Cypress Woods Key Club August Newsletter

August 2015

The official newsletter of the Cypress Woods High School Key Club.

KEY FACTS

Our Year Begins: Starting the Journey to Become the #1 Key Club in the District

IN THIS ISSUE

6

My Puzzling Personality How service has transformed a Sophomore Rep.

8

Help, Serve, and Have Fun The basic tenets of Key Club, and how they tend to change their members’ lives.

9

A Lifetime of Importance How service has been present for a Sophomore Rep’s entire life.

Volume 4, Issue 5 September 5, 2015

Contributions Articles Harini Maheswaran Will Cowden Zsofia Balogh Nirav Lalsinghani Gina Zhang Nikita Dhar

President’s Letter Leia George Photos Harini Maheswaran Kishan Solanki Nirav Lalsinghani Jordan Miller Gabrielle Welch

IN THIS ISSUE...

3 Contact Information 12 The Power of Service 4 President’s Letter 5 September at a Glance 6 My Puzzling Personality 7 One Person, Many Impacts 8 Help, Serve, and Have Fun 9 A Lifetime of Importance 10 Key Club: It’s More 11 Than Just Volunteering

2

Contact Information Cy Woods Key Club Officers PRESIDENT

HISTORIAN

REPRESENTATIVE COORDINATOR

Leia George leiageorge10@gmail. com 832-515-6928

Gina Zhang gina_zhang2008@ hotmail.com 832-773-3228

Kishan Solanki kishan.sol99@gmail. com 281-904-8652

TREASURER VICE PRESIDENT Abhinav Ashar abhinav.ashar@ hotmail.com 713474-3494

BUILDER’S CLUB REPRESENTATIVE Ashley Butterfield ashleybutterfield97@gmail. com

SECRETARY

JUNIOR SECRETARY

Sharon Zhou happysharonzh@ yahoo.com 281-346-9218

Jocelyn Yao rainbowky19971 210@gmail.com

EDITOR

Jordan Miller jmiller290@gmail. com 281-733-7616

Ashley Kawakubo akawakubo98@ hotmail.com 281-733-0959

WEBMASTER

Joshua Goodwin 713-252-9943 joshua.goodwin98@ gmail.com

Division 3N Lieutenant Governor Ian Sims Ian Sims is Division 3N’s new Lieutenant Governor. He has succeeded the past LTG, Amy Jiang, who is now one of the eleven International Trustees for Key Club International. During our last PCM in June, members from Division 3N voted on a Division Mascot, which is now a Lion, and also Division colors, which are red and yellow. Ian can be reached at 3n.iansims@ gmail.com and on the phone at 281-979-6275.

Texas-Oklahoma District Staff Governor Secretary Treasurer Editor Convention Liason Technology Producer

Rachel Iselin Crystal Loh Emily Zhao Matthew Riley Megan Reynosa

Governor@tokeyclub.com Secretary@tokeyclub.com Treasurer@tokeyclub.com Editor@tokeyclub.com cl@tokeyclub.com

Brendon Nguyen

btnguyen.kc@gmail.com

3

A letter from your

Club President D

ear fellow Key Clubbers, The 2015-2016 school year is upon us. Although it has its negatives- having homework and staying up way too late- this year also has its one great positive: the potential to have the best Key Club year yet. This year holds so much excitement, especially knowing that this year is the 10th year anniversary of Cypress Woods’ opening, which ensures so many fun events which we can help to serve. This can only happen through the help of every single member. We are going to have the best year yet.

We will be having our first meeting on September 15th in the Teaching Theater. As usual, we will be having a meeting in the morning at 6:45am and an afternoon meeting at 2:40pm. This ensures that busy members involved in other activities have the option of a morning meeting or an afternoon meeting. If you are coming to any morning meetings please try to arrive on time so we can start the meeting as soon as we possible. This year at meetings we will be trying out something new: selling food. This way if you forget breakfast in the morning you are well fed (probably with donuts), and in the afternoon if you forgot lunch we got you covered. Photo by Jordan Miller All the money we make will be going back to the club and to help with starting other service projects.

