2015 October/November Tex-O-Key

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FUN STUFF FUN FACTS

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Table of Contents Messages International Fall Rally Photo Recap of Fall Rally Service Tips and Tricks Letters to the Editor Contact Information

- The first Jack -

O’lanterns were made from turnips.

The fear of Halloween is known as Samhainopida According to folklore, if a person wears their clothes inside out and walks backwards they will see a witch.

- What kind of pants

do ghosts wear? *FIND OUT ON PAGE 4*

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- What did the witch order at the hotel?

*FIND OUT ON PAGE 20*

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- What kind of makeup do ghosts wear?

*FIND OUT ON PAGE 35*

JOKES

EDITOR’S CORNER Check out the Suggested article prompts for the month of October on the District Website! www.tokeyclub.com Text “1516editor” to 81010 to receive reminders of upcoming events and deadlines from the District Editor!

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Be sure to like “Texas-Oklahoma Key Club District” on Facebook to join in on all of the fun!

EDITOR’S ENTRY Hey T-O District Key Clubbers! !

I hope your school years have been off to a great start!

Over the Summer, the District Staff created an FTC resource package including presentations off all officer duties, and other important information you guys should know! If you are a club editor, and would like to receive the Club Editor 101 presentation you can ask your Lieutenant Governor for it or email me at editor@tokeyclub.com.

It should also be available on the District Website fairly soon. If you guys ever have any questions or would like free feedback BEFORE sending in your newsletter, just ask (at least 10 days before the Newsletter is due)! Thanks guys!

GOVERNOR’S GREETINGS HAPPY OCTOBER T-O KEY CLUBBERS! Autumn is definitely my FAVORITE time of the year. Last weekend we had an amazing Fall Rally at Six Flags and it was just so amazing getting to spend all that time with you guys playing Kahoot, celebrating the DCON 2016 theme, and riding rollercoasters (it was my first time ever!).

Fall Rally isn’t the only event we have over these next two months. Now that October has begun, it’s Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF season! As you may or may not know, the Immediate Past International Board pledged that the next 5 years of our TOT for UNCIEF funds go directly to the The ELIMINATE Project campaign. With less than 10 million to go, this is a project that Key Club needs to get behind 100% in order to help give thousands of mothers and babies the chance at life. If you club hasn’t already ordered your TOT UNICEF boxes, contact your LTG and ask how to get your FREE boxes!

Another amazing event coming up is Key Leader! This weekend at the Pinewoods Camp in Woodlake, TX, is an amazing leadership getaway that focuses on integrity, community, excellence, and other key components of being a student leader. This will be my 3rd time attending and Im absolutely thrilled to get to meet all you who attend. If you register by October 13th, you will receive a discount on your registration. Only 70 people can attend, so make sure you sign up ASAP! Check out the website for more information!

Within three weeks, I've gotten to travel to Austin, New Braunfels, Oklahoma City, Jones, and Arlington. Sometime within the next few months, I may be in your city. So be on the lookout and keep changing the world one community,and one child at a time!

A MESSAGE FROM !

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Happy October Spooky T-O District! ! !

Fall Rally Recap:

Thank you to those who attended Fall Rally this Saturday, October 3rd, at Six Flags! We finally had a clear and sunny day and there was a great turnout of Key Clubbers who embody the characteristics of true leadership—enthusiasm, commitment, and a passion for service. Our theme release video can be found on the district website!

We were also excited that we got to give out prizes to you all!

Post a photo using the hashtag #todcon2016; as with your school and division included. Every week, we’ll pick a picture that will be posted on the website and on our Instagram!

Once again, thank you to all Fall Rally attendees for demonstrating an everlasting commitment to Key Club. We look forward to seeing everyone once again at DCON 2016, Service: Mission Accepted!

DCON 2016 Theme Announced:

Our theme for the 67th Texas-Oklahoma District Convention is.....

SERVICE: MISSION ACCEPTED! The idea of this theme was based on Mission Impossible. The theme will invoke a sense of adventure and espionage, as service will become thrilling for all attendees.

