CNH | KEY CLUB Division 30 South | Region 3 |CNH Volume: 5, Issue 8
The Official Western High School Key Club Newsletter | October 2016
pg. 6
KOREAN AMERICAN FESTIVAL
SOCA pg. 2
A LETTER TO YOU
3
12 OCTOBER DCM & RTC pg. 7
ASIAN PACIFIC FESTIVAL pg. 8
pg. 9
AL CORGI BEACH DAY
CONTENTS pg. 11
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS FESTIVAL
FIRST SPIRIT NIGHT pg. 10
lovely letter from lovely people
Hello everyone! I hope that your October has been kinder to you than mine has been with all its torrenting deadlines and emotions brewing like witch’s pot, heh. With Fall Rally preparation and whatnot, and college apps hovering over a few of your shoulders, I truly do hope all has been well with the rest of you. I’ll go about with a sort of recap. You guys have really gone and outdone yourselves with serving this month, with more than 400 hours! And that is simply amazing. The month of October was quite a month. I’m pleased to say that as of now we have 90 paid members and counting, so thank you all for that. I’ve gone into a bit of introspection lately and I can truly say that I really do love this club. Thank you for making this club that so many others has praised as a “family.” You guys have taught me that again and again, words can’t express. I’ll make this month’s President’s letter short and sweet (thank you Jerry for always being patient with me) and end it with a bit of a quote. A reminder that if any of you ever need a safe space to fall back into and on, we’re here for you and we love you. “When autumn darkness falls, what we will remember are the small acts of kindness: a cake, a hug, an invitation to talk, and every single rose. These are all expressions of a nation coming together and caring about its people.”
-Jens Stoltenberg
Shining with Service, Your President Nhi Truong
OCTOBER...
http://kaffoc.org/kr/shop.php
Festive…!
KAFFOC’s
KOREAN AMERICAN FESTIVAL How exciting, a division event! Usually division events are huge, and it’s a great way to keep a lively atmosphere. However, I was really happy to hear that this event would be a much smaller, local event. There’s something about these events that provide the perfect opportunity to bond with other Suns. This event was the Korean American Festival on October 2nd. I carpooled with Joanna, and when we arrived I was immediately reminded of Asian Garden Mall when they have food and games being sold. The event coordinator was lovely, helping us find our way around the festival as well as giving us food tickets for anything that cost $10! After we helped as much as we could in the various booths, we were left with the rest of the time to enjoy all the festival had to offer. Of course, we had to start at the food booths. We scoped out our options (after having much experience with past festivals/carnivals, this has become routine for us) before settling on waffle ice cream and bulgogi fries. Both of them were indescribably good. I mean it. We were speechless for a good minute! After enjoying the delicious food, we watched a group of extremely talented dancers perform to a collection of both traditional and modern music. We had a great time with some friends from other clubs at the end of the night, and I went home with the warm fuzzy feeling Key Club always gives me. ~Crystal Ly
OCTOBER
REGION 3 TRAINING CON
On Saturday, October 8, I went to the Regional Training Conference, which was held at Rancho Alamitos High School. Many Key Clubbers all across Region 3 were able to come together and participate in cheer battles, attend workshops, and play icebreakers. Because RTC welcomes both board and general members of every Key Club in Region 3, this was an excellent even Regional Training Conference was a dual event with September DCM, in which prizes and awards were given to specific clubs, and firsttime Key Club stories were shared by members. Lastly, the workshops that were provided were really helpful for board-aspiring Key Clubbers because some were dedicated specifically for certain positions. Others touched upon important subjects, such as surviving on a college budget, managing stress and practicing self-care, public speaking, and applying for scholarships. All in all, RTC was a motivation booster for us high school students to push through and succeed both in our personal and academic lives. ~Brenda Lee On October 8, Region 3 met up to Region Training Conference. Region Training Conference is similar to Officer Training Conference but it’s more directed to those who plan to take a board position next term. Many general members take time out of their day to spend the day learning about skills to improve performances relating board, school, or life in general! When I arrived, I was 10 minutes late and I thought I was way behind but I wasn’t. I manage to make it in time for lunch, which extended to at least 10 minutes longer. I managed to be just in time for the DCM. I’ve been looking forward to this DCM for weeks now. I entered into a contest, school supplies give away, and during the September DCM, they were going to announce two winners. Fortunately, I won the Instagram Picture Contest and I received a bag of school supply goodies. After the DCM, we all met up in the gym to do some game and get more information about RTC workshops. Once we finished in the gym, we were disbursed to go to the classes that we wanted to attend. I went to publicist, how to BEE a leader, CNH scholarship and public speaking class. To my surprise, CNH scholarships class was actually my favorite class. Although there was less attendance, it gave a more comfortable vibe. I strongly recommend many general members to get involved and attend RTC next year because it doesn’t just teach about how to be a board members, it offers lessons on real life scenarios. Although classes on a Saturday sound kind of boring, the classes are meaningful and memorable. ~Tiffany Nguyen
Did someone say boba?
ASIAN PACIFIC FEST!
On Saturday October 22nd, Western Key Club volunteered in the 2016 Asian Pacific Festival.