Membership forms can be found either on our Facebook page or on our new website: www.cywoodskeyclub. com. Make sure you fill out and bring all pages signed-including the medical form- along with $25(only cash) for dues by the 3rd meeting in October. All forms are to be turned in at the meetings. I hope that all members continue to join our Facebook page, since that will be updated more frequently than the website. Also please sign up for our club’s Remind 101, so I can let you know if an event has been cancelled or if there is a Double Hours opportunity on the Facebook page.

I hope everyone is as excited as I am for next year, and I also hope you are all ready to make our community a better place. I look forward to seeing you at the first meeting!

Leia George Cy-Woods Key Club President

Leia’s Laughs

A Joke of the Month from our Key Club President.

There is no “I” in Team, but there is “U” in Volunteer.

4

September Event Schedule

at a Glance

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH-12th: cy-Fair Women’s Club Shop ‘Til You Drop event at the Berry Center.

Shifts availible on the 10th, 11th, and 12th.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH: First official Key Club meeting, one meeting at 6:45AM in the Teaching Theater and one at 2:40PM after school in the Teaching Theater, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH: Wildcat Carnival, from 6PM to 10:00PM. Key Club will be hosting a Car Smash booth, be sure to come and say hi to some of your officer team.

SEPTEMBER REMINDERS New Members- Freshman Representative positions are available. Keep an eye out for information at the first General Meeting.

Reps and Officers- Remember, articles are due on the 24th at 10PM to the gmail (cywoodskeyclub@gmail. com).

Officers- The Wildcat Carnival will be held on Friday, September 18th. Be sure to sign up for a shift in order to manage the booth.

5

My Puzzling Personality How a Sophomore Rep’s Service Traits Fit Together.

Key Club has helped me embrace my inner self.

Now, Harini Maheswaran Sophomore Representative as it is my second year in this club, I see ever y moment as an opportunity to help another person. It made me think big ger; it made me realize that there is so much in this world.

Just little small things can add up to make a huge impact. I have learned so many things about the world we live in, about our community, and even about myself through ser vice.

Being a part of Key Club has changed a bit of my personality. It has opened up a different side of me; I have become more interactive with others, and I’ve started asking others if they needed help often as well. I have become a little bit more social than I was before because being involved in a club like this has helped give me a push to talk to others. I used to be really shy and I tried to keep quiet during most of my classes, but that all that changed after I started getting involved in Key Club and participating in events.

Volunteering made me realize that we as people are a small part of this world, and even though it seems like one person is incapable of

6

making a massive change, that is simply not tr ue. When we volunteer, we are like puzzle pieces that fit together to complete the picture, or in this case a project. As many people come together to volunteer, they are helping move our society and community forward to a better future. You may be still wondering how this has to do with my personality, but this is a bit big ger than that. It is what I believe in; it’s almost like my motto: One person can make a change. I can be that person. You can be that person.

Isabella Campos and Zsofia Balogh volunteer at a Tech Conference at Cy Woods. Photo by Harini Maheswaran.

Just being a part of such a massive movement like this opens your eyes. I was able to find my personality in Key Club because when people volunteer together, it doesn’t matter who they are; ever yone is the same. During events, ever yone talks to ever yone because when we volunteer we know we are making a change for the better. All of these little, confusing puzzle pieces are all qualities of myself, and fit together to for m a volunteer who hopes to continue ser vice for her entire life.

One Person, Many Impacts A Sophomore Rep Describes the Difference Service Has Made on His Character.

As the younger brother of another dedicated member of Key Club, who Wll Cowden helped Sophomore Representative lead her school to be the #1 Key Club in all of Texas and Oklahoma, it was an unspoken expectation that I would also be able to also achieve tremendous things as a Key Club officer. However, I didn’t even know what Key Club stood for as an organization until I joined Builders Club in seventh grade.

When it came time to pick my high school clubs and extracurricular organizations, it was already established that I was going to join Key Club and run for a freshman officer

Members of the Cy Woods Key Club Officer Team at an Officer Meeting during an Icebreaker. Photo by Kishan Solanki.

position, for which I was excited to get a leadership position and potentially beat my sister as the better sibling in Key Club. Yet, I was also nervous because this would put a lot of responsibility upon me during my first year of high school.

