Western HS Key Club JanuaryFebruary 2016-2017 Newsletter

CNH | KEY CLUB Division 30 South | Region 3 |CNH Volume: 5, Issue 11

The Official Western High School Key Club Newsletter | Jan-Feb 2017

pg. 8

AUHSD Servathon @ Western HS pg. 2

pg. 10

A LETTER TO YOU

3

Tet Festivities

12

D January DCM | D30S Conclave pg. 9

Surf City Marathon Western KC Club Elections pg. 6

pg. 12

pg. 16 pg. 13

February DCM | Dodge for a Cause

Brea 8k Classic

CONTENTS pg. 19

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

D30S Ice Skating Social pg. 15

SERVICE HOURS LEADERBOARD pg. 18

lovely letter from lovely people Hello everyone!

So this is the last letter. It’s bittersweet. I’ll end this with a million bits of reflection and thank you’s then.

A thank you to the 2016-2017 Western Key Club Board. Thank you for all your odd little quirks and for being a family in our own quiet and comforting way. Thank you for being there despite having to pull my head out of the clouds every few seconds and listening to my babbling. Thank you for being precious, I admire you all for the passion you have and for your special kinds of loving. Thank you for being you.

A thank you to Western Key Club for opening your arms to little freshman me with all my budding angst and hormones. To the members that have always served selflessly and openly. You make me the proudest president. You’ve taught me how to love wholeheartedly and to chase with reckless abandon. I’ve grudgingly learned what it’s like to rip my heart out of my chest and what it’s like to run without heavy armor. You taught me that people are so very good. You taught me that crying is A-OK, you taught me that holding hands is warm, you taught me that conversations are little, swaying bridges from me to you. You taught me to shout.

I’ve fallen in love a million times, in a million different kind of ways. I’ve learned what it was like to stiffen up when someone rests their head on my shoulder and what it was like to just do my best to hold the position so that the precious head doesn’t leave my shoulder (so precious, so precious, so warm and loved—I’m good at malfunctioning). I’ve learned the love in 3 AMconversations. I found the solidity in hello’s and good-bye’s, the nice-to-meet-you’s and the see-you-later’s. The flutter when somebody smiles, the skip when I see a familiar face, the settling flush of a face when I’m surrounded by warmth. I used to resist the notion of best friends. I have a best friend. I used to flinch when I saw open arms. I’ve gotten tackled one too many times by ten too many people. I used to hate Key Club (angsty freshman). I love Key Club.

You’re all so warm. Guitars, flower crowns, karaoke, applause, blushing, dog-piles, How-do-you-feel’s, click-click, dog toys, hand-holding, goodness.

It’s a little late into the night. I’m a bit sentimental and teary-eyed. I’ll save the tears for banquet. I don’t want to say good-bye so, this is my see-you-later.

So hey, thank you! I love you!

With all my love and four years worth of thank-yous,

Your Pres Nhi Truong

To all you lovely people, hello!

What do I say that hasn’t been said by our lovely president already…

I haven’t written an editor’s letter in the longest time. Better now than never.

This is my last newsletter before I pass on the responsibility to my successor, Cedric Salvador. I can’t express how excited I am to see what Cedric brings to the table for upcoming newsletter publications! It’s about time we kicked out this old fart and let in some fresh ideas for the club newsletter, anyways. And to Cedric: I hope you’re as excited as I am, and I’m ready to help you fulfill your vision of the club newsletter!

As Nhi had said, this is in no way an ending. I’m not abandoning my newsletter anytime soon; as I continue to onto the next Key Club term as your club vice president (hey that’s me), I promise to work hard to keep on creating memories to fill up our newsletter. To think of all the things coming to an end is no way to think—especially when there’s so many beginnings that have begun!

So let’s work from there. Let’s jump for the clouds and chase after the blinding sun, grasp the ghostly moon and count the countless stars. And it might seem a little overly ambitious at first, but if we’re stubborn enough, foolish enough, stupid enough… we just might end up splitting the sky.

Thank you, ‘16-’17 Western Key Club board. It still confuses me, thinking about how I ended up on board as your bulletin editor. Even when I didn’t believe in myself, you guys did (surprisingly). I admire each and everyone one of you, and time and time again, you’ve inspired me to become a better person. Thank you for all that.

And on that note, I’m proud to present to you my last newsletter, a compilation of memories from the last couple months! It’s been an honor to be able to put these together for you. I hope you enjoy looking through it as much as I did. To more memories to come!

