Cypress Woods Key Club November Newsletter

November 2015

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

KEY FACTS

A December to Remember: Serving this Winter

IN THIS ISSUE

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Fundraising for Unicef The Impact our club has made in fundraising for ELIMINATE.

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How to Be the Best Advice on how to make the T-O Top 25 from a Junior Representative.

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The Lighthouse of Houston A Junior Representative experience at a center for the blind.

Volume 4, Issue 8 December 5, 2015

CONTRIBUTIONS Articles Gabrielle Welch Anushua Mantrala Nikita Dhar Sharon Zhou Gina Zhang

Officer Letters Leia George Jordan Miller Photos Cara Lucker Nikita Dhar

CONTACT INFORMATION Cy Woods Key Club Officers PRESIDENT

3 Contact Information 4 President’s Letter 5 Editor’s Letter 6 December at a Glance 7 Fundraising for UNICEF 8 How to Be the Best 9 The Lighthouse of Houston 10 A Nutty Idea 11 Spreading Holiday Cheer

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

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

TREASURER VICE PRESIDENT

IN THIS ISSUE...

HISTORIAN

REPRESENTATIVE COORDINATOR

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

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 281-733-0959N

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 Lily Nguyen 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

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A letter from your

A letter from your

Club President Club Editor D

ear fellow Key Clubbers,

The holiday season has finally arrived! This signifies two things: finals and Christmas. I am definitely excited for the latter, not so much finals. With the end of the semester comes deadlines, thus turning in all of your hours must be a priority. This way you will receive all the credit you deserve for volunteering for our community. Remember to continue and check the database and email any discrepancies to the Gmail. The officer team or I will respond as quickly as we possibly can, just give us a few days if we don’t respond before sending another email, and we will fix all of the issues.

Recently we just had our karaoke night, a fundraiser planned by our treasurer Jocelyn Yao, and Representatives Eba Obiomon, Nirav Lalsinghani, and Cara Lucker who were able to create an event where members and students could come and sing, they could also nominate a friend to sing for $1 and $2 for teachers to sing. It was a great night, we had friends nominating each other left and right. We also had our sponsor Mr. Kent sing which was a real treat. We had songs ranging from the classic Sound of Music to Frozen’s duet Do You Want to Build a Snowman? (which was sang beautifully by our vice president and a member). I want to give an especially big shout out to all the members who Photo by Jordan Miller came out on our busy Friday night to help save babies and their mother’s.

We also had our Key Club Winter Social where we made dog toys and care packages. Not only did we have our 200 t-shirts donated but we assembled over 50 care packages! We would like to say thanks to all the member who brought donations and supplies for both service projects. We will be sending all of these items before the holidays so little puppies and kittens will have toys inside their cold kennels, and the care packages will be given out to the homeless who may not be receiving any presents for Christmas.

Lastly remember we still have a month to keep volunteering so let’s end this year with a bang wildcats. Keep volunteering and helping out our community, we are super proud of the service that has happened over the course of the last few months. See you all very soon!

Yours in Service,

Leia’s Laughs A Joke of the Month from our Key Club President.

What kind of math to Snowy Owls like?

Owlgebra.

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D

ear fellow Key Clubbers, I am very impressed by the qualiy of articles this month,

and this month’s Article of the Month goes to Sharon Zhou. Zhou will not have to write an article next month. If you would like to participate in next month’s Article of the Month contest, please see my post on the Cy Woods Key Club Facebook page for details and specifics on what to write. Also, with this upcoming month being December, there are an abundance of events that are holiday-themed that are going on- which would be great topics to write articles on for a chance to win the next Article of the Month contest.

Last month’s induction of the Photo Contest was very successful, so I am proud to announce that we will continue the contest. This month’s Photo of the Month goes to Sharon Zhou also! Congratulations to her, and I encourge all Key Clubbers and Officers to participate in this contest.

Reps and Officers, please check out this month’s upcoming socials and special events and take pictures at those events. These photos will be very beneficial in next month’s newsletter. Also, if any general members would like to write an article for this newsletter please email me at jmiller290@ gmail.com, I would love to hear from you and see what you have to write!

