THE LOCKSMITH New York District / Division 11 Volume 5 Issue 9
Stuyvesant High School Key Club January Issue
About Us What does Key Club mean to you? Featured writer: Penny Wang I initially joined Key Club because I wanted to be more active in my community and gain hours for college. At first, the events I went to were challenging and tiresome. I had to lift heavy things and stand in the freezing cold for hours. However, these events made me feel great as I met many fellow Key Clubbers. I also learned what it takes to be a leader and interact with other volunteers and adults at volunteer events. Key Club became more like a family and a break from academics, even when the work was tiring. No matter how early I had to wake up for events or how late I'd have to stay, I realized that Key Club was worth it.
Give Us a Shout!
Cabinet Michelle Yang, President librasapphire2000@gmail.com Yuki Lau, Vice President stuyyuki@gmail.com
Contacts Gilbert Papagayo, Faculty Advisor g.papagayo@gmail.com Stuyvesant High School 345 Chambers St. New York, NY 10282
Jenna Foo, Secretary jfoo@stuy.edu Justin Chan, Treasurer jchan15@stuy.edu Tiffany Chen, Editor tchen8@stuy.edu Jason Lam, Webmaster jlam6@stuy.edu
Table of Contents Letters from Tiffany and Sammi Announcements from Stuyvesant Key Club Announcements from Division 11 Announcements from New York District Key Club Announcements from Key Club International Timeline of Past Events Timeline of Upcoming Events Featured Key Club: Millennium Photos and Articles
4 5 7 8 9 11 14 16 18
Letters from Tiffany and Sammi Tiffany Chen, Editor
Sammi Lin, Locksmith Committee Director
Hey y’all! Thank you for reading this issue of the Locksmith! I can’t believe that it’s already a new term (and my final term at Stuyvesant)! Let’s make this term the best one yet! (In case school’s got you down, just remember that the school year’s already halfway over!) I’d like to thank the Locksmith Committee, as always, for working hard on this issue during Finals Week and everyone who has submitted photos and articles this issue. Your contributions are always appreciated. :) Hope you enjoy this issue!
Hey guys! I just wanted to give a quick shoutout to all of our AMAZING Key Clubbers who pulled through at events the weekend before finals and sent in all the pictures and articles for this issue. This club is really run by you guys, and this issue definitely reflects that. A massive thank you to everyone! Also, even though this issue is a bit shorter than past issues, I hope all you will still enjoy looking back at all of the great experiences and all of the service we managed to do for our communities this month. I hope you all enjoy this issue!
Announcements from Stuyvesant Key Club Elections are this Friday, February 9 after school! Come to vote for your next President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor (the best position), and Webmaster! All members who have paid dues can vote, so if you have, make sure to pull up to have a say in what our next Key Club Cabinet will be! The Leadership Training Conference (LTC) is from March 23-25 at the Desmond Hotel this year! LTC is a NYDKC-run conference where Key Clubbers from all over the state of New York mingle and have fun while learning valuable leadership skills in workshops. The winners of awards like the Distinguished Key Clubber awards and the Outstanding Cabinet awards will also be announced at LTC! If you’re interested in coming, please fill out this form! We’d love to see you there!
We are creating a non-traditional scrapbook (i.e. not the typical flip-the-page-to-see-several-photos scrapbook) to enter in for LTC, and we need all the help we can get! Join the Art Committee to help us make this scrapbook! Contact Jennifer Min Kim or Emily Xu to join. Stuyvesant Key Club is holding a Black Panther fundraiser at Alpine Cinemas on February 19 from 12:30pm to 2:30pm! Admission is only $11, and you get to see all your Key Club friends during break! In addition, school metrocards still work! What a steal! Make sure to come if you’re free! Sign up here.
Announcements from Division 11 The February Divisional happened on February 6 at Baruch College Campus High School! There, we elected our new LTG (congrats, Mara!), talked about past and upcoming events, advertised fundraisers, and sold bubble tea and Vietnamese Coffee from Tea and Milk. Thanks to everyone who came!
Announcements from New York District Key Club NYDKC released their awards booklet! There, you can read about the awards dedicated Key Clubbers, cabinet members, clubs, and leaders can receive for their hard work. You can access it here. Below is the January Endorsed Projects Committee update on the funds the district has raised for the endorsed projects. Good job everyone, and let’s continue to raise more money for these projects!
