The Official Alameda High Key Club Newsletter VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Alameda High - Division 2 - Region 9 Cali-Nev-Ha
Inside This Issue A Word From Our Officers ………..…….….…. page 3 Key To College ………………………………....………. 5 Beach Clean-Up ………………...………..….……….. 6 Haunted House ……..…………………..…..……….... 8 Day of the Dead ………………...………….….…....… 12 Fall Rally North ………..…………………..…..….…..… 13 PTP/ Key Club Week ……….…………..…...……….... 16 Credits……………………..…….………….………….... 17
Oh no! We forgot Relay for life last issue!
Summer Recap— Relay For Life, June 23
Words From Our Officers KEY CLUB CHANGES YOU Hey guys! Go to events like Fall Rally North (FRN), the Regional Training Conference (RTC) and the District Convention (DCON). Those are the events that‟ll change you, in a good way. If you go to one, and it isn‟t that great, go to another one! All of these events are different. I changed so much after going to DCON. I used to be a really shy and quiet freshman who wouldn‟t really be myself around my classmates except for my friends. It‟s kind of hard to believe now that I look back at myself. I‟ve become comfortable being myself around other people, more outspoken and outgoing. I have even become the Vice-President of Key Club at AHS. I would‟ve never thought that could happen four years ago. Key Club really changed me, in a good way. So for all of you new key clubbers, especially freshmen, you guys are never going to know what‟s going to happen if you don‟t go to any of the events mentioned above. Especially DCON! It‟s one of the best Key Club events because you get to meet key clubbers from California, Nevada and Hawaii. It‟s also the place where you can go all out crazy and no one is going to care. I know I said that about FRN, but DCON is even crazier. Also, you might think the Key Club is weird at first, like I did, but you‟re going to get used to it! Like I did…maybe. Don‟t be scared to talk to other key clubbers because once you‟re in Key Club, we‟re an ohana, a family, and family means no one gets left behind.
- Melissa Yip, Vice-President
Words From Our Officers GOALS FOR THE YEAR Hello there Key Clubbers! I'm Tina, one of the co -project chairs. I joined Key Club towards the end of my sophomore year after learning about it from one of my best buddies. Project Chairs are responsible for finding events and contacting volunteer coordinators and that is my job. Aside from my responsibilities, I am honored to be a part of Key Club because it has taught me so much about leadership, service, and our community as a whole. This year I hope to find many events that are not only close but fun for the members to do. Also, I want to help fundraise for PTP and help with Project Jump Start. Finally, my ultimate goal is to help our club be even more active and spirited than it already is. I love chatting and talking with our dedicated members. So, if you guys have questions, feel free to talk to me. And I like making new friends, so come up and talk to me if you're bored. I don't bite.
- Tina Chung, Co-Project Chair
Key To College A KEY TO THE FUTURE
October 12
By Scarlett Wu
Sitting in a classroom with over 30 of my fellow Key Clubbers and listening to the college students talk about their experiences, I felt like a college student myself. Luckily, there was no homework to do and no old teacher to lecture me. Many who attended probably remember the fun, movable desks (that made me want to slide across the room like a little kid) the most, but all of us should remember the things that we learned about college—college life, college majors, college admissions, and more. Did you know that you can receive FREE MONEY for just about anything? You can even get scholarships for playing games! We also learned that college is a time to both explore your career options and to befriend more people who share the same interests you do. Besides teaching us about the college process, Circle K members shared their school experiences and answered many questions about surviving college life. P.S: If you don’t believe me about that gaming scholarship, look here! http://de.twitch.tv/p/scholarship
Beach Clean-up By Avery Kuang On the bright, sunny Saturday of October 20th, there was a large congregation of Key Club members at Crab Cove. Key Clubbers from schools Alameda High, Encinal, and Castro Valley all met up with the intention of having fun and cleaning a beach. Many new friends were already being made before the event even began, and as names, schools, and even some phone numbers were being exchanged, came all of a sudden the staff members. After a brief debriefing, all students were handed plastic gloves, large plastic bags, and then they were free to be in groups of their own choosing. The only rules of this event were to have fun and to clean up the beach (and also to not hurt yourself on broken glass, used needles, the water, homeless people that may or not be hiding in bushes, etc). (Continued on page 7)
October 20
Beach Clean-up By Avery Kuang (Continued from page 6)
One neat thing about the event was the sense of freedom it brought, not present in many other events. Without strict shifts, breaks or anything of the sort, it actually felt like a voluntary event to have fun. With this system, students were all over the beach. Some were skipping on the rocks, others were running in the sand, and a few students were even half naked and playing in the water. As fun as it was, unfortunately the event only lasted an hour. The hour after the clean up was dedicated to playing games, doing embarrassing Key Club dances, and solidifying relationships between the newly met Key Clubbers. Overall, the event was an extremely fun and very memorable experience.
