Parsippany Hills High School’s
January 2017 | Volume XLII Issue 8
Note from the
In this
Editors
Issue:
Hello PHHS Key Clubbers! Although it’s hard to believe, the Key Club service year is drawing to a close. We’ve elected a new LTG for Division 20 and our new executive board, and DCON is just around the corner (which, by the way, you can learn more about in this issue!) Despite the year wrapping up, service doesn’t slow down! There are still tons of events planned for the next few months that are great opportunities to continue helping our community. Keep it up PHHS Key Club! Yours in Caring and Service, Tara Srinivasan and Shreya Nair
On the
Cover:
33
DCON Q&A
55
“Souper Bowl” Collection
65
Election Results
76 Peek Outside PHHS
Quote of the Month: “It is not about the money. It's the public service aspect. Absolutely, I think it has qualities of redemption. The city gets a second chance. I get a second chance.” John Rowland
Key Clubbers listen to candidates answer questions during the election meeting
DCON Q&A DCON is one of the largest events of the year for the New Jersey District of
Key Club International, but what exactly is it? Find out more in this Q&A, and consider signing up when registration forms are passed out next meeting! What is DCON? DCON, or District Convention, is a 3-day 2-night celebration of the end of the service year and the beginning of a next one. Key Clubbers from high schools all over the district gather in this event that helps strengthen the bonds between us and reaffirm our purpose as a service club.
great opportunity to make new friends and share laughs over icebreakers. Day 3 brings the weekend to a close with a Walk to Fight Hunger, implementation of the new district board, and a spirit stick competition where every district competes to be the loudest. And sprinkled throughout the entire weekend are even more opportunities to make DCON When/Where is DCON? extra-fulfilling for you: Talent shows, DCON will be held from Friday, March essay contests, dances, Keynote speaker 31st to Sunday, April 2nd at the Ocean presentations, awards ceremonies, Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch, NJ. delicious breakfasts, lunch and dinners, PHHS will provide transport by bus to and and even free time to take a stroll on the from the hotel. beach and visit the town of Long Branch. There’s something for everybody! What is there to do at DCON? Tons. On Day 1, caucuses are held, in Is it worth going? which Key Clubbers run for the district Absolutely! First-time DCONers will board; everyone gets a chance to meet the learn more about Key Club than they ever hardworking candidates and ask questions, thought there was to know, and many and it’s a really exciting and involved have expressed how magical it was meeting process. Day 2 is workshop day— Key inspiring people who share their own Clubbers will attend different experiences serving. You become more presentations led by district board independent, worldly, and energized with members to learn about how to enhance a genuine passion for helping the service each individual club does. It’s a others.
Jan 2017
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Pictures from DCON 2016
(Far left) Soup brought in for Littleton’s “Souper Bowl”; (left) Candidates during the club election meeting
4
“Souper Bowl” Collection With all the exciting service projects we had going on in January, the “Souper Bowl” soup collection was one of the most successful! Parsippany Hills Key Club partnered with Littleton K-Kids and Parsippany Kiwanis for their annual soup collection drive. All the soup cans collected (134 from us!) were donated to the Parsippany Food Pantry, as this service project aimed to continue fighting hunger within our own community even after the holidays. This was a perfect opportunity for Key Clubbers to show the K-Kids that we can still continue to serve our community even as we get older! Not only did members set a good example for future Key Clubbers, but we continued to help fight hunger through our service. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Club Elections
Recap
Tuesday, January 31st marked an event held every year, vital to the continuation of service and leadership that is the beauty of Key Club: club elections! Each of the sixteen candidates for various offices were able to answer questions regarding their qualifications of holding their desired position, setting a great example for the rest of the club. While we thank every single candidate who ran (you all were terrific!), we are pleased to Jan 2017
announce the following members who will be the 2017-2018 PHHS Key Club executive board! President: Karoline Xiong Vice President: Vishal Mansuria Treasurer: William Yang Corresponding Secretary: Crystal Tran Recording Secretary: Kaitlin Cirillo Editors: Juliana Urbis & Alison Christian Historians: Megha Mansuria & Brandon Sung 5
Peek Outside PHHS:
What’s the K-Family Up To? LTG Elections
On January 19th, elections for
Lieutenant Governor of Division 20 were held. The position of LTG is an important one— the LTG manages the five or so high school Key clubs in our division and facilitates communication between them and and the district board. We are proud of our very own Kaitlin Cirillo, who was a competent opponent in the race. Nevertheless, we are pleased to announce Stephanie Shen, current President of the Parsippany High School Key Club, as the Division 20 LTG Elect, and are excited to work with her!
Spike Out Hunger Do you like playing volleyball? Do you enjoy meeting new people? Do you want to raise money and food to fight against hunger in New Jersey in a fun and effective way? At the Spike Out Hunger Tournament, you can do just that. This highly-anticipated district event will be held on Sunday, February 12th from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm at Theodore Schor Middle School in Piscataway. Admission is $5 or $3 and 2 cans, all of which will go towards fighting hunger. Scan the above QR code if you are interested in registering a team!
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Questions or comments on all things Key Club?
Contact the PHHS Executive Board President: Asha Patel akpatel17@pthsd.net Vice President: Karoline Xiong kxiong18@pthsd.net Corresponding Secretary: Crystal Tran cvtran18@pthsd.net Recording Secretary: Michael Tran mctran17@pthsd.net Treasurer: Vishal Mansuria vmansuria18@pthsd.net
Editor: Tara Srinivasan nsrinivasan17@pthsd.net Editor: Shreya Nair srnair17@pthsd.net Historian: Thomas Shweh tshweh17@pthsd.net Historian: Juliana Urbis jturbis18@pthsd.net
or our
Division 20 LTG: Vanessa Ting ltg20.ting@gmail.com
Key Reminders Teacher’s Appreciation Week candy collection: due 2/10 Valentine’s locker heart cut-outs: 24 hearts = 1 hour Parsippany Hills High School’s January 2017 Volume XLII Issue 8
Spring Yankee Candle sale: forms due 2/24 Next general meeting: Tuesday, February 14th