Western HS Key Club February 2016 Newsletter

Division 30 South | Region 3 |CNH

Volume: 4, Issue 10

The Official Western High School Key Club Newsletter | February 2016

HEEEEYYYY PIOS,

"HEY HEY PIOS!

Wow this is the final Newsletter of the 20152016 Key Club Term. Makes me kind of sad looking back at what all you Western Suns did. I’m happy to say that I’m proud of the year we’ve all had together. I’m excited to see the 2016-2017 board start their work for the new term and make the best of it. I hope you all remember that we are still open for volunteering during summer and that there are always opportunities here with Key Club. There’s plenty of space, so bring friends, and lots of them.

Can you believe it’s already March? You know what that means: the end of the third quarter, spring break, and International Week! But for us Key Clubbers, it also means that we only have one month left in our term. We have already surpassed our goal of $1,000 raised for service, but we still have yet to meet our goal of 2,300 service hours.

Never fear though, because we served over 240 HOURS last month, so can I get an OH YEAH for all of you amazing volunteers? The most hours actually came from our Winter Crepe Club Social, which was a huge success. We have roughly 150 hours more until we reach our goal of service hours.

Knowing how well we did February, there’s no doubt that we’ll be able to reach it by the end of March. The end of the 2015-2016 term is rapidly approaching, but the end of our AMAZING service isn’t, and hopefully never will! I’m beyond proud of what you, the members, have been able to do to contribute to your home, school, and community.

Even if you’re not recognized as Member of the Month or on the Top 5 on our newsletter, just know that all of the time you dedicate to volunteering is greatly appreciated by somebody, whether it’s by a board member, event coordinator, or those who you’re serving. So keep on serving, busy bees!

I remember when I was new to Key Club.

That person kicking me down below was my only friend in the club. Thank you Van, and all of the friends I’ve made, you’ve made my high school experience amazing Yours Truly, Michael Coates, 2015-2016 Bulletin Editor

BUZZIN’ with service, Van Bui, Western Key Club President 2015-2016"

Table of Contents

February Collage

1

Surf City Marathon “On February 7th, Surf City Marathon took place at Huntington Beach.

Since I was chairing the event I had to make sure to come on time or earlier; however, traffic that day was really bad due to the event. While I was looking for a place to get dropped off I got a call that two of our members weren’t sure where to go. Luckily I was able to get dropped off near the location they were at. This allowed me to find them so we could all walk together to the event.

Things were pretty hectic already and when we arrived at check in the coordinator told us our names weren’t on the list. However, she was kind to still let us volunteer despite the confusion at first. While we waited they gave us these really nice yellow shirts to wear and keep. As we waited for a job, more of our members started to arrive. The coordinator then led us to the finish line in which we got separated into two groups. The group I was with were told to hand out medals to the runners after they had finished running. Meanwhile we handed out medals to the runners, the rest were put at the sides to record the time each runner finished the race.

Throughout the event it was heartwarming to see the runners being supported by their loved ones. I saw many have a person running with them encouraging them to keep going despite them not being in the marathon.

There were many tears being shed at the fact that they had ran/walked all along Huntington Beach and didn’t give up.

Despite the event being quite hectic in the beginning it was quite rewarding seeing the smiles and tears from the runners as they crossed the finish line.

Even after I had left I saw volunteers stay and cheer on the remaining runners.

The most memorable moment that day was probably when a man had just finAt one point we would be standing there waiting for a runner since they would still be running. One of the event’s photographers actually ished the race and held onto me for support. He was panting and could barely started talking to us, the volunteers. Here was interested in what we do and stand. The reason was I was congratulating him and telling him he did an amazeven asked the historian from Loara and I why we had cameras of our own. ing thing especially for his age that I probably wouldn’t have been able to do.

We then explained that we were historians for Key Club at our schools. He He then replied to me saying that if I set my mind to it I would be able to do anything. It was an eye opener because I saw this man who was around 70 years got involved with talking with many of the members from our schools. It old set his mind to finishing the marathon and actually accomplished it.” seemed as if he really enjoyed interacting with the volunteers and even started to take pictures of us.

