UNICEF MATH GAMES FOR GOOD CHALLENGE

UNICEF MATH GAMES FOR GOOD CHALLENGE x

Devanshi Kothari | 10 | Historian

This month, we had many different virtual volunteering opportunities. However, one of my favorite ones was the UNICEF’s Math for Good Challenge. In this volunteering project, we were directed to a website where we could compete in one-minute rounds and answer as many math problems as possible. For every problem, a gift of 25 cents will reach UNICEF and the money would go toward getting children to school and out of poverty. We could do as many rounds as we wanted, and the questions definitely got harder as we answered more questions. Gradually, I got the hang of the challenge and was answering more and more questions each time. By the end, I had earned about a hundred dollars for charity and had a lot of fun doing it! This was an enjoyable and memorable event that I think helped me sharpen my mind and get even better at mental math as well as support children who face obstacles when trying to obtain an education. I hope we can continue to this event and hope we earn even more money for these children struggling to get an education because of countless obstacles and hurdles. Competing with friends and just dusting off those mental math skills are some other reasons why this event was so satisfying, instructional, and helpful. Additionally, we are all in quarantine and spend so much time at home so why not use your spare time benefiting children and helping them out with an education they deserve? I encourage everyone to do this math challenge in your free time because this event helped me work my mind during summer break when I haven’t done mental math for a long time and to help those children out there who don’t have the same opportunities as us. In all, I am happy and satisfied that I got to help so many children around the globe get an equal opportunity towards education and get themselves out of poverty by my choice of spending just a few hours answering simple math problems. It is really not that hard!

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Ryan Dang | 11 | Historian

With school having ended a while back ago, it was really relieving to be finished with AP testing. I could finally say, “I can finally take a break!” But, I didn’t because immediately after I had to worry about my summer classes, next year’s courses, the SAT! Life was just bogging me down with tons and tons of work again. And so, with not much control over my summer, I began to slave away at my work. Summer wasn’t looking like I was going to have the greatest of times, but fortunately, Key Club helped create a lot of enjoyable moments during my times of misery. With school starting in 2 weeks, give or take a few days, I found myself enjoying the thrill of working through playing the UNICEF Math Game For Food Challenge. The challenge was really enjoyable as it was in relation to a subject that I enjoy a lot. Doing these problems wasn’t only a way for me to relieve stress and have fun, that doesn’t matter as much, but what does matter is that I was also able to raise money for those less fortunate than me. This service project is like a double whammy! I had a great time answering questions before the timer reached zero, while also raising money for every correct answer I get right. The service project was really motivating, and it had me sucked in for hours. Though the moments Key Club gave me over the summer might seem small, it meant a great amount to me that OAKC was my shining sun during the dark summer days, a bit ironic I know!

Claire Lee | 11 | Project Chair

Oxford Academy held Environmental Awareness Service Week from July 27th to the 31st that helped spread environmental awareness through various activities. Since my partner and I are project chairs for this term, we had a pretty long conversation regarding which activities to focus on for this week that didn’t include too many projects that included apps since we always included those. We wanted to pick more hands-on activities, so we decided to do a recycling project, a nature clean up, and a project where people were able to create graphics and publicize using their social media platforms. I participated through the nature clean up activity with one of my friends. Through this activity, I was able to realize how important it is for us to clean up after our own city. For our next service week, my partner and I will try to find more hands-on activities for our members :).

AWARE NESS

WEEK

CHANGING OPINIONS 101

Kenny Le | 12 | Vice President

25 days ago, Timmy forwarded an email from Douglas Gin, Key Club Administrator for the CNH District, to our executive board. Detailing Key Club International’s commitment towards eradicating “racial inequality and injustice” while also describing the reasons why Key Clubs could not expressly support the “Black Lives Matter” organized movement, Gin encouraged us to pursue “educational live streams and webinars”. So, of course, I immediately went in the direction of finding impactful local speakers, and lo and behold, I found the Thurgood Marshall Bar Association—the only Black Bar Association in Orange County. I cold emailed them, honestly not expecting a response, but they quickly communicated back to me. After a process sometimes marred by misunderstandings, miscommunication, red tape, and disagreements, yet at the same time incredibly useful and enlightening to me, this webinar finally happened. In summary of the webinar, lawyers Michele Bell and Ray Jones first went through the history of racial injustice in America. They described how the United States’ racist past has heavily contributed to the current inequities between Black communities and White communities in America. With policies that have barred Black Americans from having the resources to pass down generational wealth as easily as other groups, education, healthcare, and the criminal justice system have all disproportionately negatively affected Black people. The criminal justice system itself faces problems regarding “implicit bias”. Because juries and judges are predominantly comprised of non-Black people, their interpretation of the attendant circumstances regarding a Black case is incredibly skewed. Near the end, in response to a student’s question, they talked about their own lives. In their own words, people have told Michele “Can I touch your hair? You speak so well,” and a judge told Ray that he “Needed to stop making those faces.”

D30S X D13S PENPALS

Giang Nguyen | 12 | Tech Editor

Ever since my first Fall Rally South, I have viewed the Division 13 South Ninjas with nothing but respect and admiration. In the days leading up to that event, our division worked hard to win the spirit stick and triumph over all opposition at the rally session. It was a hard-fought battle, but in the end, our spirit shined above the rest and we held the spirit stick high in our hands. With the strength in our bodies and the pride in our hearts, we thought that our spirit was unparalleled by any other division. That is, until we encountered the Ninjas in the streets of Six Flags Magic Mountain. Another division as grand as ours, boasting a spirit stick from a separate rally session, carrying voices as powerful as our own. They were a worthy adversary. Battles were fought. Tears were shed. Lives were nearly lost. On that fated day, I knew that the Division 13 South Ninjas were the true rivals to the Suns. We were to engage in spirit battles until the end of time. It was our destiny. Anyway, we recently had a little pen pals event. I signed up thinking that I couldn’t possibly pass up a chance to meet a Ninja and talk to them. Staying at home all day during quarantine has also been a cause for loneliness, I suppose. And who wouldn’t want to make new friends? It’s always exciting to get to know someone, especially when they are a member of the esteemed Division 13 South. This was my first time participating in a pen pals event, and it wasn’t bad! I didn’t have much to say about myself at first when getting matched, but it didn’t seem to matter. My pen pal and I shared interesting conversations, and I was able to learn a lot about their role in Key Club and how their division works. We also talked about our lives outside of Key Club, and shared some sentiments over how boring quarantine has been. I’m not exactly the type of social butterfly that goes out of their way to make conversations with strangers, so it really feels great to have someone new to talk to. Overall, this pen pals event has been a positive experience for me, as I’m sure it has been for many of the people who participated. I call it a success!