For more information, check out the District Website!

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Yours in Service, Convention Liaison Megan Reynosa CL@tokeyclub.com

TRICT STAFF Yes, the time has come. I am as excited and hyped and eager and ecstatic as you are– the MUC is officially open NOW. It’s that time of year again to pay your dues and get them sent in on time. Oh yes, that means achieving the wondrous feat of submitting dues by November 30th. Wondering how in the world you pay your dues?

Check out the “How to Access the MUC” document on the District Website!

Here is an outline of the dues deadlines: Before/On: November 1st (Early Bird) Before/On: November 30th ( Deadline) On/After: December 1st (Late Deadline) On/After: February 1st (Suspended) On/After: ICON (July 6th 2016) (Considered Inactive) On/After: Around September/October (Officially Inactive & MUC resets) Here is a description of the various club statuses: A paid club is in excellent standing! You’re all set and ready with your Key Club benefits to seize the day.

A suspended club will not receive all Key Club benefits. Your club members will not be able to run for a district position, attend DCON or ICON, nor receive any Key Club scholarships.

An inactive club will not receive any Key Club benefits. They will have to pay a $100 reactivation fee and their previous dues in order to be reactivated.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at treasurer@tokeyclub.com

Yours in Service, District Treasurer Emily Zhao treasurer@tokeyclub.com

Answer: BOO-Jean!

Good Day Key Clubbers! !

TRUSTEE UPDATE FROM IAN MACDONALD

I hope everyone has had successful back to school drives and membership recruitment events! It is now time to start collecting dues so you are able to have them in by November 1st and earn the Early Bird Patch. The Membership Update Center (MUC) is up running so start updating your membership roster!

Does your club need money for a service project?

Key Club International offers a grant, Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF), for you or your club's service project ranging from $100-$2000. The possibilities of projects are endless but the deadline is October 15th 11:59pm EST. Apply online at www.keyclub.org/yof. With Halloween right around the corner, don't forget to order your free Trick or Treat for UNICEF boxes to use on Halloween. This simple but great fundraiser for The Eliminate Project can save the lives of millions.

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Yours in Service, Ian MacDonald

PHOTO CREDIT: NORTH CROWLEY

FALL R 07

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FALL RALLY 2K15 - MAKIN

NG MEMORIES T-OGETHER

PHOTO CREDIT: NORTH CROWLEY

Send articles about your Fall Rally experience for a chance to be featured in the Tex-O-Key! Fall Rally at Six Flags has been one of my favorite Key Club events/activities we have done so far. At Fall Rally many members and officers from different Key Clubs all By: Yerasly Duran, North Crowley join together at Six Flags and attended a meeting. In this meeting we play games and icebreakers such as "Jelly Fish", "Hand and Feet", and a very intense version of "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot." We also played Kahoot in which we were asked 20 questions, some questions were from Key Club and some weren't. The top 5 people with the highest score would win a gift bag, but unfortunately none of our Key Club members won.

Rallying Together

At Fall Rally the DCON 2016 theme is also revealed! Throughout the whole meeting we were given clues and every ten minutes we heard a sound and that sound would reveal a puzzle pieces which led us closer to our DCON 2016 theme! However some Key Clubs guessed the theme before it was even reveled.

Finally at the end of meeting our 2016 DCON theme was released, our theme this year is Mission Impossible!

After the meeting was over we enjoyed the rest of our day at Six Flags. The first ride we got on too was a Roller Coaster called Pandemonium. The lines to all the rides, however, were extremely long but when you have a good group of friends to talk to and laugh with while waiting in line for rides, the lines honestly don't seem too bad. After our first ride, we were all hungry so we headed out of the park and towards the picnic area where we all ate our lunches, played with the ducks, and just talked and got to know each other a little bit better; there were a few new members that had attended. Once we were done eating we headed back to the park were we rode even more rides, like the pirate ship that one member almost threw up from riding, waited in even longer lines, and took pictures with the superheroes and zombies; it was Fright Fest, after all! It was such a long, tiring, but fun day at Fall Rally. I really enjoyed hanging out with my Key Club family and making even more Key Club memories with them. I cannot wait

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AID TO SERVE!