Your beautiful bulletin editor and vice president elect,

Jerry Castillo

JAN/FEB...

Western KC ’17-’18

Out with the old, in with the new!

CLUB ELECTIONS On Friday, January 13th, I was elected as President for the 2017-2018 term.

First of all, the amount of candidates there were made me really happy. I’m so proud of everyone for taking initiative and caring about the club so much :’) Club elections have always been nerve-wracking for me. However, this year was a bit different. It was as if I finally realized that I should be proud of the work I’ve done in Key Club.

We started with the usual routine, a few words of encouragement from Nhi following a closing of the door shutting the voters out from witnessing the nervous energy emitting from the candidates.

One by one, everyone delivered their speeches. I was the very last person to deliver their speech.

I held my composure as best as I could, and when I finished my speech I looked up to a teary-eyed friend. I had to avoid her glance for my own sake (I’m an easy crier).

I went through the process of the caucus, and that was the end of the club election process. Everyone was placed back in the room to cast their votes and turn in their ballots.

I talked to my friend who was teary-eyed. It turns out that she, along with another one of my friends, were literally moved to tears by my speech. I think it had less to do with the words and more to do with how far I’ve come in my Key Club journey.

The votes were counted. I appreciated the friends that surrounded me as we waited for the results. Then it came.

“The President-Elect for the 2017-2018 term is Crystal Ly!” I remember the overwhelming cheers and applause as I walked up to stand with the newly elected cabinet. I cried in front of everyone. People ran to hug me. My parents texted immediately to ask what the results were.

There’s so much that I want to say, but I will finish this with a promise: I will lead with the same about of passion I’ve had since I was a freshman. ~ Crystal Ly

The club elections were interesting to see a behind the scenes as to how the executive officer process works. It was nostalgic to see the executive board elections again after last year. It was nice to see a different perspective in interviewing executive board applicants.

The elections were great to see people take interest in Key Club. We had a good selection of applicants including current board members. I think one of the key things I got out of this experience was just to reflect on what we did as a club and division the past year. To see so many lower classmen apply for executive board warmed my heart to see their love for the club because of the effort we put into the members.

What’s more, the applicants all gave a great representation of themselves when they were interviewed. I think the attributes any applicant had that would put us off was their age. We wanted to make sure that the applicants were able to take on a high responsibility with little experience. However, all the students running showed their avidity and heart towards the club which definitely showed that no matter the outcome, we would have executives with a passion for Key Club.

During the actual election, all applicants did an amazing job with presenting themselves to the members. We were even fortunate to have our lovely Lieutenant Governor Kelly Tran to experience this special occasion with us. I genuinely had a difficult time choosing the best applicant but I think the results showed what the club members felt they needed. I wish every applicant would have gotten the position but things don’t work out that way. All the applicants showed strength and courage throughout the election and I hope those who did not make executive board apply for appointed.

Overall, the experience was wonderful to see the members make themselves vulnerable to become apart of Key Club. Their passion and admiration toward the club definitely showed and I couldn’t be happier. ~Isabel Almanza A Friday afternoon, where nervousness starts building in the air, speeches waiting to be given, oddly enough I enjoy the tension. Last year I was unable to attend the Club election, but I’m glad I took a more active role in picking our next year’s executive board. The democracy of Key Club kept reminding me of the lessons we learned in government about our actual democratic government, but other than those random thought occurrences, speeches fluctuated in quality and it was interesting to see the type of approach each candidate would take to prove that they should be the ones to be qualified for the running position.

There’s something about being intimidating and critical that I have taken a liking to.

After their speeches, I must admit that it was quite difficult to ask good questions that would prove to the general members of their capabilities so I ended up repeating many of questions to the different candidates to see how each of them would respond to it. I applaud every individual for running in the first place because I understand that it is a terrifying experience and they took the first step of courage to do something that many others are afraid to do. Once again, I applaud them for that. Congratulations to the people who won the executive positions, and to the people who didn’t attain the position to not be discouraged and try again. ~Jason Jose

The time had finally come, on January 13th Western Key Club held elections to determine who would be our 2017-2018 executive board. I couldn’t believe how fast time has gone since our current executive board got elected. It was a surreal moment because I was both excited and a bit sad to see the current term reaching its ends. All throughout the week we held interviews prior to the actual election. It was fun finally being able to be on the opposite side and getting to know each of the candidates who were running for a position. I was able to see myself in a lot of them and wished them the best of luck. Although I knew only four would be selected, I wished the rest the best because they were all wonderful people who each deserved it in their own way.