Announcements from Key Club International This January, Key Club International participated in Thirsty 30 with the Thirst Project! Last month, clubs collectively committed to raise money for clean water projects, especially in Swaziland. Learn more about it here. The Key Club International Board wants to incorporate members in each of the international committees to better ensure club representation. If you are interested in joining one of these committees, read more here. After a series of software updates, the Key Club app is back on the App Store. Check it out here! Attention all graduating seniors: Looking for some help paying for college? The Kiwanis Children’s Fund offers scholarships to graduating Key Club members. Learn more here. On February 27, 2018, club members can support IHOP® National Pancake Day by serving as ambassador encourage restaurant patrons to support Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. Last year, more than $3.5 million was raised, and wit your help, we can raise more this year. Every dollar raised is given to your local Children’s Miracle Network hospital, so make sure to help out. Learn more about it here. Dread public speaking? A West Coast Key Clubber has five tips that can help. Read about it here.
Looking for resources just for members? Check out our member toolkit here, where you'll find useful templates, fun marketing tools and so much more! Double or triple your fundraising revenue with Kiwanis Gives Online. It's the new, team-friendly crowdfunding platform just for Key Club. Use it for events like your district convention, summer mission/service trips and the Key Club International convention. Get started today here! Want to mentor kids? Sign up for the UNICEF Mentoring Program, where you will be paired with a UNICEF Kid Power classroom to prepare them for UNICEF Kid Power, a program where kids go on virtual missions to unlock therapeutic food packets for severely malnourished children around the world. Learn more about the program here. Start planning for the Key Club 75th International Convention on July 4-8 at Chicago here! Key Club has a guide for those running for office. Check it out here! Get money for your projects! Nickelodeon’s HALO campaign shines a light on kids who improve their communities by funding projects that help and support the new HALO Movement. Learn more here.
Timeline of Past Events ●
January 2:
Sell All My Sons STC Tickets Time: 1st-10th period Location: 2nd floor by the scanners Project Captain: N/A Description: We helped STC sell tickets on the 2nd floor for their winter drama All My Sons.
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January 3: January 4: January 5: January 13:
Sell All My Sons STC Tickets Sell All My Sons STC Tickets Sell All My Sons STC Tickets Seeds in the Middle Time: 9:00am to 3:00pm Location: Brownsville Collaborative Middle School and P.S. 298 Project Captain: Steven Ke Description: We helped set up a market! Tasks include helping out at a pretend market, making posters, and building a storefront.
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January 20:
Women’s March 2018 Time: 1:00pm to 3:00pm Location: Central Park West 76th St Project Captain: Tiffany Chen Description: We walked with the rest of Division 11 to show support for gender equality.
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January 21:
NYRR Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Time: 6:00am to 12:00pm Location: Central Park, North Meadow Ballfield #8 Project Captain: Rachel Joh Description: We helped with the distribution of food and fluids to runners as well as post-race amenities.
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January 26:
Youth Ping Pong Tournament Time: 4:00pm to 7:00pm Location: PS 42, 71 Hester Street Project Captain: Evelyn Cao Description: We helped out at the ping pong tournament. We also represented Stuyvesant by wearing Stuy apparel!
Global Game Jam Time: 5:00pm to 9:00pm Location: Microsoft (11 Times Square) Project Captain: Wei Wen Zhou Description: We helped out at the 2018 Global Game Jam which is a collaboration between Microsoft and Playcrafting! The event consisted of game-making, free talks, workshops, refreshments, and prizes! Volunteers helped with registration, setup, and takedown.
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January 27:
Global Game Jam Time: 8:00am to 8:00pm Location: Microsoft (11 Times Square) Project Captain: Alan Guo Description: We helped out at the 2018 Global Game Jam which is a collaboration between Microsoft and Playcrafting! The event consisted of game-making, free talks, workshops, refreshments, and prizes! Volunteers helped with registration, setup, and takedown.
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January 28:
Global Game Jam Time: 8:00am to 8:00pm Location: Microsoft (11 Times Square) Project Captain: Brian Zhang Description: We helped out at the 2018 Global Game Jam which is a collaboration between Microsoft and Playcrafting! The event consisted of game-making, free talks, workshops, refreshments, and prizes! Volunteers helped with registration, setup, and takedown.