Photo Cred: Cypress Woods PHOTO CREDIT: CYPRESS WOODS This past weekend on September 27th, I volunteered to help unload pumpkins at a local church for their annual pumpkin patch. We were to unload the pumpkins from 1 huge semi-truck that was packed to the rim with pumpkins galore. As I arrived to By: Ethan Arredondo, Mansfield the meeting place, which was at the grounds of the pumpkin patch, I began to fill with excitement and enthusiasm for I could not wait to see all of the individually unique pumpkins that would soon appear in front of my eyes. The truck suddenly arrived to the church pumpkin patch grounds and began backing up to allow easy and quick access to the opening of the trailer, where we would unload the pumpkins. After readjusting its placement a few times the truck had perfected its positioning and parked the trailer in place. The crowd of volunteers then began to rumble and grow closer to the opening of the container with eyes prepared for amazement. Then the doors to the trailer were opened and everyone suddenly pulled out their cellular devices and snapped pictures of the overwhelming sight of pumpkins that would soon become of our responsibility. It was a magnificent sight! Then within seconds the unloading began and we began to forma line. The Pumpkins were then unloaded off the truck and passed down the line of eager volunteers to their desired point of destination to in turn create a perfect pumpkin patch filled with amazement in the eyes of its viewers. Each pumpkin was unique and true to its size and caricature. One of them would be heavy, the next weightless, and then in between, and back to enormous. Pumpkin after pumpkin formed beautifully stacked and constructed rows displaying even more beautiful pumpkins. You could hear the groans of people who had just passed a heavy pumpkin, and the laughs of people who had just passed a small pumpkin.

Once in a while someone would roll a pumpkin occasionally on accident and you would see them rolling down the sloped side of the landscape and could only imagine what would happen next. But these occurrences made the process pass by faster and provided entertainment. After two hours it had seemed that it had been years, but the pumpkins just kept coming constantly. Then an hour later the ultimate feeling of accomplishment resulted when the last pumpkin slowly made its way off the truck and into the hands of the volunteers passing it down the line.

Volunteering at the local church provided me with gratitude and personal fulfillment. It was incredible experiences although I was soar the next morning. Now every day that I pass by that church and see that pumpkin patch that is full of more than just pumpkins I am remember of the fun time a spent serving others with people I love.

The Pumpkin Patch

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North Crowley Key Club is doing lots of Halloween themed events this year, including festivals, pumpkin patches, carnivals, and socials. However, there is one event that will forever remain a By: Lexi Cepack, North Crowley tradition at our high school: Hangman’s House of Horrors. When I joined Key Club during my sophomore year, I was disappointed to know that I couldn’t participate at Hangman’s House of Horrors since you have to be sixteen or older to volunteer. Most kids just filled the form out anyway since no one really cares if you’re fifteen and three quarters instead of sixteen, but my parents refused. I was furious because earlier in the year, they had announced that this would be the last year of Hangman’s House of Horrors. Last year, to my relief, they brought back Hangman’s in a new location. Since I wasn’t able to attend during my sophomore year, I jumped at the first opportunity to go as a junior. My parents drove Ashley and I to the new building, where we were immediately greeted by other volunteers. We walked through what appeared to be a creepy, abandoned construction zone. I mentioned to one of the workers that I was the editor for my school’s Key Club, so they gave me a personal tour of the house before the lights were turned off, and I got to take lots of pictures. After my tour was over, Ashley and I were escorted to the volunteer area, where we waited for what felt like hours. Once we got to the front, we got assigned our roles. Most people were nurses, but I had the pleasure of being an ugly witch with a wart-covered nose. After I put on my costume and makeup, I was led to a dark room where I would get the opportunity to scare people that walked through the house. They told me I was a collector of odd things, and that I should tell people I wanted to add them to my collection. They also showed me a fake picture frame on a wall, where if I stood behind it and pulled a lever, I could pop out and scare people while they were walking down the hallway. It was a long night, but I was as when it was over. Overall, I had an amazing time scaring people with fellow Key Clubbers from all around the Fort Worth area, and I can’t wait to do it again!

