September 2020 Newsletter

VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 5

THE MONTHLY SUNSHINE

sept 2020

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS 04 05 06 08 09 11 12 14 16 PRESIDENT’S CORNER | EDITOR’S NOTE UPDATES

CALENDAR

KIWANIS BACKPACK DISTRIBUTION HOW KEY CLUB CONTINUES TO SERVE

CHARITY MILES | THE INNOCENCE PROJECT VIRTUAL SOCIALS | SENIOR YEAR

WKC X OA X SKC SOCIAL GOT A QUESTION? CONTACT US!

Hi, friends! Now that we’re seeking official membership from the Oxford population, let’s talk about dues payments! To become an official member, there is a $12 fee at Oxford Academy. Why $12? Quite a specific number, indeed. How about we break it down?

Seven of these dollars goes to Key Club International. Administrative efforts aren’t free, so this money contributes to a part of their board budget. Without this aid, Key Club International wouldn’t be able to provide the amazing conventions or recognition awards that it does. Next, there’s CNH Key Club. A juggernaut of districts, this tri-state board uses $4.50 for its own budget. Despite taking only four and a half dollars from each member, CNH manages to deliver scholarships, conventions, and awards from its limited pocket. DCON and other events would be much more expensive if they didn’t have all of its wonderful members backing it up! Finally, half a dollar goes to Oxford Academy. What’s it for? You guessed it, PTP! We don’t keep any of the dues payment profit because we donate it straight to charity!

All in all, the $12 membership fee is a small price to pay for the experiences we get to have within this organization. Our leaders function off of nothing more than their very members!

Timmy Bui

Timmy Bui OAKC President

Hello, by the time that you are reading this, it’s probably a quarter into the school year and half a term has flew by. New members are rolling in right after Club Rush, which by the way, was pretty successful, considering that it was virtual. Of course, don’t forget to pay your dues and if you forgot the importance of that, just read the article above this one.

I hope that your day is going well and that school hasn’t made you too tired. Making the most of this term, don’t be afraid to come to the DCMs and socials. Meeting new people virtually may sound awkward, but I promise that it’s not that bad. If it makes you feel better, you can pull up in your pajamas and attend events in the comfort of your own home. Events has never been more convenient, so take advantage of it :) Other than that, I don’t have much else to say.

Have a good evening and I’ll see you in the next newsletter!

Warm regards,

Christina Nguyen

Christina Nguyen OAKC Bulletin Editor

UPDATES| 5

SERVICE HOURS

PTP FUNDS 105.4%

33.1%

5904.75/5600

496/1500

AUGUST 3RD SHINING CLUB OF THE MONTH

AUGUST CLUB MEMBER

INSERT

OF THE MONTH

PICTURE

JEFFERSON TRUONG

6 | CALENDAR

SEPTEMBE SUN

6

MON

7

TUE

WED

1

2

3

8

9

10

Minecraft Game Night Fundraiser

13

THU

Mental Health Act

14

15

16

17

Mental Health Activity Self Care Club Rush

CNH Recognition Webinar

20

21

22

23

24

Division Self Care Service Week

General Me

27 OA x Cypress Movie Night

28

29

30

ER

U

WARNING: EVENTS MAY OR MAY NOT APPEAR ON CALENDAR 6: Minecraft Game Night Fundraiser 1-29: Charity Miles

FRI

SAT

1-29: Color-A-Smile 8-20: Mental Health Activity Self Care 13: CNH Recognition Webinar

4

5

14-18: Club Rush 19: September DCM 21-25: Division Self Care Service Week 27: OA x Cypress Movie Night

11

12

tivity Self Care

eeting

1-29: Beanbeanbean

October DCM WHEN: September 17 WHERE: Zoom

18

TIME: TBH

19

September DCM

Division Merchandise RELEASE: October 1 25

26

MORE INFO IN THE

ORDER FORM

N/A

8 | KIWANIS BACKPACK DISTRIBUTION

KIWANIS BACKPACK DISTRIBUTI Timmy Bui | 12 | President

Yet again, our Kiwanis family asked us to help out with a supplies distribution for disadvantaged kids who are starting school, so we delivered. Six students from Oxford Academy came to help out with the proper mask protection. It was actually a fairly sunny morning, but that didn’t matter to us.

We were enjoying our rare, precious moment at an inperson event, conversing about summer, school, and whatnot.