Timeline of Upcoming Events ●
February 10:
Cupid’s Chase Time: 7:45am to 12:30pm Location: Riverside Park – West 103rd and Riverside Drive Project Captain: *needed* Description: Come help out at the annual Cupid's Chase hosted by Community Options! We will be assisting with set-up, break down, greeting runners, etc. Sign up here!
Lunar New Year Celebration Time: 8:00am to 4:00pm Location: Madison St to Madison Ave Project Captain: *needed* Description: We'll be helping out at the CPLDC/Chinatown B.I.D Lunar New Year Celebration. We will be starting out in Chinatown and ending on Madison Ave! This year, we will be celebrating the Year of the Dog, and guess what? Dogs will be involved, from a dog parade to dog adoptions. It's going to be a guaranteed fun day. Sign up here and here!
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February 16:
18th Lunar New Year Firecracker Festival Time: 8:00am to 1:00pm, 12:30pm to 5:00pm Location: Sara D. Roosevelt Park Project Captain: *needed* Description: Better Chinatown is hosting the Lunar New Year Parade Festival for another year! Come celebrate the year of Rooster and bring joy to the Chinese American community on February 16th! We will be helping with set-up, break-down, and helping the different companies run their booth. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time during the event itself to enjoy the festival! Lunch will be provided. Sign up here!
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February 19:
Black Panther Fundraiser Time: 12:30pm to 3:00pm Location: Alpine Cinemas Project Captain: N/A Description: Come join us at our Black Panther fundraiser at Alpine Cinemas! It’s only $11, and you can watch the amazing Black Panther movie with your Key Club friends. Sign up here!
Featured Key Club: Millennium In each Locksmith, we feature a different high school’s Key Club to spread awareness of our interclub activities and emphasize the large community Key Club fosters. This issue, we are focusing on newly-chartered Millennium Key Club of Division 11. Vicki Xiao, President: For the past few months, Millennium Key Club has been working hard to raise funding to get chartered. Even though we may be a small club just starting out, we were finally able to achieve our end goal of a little over 400 dollars. We raised the money from holding bake sales during lunch, selling candy grams we packaged ourselves, and even holding a pool fundraiser with Stuyvesant. Other than that, I had club members volunteer at soup kitchens, school events, and citywide marches. Millennium Key Club has not accomplished too much so far, but I know we will accomplish a lot in the future. For me, Key Club has been a gateway to meeting new people and expanding my connections. Despite my short time being involved with Key Club, I was able to make many close friends from attending a couple of events. Whether we're playing board games at a cafe or doing "show time" on the 7 train, I never seem to be bored when I am with those that I've met through Key Club. The reason why I even started a Key Club in Millennium was that I wanted those in my school to experience the same things I did: to have the capability of meeting great people outside of our small school while strengthening the community we have by allowing students from all grades to interact with one another. Most importantly, Key Club allows teens like us to be exposed to real-world issues happening right now. As everyone may know, the children are the future of this planet, and Key Club lets us better the world step-by-step. I am glad that I was able to be a part of Key Club, and I am excited for what it has in store for both me and the just-starting-out Millennium High School Key Club.
Millennium Key Club at their weekly meeting
Millennium Key Club at the Breast Cancer Walk
Pho & Artic
otos & cles
Seeds in the Middle By Benson Goldman I woke up early and took the train for two hours on this cold and crisp day to get to PS298 in Brooklyn. I walked into the small building with excitement, and then my friends from Stuyvesant and I moved some boxes of fruit from a van into the cafeteria. We set the boxes on the floor, and plugged in and set up various electronic appliance. Some people washed fruit in the sink on the other side of the room, while I worked on making signs with artistic and colorful design and phrases such as, "Everything is 50 cents" and "Hip to be Healthy Markets." Then, I taped my signs to the various pillars and walls, with arrows pointing visitors to the direction of the market. After a while, visitors began to arrive. I sold bananas and parfait yogurt for 50 cents each. There was also a film crew from Digital Tech High School, who requested to interview me. I talked to them for five minutes about my diet and my motivations for volunteering, which was an interesting experience where I really had to think about my own life. I also met some very friendly people from Brooklyn Tech who were also volunteering, and we played around with the balloons that they bought. Overall, I had a great and interesting experience at the MLK Day of Service Event hosted by Seeds in the Middle. By Freya Zhu I was on the verge of not coming to this event. I had woken up at 7:00am; however, I forgot that there was an event, so I went back to sleep. By the time I woke up again, it was already 9:10am and the event had started ten minutes ago. My friends urged me to come so I decided to just go. I was a little worried as I do not get along with transportation. Eventually, I did get to my destination after riding the wrong train for one stop.
