Region 7, Division 1S Volume 4 // Issue 10
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EDITOR’S CORNER
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
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PROJECT
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DCON 2017
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PAST EVENTS
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UPCOMING & ONGOING EVENTS
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CONTACTS
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Editor’s Corner It’s getting near DCON, and I’m super excited! NCKC will be extremely busy during the months leading up to DCON, and I can’t wait until it’s here! -Kelly Le, Editor.
NCKC is helping out at the Valentine’s Day for Homeless Women event. Our duty was to babysit these adorable children.
Hello everyone! DCON 2017 is drawing near and NCKC is trying our best to prepare for it! I can’t wait to see how this year will turn out. Will it be just as exciting as last year? We shall see.
Yours in service, NCKC President
Yerasly Duran
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YOU’RE INVITED TO...
District Convention is a yearly event where Key Clubbers can enter competitions, participate in activities and workshops, and make lots of friends. DCON is fun, exciting, and a great place to learn more about Key Club. Make sure to attend DCON and be a part of the Wizarding World of Service from April 20th April 23rd!
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BARNES & NOBLE STORYTI
Article by: Oanh Nguyen
IME Barnes and Noble is a weekly event, and on one of my rare free days, I was able to attend it. On Saturday, February 18, I arrived at Barnes & Noble with my friend who is the editor of our club, Kelly Le. Since we came extremely early, we roamed around the bookstore and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. Then, at ten o’clock, we headed to the Children section where the story telling takes place. The place was starting to fill up with kids as storytime was about to start. The children were enthusiastic, many of them had came weekly.
book. Since some of the kids were small, they couldn’t color well. However, seeing them try to express their creativity made me extremely happy. I also did some coloring myself as I interacted with the children. I found out that many parents enjoy taking their children to storytime because it is fun for the kids. While we had some kids who thoroughly participated in storytime, others were timid. They would walk around looking at us but not coming near. To try to include them, I gave out coloring sheets to their parents who then encouraged their children over.
This week’s book turned out to be the Mighty, Mighty Construction Site, a book about how construction trucks works together to quickly build a construction site. The trucks worked long and hard to complete a building site early in the morning. They learned that by working together, the task can be completed before any of them realized it! The work was a success, and all the truck cheered with each other at the end.
Every time I attended Barnes and Noble, I always learn a valuable lesson. Not only does the children enjoy listening with a full smile on their faces, but I also learn that books sometime have characters that are personified. Whenever I read a book, it reminds me of when I was little. I would go to storytime at the library and focus intently on the readers. The enthusiasm of the little kid really shows as they listen to the story.
Throughout the book, Kelly and I took turn reading. One held the book while the other read the pages. I tried to engage the kids into storytime by interacting with them. I also hyped up the mood by asking questions about what happens next and make the noises of the construction trucks. I also re-read the book a second time for a mother and daughter who came late and it made her day. After storytime, we had some coloring sheets for the children to complete. There was a maze and several coloring sheets from the
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DCON 2018 THEME IDEA
Article by: Clarence Manglal-Ian
In terms of ideas for next year’s DCON, a theme I would like to see next year is a Hunger Games Themed District Convention. In our own North Crowley Key Club, to which I am currently our Vice President – Elect and current Vice Secretary, our club shirts have gone for a Hunger Games styled look. This is because, just like Key Club, the fictional country to which the Hunger Games is set in place, Panem, has its own districts and divisions as well. I believe the Hunger Games Trilogy would be a fantastic model for our DCON theme not only because its books have received New York Times Best Sellers, and its movies receiving box office honors, but because the trilogy contains relatable content to our Key Club District. One being that both Key Club and the Hunger Games highlight the inequality between the rich and the poor. While Key Club aims for high schoolers to serve their community and the less fortunate, the Hunger Games outlines how wealth is heavily concentrated in the hands of the rich and those living in the Capitol, while those in the districts live in disparity with starvation. The Hunger Games outlines the social problem to which Key Club is centered around - service to the less fortunate.
of negative news, gossips, dramas, attacks, bombings, corrupt politics, etc. Very rarely do we ever receive good news on news networks these days. And the Hunger Games portrays this theme perfectly. The suffering of the tributes is used as mass entertainment, where the more the tributes suffer in battle in the games, the more entertaining it becomes to the masses watching. Key Club fights this in that our objectives outline living and working together as one, to give primacy to the hum and spiritual values in life, rather than the material values, and to form enduring friendships and unselfish service towards our communities. Using the Hunger Games as a theme allows us to highlight how divided the world has become, and how Key Club aims to help create men and women who stand together as one, not as a divided race.