On the actual day of the elections we had the club come out to vote to who they felt would better represent them. We went over rules and the process in order to inform them. When the actual speeches started, everyone listened attentively wanting to know more about each individual. Their speeches in my opinion were wonderful and it was a tough choice on who to vote for in each position. After each speech, each candidate would answer questions for about three minutes or so from the club or our lieutenant governor, Kelly Tran.

After everyone had gone, the executive board and Kelly went outside to count the votes to determine who had been elected. When I was tallying the numbers, we were happy at how many members had showed up to actually vote. As we finished counting we had to go back in and announce the results. Crystal Ly is our next President, Jerry Castillo as Vice President, Annie Nguyen as Secretary (MY CHILD!), and Cecilia Dang as Treasurer!!! We wish them the best for the upcoming term and for those who weren’t elected we truly do hope they continue their journey with Key Club! ~Jennifer Hernandez

Western Key Club’s servin’ up the service!

AUHSD SERVATHON @ Western High School!

Throughout the past few years, Western High School held a Servathon event. My past couple years consisted of campus beautification and helping Link Crew but personally, this year was my favorite. I personally worked with YMCA to create a campus garden and we got the help of Key Clubbers as well as other students to contribute to the garden.

This was a hard labor experience but since we had such a great turnout of helping volunteers, the work was less intense. Volunteers would either dig up the turf, separate the soil from the grass, or flatten the soil. It was beautiful seeing so much progress and the members seemed to have a good time. People listened to music, chatted, laughed, and worked efficiently. There were more people than tools so a lot of volunteers had to work with their hands. It was lovely to experience this work with so many other people.

The whole point of the garden was to reduce the use of water. Our project had very few members so it was nice to see how many people took interest to help our cause. It was an incredibly enlightening experience for them to see a landscape architect’s work. I saw people exhausted but they powered through the day. It was inspiring to see their avidity into this service.

All the members were open minded and hard working at Servathon. I think what was especially nice about this volunteer experience is

The garden will be a place where people can relax and learn, and will promote sustainability in school that it goes right back to the students.

The garden is still a work in progress and I can see that this event can cause the members’ interest or appreciation into the garden. The members have a great impact in their school and when we came back to school the next couple of days, other students saw the progress that all the members contributed to. The garden will definitely acknowledge the help of Key Clubbers to the creation of the garden. ~Isabel Almanza

a (strangely) sunny January at...

January DCM

D30S CONCLAVE The January DCM and Conclave was held on Saturday, January 14, at Orange Coast College. I was really looking forward to attending my first Conclave and witnessing the election process of the Lieutenant Governors for the upcoming 2017-2018 term. It was interesting to see such diversity amongst the candidates, ranging from Key Clubbers who have been active for years to young newcomers who were brave enough to give their best. After all the candidates delivered their speeches, each candidate was given a caucus session with a time limit to answer questions from audience members with the best of their abilities to showcase certain qualities, accomplishments, future goals, and aspirations. This provided a hands-on, engaging experience for the audience because it was ultimately the questions asked that determined the validity and readiness of each candidate; general Key Club members who attended Conclave were given an equal opportunity to contribute to this election process of the future LTGs. This event consisted of inspirational speeches and aspiring leaders that really illustrated the true meaning of Key Club passion. ~Brenda Lee Of course. Of course I would cry at this event too. I guess that’s something everyone will have to get used to, I’m here with you all for another term!

Saturday, January 14th was the Region 3 Conclave. This was actually my first time at this event, and as a delegate too! Nhi and I represented Western as we listened to the LTG candidates’ speeches. We could only vote for the LTG for our division, but it was still very insightful to hear all of these speeches and read their resumes.

I honestly didn’t expect this many people to attend. I thought it would be mainly consisting of the delegates, but the support for those candidates is strong, as shown by the packed room at OCC. As we listened to the speeches, there was an accumulation of different impressions I got from each one. There was quite a bit to pay attention to: composure, message, confidence, resume, responses to caucus questions. We may have been judging them as delegates, but I did not miss the amount of passion that everyone showed while delivering their speeches.

I was extremely impressed by the D30S candidates. All of them were absolutely amazing. In the end, Vivian Bui was elected as the D30S LTGElect! Congratulations!

