November 2021 Newsletter- Randall High School by Randall Key Club

the

Randall Key Region 1 | Division 7/33

Volume 7 | Issue 3 | November 2021

Table of Contents Editor’s Note

Photos

Hand Turkeys: From Hands to Hearts

Riddle of the Month

Salvation Army Bell Ringing

Upcoming Events

December 2021 Calendar

Fill with Hope : Origin Story

White Elephant Gifts

A Musical Memory

HOTO: Reese Ham

Officers

District Officers

Partnerships

Editor’s Note Dearest Key Club, We’re nearing the end of the year, and I just want you all to know how proud I am of all of you. We’ve persevered through pandemics, scheduling conflicts, and personal adversities. Thank you all for being lights in the world! I hope you all will continue to shine!

Your Editor, Brooke Newson

Hand Turkeys: From Hand to Heart By: Brooke Newson To celebrate the Thanksgiving season, the Randall High School Key Club created hand turkeys to give to teachers and community members. Members of the Club got together after school on Wednesday, November 17th to write and draw out what was in their grateful hearts. Using construction paper, markers, and scissors, the members traced out hand turkeys and themed them for teachers and leaders that they were thankful to have in their lives. Some members wrote why they were grateful on the feathers of their crafted turkeys, while others expressed themselves through artwork. Key Club members snacked on delicious butter cookies baked by the Randall High School Key Club Secretary, Emma Williams. They visited, they inspired each other’s art work, and they hoped that their turkeys would inspire others. The turkey project was part of a larger effort to take part in the Key Club governor’s project. The Randall High School Key Club wants to help encourage funding and support for the arts by serving our community through our art. Each turkey represented the heartfelt thoughts and expressions of a human soul. Each hand that crafted a turkey belonged to a wonderful human with a heart full of compassion. If we can help show how artwork is an expression of individuality and an even deeper expression of self, we can help the community to recognize the importance of the art in the life of every child-of art in the community as a whole. Art can be simple or it can be complex, just like the lives of our community members and their many circumstances. A hand turkey is a simple piece of art and a simple gift. It is a humble act of service that can touch the hearts of many. Ms. Shipley received a hand turkey and was overjoyed. Her heart was touched deeply. Key Club hopes to touch other hearts in a like manner with their small acts of service every day. Service can be simple or it can be complex, but it will always be meaningful. The Randall High School Key Club is incredibly grateful for the food provided by the Randall High School Key Club Secretary, Emma Williams, the art supplies provided by the Randall High School Key Club President, Kaeleigh Miller, and the meeting place provided by the Randall High School Key Club Sponsor, Ms. Callie Shipley. We wish each and every member a happy holiday season. We hope that our hands and hearts will meet in the serving spirit of this season of goodness and cheer.

Riddle of the Month Q: I travel from here to there. I love to travel everywhere, but when I have nowhere to go, I make my own home. What am I?

A; A Crab

Salvation Army Bell Ringing By: Brooke Newson This December, the Randall High School Key Club is celebrating the holidays by participating in the Salvation Army bell ringing. We will get to wear Santa hats and spread Christmas cheer. Together, with the Salvation Army, we can raise money for the hungry, provide shelter for the homeless, and assistance for those in need. This year, the Key Club will be participating in this exciting service project on December 18th, 2021, a week before Christmas day. There will be service opportunities at Hobby Lobby from 10:00 to 2:00 PM. By participating in the bell ringing, Key Club will be participating in a tradition that has been around since 1891, when the Salvation Army began ringing bells to raise funds for their charity in San Francisco, California. From California to Texas, Key Clubbers everywhere have helped raise funds for the poor and the needy. The Randall HIgh School Key Club has been helping raise these funds since 1989. These holiday funds will provide for the salvation army’s goals of “[meeting] human needs without discrimination, [assisting] approximately 30 million Americans annually, [and serving] in 131 countries around the globe.” The Salvation Army has 1.81 million members and our thirty or so Key Club members can certainly help them out. Their members are soldiers, officers, and adherents, and ours are students, leaders, and adolescents, but together, we can focus on what makes us the samewe are all human. That is what the holidays are all about- human love, compassion, and kindness. Our funds go directly towards human needs, especially at a time when those needs most need to be met. It’s cold and dark outside, but we can make people feel bright and warm inside. The Salvation Army Bell Ringing is incredibly important to our club and our community. They are “currently in urgent need of bell ringers,” and we can help meet that need. The bells and their tinkling is the sound of hope. It is the sound of joy. Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings- a child’s, a widow’s, or a homeless person’s need is met. Come on, Key Club, and be the angels our world needs. Be the good in the world. Be the light of the world. It is Christmas time, and our homes and hearts are filled with warmth and cheer. We must share that with others. That is why we are so thrilled for the happiest holiday event, the Salvation Army Bell Ringing.