After hanging my coat on the hooks, we were asked to prepare a fruit salad. I plucked grapes off their stems and placed them in the tin container while watching my friends fuss with a knife. They didn’t know how they were supposed to cut the pineapples and one of them just pulled the hair of the pineapple (the crown). Luckily, one of the adults came over and taught them. I did the jobs that were more safe: I peeled oranges and carried berries. After some mixing, the fruit salad came out looking fabulous and no one was hurt, which was very good! We filled up some cups and sold them for 50¢ each. We sold a decent amount and also got some free samples! After the customers left, we started to clean up. We had to carry the leftover fruits and vegetables up to the fourth floor and it was not easy. The oranges, bananas, and squash was extremely heavy. After some struggling, we managed to clean up the cafeteria. We received some leftover salad and headed out. By Jason Xiong On January 13, I attended the Seeds in the Middle event, which was the first event of 2018. After arriving at a building that is a combination of an elementary and a middle school, we had to unload boxes and bags of fruits and vegetables from cars. Jobs were assigned to each volunteers to either wash the berries, help set up, or make signs. I made some signs and also helped with the setup. Afterward, everyone was helping with the washing of the berries while Steven is trying to build tallest tower out of fruit boxes. People soon started to coming in and the selling began. Everything—well, almost everything—was on sale for 50 cents. After everything was set up, we were assigned to make a fruit salad. We cut pineapples, apples, and peeled lots of oranges. We also added lots of berries and other fruits as well. After some mixing, the fruit salad was done and was transferred into paper cups to be sold. The fruit salad sold a lot better than I expected. The selling ended and it was time to put everything away. We had to vhbjknj
carry all the food up to the fourth floor. Nothing is terribly heavy, except the bananas… those bananas broke my arms. They were a lot heavier than I expected. After carrying everything up, we spent a good half an hour waiting for everyone to get back to take our group picture. The taking of our group picture marked the end of another amazing Key Club event. By Tiffany Chen When I got to the event, everyone was already washing fruit. After signing in with the coordinator, I joined the rest of the Stuy Key Clubbers, handling boxes of washed raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. After several rounds of washing them and bringing them to the table across the room, the boxes were finally finished. We walked around for a little bit, lounging in the break room before we were called back into action. As Steven made a huge tower of cardboard boxes (it was twice my size), I went over to decorate some signs. I was specifically asked to make small signs that said “50 cents” for the small fruit containers. I spent a lot of time making five of them, even using glitter glue and different colored markers and taping them three times onto the container. Therefore, I was disappointed when I was told that these signs weren’t going to be used anymore. I left the containers on the tables, devastated. When the market started, I helped sell the boxes of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries we washed earlier. The price for them kept changing, but eventually, the event coordinators agreed on $2 for the raspberries and blackberries and $3 for the blueberries (since the boxes for the blueberries were bigger). Even though some of the customers were rude, most of them were polite, and I was able to get to know some of the Brooklyn Tech Key clubbers volunteering there as well. I was then starting to get hungry, so I stopped by some of the other stands, including the one deep-frying cauliflower and dousing it in barbecue sauce. I didn’t have any cash to buy it, but a nice lady bought one for me, which made me really happy. I tried it with one of the Brooklyn Tech Key Clubbers, and we both enjoyed it so much that she bought gcfvgubhijnkm
another plate of them. We had to clear out some space for the fruit salad before starting to sell those. Those almost sold out, even though they were made an hour into the market, which is great. Once the market started to dwindle down, I got face paint with Kelly and then helped to clean up. I preferred the set up to the clean up, as I had to carry several boxes up three flights of stairs to the freezer. The last box I had to carry, the box with all the bananas, ruined my arm muscles. Once we were done, we waited for everyone to come back (and Aaron from Bronx Science to arrive) before taking a group photo. We then went our separate ways home. By Vincent Huang Taking place in Brooklyn, MLK’s Day of Service (hosted by Seeds in the Middle) involved helping out at a student-run market. The day was very cold and windy and the neighborhood was quite sketchy, but the interior of the building was nice and spacious. The volunteers were first assigned to unloading all the boxes of fruits and vegetables from the car and moving them into the middle school, where we then washed the fruits and mushrooms under the sinks. It was a very tedious process that required the coordination of many volunteers, and at the end, the sink was covered in the aftermath of the washings, fallen berries visible in sight. Soon after, the volunteers were allowed to rest in a lounge, where we hung out and rested. When we entered the market once again, we were told to put on gloves and cut fruits in preparation for the fruit salad. A wide and colorful array of fruits were added into the mix, from pineapples to apples and even grapes and tangerines. At this point, we began to sell cups of our creation for 50 cents each, and the market was bustling with life, a large number of attractions at every corner. There were art tables and face paint and best of all, food, all healthy options, from vegetable salad to hot steaming cauliflower covered in BBQ sauce. When it finally began to settle down, the volunteers began the cleanup. Overall, I would have to say that the experience was definitely great, and a rewarding way to spend my afternoon.