Ah, forgot to mention the parts where I cried. While the results were being announced, the candidates were holdng hands and hugging in anticipation, reminding me of how deserving every single person was to be standing in front of the region and be acknowledged.

After the results were announced, we were all in for a surprise. D30 LTGs Snghyun Byon and Kelly Tran requested nomination to run for International President and District Governor! Their speeches were heartwarming to the point of tears on my part. The rest of the LTGs joined in for more sentiment, and surpise! Even more tears.

Conclave was a truly inspiring, and I will make sure to move forward in the next term remembering what Key Club means to me.

~Crystal Ly On January 14th, Region 3 had their conclave in order to determine who would be the next lieutenant governors for each division in our region. I was curious to see who was running and who would get elected from Division 30 South.

When I first got to Orange Coast College, I was already running late and the speeches for other divisions had already started.

Fortunately I didn’t miss that many speeches and I was able to see most of the candidates. It was a good experience being able to see the different characteristics of each candidate and see how they would the benefit their division. Personally throughout conclave I didn’t ask questions but other key clubbers would ask really great questions that would further let us know about the candidates.

Time seemed to fly and next thing I knew we were announcing who would be serving as lieutenant governor for the 2017-2018 term. Vivian Bui’s name was announced for our next lieutenant governor!!! Our division erupted into cheers and knew that she would do great things with the division! It was nice being able to see that despite those who didn’t get the position they were still happy for the candidate who won. We also found out that Kelly was running for District Governor which made our whole division proud that she was doing great things!

Since conclave was over, we had our January DCM afterwards where Kelly updated us on division events and other news. She also announced the monthly recognition where Western Key Club got fifth shining club again! We were all so happy to be honored with it again. Overall despite it being a long day it was nice to see the future of Region 3 despite some of us, like myself, graduating in a few months. All I wish them is the best of luck. ~Jennifer Hernandez

Celebrate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year with Western High School!

On January 27, 2017 to January 29, 2017, I was given the opportunity to volunteer at UVSA Tet Festival 2017. When I volunteered at the Tet Festival I met many different people from the Garden Grove district, which was pretty neat! I was also given the opportunity to try out different booths/tasks. For my very first shift, I had to stay at the venders gate where I stamped people for reentrance. I practically stood there for four hours (which was not ideal) not knowing that I was able to switch out every two hours.

However, when I went to check out, the staffs made sure to give me the fun jobs for my next shift! I got to pass out free mouse pads and lastly volunteer at the Yeo’s booth! “$1, ONE CAN! $2, THREE CANS! SPIN THE WHEEL, SPIN THE WHEEL, SPIN THE WHEEL, YEO’S!” At the Yeo’s booth I basically gave out prizes, sold drinks, and yelled out the chant. Overall, it was super fun! Because of the experience I had on my first day, I wanted to come back to the event which was why I went all three days. For the next two days, in which I volunteered with Abraham, we were at the arts & crafts booth, exit (directed people), parking lot (translate), tram (direct people into and out), and the YEO’S BOOTH. Abraham and I were really extra but productive throughout the whole day and because of how eager and enthusiastic Abraham and I were, the OPS went up to us and told us that we need to sign up to be staffs! In all honesty, I got so happy that I couldn’t even refrain myself from smiling and squirming after the ops left. I

am super glad that I volunteered at this event, and I am definitely going to sign up to be staff for next year’s Tet Festival. CHICKEN NAM MOI! ~ Linda Le

TẾT FESTIVAL

More photos like this by UVSA Media Team! @ https://goo.gl/XR6ilj

TẾT PARADE

TẾT

More photos like this by Manuel Camarillo

o & Dennis Le! @ https://goo.gl/XR6ilj

Almost two years of hard work have led up to this event.

You could say that I’m exaggerating, but really I’d honestly say that Tet Parade was one of my proudest moments so far.

On February 4th, 2017, I volunteered at Western VSA’s 1st Annual Tet Parade.

Let me start off by explaining where pride comes into the picture. My CoPresident Jenn and I began our first term with around 5 members at every general meeting, most of which were friends with the past president. Fast forward past the countless sleepless nights and inevitable mistakes to see a group of 20+ diverse students repping Western High School with all they’ve got.

The months of planning were definitely worth it when I saw happy moment after happy moment unfolding right before my eyes.

We arrived bright and early to Bolsa to get ready. Jenn and I led the practice of our fan routine. Immediately we gathered the attention of everyone around us (Oxford and Loara students especially).