Along with the themes of the Hunger Games, certain motifs and symbols like fire, the mocking jay, etc. to represent aspects of Key Club. Where fire, which plays roles in the Hunger Games like spirit and temperament, which can represent the spirit and hope to which Key Clubbers hold in helping the less fortunate get back on their feet again. The mocking jay not only serves as a Another social problem to which the symbol of defiance against the status quo, Hunger Games outlines, and to which Key but as the connection between Katniss and Club aims to counteract, is the use of Suffer- Rue, which may be used to serve as the ing as Entertainment. Like modern media in connections built between those in Key Club our current times, what’s often seen as enter- towards becoming a family of service. taining and intriguing news comes in the form
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WHAT MAKES A GOOD LE
EADER? Being a leader is more than just being the face of the club since many aspects fall into being a leader. The term leader is defined as "the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country", but we are more than just someone you simply follow. Often times, many things don't go the way they are supposed to, and we can't allow that to hold us down. A leader is someone who perseveres and remains resilient even during the most difficult times. They would have to be patient and kind because trust me, as NCKC’s president, I’m faced with countless uniformed concerns and questions, and I’d have to repeat myself more times than I’d like to. Even if it’s annoying at times, however, I cannot deter from my position and quit. Besides being resilient, patience, and kind, an effective leader needs the ability to make the right decision to better everyone around them. Throughout my years as being an officer for NCKC, we have had our fair shares of having poorly adequate and disinclined officers who neglect their duties. Having such officers, who are the leaders of the club, can make the club have a poor image, being that every person leads to the success of the club. Cutting officers out or replacing them can be uncompromising and we may find it jarring to do, but we must understand it is something better for the club. The failure of the club cannot be because of the wrong-
doings of one person and their unyielding behavior. A strong leader understands that one have to be congenial and hospitable, but must not be unconquerable when it comes to doing deeds that aren't fun.
Leaders must be responsible and must know how to manage their times to make sure the work they signed up to do is done and is done on time and correct. Leaders must be presentable and can communicate profusely! When I first took my role as an officer, I was often times really nervous to speak up or just speak in a crowd of five or more students, and this fear of mine slowly dissipated over the last couple of years all simply because I knew this trait was important in being a leader. Leaders must have a voice and must use it when necessary. Often, when leaders take on their roles, they may be affected by the power that they have and become egotistical. They may think that since they are now able to give out orders, that they are better than everyone else around them. This is entirely untrue in all aspects as no leader should act upon this behavior. Leaders are just like everyone else and we must remain humble through it all, throughout the good and the bad.
Article by: Yerasly Duran 12
THE SECRETARY’S ROLE
As the secretary of NCKC, I oversee the task of monthly reports that I must send in by mail and email. Similar to the editor’s deadline, these reports must be turned in on the 5th of every month (unless the 5th falls on a Sunday, then it would be on Monday). Furthermore, I am in charge of handling and keeping up with everyone’s hours in the club in order to use them for the activity sheet as part of my monthly reports. Outside of perfecting each report, I must fully participate in each meeting the club holds, such as the general meetings and the officers’ meetings. One of my duties in these meetings are taking minutes, which are summaries of everything that happens during a meeting. Another one is that I must keep track of who says what, who proposes, and who does what. Besides that, it is part of my duty to keep up with the number of participants during the meeting, including guest speakers. Lastly, sine I am an officer, it is part of my duty to be in charge of any event I attend. Then, if I attend, I must create a sign-in sheet for our members and make sure they stay on task. While I greatly enjoy being secretary,
there are some challenges I’ve encountered. First, I faced some technical difficulties regarding my computer during the start of the year. My computer crashed unexpectedly, and this resulted in some great challenges with the reports. All my files and data were stored in that computer, so when it crashed, I was in a panic. Indeed, this posed a threat because as secretary, technology is everything. So, if you lose connection to any of your devices, especially your computer, then you are in for a world of pain. The second struggle is balancing my duties with travel. Being a secretary means that you must turn in monthly reports on time. This is a simple but hard to follow rule for me when I was in New York for the last remaining part of December and early parts of January. Since I was in New York, it was impossible for me to turn in my report for two reasons. First, I didn’t know where any of the post offices were located, so how was I supposed to mail in the report? Second, I had no access to the computer which I used for my monthly reports. If I could change anything about the role, then I guess I would like it if I could just send the email version of the reports versus sending both mail and email. Sending it through mail can be quite tedious. Overall, I love this club and this role. I hope that the next secretary can step up and continue to keep the flames burning for the future generations of NCKC!
