January 2020 Newsletter

January 2020 | Vol 19, Issue 9

NEW YEAR, NEW MEMORIES

Key Club International | CNH District | Region 3 Division 30 South | Oxford Academy Key Club

TABLE TABLE OF OF CONTENTS CONTENTS

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CONCLAVE 2019 7-8 EDITOR’S NOTE 4

1

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

DECEMBER VIBES

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5-6

JANUARY CALENDAR 17 CONTACT

DEAR KEY CLUB

INFO

11-12

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HEADING INTO 2020 15-16 ROSE FLOAT DECORATING 9-10

SPREADING HOLIDAY CHEER 13-14

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PRESIDENT’S CORNER A New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had an amazing 2019 and I wish you the best in 2020!

The new year really made me realize how fast the term is passing, and in March, a new OAKC board will take over. In January, we will be holding our executive elections over three meetings and appointed board applications will go out by the end of the month. I highly recommend anyone who is interested in taking a higher position in Key Club to apply. You never know what type of opportunities will result from it!

From January 14 - 17, Key Club will also have a club refresh booth. Whether you are a senior who is looking to meet the 40 hour graduation requirement or a freshman who has heard a lot about Key Club from your friends, this is your chance to join! Spot the OAKC board dressed in full black with their yellow bow ties, and they can answer any questions you have about the club.

Finally, thank you to all the members who applied for division judging committee, district judging committee, or a division judged contest. You are amazing for taking the initiative to be active in Key Club on a larger scale. I wish you the best of luck in everything you applied for!

Tobi Yao OAKC President

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EDITOR’S NOTE It’s the 20s!

Hello, and welcome to the first newsletter of the year! I can’t believe it’s already 2020! I’ve been waiting for this year for so long, and I’m excited for what it holds in store. One thing is for sure, though, this year will be full of change. I’ll be wrapping up my final semester at Oxford and as a member of OAKC, leaving it all behind for college life. But besides changes in my own life, OAKC will be getting a new team of board members. By the time the next newsletter is out, we’ll know our new executive members (which includes the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer). I’m excited to see where this club will be headed, and regardless of the results, I know OAKC will be in good hands.

I hope this new years treats all of you well. Yes there’ll be changes (spoiler alert: there always is), but that’s just part of life. We can choose to fight the change, but in the long run, we’re depriving ourselves from the opportunity to learn and grow from new experiences. So now that we’re heading into this new decade, I want to challenge all of you to embrace the change and become the best version of yourself you can be. Afterall, there’s no better time for growth than the present.

Happy new year!

Natalie Melendez OAKC Bulletin Editor

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DECEMBER VIBES Jacquelyn Nguyen | 10 | Publicist For December, I’ll admit that I wasn’t very active in many Key Club events. Usually volunteer events occur on Saturdays, and for two out of the four Saturdays in this month I was busy. On December 7th I was attending Saturday Academy in order to get extra credit for one of my classes, and on December 21st I was volunteering with my church school in order to sing Christmas carols at nursing homes. I wasn’t busy on the 28th, but the only event that was actually on that date had a spot limit (which was all filled up before I could sign up).

I did manage to land a spot in the Rose Float Parade event, but I had to ride the bus with Cypress Key Club since I signed up rather late; it was a first come first serve thing, after all. I had volunteered at this event last year, and I was up for another day of getting to help decorate floats. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so lucky this year. Last year I was able to apply flower petals onto a float itself with a

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paintbrush covered in glue, but this year I mainly did labor work. My first task was filling up small green vials with water, as stalks of flowers would be put into the vials. That way, the flowers would stay fresh. However, that meant getting my hands soaked with water in the freezing morning. After that, a group of volunteers and I filled up about twelve buckets of water and brought it inside the warehouse in order to hold huge amounts of flowers. My last task right before my shift ended at 4:00 PM was to carry these square Styrofoam boards from one location to the next.

Although I’m quite bummed at my inactivity for this month, I’m looking forward to the new year and new events. I managed to grab a spot at the Oxford Entrance Exam on January 25th, which is also the same day as January DCM. Hopefully with a new decade comes many more opportunities to make our Key Club better and to serve our community more!

Natalie Melendez | 12| BE This month, my favorite KC memory was definitely the Christmas board party. There was food, Disney karaoke, and presents! What more could we ask for?