From the praise to the much-needed stress-reducing breathing exercises, I’ve never felt more confident in anything before.

Walking down the street complete with fans, drums, smiles, and overwhelming Pio Pride brought me the greatest joy. What really made my

day was turning around every couple minutes to see how happy everyone was, and how many others got out of their comfort zones in an energetic showing of spirit and passion.

There were endless little moments to admire, but I’ll keep those for myself and my Co-President. Thank you to Western Key Club and DYP for providing volunteers. A huge thank you to everyone who went to this event. I appreciate the efforts of every single one of you, and I hope you all had a wonderful time.

Here’s to the 2nd Annual Western VSA Tet Parade! ~Crystal Ly

On February 4th, Western Key Club had the opportunity to collaborate with our high school’s Vietnamese Club and Do Your Part. We were able to help Vietnamese club recruit about 50 members in total from all the clubs in order to learn a routine in which they would be performing in the parade. When I initially signed up for the event, it hadn’t processed that I would actually have to march in front of many people while performing the routine.

When the day finally came I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect out of the event, and I didn’t want to mess up the routine. However when I actually got to the event I was quite excited to actually go out there and perform what we had learned. We did a couple more practices and then waited to go out into the parade. The coordinators were all very nice, especially because they were feeding everyone who was performing food.

When the time came, everyone got into their positions and waited for when we would start walking onto the street. As we were walking on the street, I was amazed at how many people had attended the parade. It made me a bit nervous since not only were there so many people, but the event was also being broadcasted on television. We performed the routines over and over again until we reached the end of the street in which the parade ended at. I was amazed because initially it felt as if we hadn’t walked much at all. When we looked back on how much we walked it and how much time had passed it was an experience of awe.

When we were done, we walked back to where the parade had initially started. Reflecting back on the event, it makes me happy I signed up for it because I was able to step out of my comfort zone. In all my living years I had never expected to actually be in a parade! I don’t regret doing it and honestly recommend others to do it in the following years. ~Jennifer Hernandez

On Saturday, February As I walked to our th location I saw so many 4 , an important event in Vietnamese culture hapintriguing things like the dancer’s costumes, pened in the Vietnamese community and that is the music, and the Tet Parade. floats. It was amazing seeing all the types of met early in things that consist of a theMembers morning in the startculture. I was amazed ing area for the parade at everything that was until it was time for us to going on since I’ve actually march down. I never gone to a Tet personally, haven’t been parade. to the Tet Parade before, We practiced our but oh boy what an experience. They literally routine plenty of times closed down a couple to make sure that we blocks in order for peowere fully prepared because we would be ple to march through and there were TV crews eveon TV and millions would be watching us. rywhere and people talking, music, dancing, Right as I stepped into food. the parade I felt the energy and all the hapIn addition, to that piness there was by the there were fancy floats dancers and the audi- and cars with important ence. As Western people who’ve made a walked through the or people who parade we pride fully difference have a important infludanced away and had ence in the Vietnamese one of the funniest community. I enjoyed moments I’ve ever had. almost losing my voice Once we were done, I due to yelling, and it’s swore that it was only 5 nice to see that the paminutes because it rade still retains the culwent by so quick beture straight from Vicause I had a blast I etnam because even danced like nobody though citizens are exwas watching. pected to conform to “American” standards, Signing up for this event I was really un- part of the culture is kept within their hearts and sure on what we were really going to be doing they’re able to express that to their hearts deat the event, but once we performed in front sire. Everyone was enjoying themselves the entire of thousands I was proud that I had repre- time and it was refreshing to everyone sented Western High smiling and taking School, a diverse in the experience. school. ~Jason Jose ~Elicia Hernandez

SURF CITY

MARATHON On Sunday, February 5th, early in the morning, 5:30 am to be specific, volunteers met up at the volunteer booth down in Huntington to cheer on runners and do set up.

Personally, I was late due to my terrible decision making and sleeping late causing me to sleep through my alarm.

Through this mistake on my part, I was able to meet people I probably wouldn’t have interacted with in the first place as I was assigned a different job from the other Western Key Club volunteers. The best way to describe this experience is you’re busy for an hour and the rest is empty.