October 20
Haunted House
INTERVIEWS
By Danica Liang Jio Calderon “I helped set up the Toy Story-themed booth and participated in scaring people. I made a closet out of boxes, painted it, and now it's a closet where people pop out of to scare kids. I enjoyed decorating and helping plan out the room. it was also fun actually being the ghosts to scare innocent children. I got scared by our own booth, when they had the witch doll thing grab me.”
Sophia Huang “I made creepy signs for our room and my friends and I all drew characters from Toy Story. For the scaring part, people thought that I was The Grudge since my hair was all up in my face and I was screaming a lot. I remember that there was a group of teenagers and that they were like „I don‟t like toy story anymore!‟ after they left our room.” (Continued on page 9)
Haunted House
INTERVIEWS
(Continued from page 9)
Oscar Leung “A kid cried and kneeled on the ground because he was too scared. He sat there until a staff member escorted him out. Often teenagers weren‟t scared. They usually just cuddled up together and avoided eye contact. Adults laughed and we‟d both yelled at each other for good laughs. Only the young ones were intimidated by the scary music and decorations.”
Andy Huang “I put a white cloth around me and put on a mask. I hid in a box and jumped out with a fake hand when people came by. I liked being there with my friends. That was a lot of fun and I also got to meet new people.”
(Continued on page 10)
Haunted House
INTERVIEWS
(Continued from page 9)
Waley Xu “I basically went to my scene and dressed up as a zombie and started scaring kids. I wore a zombie mask with two zombie arms. I would say the most interesting thing that happened was that many young girls were crying.”
Vi Nguyen “I volunteered and scared people in our Toy Story room. I put on a witch costume and walked around scaring people. I like the jack-in-the-box where the Joker pops out the best. The people in charge said that we had one of the scarier rooms!”
(Continues on page 11)
Haunted House
INTERVIEWS
(Continued from page 9)
Tamika Bassman “Using a scary Jack-in-the-Box-esque head, I tried to pop out from a cardboard wardrobe and cardboard Jack-in-the-Box. It was cramped at times, but fun. Trying to pop out at the right time and right when people walked by was kind of a scaring tactic. I tried to surprise people with the scary Jack-in-the-Box head. For me, this was a fun event because it's different from other events in just the fact that we get to work at a haunted house with friends. Setting up our space in the haunted house was fun too. A lot of people seemed to like the Domo costume one of my friends working brought.”
Siying Feng “We scared people or tried to. My favorite item was this witch costume that we wore because it was the only thing people found to be scary. [Vy and I] switched around at first, but it was mostly Vy. I enjoyed pretty much everything.”
OMCA Day of the Dead
October 21
By Danica Liang As I made my way down the steps in the Oakland Museum of California, I could already smell the refreshing aroma of incense, driving me towards the Gardens, where the event would be taking place. On October 21, OMCA held their annual Day of the Dead Celebration to honor the dead. Before attendees arrived, all of the volunteers and people involved in the event gathered in a circle. A volunteer coordinator talked about the significance of the day and people came around the circle with the incense. The purpose of this was to cleanse ourselves of our worries and to focus on having fun and to honor the lives of those who have past away. Most of the Key Club members volunteering that day were involved with the hands-on arts and crafts. We helped kids create rattles made of paper 'calacas,' or skeleton figures. First, kids colored the skeletons and then volunteers helped them attach a stick and a pocket filled with beans to make the dolls rattle. At times, it became hectic, but in general, the Keyclubbers had a wonderful time working with kids and being exposed to the vibrant Spanish culture.