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Irene Chen
Photos taken by Benson Goldman
Photos taken by Benson Goldman
Photos taken by Vincent Huang
Photos taken by Kelly Chen
Photos taken by Kelly Chen
Photos taken by Kelly Chen
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Women’s March By Jason Xiong The Women’s March of 2018 took place on January 20th. It was my first Women’s March, and I did not expect what happened. Tons of people flooded the streets of Manhattan to fight for equal rights for not just women, but for all people. I started to leave a little early but then received an email that the starting time of the march is pushed back. Too late; I was already on my way. I ended up arriving way too early and waited for quite a while. By quite a while, I mean almost three hours. The whole division finally arrived and everyone started to march together. However, the traffic in the march was terrible. We moved approximately three steps every 20 minutes. Every time we moved, everyone would cheer. Throughout the march, everyone was shouting different things and people would join in the cheering. There were beautiful signs and clever signs as well as signs that did a great job roasting a particular person that I will not name. The streets only got more and more crowded as time went on. Sometimes it got so crowded that we had to walk onto the sidewalks to remember what personal space felt like. However, the sidewalk soon got very crowded as well, so we joined the crowd on the street again. Overall, the event was really tiring, but it was also really great. It was shocking to see so many people show up with signs, cat-ears beanies that were beyond adorable, and with family and friends to show their support for equal rights for women and of course people of all genders, races, and sexualities. A good amount of them also showed up to protest against someone. By a good amount, I mean a lot. I didn’t come with a particular cause in mind to support or protest. I just believe that everyone should be treated equally no matter who you are.
By Freya Zhu This was the first division event that I was going to and I was very excited. I received an email saying that we were going to meet up at 76th street at 10:00am. My friend and I planned out how we were going to get there. As soon as I got into the train, I received an email saying that the division was to meet up at 12 P.M. It was not even 9:00am yet; however, we couldn’t turn back. When we got to Columbus Circle, we decided to take the train there instead of walking the long distance. I regretted our decision after 10 seconds. Something happened to the train and we couldn’t move for twenty minutes. There was a lot of people jammed into that one train cart and I was starting to feel light headed as it was getting harder to breathe. I thought I was going to suffocate. Luckily, the train was temporarily fixed and we were able to get out. Fresh air never felt so good. Learning from our mistake, my friend and I decided to just walk the rest of the way there. Even on the way there, I see a lot of people carrying signs and wearing these pink cat beanies. I really wanted one of those hats. After some waiting, switching locations, more waiting, and Rice Krispies, we were finally going to start to start marching. The marching went on for hours and we weren’t able to walk far. In the beginning, we would move a foot and then pause for ten minutes. We walked in and out of the streets in hopes for more progress, but it didn’t work out that well. Due to the lack of progress, we found other ways to entertain ourselves, such as plucking each other’s eyebrows, eating an abnormal amount of cereal and pocky, along with jamming out to our own music. At the same time, it was very inspiring to see everyone’s shirts and signs. Some were really funny, such as “I’ve seen smarter cabinets in IKEA” and “Without Hermione, Harry would’ve died in book 1.” Next time if I go, I’m going to be prepared with signs and hopefully a pink cat hat. By Tiffany Chen I was so excited for the Women’s March this year. I didn’t go last year, so cgvhbjnkm
I was ecstatic to march with fellow feminists on the streets of Manhattan. I got there 20 minutes late, but that was okay since our LTG and Division EA (sorry to call you out, Eric and Ryan!) got there almost an hour late. Once they arrived, we took a group photo before walking to join the march. Once we got there, I was shocked at how slow we were going. It took us half an hour to go an entire block. Luckily, I had fun because we all talked as we played music, but I really hated waiting so long to walk. Eventually, we all got so sick of waiting that we ended up going to the sidewalk and marching our own march. With that, we were able to get through the march faster. After all the Planned Parenthood stuff, plucking each other’s eyebrows, and marching through Central Park, we ended at Columbus Circle. I’m so happy to have been a part of the Women’s March this year. I’m glad that I was able to participate in a march supporting women’s