My task was to return bags to the runners when they completed the race and because there was only 10 of us returning and over 100’s of people’s baggage, it was completely hectic and I could literally feel the impatience and restlessness in the air from the runners. Some of the volunteers were extremely understanding and appreciative when they realized the amount of running back and forth that we had to do, and that honestly made me enjoy the experience a ton more. The volunteers I worked with were also kind and respectful to the runners, being cheerful, trying to make their day a little better. By the end of the first hour of shift, it was quite exhausting because it seemed like we were working through and endless sea of people. Despite not being the loud cheerful people at the end of the race, it was interesting to go through a different aspect of marathon races. This event was enjoyable and I rate 8/8 mate. ~Jason Jose Surf City Marathon has always been such a peaceful and fun event. Since it is next to the sunny beach. My shift started at 5 am and I was rushing like always to get there quick. Once I got there everybody was just training for their run and setting up. All the volunteers got pretty colored shirts.

First I helped with starting line, then give out water and then gave out medals. Races are always fun because I get to really see the passion everyone has to run. After a while I was moved to another booth which handed out prizes for runners that have ran the same race for the past 3 years. It was a pleasuring experience because everybody was happy because they had just finished 10 miles.

The event was also really kind because many of the coordinators gave us free samples of a variety of stuff. Overall everyone had a great time serving to those that are giving back to the community. ~Elicia Hernandez

BREA 8K In my time as a Key Club member, I have been to numerous walks and races.

However, this month I attended the Brea 8K which was so different in com-

I really liked this even because parison to the other races.

the coordinators were friendly, welcoming- and they even wore yellow! I was expecting things to be a bit different than they actually turned out because we were set to volunteer at 5:30-7:00AM. However, we ended up extending the stay to the end of the race.

We even got to work with Western High School’s Do Your Part who helped to cheer on runners. Annie and myself stuck together to block off an exit so cars wouldn’t come onto the race course. It was cool to feel official with our orange vests and we got to have a laidback but necessary job. We stayed to block off pre-race and blocked partially into it until a first aid station came to block the road. We got to cheer on runners who were incredibly determined to get it done. We even saw a dog with great endurance to run with its owner.

I loved this event because of the whole community aspect about it. Volunteers were residents and a local high school band got to perform for the runners’ entertainment. The community came together on a special Sunday to connect and support one another. That unity is something we don’t usually see in Anaheim so I would recommend this event for people to see the comradery. It is a lovely event and the coordinators are considerate and grateful for every person contributing to this event.

You will love this event, I promise you!

~Isabel Almanza

Division 30 South

ICE SKATING SOCIAL A Saturday night, prime for social events (usually), there was the D30S Ice Skating Social.

I personally, enjoy ice skating as it is an event that doesn’t require conversation necessarily to be enjoyed.

You can fall down and share a laugh… or learn how to not fall down in the first place. I think it’s fun watching the learning process and the evolution of everyone’s ice skating because (as extremely cliché and cheesy it is) when you fall down in ice skating, you don’t just stay down there, you get back up and you try again and again till you hopefully get it right, like SUCCESS IN LIFE. While everyone was in their own respective groups, I was able to talk to people I don’t normally see on a daily basis and that was quite refreshing to do. I also know that there were many members who weren’t really involved with Key Club and didn’t know many people within Key Club so in addition it was also a nice event for meeting other people and becoming more comfortable in the Key Club setting. In this regard I believe that this event is successful as a life lesson generator, an icebreaker, and getting us all to chill and relieve us from the stress of our responsibilities for a bit. ~Jason Jose

FEBRUARY DCM

DODGE FOR A CAUSE On February 25th, Division 30 South’s division council meeting took place. Since the previous division council meetings had consisted of service projects, this month things were changed a bit. Instead of a service project, this month was a dodge ball game between the clubs and there was a foodfest where clubs could sell food to fundraise.

When I arrived, we tried to make sure the ice cream didn’t melt since we would be selling it alongside brownies and cake pops. Since I got there a bit late, I missed out on the updates portion. Although later on I found out

Ali Al-Saleem got recognized for Member of the Month! We were very proud that one of our most our very own member,

dedicated members was finally recognized! Also, it was nice to hear about the awards other clubs had received since it was nice to see their accomplishments for that month.

After the meeting, everyone then went to go buy food from the different clubs. The other food items were kimbap, spam masubi, lemonade, and boba. All the food items looked delicious and I wish I had enough money at the time.

This division council meeting was a great idea because it allowed clubs in our division to have a chance to fundraise. For Western it really helped out towards our District Convention payments. Also, it was nice to see the members enjoying different type of food items and coming back for more!