Photo by Jordan Miller

Yours in Service,

L A U N AN

PHOTO

GUIDELINES IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR PHOTO OF THE MONTH, PICTURES MUST: - BE GOOD QUALITY (NOT BLURRY IN ANY WAY) - HAVE A CAPTION AS WELL AS WHO IS PICTURED -RELATE TO KEY CLUB

CONTEST

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December Event Schedule

A Junior Rep Describes What UNICEF Fundraising Means to Her.

at a Glance

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4TH: Karaoke Night is taking place at Cy Woods. Teachers will be singing whatever song you want for $1, and all of the proceeds will go to the ELIMINATE project.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH: Concession shifts available from 4PM-6PM and 6PM-8PM at the Cy Woods gyms.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12TH: Concessions shifts available all day for Cy Woods Wrestling matches, check the Cy Woods Key Club signupgenius for more information.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH: Concessions shifts are available from 4:20PM-6:45PM at the Goodson Basketball gyms, please bring an hours form to the concession to recieve hours.

DECEMBER REMINDERS New Reps- Please attend the morning meeting on Wednesday, December 9th in Mr. Kent’s room.

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

Members- Remember, hours are due by finals week (Dec. 14) so be sure you get all 25 hours to continue your membership in Key Club this year.

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Fundraising for UNICEF Gabrielle Welch

Junior Representative

During the month of October and the beginning of November, Cypress Woods Key C l u b

participated in the fundraiser known as Trick or Treat for UNICEF. This is a fundraiser that raises money to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. Cypress Woods Key Club collected $700.03 through this fundraiser. Participants received little orange boxes with a slot for coins.

Each person fills their assigned box with coins that will be donated to the foundation that is dedicated to providing life- saving healthcare to those in third world countries. There are many different ways one can collect money to give to the project, and I got creative in finding ways to fill my box.

When I received my little orange box, I had to brainstorm ways to fill the box. When I first got home I unfolded the box and sat it on my desk. Next, I swept my hand over the desk collecting a few small coins that were lingering there. A few coins rattled around in the bottom of the orange box. Next, I asked my parents if they would donate a few extra coins to the Trick or Treat project.

I described this project to them in detail. A few more coins were added to the others in the bottom of the box. Then, I waited until Halloween night. I knew I was going to visit friends for the night so I grabbed my box to collect more change for the

project. When I went to my friends’ house, I introduced the project to my friends and almost all of them wanted to donate to the great cause. Soon, the box was full of change ready to be donated to the project. All that was left was to return the box to school to be counted and donated.

Each box one collects helps those in need around the world.

Many people within the club refilled their boxes with more coins to donate after they had filled the box once.

These Key Clubbers were dedicated to the cause of eliminating tetanus from all countries around the world.

Many people used different tactics to collect money like me, and some even went door to door to collect change on Halloween night. Others collected right on the grounds of Cypress Woods High School, asking for change from all of their teacher and classmates.

The fundraiser of Trick or Treat for UNICEF really helped members of Cypress Woods Key Club to realize how big of a change they can actually make, and raised a huge amount of money for a great cause in doing so.

Children from the Spillane Middle School Builders Club participating inan Icebreaker with Cy Woods Key Clubbers. Photo by Cara Lucker.

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How to be the Best

A Junior Representative Explains How to be Ranked Among the Top 25 Clubs.

A spot in the T-O district’s Top 25 Clubs is a position that signifies how members of your club do hard work Anushua Mantrala and have Junior Representativeloving hearts that are always thinking of service. The objectives to achieve a spot include doing creative service projects, having tons of community service events and participation, the arranging of socials, and so much more.

One of my favorite parts of Key Club is the activity of service projects. The key to picking which service project is figuring out something that everyone can participate in while still causing a significant impact. So, when inventing and researching a service project to do, keep that in mind. Another objective for service projects is to make sure the group doing the project is always armed with the right supplies. The more the supplies, the more the productivity,

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and the more of an impact on the cause.

The amount projects produced and the amount of people participating are all important factors in the point system that Key Club uses to rank clubs from top to bottom.

Another great aspect of Key Club is the events one can be a part of. It is very important for a club to have various different events for which the member can volunteer at! The more the events, the more the volunteering going on.

Also, having a variety of events keeps the member interested and motivated to sign up for events, and as a result, he or she will have more experience and have new impacts on others. The amount of events and the participation amount is a vital component to the ranking of clubs.

It is an absolute must that a Key Club maintains a high member-to-volunteer hours ratio. This calls for many community involvement events and extremely active members.

