CONNECT KEY
VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 10
2DIVISION 39S | REGION 7
MANSFIELD LAKE RIDGE HS
FEBRUARY 2020
TABLE OF contents 4
Letter From The Editor
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Calendar
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Volunteering Events
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Volunteering Events
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Metamorphosis
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Metamorphosis
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Service Partners
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UNICEF Flyer
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Internalizing Service
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Contact Information
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More Contact Info
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Oliver Nature Park Snowman Run
Kiwanis' Run With Heart!
Kiwanis' Falalala 5k Run
On January 25th, our Key Club had the opportunity to help out at the annual Run With Heart. Our members helped distribute
food
and
drinks
to
the
participants, run various booths such as balloon making, and cheer on the runners. We are always so thankful to be a part of this great cause and look forward to it every year!
RECAP On January 11th, our Key Club had the opportunity to aid in Oliver Nature Park’s Annual Snowman Run. During this event, our members helped set up the
trail
with
participants
signs
to
throughout
guide the
5K
the and
provided snacks and beverages for the runners. Members also cheered on the participants along the trail!
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a letter from the
editor
Hey Key Club! I hope all is well and that the start of your new year has been great thus far! Personally, I am striving to implement as much positive change that I can in my life, whether it may be Key Club related or the small details in my day to day that can make a big difference. More specifically, I am taking small but sure strides towards environmentally conscious decisions, such as bringing a reusable water bottle and straw to school, and starting my own compost bin! Despite how small these choices may seem, I believe they reflect the way we take care of our surrounding school and community as a whole. I believe these efforts start movements in our outward community, such as park clean ups and other events to contribute to the cleaning of our environment. I hope you begin to implement small changes in your life as well; you never know what ripple will create a wave! All love and blessings,
Gilliana Tawaran
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FEBRUARY 2020 SUN MON
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VALENTINE'S DAY PRESIDENT'S DAY
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VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES RECURRING EVENTS SUNDAYS: *Excluding the first Sunday of every month 2 - 4 PM at 1315 FM1187 Suite 107, Mansfield, TX 76063 Help pack boxes to send to orphans in Eastern Europe and organizing donations, such as clothing, toys, etc. Sign up: Fill out the Google form on our Remind and sign in at the warehouse (look for Margie or Frederick). WEDNESDAYS: Kiwanis' Feed The Kids 4 PM at 1315 FM1187 Suite 107, Mansfield, TX 76063 Help sort and distribute canned food and other perishables in an assembly line fashion. No sign up required!
ONE TIME EVENTS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7: Cora Spencer Daddy/Daughter Dance 5:30 - 9 PM at Cora Spencer Elementary School Help set up and decorate the cafeteria, assist with anything the coordinator needs during the dance, and clean up. Spots are limited! SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8: Oliver Nature Park Stargazing With Astronomers (Girl Scouts) 6:15 - 9:15 PM at Oliver Nature Park, 1650 Matlock Road Help families with the constellation app on their phones, assist with games and crafts, and navigate guests throughout the park!
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ONE TIME EVENTS CONT. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15: Oliver Nature Park Great Backyard Bird Count 8:15 - 12:15 PM at Oliver Nature Park, 1650 Matlock Road Help families with games and crafts, lead nature walks, and navigate guests throughout the event! Wear any MISD school shirt + your ID.
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Metamorphosis A
F E A T U R E D
A R T I C L E
BY MYA BURRIS To me, the world was very bleak. To me, the start of high school was only the beginning of a never-ending spiral of feeling inadequate and inferior in comparison to others. To me, nothing filled the void that had been left by years of pain that has etched scars so deep that no amount of time could heal them. I never thought that I could hold a bright future, or any future for that matter. But a life-changing decision was made in August of 2018, and this is my story. Key Club was the first club that I had ever joined and I didn’t know what to expect. Turning in my membership application was a disquieting experience. I was making a commitment that I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for yet. That feeling never subsided as I attended the first official meeting and was informed about the membership requirements: fifty service hours. Fifty. Service. Hours. As a newcomer to the volunteer wagon, you could understand why that intimidated me. I was aware of the fact that this organization was community service based, but it never occurred to me that there would be any type of requirement for it. Despite the daunting task, I took
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B Y
O U R
W E B M A S T E R
on the challenge and was able to complete all fifty by the end of the school year, much to my amazement. Perseverance is a virtue that I never realized that I had possessed up until this point, but I am glad that Key Club contributed meaningfully to this discovery.