In each backpack were notebooks, paper, and folders. Definitely reminds me of what I still need to get this fall semester! Who knew they were still necessary for virtual learning!

Also in each backpack were papers with Kiwanis meeting details on them. Quite interesting, it appears like they’re instilling the Kiwanis spirit into these families early on, trying to recruit those kids at a young age!

Claire Lee | 11 | In the beginning of given the opportun Distribution at Swa opportunity that isn stantaneously agre met up with other such as pencils, pe books in roughly 50 around two hours. event as well. Atten ry once in a while r love for Key Club in that was so enjoya unteer with my fell

ION

Project Chair f August, the board members were nity by Kiwanis to attend a Backpack ain Elementary. Because this was an n’t common during quarantine, I ineed to attend this volunteer event. We people from our division to put items encil sharpeners, and different note00 backpacks, and the event lasted for Last month, I attended one in-person nding volunteer events in real life evereminds me of the reason why I grew n the first place. This was an event able, and I loved that I was able to vollow Key Club friends :D

Kenneth Nguyen | 10 | Publicist

It has been 6 months since March, the month when quarantine started. We have almost been through half of the term and we have been in quarantine all this time. However, quarantine didn’t stop Key Club all around the world. Key Club continued all of their events, as well as created new and interactive events that members can participate in. Unlike many other clubs, Key Club hosted meetings as well as international events. We were able to serve hundreds of hours from online service projects, such as Charity Miles & from writing letters. Everyone in Key Club was able to adapt to the pandemic and quarantine, and quickly found a solution. First was Key Club International Leadership Conference. The substitute for ICON/International Convention, Key Club International Board was able to plan out an international event where the new Int Board could be chosen, as well as train members and board members of the roles of the district executive board and how to be a leader. Secondly, we had online DCMs! In these DCMs, we were able to learn about the new announcements, as well as bond with other members in the division as well as other divisions in OTC & in the D30 the Explorer DCM!! Over the past few months, we also had a few meetings, such as a general meeting with Kathy Kendrick & Le Bui, and also another meeting with black lawyers at a law firm discussing about how race impacts the justice system. These meetings are very unique, with different types of special guests. Finally, we have the division and OAKC events. Although many of the events are done once or twice a month, it allows us to still be able to serve the community. Charity Miles is a very popular event, which allows members to be able to exercise in quarantine as well as donate to charity. Many of our members and board members continue to serve and help the community despite these circumstances, and I hope all of you continue to star serving our Key Club events! Let’s hope that these circumstances get better and we are able to serve in-person events! Fall Rally South was also postponed into April, so attend it if it happens!

HOW KEY CLUB CONTINUES TO SERVE

CHARITY MILES Ryan Dang | 11 | Historian

Growing up, biking has always been an activity I really enjoy doing. It feels really satisfying when I’m finally able to leave the house and just bike around my neighborhood or to school. When I bike, I feel extremely relaxed and all of my worries seem to fade away. Additionally, with the Charity Miles event, I’m really glad that I have the opportunity to bike around and help my community at the same time.

Over the weekend, I was able to get out of the house with others and just bike to a lot of different empty parks and hang out, with face masks of course! It was a really enjoyable time, and I was able to bike 7 miles for charity! Imagine that, I was able to have fun AND help those around me. What a steal! I’m really glad that Charity Miles is an offered volunteer event and I hope that it continues to be because it’s really motivational for me, who doesn’t like exercising that much, to be able to take something that’s relaxing like biking and being able to raise money for a healthy cause. I really appreciate all of Key Club’s hard work in trying to find volunteer events that anyone can just easily fit in their schedule. Even though it sucks not being able to meet in person and volunteering with other people, it’s really motivating to see that I can at least have multiple ways to help my community!

THE INNO Lance Sahagun | 12 | Treasurer

The motto of Key Club International is: have active in this club for the past 3 ye unteering experiences I’ve had, from ex small scale carnivals for children, from tions, and 5k marathons, I have never lective put into our community goes wit spirit. There are times when you can ob club just for the college applications or volunteer hour requirement. Maybe som have no other way to spend their weeke this club, I can say that Key Club foster powerment within its members, whethe With respect to our preferred charities, inability to truly describe how I felt in te form. Initially, I felt uncomfortable ques or under-utilize our ability to make stat looking through the recently released C Guide and announcement, I felt that we lending our support to marginalized com our comfort zone. The Innocence Projec most, not solely because of the work th active nature of their efforts towards pr onerees, and education of unrightful ma stand*9+ the limits imposed on our clu and outreach. I was hesitant in the first

THE INNOCENCE PROJECT| 11

OCENCE PROJECT

“Caring: Our Way of Life.” I ears, and from the many volxtensive cultural festivals to beach cleanups, food distribufelt that the work we as a colthout a collective heart and bviously identify who is in this the resume or the expected me people are just bored and end. Whatever draws us to rs a spirit of action and emer they realize it or not.