Upcoming Events ● Thursday, December 2 - White Elephant Gift Social in room 304E, right after school ● Saturday, December 4, December 11, and December 18- Washington Avenue Family Service Center (8:30-10:30 AM) ● Saturday, December 11Beauty and the Beast Musical Social (6:00-10:30 PM) ● Monday, December 6 and December 13- Gene Howe Folders (4:00-5:00), Social afterwards ● Monday, December 13Polar Express Movie Social (4:30 PM at Kaeleigh Miller’s house) ● Thursdays, December 9 and 16Washington Avenue Family Service Center (5:00-6:30 PM 7

December 2021 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesd ay

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

2 White Elephant after school in Ms. Shipley’s

4 Washington Ave. Family Service Center 8:30am to 10:30am

6 Gene Howe Folders Fill With Hope 4:30-5:30

7 Fill With Hope 4:30-5:30

9 Washington Ave. Family Service Center 5:00 to 6:30 pm

11 Washington Ave. Family Service Center 8:30am to 10:30am Come support the Musical @Randall from 6:00 to 10:30pm

13 Gene Howe Folders Polar Express & Hot Chocolate at Kaeleigh’s house

16 Washington Ave. Family Service Center 5:00 to 6:30 pm

18 Washington Ave. Family Service Center 8:30am to 10:30am Salvation Army Bell Ringing @Hobby Lobby 10:00 am 2:00pm

20 Christmas Break Starts!

Fill with Hope: Origin Story By: Brooke Newson The Randall High School Key Club was honored to attend the High-Plains Kiwanis meeting early on the morning of Thursday, November 18th. At this delightful meeting, Cindy Sheets, the founder and director of Fill with Hope, debuted a touching documentary about the origins of her impactful service organization. Fill with Hope was created to meet the needs of students throughout the Canyon Independent School District, who do not have access to the food they need at home. Members of the Randall High School Key Club regularly serve there twice a month, filling bags of food. Many of us were actually present as parts of the documentary were being filmed. The documentary was begun by a West Texas University student, interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and finished by a professional team. It chronicles the heartwarming beginnings and growth of Fill with Hope, from a humble effort to bring children food to one of the most popular service projects in the Canyon Independent School District community, with students and parents volunteering and filling thousands of bags a week. Cindy Sheets and those who work with her at Canyon Hope Ministries, researched the statistics behind how many children were going hungry in Canyon, Texas. The numbers they found were alarming, and it brought them face-to-face with the difficult truth- a high percentage of elementary, middle, and high school students did not have enough food in their homes. She and her co-volunteers decided that something needed to be done, so they founded Fill with Hope, which was initially named Snack Pack for Kids. They took a much needed step and brought joy that filled people’s hearts and stomachs in the community. Now Fill with Hope serves not only schools in Canyon, Texas, but also schools in Amarillo, Texas, like Randall High School. It serves all schools in the Canyon Independent School District, and will soon be serving the new high school. It serves 20 schools and counting. That’s thousands of students. That’s thousands of lives being filled with hope. Key Club is honored to have a partnership with and work hand in hand with Fill with Hope because we too want to be leaders in our community. We love filling bags with pop tarts and pudding, with beef jerky and granola bars, and with capri-suns and kool aid. We love putting our hearts and hands into it. We love emptying and folding the cardboard boxes of food, and we love the spirit of snack packing.

White Elephant Gifts By: Brooke Newson Thursday, December 2nd, the Randall High School Key Club fostered bonds between its members by holding a White Elephant Gift Social. Each member was instructed to bring a gift that cost no more than ten or fifteen dollars. They picked gifts that they thought would be meaningful for any member who could receive them. That way everyone could receive a Christmas gift that made them feel appreciated, and the Key Club could foster the values of caring and inclusiveness. The Randall Key Club met in Mrs. Shipley’s room (306E) at 4 PM to relax and celebrate the holidays, after a long and stressful school day. They smiled and laughed with one another, visited with enthusiasm, and expressed gratitude for this season they were able to share together. They cared about one another, giving both emotional gifts of friendship and compassion and literal gifts, wrapped up in paper and bows. Socializing and serving one another helps to foster lasting friendships and encourages people to be more caring, thoughtful, and inclusive. That’s why the Randall Key Club places so much emphasis on socials. As we talk, we can learn about each other’s interests, ideas, and feelings and we can seek to work together and understand each other better. We begin to include one another as we get to know each other better and find opportunities to reach out. During socials, we can recognize those that sit in the back of the room or tend to be timid, we can recognize those that are very loud and open, and we can recognize everyone in between. We can become united as Key Club International members. What better time to become more united, more understanding, and more caring than during the holiday season? There is none! The holidays are a time to refocus on what matters most, namely the people around us. Together as a Key Club, we can individually and collectively become better people. We can include one another through time spent together, through gift giving, and through simply seeking to understand one another. We can care about each other by holding meaningful discourse and enjoying exciting events together. We can serve one another and not just our community. In fact, we are all part of the community. Let us be caring, let us be inclusive, and let us be Key Club. To everyone inside and outside of Key Club: Happy Thanksgiving Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Holidays! And a Happy New Year!