However great that may have sounded, there was much more to my time in Key Club than just serving the community. While, I must admit, meeting new people is not a strong suit of mine, this organization paved the way for me to meet new people that I would have never met. Since my entrance into the world of volunteering, I have created thrilling new memories that have changed my life for the better: holding baby chicks in my bare hands, decorating golf carts for the holiday season, having fun with kids
while they learn cool new facts about the world around them, all while hanging out with current and newfound friends. Nowadays, that’s what I consider to be fun. I, for one, was never a fan of leaving the comfort of my bed, but this club opened a window for me that I never knew I needed. For once in my life, I voluntarily wanted to do something that would have been previously met with loathing and detestation, and there is no one else but Key Club to attribute this reshaped version of me to. Not only has this club helped myself to revamp the drab and unexciting individual that I was, it also played a part in showing me that I have the potential to do great things. October 9th, 2019: that is the day that will forever be engraved into my memory. I did the unexpected: I ran for an officer position for my Key Club. Anxiety, stage fright, and fear of the unknown all swept through me as I stood at the front of the crowded library, looking into the eyes of individuals who didn’t know anything about me other than the name that was typed on the screen behind me. I spoke. I talked. I made a presence. Once done with my speech, I was told by others who were also running for different positions that I was a shoe in and that there was nothing to worry about. Those people had faith in an honest system, but the thing about high school was that an honest system rarely exists. Everything is based on popularity. I was running against people who were well known
and who each made funny and admirable speeches. After that day, I consistently thought about what I could of done better, but if Key Club has taught me anything, it’s to have confidence. So that’s what I did. I believed that I could make it and hoped to get some sort of message that I have done what I believed to be the impossible. As I am writing this currently, I am pleased to say that I won the election by a comfortable margin. Winning that election restored the faith that I had lost in my capabilities to do something that I deemed was only meant for those who were well liked and admired. This made me realize that there are limitless boundaries for me. I can do anything and go anywhere that my heart desired, and I will be forever grateful to Key Club for guiding me to come to this conclusion. Out of all the organizations at my high school, I chose Key Club because I wished for change. I couldn’t live the way I did forever and joining Key Club was my first step towards a new chapter of my life. The amount of work I put into transforming who I was as a person made me realize just how much of a pivotal role the club had played in my life. While there will always be adversity thrown in my direction, remembering all of the things that Key Club has taught me throughout the years will always keep me grounded. In August 2018, I made the decision to join the Mansfield Lake Ridge High School Key Club, and that has made all the difference.
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THE THIRST PROJECT The Thirst Project actively works with Key Club to bring awareness to the water crisis and promote alternative solutions to the ongoing issue.
CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK Children's Miracle Network treats 62 kids every minute — that's more than 10 million kids a year. Their mission is to generate funds and awareness programs for their 170 member hospitals.
S E R V I C E
P A R T N E R S
UNICEF UNICEF works to help children all around the world and is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of their rights.
MARCH OF DIMES March of Dimes works to improve the health of mothers and babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.
PROJECT HAPPINESS
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Together with Key Club, Project Happiness aims to combat the issue of bullying in and out of the classroom. Through raising awareness and promoting positivity, they continue to minimize its impact.
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Internalizing Service A
FEATURED
ARTICLE
BY
OUR
BY ETHAN VU As the new year has begun and the month of January comes to an end, it’s good to reflect back on the past year and everything that’s happened. With the coming of the new year, I’ve begun to realize the thing that’ll be coming up before I know it; my senior year. With senior year in mind, along with the thoughts of college in mind, came the renewal of my past years in high school. I think it’s so far in advance to be thinking about the future but the joys of Key Club also came in mind and everything that it’s given me. You could say my Key Club journey started when I first stepped foot on campus. As I took my first breath of high school and heard the announcements of the new clubs to join I thought, “Why not Key Club? It sounds pretty interesting,” and sure enough it was. Instead of getting what every typical freshmen thinks, “Do they make keys?” I got something even better that I will surely treasure forever; the love of service. It all began during Downtown Mansfield’s Music Alley Festival. We’d had gotten there early to help set up and as soon as people started to show up, I felt so accomplished knowing that
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JUNIOR
REPRESENTATIVE
I had actually done something to give back to the community and help others out. For me, service is everything as it helped me come into my own, grow out of my shell, and meet people whom I’ve never met before.
Through Key Club, I was able to establish new relationships with people I’d never talk to if it weren’t for volunteering together. If it weren’t for service, I would have never had as friends as I have today. If it weren’t for service, I would have never had experienced volunteering in the rain picking up marathon signs, shivering in the cold as runners line up at the start line, nor sweating through my clothes as I pass out tickets at a school carnival. If it weren’t for service I would have never had the opportunity to meet some of the most amazing people whom I could call family. It’s because of service I was able to have all these amazing things and I hope I’ll be able to continue this journey through senior year as well.
OFFICER CONTACT INFORMATION PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
Christeen Nguyen Alan Phan lrhskcpresident@gmail.com lrhskcvicepresident@gmail.com
SECRETARY
EDITOR
Michelle Nguyen lrhskcsecretary@gmail.com
Gilliana Tawaran lrhskceditor@gmail.com
TREASURER
SENIOR REP
Kwame Morrison lrhskctreasurer@gmail.com
Abigail Nguyen lrhskcseniorrep@gmail.com
JUNIOR REP
SOPHOMORE REP
Ethan Vu lrhskcjuniorrep@gmail.com
Ethan Clark lrhskcsophrep@gmail.com
FRESHMAN REP Neva Khan lrhskcfreshmanrep@gmail.com
WEBSITE Visit our site for more!: See page 18.
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MORE CONTACT INFORMATION DISTRICT GOVERNOR
DISTRICT SECRETARY
Ashna Patel Kareena Patel governor@tokeyclub.com secretary@tokeyclub.com
DISTRICT EDITOR
DISTRICT TREASURER
Katherine Chao treasurer@tokeyclub.com
Vivian Thai editor@tokeyclub.com
REGION 7 ADVISOR
DIVISION 39S LTG
FACULTY ADVISOR
TOKEY WEBSITE
Gretchen S. Wamer docgretchen@gmail.com
Sharlene Garcia ltg39s@tokeyclub.com
Kandice San Miguel kandicesanmiguel@misdmail.com
TWITTER Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates! @LRKeyClub
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tokeyclub.com
KIWANIS ADVISOR
Todd Simmons todd.simmons@lpl.com
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