After 1 p.m. they started to clean up the streets in order to reopen the streets. This meant that all the runners who hadn’t finished running were required to run through the makeshift finish line that was more near to the beach. All the volunteers then were moved to the new finish line and at times we just sat on the floor waiting for a runner to come through. They usually came in groups and when they did the smiles on their faces was definitely rewarding. Despite it being hot, the volunteers kept cheering these runners on when they reached the finish line. The event coordinators were kind and gave the volunteers small snacks and water to get them by.

2

Jennifer Hernandez

“With the end of the year rapidly approaching- I decided to make sure my last social went out with a bang! I was thinking and thinking and it hit me…A CRÉPE SOCIAL! Crêpes are fairly easy to make and require very few ingredients, thus making this a simple Crêpe Social to plan. Although the ingredients were fairly easy to locate, this event took a lot of preparing because everything a board member brought is essential in the crêpe making process. So, planning incredibly ahead, the board was assigned their item to bring for the social. I and a few other board members were assigned to make the crêpes- and boy did that take awhile! But our hard work was rewarded seeing the happy faces of people trying the crêpes.

The start of the social was a few announcements from our very own president, Van Bui, and we proceeded into the breakdown of the day. The breakdown went: first Icebreakers, next crêpe time, and lastly end with our doggy toy making service project. For the icebreakers I learned from our last social many people didn’t feel as connected with everyone because they felt that there were too many people playing the games and that they weren’t getting to know the other board members or general members. Thus, I divided the group in half and had half the members with Van and the other half with me. Van’s group decided to play Pterodactyl, while my group played Evolution. Although evolution was hard to explain at first, the members really seemed to enjoy the game. After playing for awhile, Van and I switched groups and continued the festivities. After icebreakers, all of our stomachs were growling which meant crêpe time! I had board members help serve the general members by either handing out plates, cutting up fruits, or by serving them the fruit. I did not eat until I knew that every single person got served and was eating. As I was continuing the fruit cutting I looked to the side and saw all the members just sitting together and eating on the grass with each other and that image really warmed my heart. I continued cutting up the fruit and joined them all.

After all the eating, I and a few other board members stayed behind and cleaned up the mess while Van lead the rest of the group onto our service project! Our service project was making doggy toys out of old t-shirts and this always brought a smile to member’s faces. The service project was a nice end to our long social filled with fun and food.

Overall, thinking about how this was the last social I will plan for Western HS is pretty heartbreaking, but, I would love to thank everyone who came out and I hope everyone enjoyed it-because that to me is what I care about the most.”

Lesley Aguirre

3

“Winter can sometimes seem like a drag, what with the cold weather and long (homework filled) nights, so Western Key Club tried to alleviate that feeling by providing a club social!

On February 6, we hosted our Winter Crepe Club Social at Evergreen Park. It was a fun way to get out and socialize with other Key Clubbers, and was also a nice way to take some stress off after coming back from Winter Break. After some planning, shopping, and cooking, we prepared a fabulous day of service of play! As people showed up, they were split into two different groups. Each group started with a different icebreaker, which allowed everyone to familiarize themselves with each other. This was especially helpful because our Club Buddies, Cypress and Los Alamitos, also attended the social.

One group played Pterodactyl. In this game, the group would go around the circle either saying "pterodactyl" or making a pterodactyl screech. If they spoke, the circle would continue as normal, and if they screeched, the circle would switch directions and the game would then continue. While all this is happening though, nobody can show his or her teeth. This led to a lot of sore mouths, but plenty of laughter to make up for that!

The other group played Evolution. In this game, everyone starts off by crouching on the ground as an egg, and would play rock-paper-scissors.

Each successive victory allowed a person to evolve, until one person ultimately becomes a human and wins. This was also loads of fun, and allowed everyone to move around!

After some more bonding in both factions and as one group, we started to make our snacks for the day: crepes. Board members brought plenty of toppings, and everyone got to make personalized crepes and enjoy eating them picnic-style with everyone else. This was a new and yummy experience for me, and I'm sure everyone else loved his or her food too!