The Asian Pacific Festival was a marvelous event which honored each Asian culture with a festival to the public in educating them of their food, culture, and history. Arriving at the event, I was greeted by the grateful event coordinator and was given a name badge to hang around to display that we were volunteers. While walking around the Festival the volunteer group was amazed on the amount of food there was as well the lack of attendance of the public, but as stated before by the event coordinator there isn’t always a big turn out on these types of event, but I felt people should attend these types of events since it’s a great way to inform the public of the different cultures that are present in the area. Our job for this event was greeting and welcoming the festival attendees when entering the events, as slowly an amount for people would pass by and they would always feel appreciated when passing by us. In all the Asian Pacific Festival is an event that many should experience since it not only displays the diversity in the community but as well showing the compassion that the community has for one another. ~Abraham Vicente On October 22, 8:00 p.m., I arrived at Newport Beach, eagerly excited due to my previous experience at this event. This event was far, but was worth the drive. There were many booths of different Asian cultures all combined into one area, it truly represented about how America is the melting pot of cultures. Unfortunately, the vendors of the booths didn’t require much help, so many of the volunteers were just wandering around with a volunteer lanyard, going around until someone called for assistance. Many of the volunteers were stationed at the front of the festival, greeting and thanking the people for taking their time to stop by. The smell of the place was absolutely breath taking, the first step into the festival and your nose was overwhelmed with the different spices and cooking methods. I, personally, earned a free Japanese pancake due to their liking of my dancing skills. The event coordinators were nice, offering free food, but I felt guilty about not helping too much, so forced myself and (unfortunately I dragged others to do the same task) I organized the chairs near the stage. ~Jason Jose
CORGISCORGI SCORGIS CORGIS…
SoCal Corgi Beach Day Growing up I’ve always had an unhealthy obsession for dogs and furry critters that resembled little Beanie Babies, especially since my entire childhood was surrounded by a collection of stuffed animals; sadly none possessed any human qualities.
Fast forward into high school, a former friend introduced me to moving, fluffy potatoes with stubby legs and loafy butts called “kor-gees”; I was instantly hooked. I’ve only encountered a handful of corgis in my life, but everyday whether it be killing time in Calculus or staying awake in Spanish, I would watch at least half a dozen corgi videos on Instagram (Jimmy Jam and Bear the Corgi were among my favorites, only to name a few). I know. I know I’m a little crazy especially since I already have a dog of my own, but still you can never have too many pets and fluffy critters; that’s the doctrine that’s always upheld itself since my toddler, adolescent, and now teenage years. But I will admit, it’s a bit of a bummer waking up so early in the morning for volunteer service when the prospect of sleep is still evident in my messy bun and shabby clothing choices, but truly there was a beaming excitement as I listened to the pitter-pattering of stubby legs on the crevices of every sidewalk. It was an even greater bummer watching these corgis frolick into the lumpy sand and receding shore while I waited in line to assemble the tables and tents. While volunteer service only took a little over two hours, the in-between waits and the flooding of corgis only heightened my euphoria as these fluffy creatures arrived in wagons, uniforms, and other accoutrements. It was an immense stress reliever being able to give these corgis belly rubs, tell them how adorable they were, and most of all, taking pictures so that when I look back, I know these golden memories of myself and corgis weren’t just some surreal recollection, but that it actually happened! Like I said, I have an unhealthy obsession with corgis so bear with me. But in spite of my love for corgis, as a board member, I was immensely satisfied to see how much my fellow Key Clubbers and peers enjoyed the event as much as I did and at the very least, we didn’t have to attend the same school, the same district, or even share the same language, our evident form of bonding and delight was reflected by the way we took a gander at each corgi adoringly and how we never hesitated to carry them in our arms (although most weighed at least 30 pounds), and ultimately, it was an event we’d come back to anytime. ~Cecilia Dang
01
Spirit Night!
