BxSci Key Club December Newsletter

BRONX SCIENCE K E Y C L U B ®

75 West 205th Street, Bronx, NY 10468 USA

Phone: 1-719-817-7700

Fax: 1-718-733-7951

Official Newsletter of Bronx Science Key Club/ District 11

The Kiwi WHAT IS KEY CLUB?!

Volume 1 Issue 1

In this issue!

What is Key Club………………………...……1 Meet the Board………………..2

HISTORY Key Club began in May 1925 in Sacramento, California. The original purpose of Key Club was to provide the student body with an active assistance club. However when Kiwanis visited the Sacramento Key Club, they were so taken by the principals of the club they opened Key Clubs in their own communities. Key Club is a club which built upon it and year after year it expanded. Key club International has spread throughout North America and to seventeen various countries outside of North America.

District: Key Club districts are determined by the geographical area.

There are thirty-one districts in Key Club International. Districts help relay information from Key Club International to the local clubs. Their purpose is to expand and maintain Key Clubs within their area.

Local: The local clubs are the basis of Key Club. Each local club takes on volunteer projects to help better the community.

KIWANIS

Behind every local Key Club is the reason for its success,a local Kiwanis Club.

PURPOSE Kiwanis acts as the sponsor of Key Club.

The initial purpose of Key Club is to serve It is very important for Key Club members to maintain a good relationship the community. However through the with their Kiwanis Club, for the members experience one obtains from Key Club, of Kiwanis act as the guiders for Key one gains great leadership skills.

Clubbers.

STRUCTURE

International: The International Board sets the policies and represents the opinions of its counseled districts.

The board also provides the materials necessary for the district and local clubs to function properly.

A word from the Immediate Past President……………………......3 Events, Events, Events & More Events……………………………4

What a great Key Club year it’s already been!

Meet Your President Victoria Li:

A note from the Editor: Hi Key Clubbers! With each new edition of the Kiwi, I will be introducing you to a new member of your 2011 – 2012 Key Club Board.

When Victoria was asked why she joined Key Club, she admitted to her original reason being that she needed more extra-circulars for college.

For her, Key Club was something she could easily identify with, due to the fact that she had spent her childhood doing community service with the Girl Scouts. Walking into Key Club Victoria thought we were just a large club that went on many walks together. Oh boy was she wrong.

Victoria like many other members agree that the important question is not why did you join Key Club but rather, what made you stay?

So what made her stay? She fell in love; with the club, with the people, with who she became thanks to Key Club.

Victoria Li was a quiet girl, one who worked hard but would laugh at the thought of her leading a small group of twenty, let alone a group of over three hundred. She states that she truly never thought that she would be capable of leading the largest club at Bronx Science. Victoria decided to run for Key Club President at the 2010 Leadership Training Conference, held

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in Albany. At LTC Victoria attended the workshop which focused on how to be a great Key Club President; it was then and there that Victoria finalized her decision to run for Key Club President. LTC was also where Victoria realized how much bigger Key Club was then she originally believed it to be. However for Victoria, learning how big Key Club is, only meant there was so much more to love. That’s the beauty of Key Club she said, it truly changes you as a person.

As president Victoria wants to show her members that service isn’t confined to Key Club events or to Key Club at all. She hopes to bring as many guest speakers as she can, speakers whose lives are devoted to community service to physically show her members how serving’s on community can be a part of their future. She hopes to teach them that they shouldn’t stop being active members of their community once they leave Bronx Science. She hopes to provide them with solid examples of those who have made this a lifestyle choice, to show her own members the lengths one can go to bettering their community.

leadership

inclusiveness

caring character

building

A WORD FROM IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT… Dear Bronx Science Key Clubbers, Greetings Bronx Science! My name is Benjamin Fang. Some of you may know me but some of you may not.

I am the Immediate Past President of key club. To give you a little background about myself, I am currently a freshman at Syracuse University studying Newspaper Journalism and Political Science with a minor in Asian American Studies. I grew up in Queens, New York but currently live in Syracuse, NY. I have been heavily involved with community service and volunteerism for the past few years. It all started with key club.

I joined key club my freshman year and have been a key clubber ever since. In my junior year, I was the Public Relations Committee Chair. In my senior year, I proudly served as the President. I am currently one of the chartering members of the Circle-K at Syracuse University, which has just recently sprung to life. Circle-K is the college version of key club. As you can see, key club doesn’t just end when you graduate from high school. You take it with you wherever you go.

I want to take some time to applaud you all for joining key club, which is the largest and most worthy club in Bronx Science. As Kiwanis Adviser Richard Rosenthal once said, “In ARISTA, you have to do community service. In Key Club, you want to do community service.” I take these words to heart because I truly believe that key clubbers are passionate about service and helping others; this is our main purpose and motivation.