…

Overall, the Winter Crepe Club Social was probably my favorite social of the term. Coincidentally, it was also the last social of the term. Though I won't be helping out with the next one, I can't wait to attend Western's next club social as a general member again!”

Randall Belyea

4

Hope Out Loud Gala Adventure

“The Hope Out Loud Gala took place on February 7th, 2016. It began at 4:00 PM and lasted until 10:00 PM. It took place at the Anaheim Business Expo Center. This event organized by a non-profit charitable organization where having volunteers is very crucial to them.

Western Key Clubbers and family members from the organization helped make this event possible. This was definitely an event that is outside from the norm. I was really happy to be able to experience something new asides from the usual events that we would always volunteer for. It was also really nice that it was just basically Western Key Club volunteer there, because we were able to get to know each other better while volunteering.

As the coordinators were finally getting everything settled; one of the event coordinators brought all the volunteers together. She introduced herself and the event that we were volunteering for. She explained to us where the money went to and guide us to where everything was. Finally, she told us to divide amongst ourselves evenly and then go to our “stations.” The jobs that the volunteers were able to choose from was the greeters, escorts, check-in, and the sellers. Kevin, Crystal , and I were the escorts. Jason and Ivan were the greeters. Elicia, Cecilia, Andrea, and Abril were the check-in people. Karen, Joanna, and Sophia were the sellers. Once we got it all figured out were all sent to our stations.

While we waited for the event to start Crystal, Kevin, and I practiced escorting each other making sure we all knew what to say. We walked around the place to familiarize ourselves with where everything was. After wee were done “practicing” I guess you could say, I checked up on the greeters making sure they knew what to do and say. Then, I head over to the check-in and the sellers.

Finally, people started coming to the event. I escorted a few people, taking turns with Kevin and Crystal. At first, people started to arrive little by little. Then, more and more people came making it kind of difficult to approach people and ask them if they would like to be escorted to their seats.”

Linda Le

5

February DCM “I have to say that this was my favorite DCM of the term. Combining all the past service events of the term was by far the one of the sweetest kind of sentiments, because this social really did offer a recount/recap of the year. With this Key Club term coming to the year with DCON fast approaching, there somewhat of a melancholic/nostalgic aspect to this event. Just last year I remember spending the February DCM with the at the time president elect and just last year I realized how attached I had grown to the division that is 30 South and the club that is Western High Key Club. This year, if I had to put it simply, had flown by, and in the time of quiet self reflection and growth, I’ve found growth within our club and division as well. Whether it be through service hours or fund raised, through spirit or through members, I can definitely say there was growth. Arriving late to the DCM should have taken away from my experience I had thought.

Late about almost 2-3 hours, I thought there was nothing really left for me to do, or so I thought. I missed out the presentation about the day though, so that explains a lot, because there was a lot left for me to do. Pinwheels, blankets, socks following the cycle of months, September, November, December, pinwheel cycle pinwheel cycle. With the club buddy system as well, the implementation of it was truly beneficial towards the general members in getting to know the other schools. Books and lunch, circle up, snap shot, a medley of “How do you feel’s” and “Happy birthday's, a day dedicated to memory, for memory, by memory.”

Nhi Truong

6

“So the February DCM was a really interesting social on Saturday, February 20th. When I got there it was really quiet and most of the clubs were just hanging around with their friends. Then the fun began with the ice breakers we played. I don’t remember the name of the first on but I do know I had to duck when I was called “the white guy” from across the circle. Then Brenda Le was taken out by the person standing next to me. She didn’t really know what was going on so we all just had a laugh about it.

Then we moved into the MPR, no one knew it stood for Multi-Purpose Room until the end, where John Hoang introduced us to what our schools and buddies were going to work on first. Off we went to work on non-slip socks!

The non-slip socks portion of the DCM seemed familiar because Western had done it at one of their previous socials. HOWEVER, Ms. Van Bui made all of the buddies be INCLUSIVE and separated people to make new friends from other schools. It was quite the time to learn about new people and their personal experiences at other schools. I’d always wondered why not many of our club buddies came to the socials.