A Musical Memory By: Brooke Newson The Randall High School Key Club is supporting its school community by holding yet another social event. Saturday, December 11, the Randall Key Club members will be attending Randall High School’s all-school musical. The Key Club members will get to build lasting friendships, while supporting their fellow Key Club members who are participating in the musical, Beauty and The Beast: the Broadway Musical, as actors, crew members, and band members. This social will promote character and support. Randall High School Key Club Members will take time out of their busy schedules to show support for the hard work of their fellow Key Clubbers and their fellow students. They will learn lessons about being dependable and supportive even when it is difficult. They will also support the Randall High School’s other clubs and arts programs. They will show that they have school spirit and that they want to be a part of building and encouraging their school. The musical itself is about loving and caring for others. It is about inclusiveness. It is about appreciating everyone, whether or not they seem like a beast, for everyone has beauty inside. Key Club believes in this very lesson. It believes that every human being deserves a chance to be cared for and to be understood. Key Club supports diversity and goodwill, just like an all-school musical. The social is going to be from 6-11 PM and will include a night full of fun, music, and lights. It’ll be a time to enjoy the excitement of life, without stressing about homework and school. It will be a time to focus on school as a place where people can be themselves, express their talents, and serve one another, instead of a not-so-fun place to be. It’ll be a time to sit together, relax together, laugh together, and appreciate the world together. Serving is like music for the soul. Service is like performing the musical of life. It’s about finding the melody and harmony in humanity and helping other people to hear the song of hope. It’s about letting them see the bright lights and dances of kindness and friendship. In this way, the musical social is an allegory for what we do as a Key Club. It is about Randall High School and the Randall High School Key Club singing out about what they stand for. The musical will allow the Key Club members to find a much deserved rest from their hard work, while allowing the musical performers, crew members, and the directors to receive appreciation for their hard work. It will help everything come full circle and bring joy to all involved.

HOTO: Reese Ham By: Reese Ham

As a kid, I had always wanted to be able to change the world in some huge way. Now, I know what I’m saying is cliche and is something you would put down for an easy 100% in English. I can assure you I really wanted to make an impact on the world. As a little kid, you’re just expected to know 2+2=4 or how to spell your name. No one really holds you to higher standards. I just did what I was supposed to do. When I got to middle school, I had just sort of tucked that dream of mine in the back of my mind, letting it sit and collect cobwebs. I once again sat back and just did what I was told to do. The year passes as a year would and I got into high school. I thought, “Oh no know the same thing, here we go again.” I sat down for Freshman orientation with a group of my friends. I honestly wouldn’t have guessed the people on stage were about to offer me a way to do what I had always wanted to do. Kaeleigh Miller came on the stage with a few other people from Key Club. I had never heard about it and before I knew it I was already invested. The first day of school rolled around and I went straight to the meeting. Key Club International is an organization where students help their communities by providing services and helping out with volunteer work or events. Key Club provides opportunities for us to build character and put ourselves out of our comfort zone. I have only been in Key Club for 5 months and so far, it has been the best experience I have ever had. I have gotten the chance to meet so many young, smart, willful and creative people. It has helped build my character and more and more leadership skills. I have been able to help people and get to be a part of my community in a way I have never been able to before. I never thought I would get to experience such a wonderful thing. It doesn’t matter if you have never been in something like this or if you do this sort of thing all the time, it is good for anyone who is interested. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to try things I never thought I would try. I finally got a chance to grab that dream off the shelf and dust it off only because of Key Club. This might sound cheesy to you, but I wouldn’t have worded it any other way. I hope to continue to be in Key Club throughout the rest of my high school years. I am taking smaller steps today that will have a bigger impact tomorrow.

Randall Key Club Officers President: Kaeleigh, (910)-358-4661 Vice President: Selamawit, (806)-443-2854 Membership Secretary: Selamawit, (806)-443-2854 Recording Secretary: Emma (806)-681-8443 Editor: Brooke, (801)-560-3249 Historian: Nikki, (806)-673-1651

District Officers District Governor: Lilian Thai District Secretary: Ginna Galindo Gomez District Treasurer: Makayla Hsieh District Editor: Anushka Ranjan Convention Liaison: Val Hennessee Technology Producer: Noah Obuya International Trustee: Salma Eldeeb

Partnerships