While it is clear that every member gives a lot to key club, it is not so clear what key club gives in return. I

can highlight this in my own experiences and how key club has been a catalyst for growth in my life. When I started off as a freshman, I could not see myself as a leader, whether it was in a classroom, in a club, or even within my group of friends. I was rather quiet and lacked purpose.

But key club changed that.

As a result of leading events and understanding the causes I was fundraising for, I began to love volunteering. By interacting with the board members and attending leadership conferences held by key clubs across the state, I found my own voice. This voice affected me academically and socially. It also influenced how I began to perceive myself. I started to see that I had leadership qualities and that translated to a greater sense of confidence and self-identity. In addition to personal growth, key club also provided me countless memories and wonderful friendships. Many of my close friends were from key club; many of them are still in key club. My vice-president became one of my best friends. What you gain from key club goes beyond the volunteer shirts and hours; you acquire abilities and strengths that are essential to life.

Of course, it all comes down to the spirit of service. What separates key club from the other organizations in Bronx Science is the level of dedication to helping others at all times. Being a key clubber does not just mean paying dues and attending a few events

once in a while. Being a key clubber entails being a good friend and a role model. It means giving when others simply want to take. It means helping those who need it the most. Being a key clubber also means having fun while doing all of this. I firmly believe that if you do not enjoy what you do, then you shouldn’t be doing it at all.

So thank you, again for making the great decision to join key club. You have not only joined a club, but rather a community and a family. I wish you the best for your future endeavors and enjoy the time you have in key club.

For all of my returning members, a quick thank you is necessary for helping me extend the success of key club. We could not do it without the help of the members, who are the most important part of the club.

I miss you all and hope to see you soon.

SERVIC E LEADERSHIP

Yours in the Spirit of Service and Friendship, Benjamin Fang Bronx High School of Science ‘11 Key Club Immediate Past President ’10-‘11

K E Y C L U B 3

EVENTS, EVENTS, EVENTS & MORE EVENTS! the children and make sure that only With the help of Kiwanis Kiwanis Halloween Window Painting Contest By: Kevin Chen

Although I was considering going to the Fall Rally, duty called for me to take position as Project Captain of this event. And although the weather was not favorable, the show must always go on.

Upon my arrival to the Blue Bay Restaurant, I was warmly welcomed by the Kiwanis Club of Riverdale. I was also surprised to see two other members, who in the end were the only other members who came.

This event was primarily aimed to children who wanted to have fun and paint on store windows for the upcoming Halloween on Monday. I was given the duty to help supervise

certain store windows were painted on.

But because of bad weather, I was left freezing and exposed in the rain. So the coordinator and I took refuge in the restaurant, and I was compelled to ask him questions about Kiwanis Club. It was an interesting conversation, and I learned some useful information. I also talked with other Kiwanis Club members who also provided their knowledge. Even though the event was canceled as the weather worsened, Key Club members showed how they are always devoted to accomplish something, whether small or big.

But most importantly, my talking with the coordinator gave me a vision of a stronger relationship between Kiwanis Club and Key Club. I noticed most members of Key Club don’t have much time to go to events, but a solution to this is by providing more opportunities to them.

Club, there is hope that the members of Key Club can further contribute to the community, as well build good moral values. The members of Kiwanis were once members of Key Club, and learning from older, more experienced people is always a gift to be appreciated. Again, no matter how unsatisfying the results may be, there are always certain benefits.

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR Hi guys! To some of you I’d like to say welcome back and to others I’d like to say just welcome. As your current Public Editor I’m in charge of these newsletters and I’ve decided to use them as a direct connection to the club.

Though there was already an article about how I joined Key Club, I’d like to tell you all the story of how I became Editor. SeeI was the last member to join the official board, becausethe first time I ran for the Editor position, I lost. My defeat did nothing but make me want to be a member of the board with greater intensity, I was determined, I would be on the board whether anyone liked it or not.

At least that’s what I thought, however, the day of re-elections for Editor, it suddenly hit me that I was running for a position that I had already lost to someone else, what happens if I lose it again?

Thankfully though, I realized this right before my name was called to give my

speech, which was too late to chicken out.

So I gritted my teeth, went up said my speech, answered questions which were thrown at me and walked out of that room feeling numb and restless throughout the whole thing.

Five minutes later I walked back into the room to see my name circled on the board with a dark black circle. Wow I thought to myself, I did it, I actually did it.

With that in mind I want to tell you all to keep trying, that even if you fail once, try again …if it’s meant to work out, don’t lose faith that it will.

So glad to have you all with us in this new Key Club year! Let’s make it a great one.

KEY CLUB WEBSITE: BXSCIKEYCLUB.WEEBLY.COM