On October 29th, Division 30 South had their first Spirit Night in order to prep for Fall Rally. I was looking forward to this event the whole week due to the fact that it had been a while since we bonded with the division overall. When I first arrived at Cypress high school I immediately saw many different Halloween costumes. The room was filled with chatter and I had a feeling it was going to be a great night overall. When everyone arrived, we were settling down and others were making D30S merchandises purchases which were pretty cute. After everyone finished settling down, James Yellow and Linda Le gave the division a presentation of what Fall Rally truly is. I really enjoyed the presentation overall because it taught members, especially new ones, what the real meaning of Fall Rally is and it explained it’s not just a reason to go to six flags. Overall, it helps promote the message of the Pediatric Trauma Program even more and help Key Clubbers truly understand the purpose of the program. As the presentation finished, the spirit coordinators had set up ice breakers that would help us bond more with our club buddies. These activities were actually quite enjoyable and hilarious due to the fact that most of the time they involved us singing horribly. However, I could see that everyone in our group was enjoying themselves with these activities. Also, along with these activities we were taught a small amount of cheers to make sure we are ready for the spirit session at Fall Rally. Towards the end of the night we had a costume contest where everyone who had dressed up showcased their costume. Overall the division was very supportive of everyone’s outfit and cheered them on. With this activity we even had our very own spirit coordinator, Jason Jose, win the contest! The event overall was enjoyable and even though we didn’t learn that many cheers it allowed us to bond more overall. We even had some members who wished they would have joined Key Club their freshman year which made it a very heartwarming experience for us as a club. ~Jennifer Hernandez
It’s the 4th Annual…
Dia de los Muertos
ART FESTIVAL One of the best parts of Key Club is being able to meet new people and learn about different walks of life. On Sunday, October 30th, I volunteered at the Dia de los Muertos Art Festival. I’m always excited to go to the cultural volunteer events, and I’ve found that Key Club has given me opportunities to learn more about my community that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. I was assigned to the sugar skulls booth. I’ll admit, I was looking forward to buying one to eat until I found out that it’s not advisable to do that (I know, make fun of me all you want). Nonetheless, it was an extremely enjoyable experience. The ladies running the booth there were incredibly kind, and they had this amazing lively energy about them. I quickly made friends with some other volunteers from an LA County Key Club as they showed me the ropes before we opened up shop. Pretty soon it started raining. That didn’t stop us! And it didn’t stop the customers either! Quite a few parents braved the rain so that their kids could spend some time at the sugar skull booth. Seeing this reminded me of every single time my parents would wait the longest time for me to finish making some kind of arts and crafts project at the mall or the carnival. It might have been cold that day, but the love I witnessed in those small gestures warmed me right up.
~Crystal Ly On Sunday, October 30th, Western High School Key Club had the opportunity to assist the city of Downey in their annual Dia de los Muertos Art Festival. Diade los Muertos is a holiday in the Hispanic culture where people celebrate those they have lost, as many confuse this to a Mexican Halloween, which is incorrect. So having the privilege in assisting the Hispanic community of Downey in their Art Festival was a privilege. Arriving at the event I was amazed by the amount of culture present, as the city truly wanted to promote the culture’s treasures. One of the duties that I was assigned to was greeting people in front of the entrance and handing out maps. Later on I was shifted to the Theatre building whereas I became a usher to seat the incoming audience. I was lucky enough to be placed in front of the stage whereas I was able to witness the beautiful traditional Hispanic dances. Finally, when finishing up my 7 hour shift I was astonished by the amount of work these community members put into as they remarkable wanted to represent the Hispanic culture in its entirety. ~Abraham Vicente
OCTOBER SERVICE HOURS
LEADERBOARD
Thank you for all your hours of volunteering! Keep shining, suns of WHS Key Club! :D
Khanh Hoang| 16 hours
Stephanie Vasquez| 15 hours
Marilitz Diwa| 12.5 hours
Joanna Chatouphonexay | 11.5 hours
Joseph Nguyen, Jesse Rosas, & Raymond Taa
11 hours
BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Featuring… one of our publicists, Tiffany Nguyen!
On a scale of one to beautiful, how beautiful do you think you are? “7.”
If you could make money doing something (ANYTHING) for a set amount of time, what would you do? “I would make money taking naps!”
What’s your rapper name? “This is a bit difficult… best I got is Tif-funky.”
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If you had to choose an ice cream flavor that describes you/ your life, what would it be? Please excessively elaborate.
“Neapolitan ice cream, because I have multiple personalities, but overall the mix of my personalities are alright (in taste).”
Other than me, who’s the greatest person you know? What is it about them that makes him/her so cool to you?
“It'd probably be Mi Pham, because she's talented and smart at the same time and she's so very humble. I wish I could be as smart and talented as she was RIP”
What motivates you to better yourself and move forward? “Knowing that I’m working hard to get a better future motivates me.”
Is there something you regret doing/not doing?
“I regret not being active and social in the beginning of high school. I wish I talked to more people and got involved more, earlier.”
Fictional or non-fictional, who would you like to see as the president of the United States? “I’d like to see Tobia Eaton from Divergent as president!”
What are you thankful for this year? “I'm so thankful for my friends. Without them, I wouldn't have passed physics or pre-cal.”
What does Key Club mean to you?
“Key Club to me means a second chance. It's the chance I get to be a different person and aspire to inspire others to be a person that they want to be. And Key Club has given me that opportunity to be a person I want to be.”
How do you feel?
“I FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD OHIFEELSOGOOD i feel fine all of the time. ABOOOOOGAJDKFNSABOOOOOOGabooga.”
MONTHLY CALENDAR: NOV-DEC SUN. MON. TUE. WED. THU. FRI. SAT. 20
21
22
23
- Thanksgiving Break!
28
25
- We Give Thanks
29
30
1
26 - November DCM
- Thanksgiving
- WKC Autumn Social!
27
24
2
3
- WAND Tree Lighting @ Twila Reid Park
4
5
6
7
8
9
- Autism Speaks Walk
11
10 - HOPE Food Bank: Christmas Baskets!
12
13
14
15
16
17 - Winter Wonderfest
18
19
20
21
22
23
24 - Christmas Eve
25
26
- Christmas
- Winter Break!!
27
28
29 - Rose Float Parade
30
31
Cecilia Dang Historian
ceciliaa.dang@gmail.com (714) 837-5187