rights. By Vincent Huang The Women’s March is one of the largest events of the year, where protesters take to the streets to make a difference by striving for reform. Once I arrived in Manhattan, the magnitude of the event was really something unprecedented for me, as people flooded the streets with signs and posters. I had a tough time just wading through the crowds alone. People were holding up signs for not only women’s rights but also for the LGBTQ community and even immigration reform and healthcare. Some of the posters were really creative, and I loved in particular “Girls Just Wanna Have Fundamental Rights,” a reference to the hit song by Cyndi Lauper. When I made my way to the rest of Division 11 (fashionably late, of course), we continued marching along with the masses through the streets, downtown all the way from 82nd Street to Times Square, 42nd Street. The enthusiasm of the crowds was really contagious, as people chanted and danced, fighting for what they believed in. All in all, this event was definitely a standout, from how much its message resonated with me, and I hope to attend events in the future similar to this.
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Alan Guo
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Vincent Huang
NYRR Fred Lebow Manhattan Half By Jason Xiong January 21st was my first NYRR event since the NYC Marathon. Upon arrival, it was still really dark. After grabbing some hot chocolate and cakes, we headed toward the fluid station; for some reason, every fluid station we do is always Gatorade and never water. After having three layers of cups filled with Gatorade, everyone gathered around in a circle to do an icebreaker where we introduced ourselves and what we do beside volunteering. We went around and shake hands with everyone and also did some exercises. All of this was pretty unexpected, but it was fun. After the icebreaker, we went back to fill more cups with Gatorade, and pretty soon, the fastest runners began to approach the finish line. Well, just when I thought I would be handing out Gatorade, I was switched to trash duty. For some reason, it’s always me who does trash duty. I had to get the cups from the runners and pick up any that are on the floor. It was, well, not fun, which is to be expected. We were also giving directions to runners who didn’t know where to go. Screaming out directions and telling runners to leave for hours is very, very tiring. Finally, the crowd began to get smaller and I went back to the fluid stations and we were beginning to dump out the water. We finally finished with another tiring volunteer event and then spent a good half an hour debating whether we should get food or not. We ended not getting food, which made Justin very sad, and we all went home instead. By Freya Zhu I haven’t woken up this early for an event for a while so this was a slight shift. Due to train delays and everything, the commute there took a long time. Eventually we did get there. We signed in, received a baseball cap, and ftcyvgubhinjk bhvf
some cake and hot chocolate. We met our friends pouring Gatorade and we quickly got into our spots and helped. We managed two to three stacks of Gatorade each before we were called by the coordinators. We formed a circle with the other volunteers and introduced ourselves one by one. We were to say our name and our occupation. Us, being students, just said what school we came from. We then formed an assembly line of hand shaking. It was awkward, funny, and sweet all at the same time. After we were done, we returned back to our stations and resumed our cup assembly. Being stationed at the end, not much happened for a long time. The stack of cups started to grow. I stopped from time to time to admire the number of cute dogs that showed up. Some were huge while others were small. I was entranced by them. Eventually some runners showed up and we cheered for them. By Penny Wang The Fred Lebow Manhattan Half event was a small event in Central Park. On the day of the event, as I walked into Central Park, late as usual, there was a trail of runners already hard at work making their way through the race. As I navigated toward the volunteer area, I admired the beautiful scenery near the Loch and the wonderful weather. Despite the cold winter temperatures throughout most of the month, it was not very cold on the day of the event. Even though I was two hours late to the event, I was able to sign in to the volunteer tent and was assigned to the post-race amenities area. I, along with the other Key Club members, were in charge of giving out Gatorade. There wasn't much to do because we just stood there as runners grabbed cups of Gatorade, but we were able to talk and hang out for a while. However, more runners started coming and we helped distribute the cups of Gatorade evenly. After all the Gatorade had been taken, we helped with breakdown by taking down tables and stacking them up. We then helped to pour out all the water that had not been drunk. Upon finishing the event, we collected our bags and proceeded to go home.