Luckily, when it came time to officer, representative, and normal meetings, Key Club was an entirely different environment compared to my imagination of these events.

I anticipated meetings being a burden upon my shoulders; either providing a ton of work or being completing useless.

Key Club is a warm, open environment that seeks to help the local community by serving and volunteering time.

As well as the meeting being an enjoyable time to look forward to, with all the icebreakers and great relationships being formed

among myself and the other representatives.

Key Club helped me make the needed transition to high school; allowing me to meet other people my age that also cared about making a difference in the community as well as creating an environment that was open to all everyone’s ideas. I now look forward to the school meetings, socials, and divisional meetings, as well as the games we play at these events.

Key Club has inspired me to create change in the community as well as taught me you can always do more to help someone out. I currently have aspirations to follow my sister’s steps in the secretary position of the Cypress Woods Key Club and to raise up the same trophy she did a few years ago as the number #1 Key Club in the Texas/ Oklahoma district.

7

Help, Serve, and Have Fun A Sophomore Rep Defines Service as it Pertains to Her Life.

Throughout the time I’ve been in Key Club, I have learned that it is simply built on three

Zsofia Balogh Sophomore Representative

important concepts: helping others, serving the community, and having fun while you’re doing it.

I consider my experience in Key Club a very important part of my life, and I want to continue being a valuable part of my community in the future. Since the beginning of my freshman year and the first club meeting that semester, I have blossomed into a better leader and a more passionate volunteer. I have learned to help the community and others with my heart leading me, instead of my head telling me to get more hours.

Though Key Club may be based

8

on volunteering, the point is also to have fun. The first time helping others really impacted me was when I was a Junior Coach for a program called Girls on the Run. I helped to coach 3rd to 5th graders at Sampson Elementary, and I truly enjoyed building confidence in these individuals and encouraging them to reach their goal of running a 5K at the end of the season. Part of the program was to do a community service project, and our group decided to collect Kool-Aid and cereal boxes for the Boys and Girls Country. It was really great seeing our group work together to help others, and in the end, we had quite a big collection of cereal and KoolAid. Overall, this experience was memorable because being a leader for these kids was really fun, and I felt like I was an important part of this program. Though this was not a Key Club based volunteering option, I really think that it helped me look at volunteering in a different

way, and how it isn’t only about the work—it is also about having fun and volunteering at places that mean something to you.

Another way my experience in Key Club has impacted me was when I went to DCON in the spring. It was really exciting to be there, and I felt like I was being rewarded for all the effort I put into volunteering. DCON taught me a lot about communicating well with others, gave me even more motivation to volunteer, and it was a great way to represent my school and meet new people.

Attending DCON really inspired me, and I think that it is why I decided to run for Key Club representative. Now that I am actually part of the Cy Woods rep team, I can combine my prior experiences and skills in a position that will shape me into an even better leader and allow me to contribute to Key Club, like how Key Club contributed to me.

A Lifetime of Importance A Junior Rep Describes the Impact of Service on His Life.

The many experiences that I have had in Key Club have impacted me greatly and have Nirav Lalsinghani helped me Junior Representative develop many of the personal attributes that I have today. I have been able to gain these qualities by helping at meetings, getting my articles in on time, and by attending DCON. These qualities will be able to help me my entire life, and will always remind me of my time in Key Club.

One of the many attributes that I have been able to improve on by being involved in Key Club is being able to manage my time. Key Club has helped me improve this attribute in numerous ways, one way being articles. I have to find time in my jam-packed schedule to sit down and write these articles. By doing this, I have been able to turn these articles in on-time or even early.

This attribute will be very important for me when I get a job in the future.

Another attribute that I have been able to develop is that I have become organized. This goes along with time management. I have to organize my schedule to where I have time to write articles, go volunteer, and do my schoolwork.