As the time passed, many of the members then moved on to playing dodge ball. I personally didn’t get to see the whole game since I stayed back to help out with selling. Although I didn’t get to see the full game, it was hilarious watching videos of our board members falling or taking a long time to throw the ball. Overall the event was put together well and it was enjoyable in all aspects. I felt this event allowed for clubs to be able to interact with other clubs and have fun together.

~Jennifer Hernandez

February DCM took place at Twila Reid Park on Saturday, the 25th of February during the afternoon. I personally have not gone to the past couple of DCMs and I missed having that special time with the rest of the division. I remember this event from last year’s and I got excited to experience it again as each school went against each other to achieve victory. It was funny to see our players act silly and ridiculous whilst putting in the efforts to win, but unfortunately perished.

I personally helped out with selling our brownies, cake pops, and ice cream with a team of Western Key Club members. We were fortunate enough to around ninety dollars to help fundraise for DCON fees. We even had a little board bonding to bake the treats. They were very key club inspired and it was absolutely adorable how they turned out. It seemed that members liked them as well because they were interested in how they looked. Our biggest hit was the triple sugar brownies but we sold out of everything by the end of DCM. Overall, all of the fundraisers were cute and delicious. I helped try to advertise by screaming how good the food was in order to persuade people to buy some. I thought it was adorable how we would negotiate and support each other by buying one another’s food.

Honestly, I

realized why I go to DCM so much and why I love my division so much. Everyone is so kind, happy, lovely, and spirited! Go to as many DCMs as possible because division time is super special with everyone who is kind and caring. I would like to thank our stupendous DLT for always organizing stupendous events and making sure to be inclusive of everyone. ~Isabel Almanza

JAN&FEB SERVICE HOURS

LEADERBOARD

Thank you for all your hours of volunteering! Keep shining, suns of WHS Key Club! :D

Linda Le| 28.5 hours

Ali Al-Saleem| 19.9 hours

Abraham Vicente| 18.8 hours

Diane Luong | 17.8 hours

Omar Al-Saleem | 15.9 hours

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Featuring… one of our historians, Brenda Lee!

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If you were restricted to consuming only one foodthing and one drinkthing for a year, what would it be?

“Pasta and coffee.”

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What is something someone said that changed your way of thinking?

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” This reminds me to work hard, have fun, and live up to my full potential because how I live each day is ultimately how I live my life. 

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What are some small things that make you really happy?

“Waking up early and realizing I have hours to sleep, having ticked off everything from my to-do list, being able to help someone in need, making a new friend, hugging, discovering new music.” 

We all got big problems, but what’s the smallest problem you’re facing right now?

“Maintaining my grades and completing the last bits of assignments and tests before graduation.”

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What color represents your mood in general?

“Black.”

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Other than me, who’s the greatest person you know? What is it about them that makes him/her so cool to you?

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“The greatest person I know is Jennifer Hernandez, my best friend of six years. She is the most kind, genuine, and down-to-earth person I know who I can trust with anything. We support each other through our lowest points in our lives and grow together to our highest potentials.”

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How do you feel?

“I feel good! Oh, I feel so good! I feel fine! All of the time! Abooga, abooga, abooga booga booga!

MONTHLY CALENDAR: APR-MAY SUN. MON. TUE. WED. THU. FRI. SAT. 2

3

4

5

- World Party Day

9

10

17

- Easter Sunday

23

12

- Apollo 13 Launch

- DCON Day 3

16

11

18

6

7

- The first Olympics of the modern era was held in Athens, in 1896

- Key Club Dis- - DCON Day 2 trict Conven- AUHSD Jazz tion! Day 1 Showcase @ Kennedy HS

13

14

20

- The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes

24

25

- Free Comic Book Day

- Easter Egg Hunt

21

22

- A&L Into the Woods Performance, 21-23

26

27

28

29

- Workers’ Me- - 7th Annual morial Day Western High School Jazz Festival

1

2

- George Washington gave his oath to be the first U.S. President in 1789

7

15

- Imaginology - STEAM@ OC Fair, 21- apalooza 23

- National Cherry Cheesecake Day

30

- 2017 Spring SoCal Corgi Beach Day

- Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday

19

8

8

9

3

4

5

- National Chocolate Custard Day

- Bird Day

- Cinco de Mayo

10

11

12

- Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of S. Africa in 1994

6

13

Cecilia Dang Historian

ceciliaa.dang@gmail.com (714) 837-5187