A fun aspect of Key Club is the exciting socials a group can be a part of to interact with members of other Key

Clubs in the area. The social component not only enables one to become friends with extraordinary people, but is also a great opportunity to network with other Key Clubs which can result to potential service events, service projects, and advice to better each other’s clubs. Socials can lead to great club development and the development of events that will greatly improve the community, just through the power of communication. Socials count towards the point system when at least 4 members from a certain club are present.

Don’t let that criteria limit one from inviting the whole club, because the greater the amount of people, the more ideas and that equals more collaborating.

The concept of being on the Top 25 list is a very grand honor. Remember to always use the existence of the list has a motivation to improve the club, but not as a sole focus.

It’s always important to not lose sight of the focus of helping out and being a good person, and always remember you’re not competing for a spot- you’re tr ying to better your community

The Lighthouse of Houston A Junior Representative’s Experience at a Center for the Blind.

T h i s semester I volunteered at the Lighthouse of Houston for the blind, and Nikita Dhar it was by far Junior Representative my favorite volunteering opportunity all year.

At the Lighthouse of Houston, I was able to interact with and help with activities for blind people of all ages. The Lighthouse of Houston serves as a day camp for people struggling with little to no vision of all ages, and it is a good way to keep blind people active all day.

At the Lighthouse we began by interacting with the blind people, and many of them shared their stories of how they lost their sight and the adjustments they have had to make in their lives as a result of the loss. Hearing the stories was a very inspiring and enlightening experience as I learned how fortunate I really am, and how my problems are miniscule in comparison to the problems of the people I met.

Contrary to what I thought, however, blind people are capable of tons of activities from playing bingo to painting. My experience with these activities began by playing bingo. The bingo boards had braille on the top of them, which the blind people were able to read by touch, so whenever the head of the camp read the numbers, the players would feel the board to see if they had the number

that was called. Some of the people did not know how to read braille, so the other volunteers and I would let the person know if they had the number or not on their board. This experience of volunteering made me feel as if I was truly helping to make a difference in their lives.

A f t e r wa r d s, we helped the blind people paint o r n a m e n t s. S u r p r i s i n g l y, t h e b l i n d p e o p l e we r e h i g h l y capable of painting, but the o t h e r vo l u n t e e r s a n d I wa l ke d around the room letting the b l i n d p e o p l e k n ow i f t h e y missed a spot or needed to add another coat.

Wo r k i n g a t t h e L i g h t h o u s e of Houston and helping

Key Clubbers making Christmas Cards for hospitalized children at the last Key Club meeting. Photo by Nikita Dhar.

the blind people do these va r i o u s t a s k s a n d a c t iv i t i e s made me feel extremely good a b o u t my s e l f, a s I k n e w I wa s m a k i n g a d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e l ive s o f t h e s e p e o p l e.

M a n y t i m e s we t h i n k o u r p r o b l e m s a r e h u g e, b u t w h e n we p u t o u r p r o b l e m s i n t o p e r s p e c t ive, we r e a l i z e h ow f o r t u n a t e we a c t u a l l y a r e. M y e x p e r i e n c e o f vo l u n t e e r i n g a t the Lighthouse of Houston t a u g h t m e a l o t h ow b l i n d people are able to go past their disability to function i n d a i l y l i f e, a n d I a m t r u l y b l e s s e d t o h ave e x p e r i e n c e d wo r k i n g t h e r e.

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SPREADING HOLIDAY CHEER

A Nutty Idea

Our Secretary Explains her Inspiration for our PB&J War. It started with an idea. Sitting under the hot July sun with my fellow officers, I racked my brain for Sharon Zhou an idea for a Secretary service project that our club could do in the upcoming school year. I suddenly recalled that a few years ago, two local middle schools had engaged in a school-wide Peanut Butter and Jelly War, competing to see who could collect the most peanut butter and jelly jars.

“What about a Peanut Butter and Jelly War?” I blurted out. “We could donate everything to a food pantry, plus it would help with Lieutenant Governor Ian Sims’ Divisional Project to fight local hunger.” All of the other officers smiled and expressed support for the idea. As I jotted the idea down into the meeting notes, I never expected what would happen a few months later.

After school started, there were the usual beginning-of-the-year duties to take care of.

However, by mid-September, our officer team was starting to plan the fall semester in detail. As we had one of our officer meetings, someone brought up the peanut butter and jelly war again. After getting full and enthusiastic approval from our club sponsor, I stepped up to lead the Peanut Butter and Jelly War Committee, knowing that there were going to be challenges up ahead, but eager to take them head on.