We all had a blast singing our hearts out and sharing laughs. But I will say my favorite part was the Secret Santa gift exchange. I got our lovely secretary Timmy, and even though he made me struggle because he wanted something “original,” I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. Timmy, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re doing so while sipping hot chocolate from your new favorite mug.

Anyways, I had a great time at our board party, and I know I’m going to miss everyone after this term is sadly over. But I also know that everyone will do an amazing job at keeping OAKC running smoothly.

Happy Holidays!

Tobi Yao | 11 | President One of my highlights this Christmas break was when we held to OAKC holiday party. At first, I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough to do, but it ended up being very enjoyable.

Almost everyone was able to attend, and everything was arranged ahead of time for those who weren’t there for Secret Santa. We had a karaoke session and it was cool to see how comfortable everyone is with each other. If we had held a party like this in the beginning of the year, it probably wouldn’t be the same. We were also able to celebrate our treasurer’s birthday. Grace turned seventeen and we all sang to her and surprised her with a brownie cake for her to blow out.

I can’t believe the term is coming to an end, but I’m happy to see how much our club and board has grown as a family. We have accomplished so much this term and I can’t wait to see what we will do in the last two and a half months :))

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CONCLAV

Helen Tran | 11 | Project Chair Conclave 2019 is truly a day to remember. After all, it marks Jennifer Vo’s birth day as LTG-elect.

In all seriousness, Conclave is the final Region 3 event of the term in which the 2020-2021 Lt. Governors of Region 3 were elected. Candidates from 4C, 4E, 4N, 4S, 4W, 30N, and 30S gather to present their speeches and answer caucus questions.

Since it was my first time attending Conclave, I was excited to see the potential within the various candidates, especially from Division 30 South. From the various speeches, I was able to gasp a greater perspective of where each division’s goals lay. It was very motivational to hear about the strenuous goals each candidate set for their divisions.

Each candidate also described how they planned on achieving each division goal, which helped me to see see the “behind the scenes” works of bringing Jennifer together each division.

LTG ELECT + OAKC

From each candidate’s speech, I learned how to speak with confidence and how to appeal to the intended audience. Professionality, straightforwardness, and relatability are a few characteristics that one may include to build a strong speech. Standing up straight, speaking loudly, and using hand gestures help to provide a casual yet professional vibe.

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What’s poppin’ OAKC! Today I am writing this see that coming, did you? Me neither. It seem tended last term’s conclave, watching the ca dedication and bravery for stepping up for s pity. The excitement and adrenaline of my vic felt the weight of the entire division get droppe ders. The ones that can’t even support my own

But I’m working on it. By the time I get on tha During that moment in which the speeches for D30S be absolutely shredded and stronger than eve candidates were given, it felt so surreal to think that I shall carry this division to new heights. Promis one of those candidates would soon be representing our division. Special congrats to Jennifer! I can’t wait to finish this term strong and to support Jennifer as she leads our division to greater success

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VE 2019

Kenny Le | 11 | Project Chair April DCM, 2019. DLT was being announced by, from what I knew of him at the time, the dude from Western who won the Christmas Ugly Sweater competition. Then, Jennifer Vo gets called up as one of the new Executive Assistants. I had no idea the significance of that decision. I did not know why Jennifer was so happy when she got called up. I did not know that Jennifer would end up being our LTG. If you’re still reading this Jennifer, congrats!!!! When I was a went to my first banquet, I had no idea who Vivian Bui was. I think it is pretty amazing that through my time at Oxford I have gotten to see two LTGs come from Oxford. But, what is even more amazing is the job that Jennifer will do as LTG!

VICE PRESIDENT

James Nguyen | 11 | Historian

The biggest event of December was, Conclave! We gathered under the auditorium of Valley High School; Vo | 11 many divisions joined us too for the main attraction, LTG DEBATES! We got to see devoted members from difarticle as your VP, EA, and LTG elect!! Didn’t ferent divisions give their amazing speeches for a ms like only a couple months ago that I at- chance to become the next LTG (for their respective andidates compete on stage, admiring their divisions that is). Though it was a pretty long event the such a huge role. Now I look at myself with speeches and caucus was insightful and the candictory only lasted for a couple minutes until I dates had great answers. Each one was very qualified ed onto my shoulders. Yes, these tiny shoul- and determined to become the LTG but only one will n weight in plank position. I am very weak. take the prize. When it came down to our division, the air got tense, suspense was slowly creeping up. BAM, at stage at DCON to be officially installed I’ll our very own JENNIFER VO OF OXFORD ACADEMY! We er. With my metaphorically massive muscles brought the LTG back to Oxford for another year with se :) much to look forward to. Besides the whole conclave part, it was also a DCM which was held briefly and quickly, nicely wrapping up the month of December.