Article by: Andrew Moon 14
MY FAVORITE EVENT
In Key Club, we have hundreds of events to participate in. There is a wide variety of volunteer opportunities to choose from. You will surely find your favorite event where you will feel a perfect fit. My personal favorite is Mums and Garters for our North Crowley special needs students. I absolutely love homecoming season. It was wonderful to see everyone’s creativity in their mums and the amount of school spirit displayed. Also, the amount of excitement in the air was refreshing. It was absolutely welcoming, and it made the perfect start to a new year! The fact that we had an opportunity to make mums and garters for our fellow peers was wonderful. First, Key club officers went to our local craft stores and selected a wide variety of ribbons, stickers, mum flowers, and trinkets. Sometimes, we were fortunate enough to get some supplies donated to us. Key Club provided all hot glue guns and glue sticks for
assembly, but we also asked members to bring their own if they have one to speed up the process. It was wonderful to see everyone come together and embrace their inner creativity. The large number of participants made a huge impact on the diversity of the mums and garters. It was also a great ice breaker since it is one of our first events of the year. New members bonded because we often teamed up and worked on one mum together in a group of two to four. We completed over 20 mums in a little over two hours this school year! Afterward, a handful of students were selected to deliver the mums and garters the day of the homecoming game. The reactions we received from the kids were priceless. It was eye opening to see how much of a difference we can make in someone's life by completing a task so simple. I love that our student body took time out of their day to make a handful of mums and garters for students who weren’t able to make their own. I have been honored with the opportunity to bond with these amazing students this year. They are all unique and they all have their individual quirks. The fact that our key clubbers take the extra step to personalize the mums and garters goes far beyond their part. This event is a perfect example of how a simple act of kindness goes a long way.
Article by: Tina Tran 16
GREENBRIAR FALL FESTIVA
Article by: Elizabeth Rodriguez
AL Recently, I attended the Greenbriar Fall Festival with a friend of mine. In this festival, there were tons of fun activities for families to participate in, such as little games where kids (and adults) can play and receive prizes. Besides the wonderful games, there were also delicious food concessions that catered to hungry people. When we arrived, which was around 5, they put us straight to work. We ended up working at a ring toss game. In this game, kids (and sometimes adults) would toss 3 rings at coke bottles. If any of those rings landed around the neck of a bottle, then they would get to keep it. Our duty was to oversee the station. We’d pick up rings that unfortunately didn’t land onto the bottles and pass out candies to those who participated. My friend and I weren’t alone at our station as there was also a man who helped us. he was incredibly nice, funny, and helpful! I’d say that our game was pretty addicting since a few kids came back. They would come several times, each time more determined than the last to win and give their best! After some times, I was departed from my friend and was put in charge of the ounce houses. My duties were fairly simple – to make sure everyone took off their shoes, not too many kids in the house, and there was no roughhousing. The kids were fairly obedient and not too troublesome, which was a relief for me. Their par-
ents were always nearby too, which helped me greatly. I completed my duty to perfection for the remaining two hours or so! One of the things I like overseeing the booths is that if we were alone at one, there was always an adult nearby who was willing to help in case there was any issue. This lifted a bit of weights off of my shoulders, whew! Besides the adults, there were also little kids who helped. One kid that stood out to me was the one who oversaw the ring toss booth. She was incredibly sweet and adorable! Eventually, the event came to an end, and we started cleaning up. I deflated the bounce house while my friend gave the coke bottles away (they’d go to waste if she didn’t). After everything was done, we were good to home. If I could go back and volunteer there again, I most likely would! Everyone was very nice and helpful. It was an overall very fun and positive experience!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
NONTRADITIONAL SCRAPBOOK WORK DAY Saturday, March 11. Location TBD.
CHICK-FIL-A CARWASH FUNDRAISER Date TBD; at Chick-Fil-A on Altemesa Blvd.
ONGOING EVENTS
BARNES & NOBLE STORYTIME Every Saturday from 10-12 PM.
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AGAPE MEAL Every Thursday from 5:30 7:30 P.M. at Broadway Baptist Church.
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CONTACTS President, Yerasly Duran: nckcpresident@gmailcom Vice-President, Vincent Berardi: nckc.vicepresident@gmail.com Co Vice-President, Cheyenne Capuchino: nckc.covp@gmail.com Editor, Kelly Le: nckceditor@gmail.com
Webmaster, Brian Tran nckc.webmaster@gmail.com
Secretary, Andrew Moon: nckc.secretary@gmail.com Vice-Secretary, Clarence ManglalIan: nckc.secretary@gmail.com
Treasurer, Elizabeth Rodriguez: nckc.treasurer@gmail.com Historian, Sandy Nguyen: nckc.historian@gmail.com
Officers At-Large: Tina Tran
Parliamentarian, Iggy Previto: nckc.parliamentarian@gmail.com
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Division 1 South’s LTG, Nithure Rema: ltg1s@tokeyclub.com
District Governor, Dianna Cardenas: governor@tokeyclub.com
District Secretary, Mackenzie Merbach: secretary@tokeyclub.com District Treasurer, Leia George: treasurer@0tokeyclub.com
District Editor, Sophia Tran: editor@tokeyclub Convention Liason, Chris Do: cl@tokeyclub.com
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