Being organized is important to anyone who wants to be successful in life. If you are not organized you will have trouble in the real world with remembering things and with doing things on time. Organization

is another attribute necessary if you are wanting to find a job. Thanks to Key Club, I now am able to be organized and do more things on time and correctly.

One of the more unique attributes that Key Club has been able to help me develop is becoming better at communicating with adults and my peers. Before joining Key Club, my communication skills were very poor and it was difficult for me to communicate with others. Key Club has changed that, it has made me a better communicator and made me more able to communicate with adults and with my fellow club representatives and club officers.

Now, I am able communicate with them all the time. For example, I

Max Zhou and Abhinav Ashar volunteering at a Tech Conference. Photo by Nirav Lalsinghani.

was able to communicate with an adult to make and plan an event. I have learned to communicate better through e-mail and through phone calls, and this skill will definitely aid me in the future in any career.

Finally and probably the most important attribute that I have acquired is confidence. Key Club has helped me gain a lot of confidence in myself. When I first joined Key Club, I was not very confident and was very shy. Key Club has helped me open up and look forward to many more opportunities that will be presented to me. So, thanks Key Club for being there and helping me grow, and thanks for the future; I’m sure all the qualities I have gained in Key Club will help me later in life.

9

Key Club: It’s More Than Just Volunteering A Senior Member of the Officer Team Explains What Key Club is to Her.

Fo r t h e past almost four years of being i n Ke y C l u b, Gina Zhang I h ave Historian encountered many different experiences and people t h a t h ave m a d e m e a b e t t e r p e r s o n t o d ay. W h e n I f i r s t e n t e r e d h i g h s ch o o l a s a n e r vo u s a n d aw k wa r d f r e s h m a n , I d i d n o t k n ow w h e r e I wo u l d f i t i n a t s u ch

a l a r g e s ch o o l , c r owd e d w i t h s t u d e n t s wa l k i n g t h r o u g h h a l l way s s h o u l d e r t o s h o u l d e r. I t wa s n o t u n t i l I d e c i d e d t o j o i n Ke y C l u b d i d I f e e l l i ke I f o u n d my p l a c e. Ke y C l u b n o t o n l y h e l p m e m a ke a t o n o f n e w f r i e n d s, b u t a l s o l e a r n n e w t h i n g s t h a t I wo u l d p r o b a b l y n o t h ave l e a r n e d a n y w h e r e e l s e.

O f c o u r s e, t h e b i g g e s t p a r t o f Ke y C l u b i s t h e vo l u n t e e r i n g t h a t we d o i n t h e c o m mu n i t y. W h e t h e r t h a t i s o u t s i d e wo r k i n g a t

Nirav Lalsinghani, Lillian Trinh, Kishan Solanki, Shivam Shah, Eba Obiomon, Will Cowden, and Anushua Mantrala play an Icebreaker at an Officer Meeting. Photo by Jordan Miller.

10

a f e s t iva l o r h e l p i n g s e t u p a b l o o d d o n a t i o n e ve n t or decorating a retirement h o m e, u s Ke y C l u b b e r s a l way s w i l l i n g l y d e d i c a t e o u r t i m e t o h e l p. I n t h i s way, Ke y C l u b t a u g h t m e h ow mu ch t h e a c t ive c o m mu n i t y a r o u n d u s needs that helping hand.

T h e r e i s a l way s s o m e w h e r e or someplace that could u s e a c o u p l e o f m o t iva t e d students to assist them.

A s Ke y C l u b b e r s, we a r e considerate of others by l o o k i n g o u t f o r t h e

g o o d n e s s o f t h e wo r l d a r o u n d u s a n d g iv i n g our time to help them.

T h e r e f o r e, Ke y C l u b has made me a more compassionate person.