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ROSE FLOAT DE

Rose

Tiffany Ong | 10 | Historian

When I was little, on New Year's Day, I would always watch the Rose Float Parade on TV and be amazed by the countless floats, covered with a blanket of beautiful flowers and leaves. I wondered how many people had to work on each of the HUGE floats, and how much work it must have taken to glue each and every flower on them. Luckily, I had the opportunity to witness the behind the scenes action of the Rose Float Parade.

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(Shou to tak togeth we fo trying side a ing a ward

I attended the Kiwanis Rose Float Decoration last year, and this year, I was able to experience it again! My day started off early, as I had to wake up at 4:30 to get to Savanna High School by 5:30. We got on the bus, and we were on our way to the Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale! Getting off the bus, I expected to be freezing cold, since I was DYING last year. I was ready to face the cold, with my 3 heavy layers of thick hoodies and an insulated jacket. But the weather was like any ordinary day. Compared to last year, it wasn’t even cold!

When later, ly got onto t since stantly Even bling. board scare Unfortunately, we had to wait outside to be assigned a task for the first the sc hour or so. I was excited to climb on the scaffolding and do something face m fun, but my group was assigned to tying branches of leaves together with wire. :( We worked on the Wescom Credit Union float. Time passed by very slowly while we were performing our task, but I was grateful for at Overa least contributing to the decoration of the floats and actually helping. exper so ma It was finally time for lunch, which was hot dogs, chili, and chips.

Grace Nguyen | 11 | Treasurer I woke up bright and early to get to Savanna High School by 5:30 am.

Lunch Everyone was dressed in at least three layers. I wore like 4 layers of coats soda. and 2 layers of pants and I was still freezing cold when we got to Irwindale.

Overa friend For the first half, my group and I were responsible for filling thousands of and k small vials with cold water. Unfortunately, the water was cold, and we I’m sti had to sit outside to do the task. By the time they switched us out, our fingers were freezing.

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ECORATING

decorating

utout to all the Kiwanians for making lunch for us!!) It was refreshing ke a break from getting so many splinters from tying the branches her. However, after lunch, when my group went back to our jobs, ound out that other people had taken it. So we wandered around, g to find another task, but we were eventually told to go back outand wait to be assigned a task. I was so sad waiting outside, not behelp at all, because I was so excited to help. I was so looking forto climbing on the scaffolding and actually decorating the floats.

n it was finally my group’s turn to be assigned a task almost an hour I was so thrilled. We were taken to the Trader Joe’s float, and I finalt to climb on the scaffolding, 15 feet up in the air, to glue the flowers the float! I was so scared though, and I wouldn’t stop shaking. And e there were other people on the board as well, the board was cony moving and it made my heart beat so fast and my legs shake. after a full 30 minutes sitting on the board, my legs were still trem. When it was time to get down, everyone else was standing on the d and walking normally, while I was crawling slowly and busy being ed for my life. However, even though I was terrified of climbing on caffolding, I don’t regret it for one second, and I’m so glad I chose to my fear of heights because I got an amazing experience out of it.

all, my second Kiwanis Rose Float Decorating was an unforgettable rience, as I was able to help in the decoration of the floats while alaking new friends at the event and overcoming my fear of heights :)

h was great. Kiwanis provided everyone with hotdogs, chips, and .

all, it was a great experience for me, since I got to make a new d! Thank you to Anh for taking care of all of us annoying children keeping us company. Although I couldn’t work on a float this year, ill looking forward to next year’s Rose Float Parade.

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Dear Key Club, It has been a rough year. Sophomore year hasn’t been the easiest year, both academically and personally. I’m sorry for not being as close with you as I was Freshmen year. I miss seeing you every weekend and being together for hours and hours making children’s day and installing fire alarms in senior homes.

I’m sorry for not putting you as main priority and cheating on you with homework and studies… I realized my life meant nothing even if I had good grades and a nice social life if I wasn’t as connected to you.

However I want to thank you for always sticking by my side no matter where I am and how I am feeling. There has been times when I just couldn’t come see you and there has been times where I purposely didn’t come meet you because I had other things to do.