I began to reflect on my own erms of our impact and platstioning how we may misuse tements larger than us. Upon CNH District BLM Information e must begin somewhere in mmunities and people beyond ct piqued my interest the hey do in exoneration, but the rison reform, support to exass incarceration. I underub in terms of our advocacy t place to even bring forward

this idea out of fear that it would be taken as performative activism or reputation building, a means to address trending issues in order to remain relevant to an audience that doesn’t truly care. I know in my heart that this event extends beyond the surface level nature of simply donating to a relevant cause. My main goal with this fundraiser was to begin this conversation, to stand true to the inclusivity of which our club so proudly proclaims time and time again, to truly say that caring is our way of life.

This should not be an issue of debate. All lives cannot matter until black lives do. This should not remain as a matter of politics, of toxic social media flame wars, of the inability to have civil discourse. Yet, I am in no right to tell you how you should feel or respond. This is simply giving you a choice, a perspective worth thinking about and applying to your own life. Looking forward, I hope to continue to use my term as your Treasurer to make sure these issues are not only addressed but are rather treated with the sensitivity and direct impact they deserve to the best of my ability. If there is one thing I’d want most for my future Treasurers to take to heart, it would be to use their unique position to not ignore nor gloss over such profound issues, but to treat them issues with the respect, attention, and action they deserve.

Regardless of the emotion I feel surrounding this fundraiser, I cannot express enough my gratitude for the amount of participation. As I am counting up totals, we will exceed $300 raised within 2 weeks, which is over double what I projected us to fundraise. Thank you all, and I hope we can keep this momentum going.

Kenny Le | 12 | Vice President

COVID-19 sucks. But you all knew that! However, I seem to focus on the negatives of this virus a lot in and in fake life (Instagram), but there have been some blessings in disguise. For one thing, it has been much easier to reach out to other schools. I don’t have to worry about distance at all, nor do I have to about other logistics that normally would come with socials. Also, the way that socials have been workin forced people from different schools to interact. Usually in socials, everyone congregates together at th beginning and then dissociate into their own groups very quickly whether we like it or not. With virtual they are forced into breakout rooms with different schools whether they like it or not.

Okay but an article would not be written by Kenny if there wasn’t a touch of negativity in it. Whether th breakout groups work out or not is a complete gamble. We spend a long time trying to match people to but sometimes personalities don’t mesh well, people aren’t that comfortable, etc. That has nothing to d the people honestly. It is psychology that virtually, people are just less comfortable. You are able to see self (weird!), poor audio quality causes stress (science!), if people don’t turn on their webcam the natur nation to react based on people’s facial expressions is gone, but at the same time if everyone turns on screen, then people may start to think (oh is my face okay? Is my background fine? Is my video blurry? tracting from the conversation. I could go on about the dynamics of video socials, but you get the point HOWEVER, do not stop reading the article on that low note. To me, the advantages of virtual socials ha pletely outweighed any disadvantages. It is one of the few times I get to see people’s faces. They are th times I get to interact with other club Presidents. I have talked to way more people outside of Oxford so because of online socials. Also, they are fun! So, please join our socials guys. We work so hard. Thanks