Overall the DCM was pretty fun and I enjoyed the fan making and blanket making as well. I think John had a very good idea when promoting us to remember all the things we had done as a division in the past. It seems like a good way to end the term. It reminded me about my job as Bulletin Editor because I look back at what everyone has done over the past months and really learn to appreciate the memories Key Club makes.”

Michael Coates

7

Club Revival!

For the first time ever, Western High School held a Club Revival!

This was on Friday, February 26th after school in our front quad. Planning for this event wasn’t that hard, especially since we basically used the same methods that we used for Club Rush along with a few new resources to recruit members. This time around, we had membership applications to give out, club merchandise to show off, and cut strips of old T-shirts to give people a taste of what our service projects are like. Everything else—the flag, candy, bell, and spirit—was the same!

I ended up waving the flag around and occasionally answering some questions that people had about the club. The most common question that I got was what type of events Key Club has to offer. I tried to think of the events that were most popular but also those that were most likely to attract members, especially those who are more shy and just getting into Key Club. So I mentioned both club socials as a good introduction to Key Club along with Rose Float Parade. These events that I mentioned seemed to garner attention among those who were curious yet hesitant. I told them to come out to a few meetings just to get a feel for the environment. I was glad to recognize most of them as freshmen (a lot of them who I interviewed for the yearbook). Who knows, maybe those freshmen will one day become some of the club’s most active members in the future, or even board members!

We were idle for a majority of the time, but we still kept our spirit up and faces bright with smiles and laughs. The board members who were helping with our table all enjoyed being with each other on this wonderful Friday afternoon, even if our table wasn’t overrun with interested students. Seeing the festivities of the entire event was uplifting too, especially when Dance Club performed a little bit for everyone to see.

Eventually, we realized that the crowd was dying down, so by 4:00 PM, we packed everything up. I hope to see the people who came to our table at least at our general meetings in the near future.

Considering the fact that this was our very first time having a Club Revival, it was actually pretty successful in the end. Unfortunately, this was both my first and last Club Revival, but if this becomes a tradition at Western, then I have faith that this will only improve over the years to come. Of course, I always enjoy being able to get the word about Key Club spread out more to the school to recruit new members into our club family.

Van Bui

8

Southland Credit Union Race on the Base “If it wasn’t school work or club work or it was family gatherings, they all kept me from going to so many service events these past couple of weeks. Therefore, going back into the routine of volunteering at events seemed a bit foreign to me-but- Southland Credit Union Race by the Base helped me get back into my volunteering spirit!

I was overly excited when signing up for the event since it felt like ages from when I actually volunteered. So it was no problem waking up at 8 a.m. to get ready. Arriving at the race site I became extremely lost because of how big the base camp is. I received a call from one of my fellow board members indicating that she was right behind me and that we should walk together. We thought with both of our heads working together we would have a better chance of finding the volunteer check in- we were very wrong. We had to ask at least 4 people until we finally reached check in.

After checking in, the rest of our home Key Club members arrived and we all waited together until our tasks were assigned. The lady who was assigning our tasks first showed us around the base and told us where the different courses were. My whole group was in charge of the ‘Transition Area.’ The transition area was the specific place where runners placed their bikes and items there ready in order to transition into the next obstacle. She placed my group of 4 to the cheering station near the entrance of the transition area.

My group and I cheered and cheered until every single runner ran through the first lap. In the middle of our cheering, the coordinators brought us over to break down a couple bike racks that the runners weren’t using. Time had rapidly gone by and before we knew it lunchtime had approached us very quickly. One of the coordinators in charge of us came over and gave us lunchable boxes for lunch. My group and I were amazed at how fulfilling the small box was for lunch. We sat close by the track in the shade and just enjoyed each other’s company and the good food given to us. That small break had energized us enough to continue cheering on for the rest of the race. We got out of the break cheering more than ever!

As the race was ending, so was the end of our shift; however, my group and I wanted to stay until the very last person was cheered for since we all felt bad if he would have came without anyone to cheer him on. Although he came a little past our shift ending, I was extremely happy to see that smile on his face when we cheered him on.