I always think about this, but Freshmen year was easily the best year only because I was able to meet you and spend so much time with you that I grew so attached to you.

You may have not noticed, but everyday you are shaping me into a different, a better person. You help me become a more passionate person who’s willing to listen and help people who I might not even know.

Stick with me Junior year and Senior year. You are easily the highlight of my youth.

I love you <3

Claire Lee Publicist | 10

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SPREADING H Victoria Truong | 10 | Tech Chair By the time you Suns have read our articles, it’ll be the start of a new year, and a new decade, which also means that our D30S Suns will have to up our game and start off the beginning of the decade with outstanding service! Hopefully everyone has had a wonderful winter break, but let’s recap the last month of 2019 before we move on to 2020. For the month of December, I’m sure many of our fellow Key-Clubbers had been keeping the heat despite the winter cold by racking up as many hours as they could before the year ended. Maybe you were one of the several attendees of the December DCM: Conclave where our very own OAKC Vice President and Division Executive Assistant, Jennifer Vo, was born as the new LTG for the 2020-2021 term!

There were certainly many more events open to volunteers this season, but the one featured in my article today is the Polar Express Pajama Party.

The Polar Express Pajama Party (PEPP) was one of the earlier events of December, taking place at the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center on a Saturday evening of the 7th. Considering the number of sign-ups open for the event, the work was extremely light and low-key, as the only real task assigned to volunteers was to set up the crafts corner for the incoming children in order for them to further enhance their experience. There were simple things to make, such as a snowman, reindeer, and Santa Claus using a brown paper bag and construction paper, cotton balls, and glue. Volunteers were also supposed to be serving cookies and hot chocolate, but the stand with all the prepared materials and ingredients was set near the entrance for all incoming guests to self-serve.

Soon after the children got themselves settled with their new crafts and some delicious and warm food for the movie, a welcoming elderly man in a conductor’s outfit came into the lobby to announce the start of story-time and gathered in the guests. At that point, us Key-Clubbers were left to roam about and grab some snacks as well before we were also invited to watch the Polar Express movie too.

When I entered the room, I noticed that the entire area was surrounded by showcases of these towns and cities with train tracks and minifigures of people and buildings. The room was dark, and the light from the movie projection illuminated the floor where the families were laying on the blankets or sitting on the chairs watching.If you haven’t watched the Polar Express and might’ve been lost from the start about what I was referencing, here’s a quick summary of how the movie goes down. A young boy who doubts the magic of Christmas hops onto a thrilling train ride headed for the North Pole and embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. The significant item of the movie was the bells that could only be heard by those who believe, and the narrator, who was the young boy, closed off the story with a good message about believing.

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HOLIDAY CHEER When the movie ended, the conductor surprised the guests with a special visit from Santa Claus, who handed out candy canes and took photos with the guests, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Even our group had the opportunity to get a photo with olâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Saint Nick, taken by the train conductor himself, and each of us also got the candy cane with the bell attached to it.

The PEPP was a relaxing and entertaining event that helped me destress some before finals week and I would surely volunteer here again. I highly recommend it for anyone who seeks a relatively easy event and some freebies for your hard work!

Holiday Brunch: Lydia Lee | 10 | Historian As December is the month of winter events, it tends to be packed with volunteer events every week. I decided to go to Holiday Brunch during my Winter Break. Although I arrived a tiny bit late :) it was alright because the volunteers had just been standing around and waiting for instructions.

After arriving, we were told to move any cars we had parked into parking structures. Therefore, 2 friends and I followed Kenny who had drove himself to the event. It was extremely difficult to give directions to Kenny who was rather confused in the parking structure. However, after lots of bickering, we were able to find a parking space and safely returned to the volunteer zone.

We were then separated into various groups of our choosing. We were able to help at games, crafts, face paint, or present distribution. I chose to help prepare Fruit Loops and strings for the Fruit Loops necklaces.

Due to lots of miscommunication, we had to refill cups with fruit loops repeatedly. We also taped the ends of the strings so it would be easier to insert the Fruit Loops. It was tedious but fun to do and I enjoyed it. Watching the children have fun while making the necklaces was one of the best parts of the day.

However, due to a surplus of volunteers, we were urged to take a break and go eat breakfast.

The organization provided food for everyone at the event and there was a large variety of cultural foods to eat. All the volunteers enjoyed eating and bonding together but soon returned to work.