Helen Tran | 12 | Publicist

With just about a month into our school year, I already feel a bit overwhelmed and scared about the future. As a senior, it’s pretty sad to think that this is my final year in high school. On the other hand, I’m very excited to see what the next few years of my life will be like. Can you believe that five years spent at Oxford have led to this very moment? That being said, Key Club has played a significant role in making my high school experience memorable, starting from freshman year and even now. Although this might not be how I anticipated ending my senior year, I’m still making the most of it both inside Key Club and outside Key Club. I know that moving to a virtual structure has its limitations; however, I encourage everyone to make the most of it! For instance, although I’m a bit of a shy person, I tried my best to participate and engage as much as I could during the August DCM. I found myself getting especially competitive during the scavenger hunt, which unfortunately, my group lost. But anyways, this is my final year in Key Club and I want to leave with no regrets. Virtual DCM’s are just one example of how I’m still making the most of Key Club. I also enjoy making fun of Toebi in our groupchat, sprinting to get those Charity Miles hours in, and so forth! The list is truly endless. Just two years ago, I remember saying bye to seniors at the banquet as a sophomore and it feels weird to be in their shoes now. As cliche as this may sound, I encourage all of you to venture out of your comfort zone so that you truly make the most of the four years in Key Club. I don’t want this article to sound too much like a goodbye because after all, there’s still a full school year ahead and I can’t wait to see what ~virtual~ memories await! This is more like me saying cheers to being a senior and making unforgettable memories! To the ℅ 2021, going virtual certainly won’t stop us from leaving our mark on both Key Club and Oxford!

n real life n so worry ng has he very socials,

he ogether, do with e yourral inclitheir ?) dist. ave comhe only olely s.

VIRTUAL SOCIALS

SENIOR YEAR

14 WKC X OAKC X SKC SOCIAL Leann Vo | 10 | Historian

Even though online socials are not the post fun, I am at least comfortable in my room.

Once we joined the Zoom call and renamed ourselves, we were put into breakout rooms that were led by EAs, Kenny and the presidents. The first event we did was the Unicef Math Challenge. This service event allowed us to complete math questions to help others in need of education. During the challenge, one of our EAs, Daniel, asked us fun would you rather questions which made doing math a little more entertaining. We did this for half of the time and then moved on to some fun games. The first game we played was Where’s Waldo which was very difficult considering that I have bad eyesight and I cannot focus on one thing for a very long time. Then we played a little bit of Pictionary which was pretty fun. The social ended with people reading some messages from the Love Box which was cute. Overall, I enjoyed the social and I am definitely looking forward to some more in the future.

Lydia Lee | 11 | Secretary

At the start of August, we kickstarted the month with a social before school started. We were separated into groups prior to the event with several students from each school in each group. It was interesting to bond with people from other schools despite the social being online. With a virtual experience, it was easier to network with other students by exchanging social medias. This was one of the advantages of participating in a virtual social. We played several online games such as Where’s Waldo and were able to even participate in a competition to solve the most math problems for a virtual service project.

Virtual service projects have always been a challenge but this social shed new light on the virtual aspects. We were able to do new activities that would not have been possible in a physical setting. This gives hope because we will most likely need to continue virtual projects and socials for many more months. I’m excited to see the future possibilities of our club, but am also scared of what more limits we might face.

Devanshi Kothari | 10 | Historian

Undoubtedly, we had many interesting and memorable events this month. However, one that stood out and one that I had most fun at was the Back to School Social with Whitney and Savanna! The social was held over a zoom call so as we entered, we renamed ourselves according to the guidelines and started submitting responses to a Love Box or a google form to send affirmations to each other anonymously. The presidents, vice presidents and executive assistants all took turns reading out these fun and cute messages that I thought brought joy and a smile to everyone’s faces.

After the introduction, we were sorted into breakout rooms where we first introduced ourselves and then did a quick service project. This service project was the UNICEF Math for Good Challenge where we answered mental math questions on the website and for each question we got correct, they donated 0.25 cents to children worldwide who unfortunately do not get the education they deserve. We did this for half the time we were in the breakout rooms and the rest of the time, we played some really interesting games! First, we played Pictionary where each of us took turns drawing something on the virtual whiteboard and then guessing what the item is. Next, we played Where’s Waldo which was an activity I had never done before but we had to find a character name Waldo in pictures that were huge and had a lot of things going on within the picture. Lastly, we listened to some music and then returned to the main zoom call.

Once we returned, we heard even more Love Box messages and after a small conclusion, said bye and the call was ended. This was an extremely fun social where we did a number of activities and games that all helped me meet new people across our division, serve my community and socialize with fellow key club members. In all, I had a great time and I hope we have even more virtual socials in the future that will be as fun as this one!

Though COVID-19 had impacted the way we do things and how events are held, I still

W K C

X

O A K C

X

S K C

W K C

X

O A K C

X

S K C

Tiffany Ong | 11 | Project Chair

Since we’re going back to school soon, OAKC had a Back to School Social with Whitney and Savanna. It was a really great opportunity to bond with other Key Clubbers that I have never really talked to before. :) The social was held on Zoom, and there were around 60 participants which was a great turnout! Before being put in breakout rooms, the Lovebox messages were read out loud, and I was super surprised that someone actually wrote me one. :)) It was really sweet and totally unexpected!