I realized that there were many volunteers at the event, most of them being adults. Despite being the only teenagers at the event, the coordinator showed us appreciation for helping out and expressed how we were fun to be around. This really surprised me because our role did not seem very significant. I enjoyed this event because I was able to hang out with my fellow Key Club members and get to know them better. It reminded me of the part of Key Club that was not just about volunteering, but being with friends. By Rachel Joh After waking up at 4:00am and putting on multiple layers in order to block the wind, I headed out to Central Park. I was extremely sick, but since this was my first time being a project captain, I didn’t want to cancel, so armed with a mask and packets of tissues, I was able to arrive to safely arrive at Central Park on time. There were many volunteer tents, so I discreetly followed this woman with running shoes to find the right tent where I met Justin. We spent the next few hours in pitch black filling cups with watery Gatorade and didn’t even notice the sun rising. I hadn’t expected so many volunteers willing to help, but together, we filled hundreds of cups with Gatorade, stacking them on top of each other into three layers, each separated by a piece of cardboard. At the tables next to us were volunteers filling cups with water and boxes filled with apples and bagels which the runners could take. The two other freshmen that I knew, Freya and Jason, came a little late but they started working right when they came to make up for their lateness. After waiting, watching dogs at the park fight, and talking with the few other Stuy kids that came, the race had started. At first, only a few people came to snatch the Gatorade cups with gold medals hanging around their necks. We clapped and cheered for some of these runners. Soon enough, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of runners coming in a clump grabbing for the cups with silver and bronze medals. Many of them thanked us, and the fcvgbhjbhvfc
hundreds of cups we filled were quickly being given out layer by layer. We were surprised to see so many people; there was even a runner that was around our age or younger! When the marathon died out, most of the volunteers were sticky with Gatorade and frozen by the cold, but the hand warmers and bagels made up for that. During clean up, we dumped out extra cups and folded up the tables. For volunteering, we were rewarded with a t-shirt and a Gatorade bottle. All of us rejected Justin’s offer to get pho at Chinatown since it was cold and finals were the next day, so after taking a group picture, we headed as a group to the subway, where we all dispersed to go home.
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Penny Wang
Photos taken by Penny Wang
Photos taken by Penny Wang
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Youth Ping Pong Tournament
Photos taken by Kelly Chen
Photos taken by Kelly Chen
Global Game Jam By Freya Zhu I was looking forward to this event as I wasn’t getting my fill of Key Club events this month. After meeting up with my friends, we got into the train and headed off for Times Square. We were confused at first on how we were supposed to get there, but we figured it out after a while. We were told that we were too early at first, but luckily we were able to contact one of the coordinators and get in. In the beginning, we were asked to join the Jam site. In order to do so, we had to create an account. It took a great deal of struggling, but we managed. I had brought some chocolate to share with all my friends, but before we were able to get another piece, some of my friends and I were asked to stay in the lobby and give the people their name tags. I was assigned with a big list of people with last names A-C. Most of the time, it went smoothly, but some of the visitors didn’t have a name tag pre-made for them, so they had to make one. My friends tried to trick me into drinking coffee by saying it was hot chocolate, but I was able to find out before I actually took a sip. After staying for an hour or so, we were allowed to go upstairs, where we just relaxed before asking everyone to clear out when Microsoft was about to close. Not much happened on this day, but in the next two days, I know there was be more action as the competition would have finally started. I couldn’t wait to go to see what happens. By Jason Xiong The annual Global Game Jam took place from January 26th to January 28th at the Microsoft Office. Global Game Jam is a three day competition where game developers get into teams and create a game based on the theme. This event was definitely one of my favorite events because it was dctfvygbuhinj