Fall Rally North!
October 27
AN INTERVIEW WITH DANNY WONG By Danica Liang 1. Where did everyone meet and how did you guys get there? DW: We all met at Encinal High School at approximately 9 o‟ clock. (brr it was cold). 2. Describe the bus ride. What was it like to be with Key Clubbers from other schools? Did anything interesting/funny happen? Any team-bonding experiences? DW: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It was fun. That‟s all I will say. 3. What happened after everyone arrived at Six Flags?
Danny Wong was one of 19 members from AHS who went. That might be a record….
DW: We got our tickets and our bracelets to get inside the park and then we split up but ultimately ended up at the Rally. 4. Talk about the Spirit Rally. DW: First off, there was an auction for every division‟s LTG( Lieutenant Governor) where every division tries to buy all the LTG‟s with the money they have made over the past year. (We bought 2) Then we go onto the spirit battles where each division dukes it out to see who is the most spirited. The winner of the battle gets the Spirit Stick, the ultimate symbol of who has the most spirit. (Continued on page 14)
Fall Rally North!
October 27
AN INTERVIEW WITH DANNY WONG (Continued from page 14)
5. Describe D2's spirit! How spirited were we? I saw a picture with a 'Free Hugs' sign. Describe that? DW: D2 COMIN‟ THROUGH! We were very, very spirited, everyone was cheering at the top of their lungs, it was loud and noisy, and overall it was an amazing experience. Free Hugs? What else could it mean? Hug me, cuz I‟m a Kiwi! 6. What is the Spirit Stick and how close were we to winning it? Who won it? DW: The Spirit Stick, as I have stated before, is the ultimate symbol of Spirit. We were part of the five, I guess you could say, Quarter-Finalists, competing for the Spirit Stick. Unfortunately, we lost at that round. Although, the Spirit Stick did go to D7 South, which was the division that was, in my personal opinion, the most spirited division. So I guess they deserved it. 7. Reflect on your experience. DW: Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, I, along with many other of our Key Clubbers, had a great time. We got to meet a lot of new people and have fun during the process. Having to cheer at the top of our lungs all over the park was the most memorable part of this trip. Oh! And all the cheer battles too! Haha. I look forward to going to next year‟s Fall Rally North, and this time, WINNING THE SPIRIT STICK. Let‟s go Kiwis!
Fall Rally North! PICTURES
October 27
Pediatric Trauma Prevention (PTP) At last week’s meeting, we mentioned PTP. And at Fall Rally North, we helped raise money for PTP. So, what is PTP? PTP stands for Pediatric Trauma Prevention
the prevention of children‟s unintentional injury
In 1994, the Kiwanis Cali-Nev-Ha Foundation founded the program to help promote the education of pediatric trauma and ways to prevent it.
Through service events, we help raise money to go to partner hospitals to train pediatric staff, buy pediatric medical equipment and raise community awareness. THIS WEEK!
The month of November is Kiwanis Family Month and the week of November 5-9 is known as Key Club Week! This is the time to appreciate and raise awareness about Key Club, and show off your Kiwanis pride to the community. Join the Facebook event and visit http://keyclub.org/service/kcw.aspx for more info and ideas!
Credits Historian Says What? Hi guys! :) It seemed like the first issue got a lot of positive feedback and I‟m really happy about that. Thanks for everyone‟s support so far. October, service events-wise, was great — so many fun events! And I‟m positive that the next, upcoming events will be great too, which equals…. More opportunities for pictures! Hah. Hopefully you guys aren‟t creeped out (yet). Especially you new people! I am trying to add new faces every issue, so if you see me with my camera, don‟t be shy, okay? I love meeting new people. :) Anyways, get ready for another month of fun and SERVICE! Are you guys doing anything for KC Week?! - Danica
A big thanks to everyone who helped contribute to make this newsletter happen! :) That includes: article writers and photographers (Scarlett Wu, Melissa Yip). And thank you for reading this! Questions? Comments? Concerns? Want to contribute next issue? Contact Danica Liang (Historian) at Danicat_dog@yahoo.com!