After we were put in small breakout rooms of around 9 people, we played the UNICEF Math Games for Good Challenge, where we answered math questions to raise money to help children go to school. While answering the math questions, we also talked a bit about some random stuff. It was actually one of the only times I’ve had both my camera and mic on during the recent online events, so I was able to break out of my comfort zone during this social!

After the math challenge, the people in my group decided to play skribbl.io because we couldn’t figure out how to use the Zoom whiteboard feature. We had a fun time, and some of the drawings were pretty funny too! Our breakout room ended before we could finish the entire game, but it’s okay because we continued to play afterwards :) Overall, the social was a really fun experience because I talked to people I’ve never talked to before and the activities were really entertaining too. Hopefully there will be more socials and events

Christina Nguyen | 10 | Bulletin Editor

Honestly, this is probably my favorite event that I’ve attended since the start of quarantine. It was a little awkward in the beginning and we should’ve played music as people were entering the room, but that’s something to remember for the next social. My group was quite talkative, so it was comfortable to speak with them without the awkward silence that I greatly dread. My group started with the UNICEF Math Challenge, like planned, and it was a good way for clubs to earn hours. After, we were going to play Pictionary, but my group thought that it was basically skribbl.io, so we ended up playing that. Even if we’ve played it at past events, it’s a game that’s hard to get tired of and I think everyone enjoyed it. Along with that, the social included a Love Box and among the Minecraft pick-up lines and embarrassing confessions, hopefully there were compliments that made people

Giang Nguyen | 12 | Tech Editor

Key Club socials are always fun: everyone gets to hang out, get to know each other, and work on something fun and productive together for a while. With quarantine season dragging itself out and social distancing in effect, hosting socials and encouraging club interactivity have been in high demand. As we also adapt to the new school year coming around with online learning, homework and stress are going to become all too familiar to us once again. I imagine there may be more socials in the future as a chance for us to sit back and deflate our pent-up stress every once in a while.

Earlier in this month, we had a joint back-to-school social between the Whitney, Oxford, and Savanna Key Clubs. Despite being a social, I was impressed by how it was handled very professionally with focuses on virtual meeting etiquette and organization. Nonetheless, it was still a fun and low-pressure event. We started off with doing a group session of UNICEF Math Challenge — because math is fun, I suppose. Still, it was productive and we managed to raise about $50 each for UNICEF just by exercising our math brains. We also played a game of Pictionary, which is always fun and hilarious no matter who you’re playing with.

I’ve been to many Key Club socials now, but I still hold a high appreciation for them and the people that put them together. Especially now, we could all use a little get-together

district

SERVICE PROJECTS | TOBI YAO cnhkc.sp@gmail.com

division

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR | JENNIFER VO

d30s.cnhkc.ltg@gmail.com EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT | CHRISTINA NGUYEN christinamyanhnguyen@gmail.com PUBLICIST | BRANDON LUU cubomone@gmail.com SPIRIT COORDINATOR | JOYCE LI joyceli8201@gmail.com

Club exec PRESIDENT | TIMMY BUI

bu1timmybu1@gmail.com

VICE PRESIDENT | KENNY LE kennyle303@gmail.com SECRETARY | LYDIA LEE lhlee017@gmail.com TREASURER | LANCE SAHAGUN lance.sahagun03@gmail.com

GOT A QUESTION?

contact us!| 15

Club appointed BULLETIN EDITOR | CHRISTINA NGUYEN christinamyanhnguyen@gmail.com PROJECT CHAIR | TIFFANY ONG ongtiffy@gmail.com PROJECT CHAIR | CLAIRE LEE 0128jil@gmail.com PUBLICIST | HELEN TRAN helentran952@gmail.com PUBLICIST | KENNETH NGUYEN kennethnguyen6296@gmail.com HISTORIAN | RYAN DANG ryandang03@gmail.com HISTORIAN | LEANN VO lealinhkay@gmail.com HISTORIAN | DEVANSHI KOTHARI devanshi3743@gmail.com TECH EDITOR | GIANG NGUYEN giangadonrawr@gmail.com

@OAKEYCLUB

OXFORD ACADEMY KEY CLUB

? CONTACT US!

SEE YOU NEXT TIME