and every one of us have are very special and sharing them with others will help you connect as a family. There are people from Corpus Chrsiti, Sugarland, Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Norman who are all waiting to meet you and bond with you over Key Club, so don’t let them down and head to the Sheraton! 5. Be inspired by others. Even if you’ve pulled off the greatest service project you’ve ever witnessed in your life or you were able to raise tons of money for The ELIMINATE Project, there are so many inspiring projects completed throughout all of Texas Oklahoma and DCON is where you can here about them more in depth. You can’t help but leave DCON feeling so inspired and alive with spirit. I hope to see you all there at the Sheraton this April! I can’t wait to see how many new people I can add to my list of K -family members. See you at the Sheraton! -Theodora Winter

READY TO ADVENTURE AT

DCON?

PAY ALL OF YOUR REQUIRED FEES SOON! ESTIMATED COST: $150* DEADLINE: APRIL 1 BEGIN: APRIL 9 @ 6PM END: APRIL 12 @ 11AM

*This price is subject to change, based on the club’s funds raised immediately before and immedi19 ately after DCON.

DCON 2014: RE

ECAP “Attending District Convention was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life sparking the flame for service and making me want to serve my home, schools, and communities more. I got to meet over 1,500 Key Clubbers from all over Texas and Oklahoma inspiring me to be a servant leader." -Chris Do North Garland High School “DCON was so much fun and was such a great experience. Thank you for everything the District Staff has done. You all definitely made a significant impact on Key Club and people all around the world with your caring hearts and dedication to service. “ -Tien Huynh North Garland High School “DCON was amazing. The food was good, too!” -Hogan Nguyen Garland High School “The post-DCON depression is too real. I've never been with so many wonderful people at one time! Till next year! :)” -Theodora Winter Garland High School

ASHLEY TSAO VICE-PRESIDENT ash.tsao@gmail.com

THEO PRES theodorawin

IRIS WONG HISTORIAN

HOGAN NGUYEN HISTORIAN

risxwong@hotmail.com

hoganth1@yahoo.com

JACKIE S WEBM strawberry47

SHAMIRA KABIR FRESHMAN REP shamirakabir@gmail.com

SHIRLEY BANH FUNDRAISING CHAIR shirley.banh@yahoo.com

LEXIE FORD SERVICE PROJ. CHAIR lexie.ford.5010@gmail.com

WINTER SIDENT nter@gmail.com

SANDOVAL MASTER 772@gmail.com

RAQUEL PALMA TREASURER raquelpalma2015@gmail.com

TIFFANY YANG SECRETARY OF MINUTES

LINH NGUYEN BULLETIN EDITOR

tiffany.r.yang@gmail.com

linhnguyen3412@gmail.com

TAM NGUYEN TRANSPORT. CHAIR tam.nguyen676@gmail.com

SHANON QUACH ADVERTISING CHAIR shanon.quach21@gmail.com

SABRINA PALMA FRESHMAN REP palma.sabrina4@gmail.com

LINH NGUYEN VP SERVICE PROJECTS linhnguyen3412@gmail.com

TIFFANY PRESID tiffany.r.yang

SABRINA PALMA SECRETARY palma.sabrina4@gmail.com

IRIS WONG SECRETARY irisxwong@hotmail.com

ALICE NGUYEN WEBMASTER aliceanguyen@gmail.com

CHRISTINE VU TREASURER christinevu98@yahoo.com

Y YANG DENT g@gmail.com

JANIE MAI VP FUNDRAISING mai.janie12345@gmail.com

JINO JOSE HISTORIAN jinojose101@gmail.com

SHAMIRA KABIR HISTORIAN shamirakabir@gmail.com

GABRIELLE ALOVERA HEAD OF ADVERTISING gmalover7@gmail.com

OLA BABATUNDE SERGEANT-AT-ARMS olababatunde60@yahoo.com

TEXAS-OKLAHOMA

KAITLYN WILSON

SAMUEL KINNIN

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

DISTRICT SECRETARY

GOVERNOR@TOKEYCLUB.COM

SECRETARY@TOKEYCLUB.COM

COLIN GONZALES

DENNIS HOGAN

DISTRICT TREASURER

REGION 8 ADVISOR

TREASURER@TOKEYCLUB.COM

REGION8@TOKEYCLUB.COM

DISTRICT STAFF

BOBBY THAKKAR

ANDREW LOH

TECH/VIDEO PRODUCER

CONVENTION LIAISON

BOBBYTHAKKAR99@GMAIL.COM

ANDREWLOH39S@GMAIL.COM

TIEN HUYNH

EMILY ZHAO

DIVISION 2C/2S LTG

DISTRICT EDITOR

TIENTHIHUYNH97@GMAIL.COM

EDITOR@TOKEYCLUB.COM

POTTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PAPERS edited by: Linh Nguyen photo credits: Alina Ha, Jino Jose, Shamira Kabir, Hogan Nguyen, Edeline Ong, Iris Wong, Tiffany Yang

VOLUME 1 // ISSUE 12