In early October, I researched food pantries that we could donate all of our collections to and decided on Cypress Assistance Ministries, or CAM, a smaller food pantry that helped out local families in need. At the same time, I needed to find who was going to collect the jelly to our peanut butter. A quick search as to when our football team was playing our rival school found that the date fit perfectly into

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whenthedrivewasscheduled.Thecommittee decided to use the big game as motivation for the students to donate, encouraging them to beat the school both on and off the field. A few emails later, everything was ready to go, with CAM excited to receive the donations, and Cy-Fair High School ready to battle.

With my committee, we printed out flyers and made posters to put up around the school advertising our drive. The event got on the morning and lunch announcements, and even some of the teachers participated.

The first few days of the two week drive were the most nerve-racking: after two whole days, there were only 4 jars of peanut butter in the donation boxes. All of the worries that I had been trying to put off came flooding in. What if no one donated peanut butter? What if we lost? What if the custodians saw the empty donation boxes and thought they were trash and threw them away? What if, what if, what if?

It turns out I worried for nothing. Within the week, as word got out about the drive, jars of peanut butter came flooding in. The boxes were soon filled to the brim, especially after the football team beat Cy-Fair in the big game. The more jars of peanut butter we had, the more it seemed to motivate the students to bring more.

After the last day of the drive, the committee and a few other officers stayed after school to help pack the peanut butter into cars to be taken to the food pantry. As the jars made their way into the vehicles one by one, officers counted how many jars there were. 15 minutes later, with everyone helping, the final count was announced: 447 jars of peanut butter, far more than Cy-Fair’s total count of 97 jars of jelly.

Lookingbackonthosewhirlwindfewweeks,I am amazed at everything that happened. With the help of my committee members and the support of our club sponsor, president, and the school administration, a simple idea that

Our Historian Describes How to Capitalize on the Holiday Season with Service. originated during a summer officer meeting resulted in 447 tangible jars of peanut butter.

That means helping a countless number of families and individuals in the Cypress area. In July, it seemed like I just had an idea with an unattainable goal; I had no clue where or how to even start organizing such a large interschool event. But by the end of October, along with my committee, I had achieved great results.

And it all started with a nutty idea.

The holidays are finally h e r e .

Spending time with family, f r i e n d s, hanging up Gina Zhang the tree, Historian eating a big Thanksgiving meal, and buying presents may all be on your list, but what should also be on our minds are the ones who cannot fully enjoy this holiday season.

The holidays are all about cheer and spirit, and as Key Clubbers we can help spread that to many little and older people who do not have much during this time.

Service projects are a great way to give our time others so we are able to experience good feelings of generosity, and at the same time spread the holiday cheer of the winter season.

A service project that is great to do around neighborhoods is called Random Acts of Kindness, in which Key Clubbers help out their neighbors and people in the community around themwith the expectation of nothing in return. If you have an elderly neighbor, shovel their driveway or rake the leaves in their front yard for them. Bring cookie or thank you cards to your local fireman, police, or librarians. Get together with friends and make care kits for the homeless that include a granola bar, a bottle of water, and a small gift card to a local pharmacy. These service projects

are relatively easy and require little time/effort for those very busy during the holidays.

Another service project to do as a whole Key Club is making blankets. It requires no sewing or prior fabric making experience, so it is a great project for everyone.

You basically take two pieces of fleece, putting one on top off the other, and then cut fringes around the edges. Next you knot the fringes to make a nice, plush blanket. Making blankets can be done at a general meeting or at a holiday social at your school.

These blankets can be dropped off at local animal shelters or homeless shelters, guaranteeing that those around us will stay warm this winter season.

A third service project to do around the community is hosting a hot chocolate or cider stand and donating the proceeds to charity.

Key Clubbers can donate packets of hot chocolate or cider and set up a stand outside a local mall or grocery store. As people walk by, Key Clubbers can inform them of how we are raising money for a good cause.

Though doing service projects during the winter does take time out of many important activities, like studying for finals, preparing for the SATs or ACTs (I’m looking at you, upperclassmen!), or just getting holiday errands done, these projects contribute greatly to those around you- and help to spread the cheer and joy that the holiday season is all about.

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KEY FACTS

CYPRESS WOODS HIGH SCHOOL NOVEMBER 2015