Upon returning, all of us had to help at the games. The games consisted of a bean bag toss, penguin bowling, and ring toss. The volunteers rotated throughout the games and all seemed to have fun helping, regardless of how tiring it became.

At the end of the day, there was no doubt that all of us had fun and would definitely come again next year.

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HEADING I SEPTEMBER DCM: Color Fest

Timmy Bui | 11 | Secretary

At the beginning of every year, there's always talk about New Year's Resolutions. After all, what better time is there to eliminate bad habits and make improvements than the day when the calendar resets for another cycle? This transition may be especially important for some people since it's a whole new decade altogether. So when it comes to Key Club, you could say I have some "resolutions" as the next term approaches.

Or, more like hopes and wishes. Of course, the direction that the club goes towards in the decade to follow is hardly in my hands, but I still want to try to make the best impact I can.

Among the grades below us, I'm already witnessing Key Clubbers with astoundingly bright futures, so I want to create the best environment for them where they can continue to grow past what I could ever accomplish individually myself.I hope more people will read the newsletters. I hope we can avoid problems with the school administration. I hope we can prevent volunteer droughts. I hope we can appoint the best possible board members next term. I hope more people can feel at home in this club.

The list goes on, and I'd hope to achieve as many as these as possible, but I get that a leader is limited in many ways. As a Key Clubber for 3 years and a brother of two former club presidents, I'd say that a legacy is created not just by what people remember about you, but also by what people experience because of you. Even if people won't remember what I do in the club, that's okay with me. Ever since my early start as secretary, I've been pulling strings behind the curtains that people didn't even know existed. It certainly is one of the most time-consuming positions one can find at this club and even at this whole school. And that's okay with me. Doing the dirty work is okay with me as long as it builds a better name for our club this coming decade.

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INTO 2020

Giang Nguyen | 11 | Historian After another successful month, December is finally closing up and everybody is ready to head into a new decade. The 2010s was quite an era, and an evolutionary time for most of us. To be honest, I have no idea what I expect to be waiting for us in the 2020s. Flying cars? Interplanetary travel? Back to the Future 4? I guess the world will know soon enough.

Anyway, I’m excited to see what’s in store for the new year in Key Club. As I move into my senior year for the next term, I definitely will do my best to make it my strongest term. It’s also thrilling to see many of my friends and peers becoming more involved in the club and moving up to new positions as leaders. Even though this term is far from over, I still wonder what the Key Club board for the next term will look like. On top of that, we have a new Oxford LTG in the making, which is bound to be interesting.

This December was a very satisfying conclusion and tied a nice little bow on the end of the year. With winter break, I was able to find some time to hang out with my friends in Division 30 South. One particular highlight of the month was the service event at the Muzeo Polar Express Pajama Party, in which the fun and warmth of volunteering helped remind me of why I joined Key Club in the first place. As the year draws to a close, I just want to thank Key Club again for everything that it’s done for me and thank you to all my friends on board for making it a memorable experience. Happy New Year!

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SOUND THE ALARM

BREA 8K

ENTRANCE EXAM

22 SECRETARY ELECTION

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TET PARADE

TET FESTIVAL

TET FESTIVAL

25 ENTRANCE EXAM TET FESTIVAL

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DCM

C O N T A C T

PRESIDENT | Tobi Yao tcyao2003@gmail.com VICE PRESIDENT | Jennifer Vo vojenniferv@gmail.com TREASURER | Grace Nguyen 12GNguyen22@gmail.com SECRETARY | Timmy Bui bu1timmybu1@gmail.com BULLETIN EDITOR | Natalie Melendez natalie.melendez@outlook.com TECH CHAIR | Victoria Truong victoriantruong@gmail.com PROJECT CHAIR | Kenny Le Kennl_l@outlook.com PROJECT CHAIR | Helen Tran helentran952@gmail.com HISTORIAN | Lydia Lee LHLee017@gmail.com HISTORIAN | Giang Nguyen giangadonrawr@gmail.com HISTORIAN | James Nguyen verll123@hotmail.com

U S

@oakeyclub

HISTORIAN | Tiffany Ong ongtiffy@gmail.com

Oxford Academy Key Club

PUBLICIST | Claire Lee 0128jil@gmail.com PUBLICIST | Jacquelyn Nguyen bwama123@gmail.com

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SEE YOU NEXT TIME...