A m o r e l e a d e r s h i p - l i ke ch a r a c t e r i s t i c t h a t e vo l ve d i n m e f r o m my Ke y C l u b e x p e r i e n c e s wa s t h e a b i l i t y t o c o m mu n i c a t e w i t h o t h e r s m o r e c o m f o r t a b l y. M a n y t i m e s I h ave wo r ke d a t some kind of concession s t a n d i n w h i ch I t a l k t o c u s t o m e r s a n d t a ke t h e i r o r d e r s. I n a d d i t i o n , a l m o s t a l l t h e t i m e I vo l u n t e e r I a m p a i r e d w i t h o t h e r Ke y Clubbers that I do not

k n ow. T h r o u g h t h i s, I h ave l e a r n e d h ow t o e n g a g e i n e f f e c t ive t e a m wo r k , h ow to treat customers with r e s p e c t , a n d h ow t o g e t a l o n g w i t h o t h e r s. I t h i n k wo r k i n g w i t h a l o t o f different people I do not usually talk to on a regular b a s i s h a s o p e n e d my m i n d to different personalities a n d e ve n o p e n e d my e y e s t o t h e va r i e t y. P l u s, my c o m mu n i c a t i o n s k i l l s h ave i m p r ove d q u i ck l y a f t e r wo r k i n g w i t h o t h e r s mu l t i p l e t i m e s.

L a s t l y, Ke y C l u b h a s g ive n m e c o n f i d e n c e. T h e a b i l i t y t o s ay t h a t I a m a n i n t e g r a l

part of an organization t h a t r e a ch e s t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e ve l m a ke s m e f e e l l i ke I a m p a r t of something important, a n d I a m . Ke y C l u b I n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d K i wa n i s are constantly trying to f i n d way s t o b e t t e r t h e wo r l d . T h e y h ave i n s p i r e d thousands- including methat ser vice is important to m a ke o u r g e n e r a t i o n a n d future generations a better p l a c e t o b e. B e i n g a p a r t o f t h e Ke y C l u b f a m i l y i s d e f i n i t e l y a h i g h l i g h t o f my h i g h s ch o o l c a r e e r t o l o o k b a ck o n i n t h e f u t u r e w h e n I g raduate.

11

The Power of Service

A Junior Rep Shows Her Smarts About What Service Means to the Average Person.

When one thinks of volunteering, they tend to associate the ter m with a sacrifice Nikita Dhar of endless Junior Representative hours of their time to help others and gain nothing themselves. However, this naive assumption is incredibly inaccurate. Volunteering can have a positive effect on the individual volunteering in addition to those they are helping.

Personally speaking, volunteering has had a huge impact on me since I joined Key Club during my freshman year of high school.

Over these past years, I have volunteered at tons of different places in my community- from concession stands to Easter eg g hunts. Volunteering can give one a feeling of self-worth and satisfaction that other activities cannot. Last Easter, for example, I volunteered at the local Easter eg g hunt at my community’s lap pool. My job was to help the young children getting in and out of the bouncy house. Although many people may not see this as an inspiring way to help the community, it made me feel great afterwards when the kids would come out of the bouncy house with huge smiles on their faces.

I felt proud of myself for giving part of my time to help these young children.

Further more, volunteering can have a positive effect on the individual volunteering because it makes them more productive with

12

their time. For example, many times when I volunteered at the Dyess Parks concession stands, the shifts started as early as 7 in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. Nor mally, on the weekends I have trouble waking up before noon, and by the time I have woken up, half of the day is over. However, on days when I would volunteer at the concession stands, my shift would end by noon, and I would feel much better knowing I had productively spent the first few hours of my day volunteering rather than sleeping in.

Additionally, volunteering makes us more productive in the long run. Needing to com-

Trevor Rogers, Will Cowden, Zsofia Balogh, and Eba Obiomon play an Icebreaker at an Officer Meeting. Photo by Gab Welch.

plete 25 hours per semester, at the end of the year we will have completed 50+ hours of ser vice in our communities, and having done so, we feel proud in knowing we constructively spent our time.

In conclusion, volunteering should not be seen as a chore or sacrifice of one’s time, but instead as a productive and effective way of spending one’s time. Volunteering can give an individual a feeling of self-worth and, thus, happiness. We must always take a given opportunity to volunteer at our community’s and other nearby events, as it will benefit ourselves in more ways than one.

KEY FACTS

CYPRESS WOODS HIGH SCHOOL AUGUST 2015