really fun and we all got to bond together through volunteering, having fun, and occasionally yelling at each other. Day 1 of Global Game Jam took place from 5 PM to 9 PM and is rather short compared to the other two days since it is just for introduction purposes and also for game developers to form teams. Upon arrival, Microsoft brings back a lot of memories because the Halloween Expo, which is also a favorite event of mine, took place there. On Friday, we help with the registering people in and also guiding them. We didn’t do much since majority of day 1 was watching a super long video that nobody want to watch because everyone just want to find out what the theme is. Day 2 of Global Game Jam started a lot sweeter because we got DONUTS ! We split up staying downstairs giving people their ID badge and staying upstairs to help with signing in to the Global Game Jam. After the crowd of people start to disappear as the developers all head into their work zones, we took a break. We spent the rest of the day playing Wing It, Mafia, Pictionary, and Chinese Poker. There were lots of punishments involved, including drinking really nasty coffee and doing some pushups. We also celebrated Penny’s birthday (a day in advance) and it was a lot of fun. The final day was a lot like day 3 but more people came and well, the more the merrier. We did the same thing as we did in the morning of day 2 and I try my best to stop myself from getting a donut (and I failed, only because I lost a round of Pictionary and had to drink dark coffee and needed something sweet). Like yesterday, we played Chinese Poker, Pictionary, and lots of Mafia. After two days of Mafia, we learned that I am a terrible narrator. The third day also involved more work than the second as we had to time presentations, guide people, and of course cleaning up. We also got PIZZAS on the third day and after two nights of dinner, everyone was very happy. Global Game Jam was definitely one of my favorite events now and I honestly can’t wait for next year. Everyone got so much closer as Key Club buddies and we learned some things we never knew before in some games of Never Have I Ever and Only Have I Ever. Overall, I am sad that it was as over and honestly, I need a break after three straight days of volunteering.
By Rachel Joh Since the finals were done and there were still a few days left in the break, I decided to sign up for the Global Gaming Jam since it was being hosted at Microsoft and there was to be games there. The email list also looked promising since many people signed up. After arriving and riding up a fascinating elevator, I found the other volunteers already waiting in a room. Dave, the head of the event, would occasionally pop his head in and assign people tasks when needed but for most of the time, they didn't need us. Everyone took turns and tried to divide up the shifts fairly but for the remaining kids left in the room, they played games to kill time. During my first day at Microsoft, I came late so I was assigned as the check in person with two other Stuy kids and an NYU student. After a few hours of small talk, shifts changed and I was able to take a break in the volunteer room. For the rest of the day, we played mafia, Old vs Young people with weird punishments, and Chinese Poker. On the second day, we took turns helping out on the first floor again with the help of a Bronx Science kid wearing a Stuylin hoodie, constantly reminded the frustrated game creators of the time limit they had, and resumed our games. This was hands down the most fun event I've been to and it didn't even feel like we were doing work! I was able to meet at least ten other kids I never knew attended Stuy yet at the same time enjoy myself. By Tiffany Chen I was so excited to go to this event. This was my first event at Microsoft, and I’ve only heard good things about these events. When I got there, we still had to wait outside. It sucked because it was raining, but luckily I was able to use Alan’s umbrella. After fifteen minutes, the event coordinator arrived, taking us to Dunkin’ Donuts to get some coffee and donuts before heading inside the Microsoft building. After getting our free donut, we went into a room where we played Pictionary and Mafia. Sometimes, it got super loud, so one of us had to shush tdxcfygvjbhknj
the group to keep us quiet. However, each game was super fun. I even got to be Narrator for Mafia a couple times! When I wasn’t playing games with the Key Clubbers, I helped the event coordinator with sorting out the presenters. Kelly and I walked up and down the hallway, making sure that each group was in line and ready to present. It got hectic due to the sheer amount of people in the hallway at one time, but Kelly and I managed. This event certainly lived up to its hype. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I would love to sign up for a similar event in the future.
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Rachel Joh
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Jason Xiong
Photos taken by Irene Chen
Photos taken by Vincent Huang
Photos taken by Vincent Huang
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Freya Zhu
Photos taken by Penny Wang
Photos taken by Penny Wang
Photos taken by Penny Wang
Photos taken by Penny Wang
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