Overall, getting back into service again brings me so much joy. I have such a refreshed feeling when volunteering and I can’t wait till my schedule dies down a bit in order to continue volunteering!”

9

“This event was not what I expected. Honestly, I just signed up for it because of the description: volunteer lounge, food, and shirts. It sounded like the perfect event what was even better is that it wasn’t super early like most events; it was at 9:30AM. A lot of people signed up for this event, along with alternates and the sign up process was very well organized. The location was interesting and different from what we’re used to. It felt so strict and welcoming at the same time because of the men in uniform who were greeting us and checking us in. They were grateful for our willingness to volunteer and it could be seen through their smiles.

The volunteer lounge check in was a pretty long walk. We were told to look for the white tent next to the huge white tent which took about ten minutes. Good thing the directions were posted throughout the lot or else it would have taken longer. The check in was quick and easy due to the information being pre registered. They also had shirts for everyone, about 500 volunteers, which is uncommon at some events. WE were then offered morning snacks and coffee (good way to get teenagers in a good mood) and told to wait for our delegated tasks.

We were told to stay close to our friends in order to make assure we got to work with them. So obviously that is exactly what I did because volunteering is always funnier with friends. We were given basically the same takes, cheering and marking, but at different locations from the rest of our club.

Cheering on runners is a specialty for us Key Club members. Cheering gets even better when you’re at the same station as the spirit coordinator. Although people probably thought we were weird, it’s the people who thank us and smile at us who matter in the end.

We cheered on the biking section and watched people get yelled at for not getting off their bikes when they were supposed to. The race was not a normal race; it consisted of running, biking, and swimming. I give props to everyone who participated in it because it seemed so difficult and long. I can’t imagine how long they were training for it.

Another task we got was to take down bike rails since that race part was almost over. Now I can say I know how to take apart a bike rail all by myself. After that we want back to cheering on the runners. Then we got a lunch break which was very considerate of the organization. At other events I’ve gone to, the organizations themselves don’t give us food, either a company does or we have to buy it ourselves. Our shift was over but we were all anxious to wait for the 87 year old man that was participating. Now this man was the true definition of determination because a lot for people probably told him it would be better to just no do it but he pushed himself and did it with a smile on his face.

We then walked back to the volunteer lounge and were given a confirmation of our hours. This event was surely one of my favorites solely because of the organization. It was so well prepared and run smoothly without any chaos. I hope Western Key Club continues doing this event because they need a lot of volunteers and actually do use them instead of having them just standing around.”

Brenda Rosas

10

2015-2016 Board Van Bui Western Key Club President

Nhi Truong

Western Key Club Kiara Legaspi

Vice President

Western Key Club

Secretary

11

Randall Belyea

Western Key Club Treasurer Abraham Vicente Western Key Club Publicist

Brenda Rosas Western Key Club 12

Publicist

Jennifer Hernandez

Western Key Club Historian Linda Le Western Key Club Historian Lara Matty

Western Key Club Historian

13

Lesley Aguirre

Western Key Club Spirit Coordinator Crystal Ly Western Key Club Member Recognition Michael Coates

Western Key Club 13

Bulletin Editor

14

Van Bui

Nhi Truong

Kiara Legaspi

vankbuii18@gmail.com

nhtruo@gmail.com

kiaramel2525@gmail.com

(714) 824-2884

(714) 234-0275

(714) 931-7222

Randall Belyea

Lesley Aguirre

Michael Coates

Crystal Ly

rhbelyea@ca.rr.com

aguirre_lesley@yahoo.com (714) 576-3432

coates179@gmail.com (714) 225-2181

lycrystal@gmail.com

(714) 209-3865

(714) 315-6317

Lara Matty/ Linda Le/ Jennifer Hernandez laramatty999@gmail.com (714) 306-9969

Brenda Rosas/ Abraham Vicente

lindale922@gmail.com (714) 886-2467

brendabrosas@gmail.com

jenniferhernandez1634@gmail.com -

(714) 342-0281 abrahamvicente3@gmail.com (714) 855-7625