Scary Service

PHOTO CREDIT: WESTBROOK

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Trick-Or-Treat for Unicef By: Lance Cruz, Westbrook

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, more commonly known as UNICEF, has been around since 1946. Formed on December 11th, 1946, it has remained an incredibly active organization throughout 190 countries across the world. The organization’s headquarters is stationed in New York, where the overall management and administration takes place. To this day, it continues to serve its chief objective of providing emergency food and healthcare to children in need throughout the world. UNICEF also serves as the primary point of distribution for vaccines and antiretroviral medication for children, as well as mothers, with HIV. !

One project which UNICEF has established as an annual tradition is Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. It has become a common yearly occurrence throughout the entirety of North America during the autumn month of October, when Halloween takes place. Children are typically handed small, orange boxes at school and other participating locations before October 31st. Instead of going door to door asking for candy, children ask for donations; all of the subsequent proceeds of the event help fund emergency services for desperate children around the world. !

Key Club started participating in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF in early 1994. Over the years of fundraising, our organization has managed to raise approximately $5 million for UNICEF’s iodine deficiency programs worldwide as wells as its HIV and AIDS programs. Another task that was recently undertaken is helping to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus through the Eliminate Project. Kiwanis and UNICEF both agreed on a goal of $110 million by 2015. !

West Brook’s Key Club has been participating alongside UNICEF for numerous years. For Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, our members dress up in costumes and essentially go door to door around Beaumont asking for donations. All of the groups participating in the event rendezvous to collect all of the money at one of Beaumont’s local Chick-fil-A restaurants. Everyone then hands in their orange boxes and sits down to eat and take some rest. “One reason why I particularly enjoy this fundraiser is because, not only am I afforded the opportunity to help save babies and mothers throughout various countries, I also get to dress up in really fun costumes alongside my peers and close friends,” says West Brook Key Club President, Julia Moyers. !

In regards to the Eliminate Project, our club hosted a karaoke night. Members would pay for someone to sing any song of their choice. If the chosen individual did not want to sing, they would have to donate double the amount of money as the person who selected them. Many members participated in this fundraiser and had a blast! Another way we were able to raise money for the Eliminate Project is through involvement in West Brook’s football games. We had officers from our club go to games and recite an informative jingle about how a mere $1.80 can save a baby’s life. Throughout the games, we have gone out at the front of the concessions stands asking people to donate to help save lives because, as human beings, it is our moral obligation to assist those in need.!

October brings the start of a brand new year for the Taylor High School Key Club! I saw plenty of both familiar and unfamiliar faces at our first two meetings, and I can’t wait to see my fellow Key Clubbers at volunteering events, socials, and By: Megan Yu, James Taylor fundraisers. As the Major Emphasis Committee Chair, I’m excited to announce a variety of ongoing fundraisers for partner organizations and charities, all of which support Key Club’s enduring mission: “Children: Their Future, Our Focus.”

Future Fundraisers

We started our can tab collection last year and have been going strong ever since. One gallon of can tabs contributes funding to Ronald McDonald House Charities and pays for one free round of chemotherapy for a child. For every 10 can tabs you collect, you will receive 1 hour of service for a max of 5 hours. It’s a fantastic and super easy fundraiser but can have a big impact for a child in need.

Next we have Tab for a Cause, which was also started last year. Tab for a Cause is a browser extension that replaces the “new tab” page and raises money with every tab you open. Every tab earns you a Heart, which you can donate to specific causes; at the end of each financial quarter, Tab for a Cause takes all the money they raised and divides it among the charities based on how many Hearts each one received.

PHOTO CREDIT: NORTH CROWLEY

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Tab for a Cause has raised money for organizations involved in conservation, education, health, human rights, and water, such as Conservation International and water.org. The fundraiser requires no effort besides installing the extension and signing up, and you can go about surfing the web knowing that every tab you open raises money for charity!

In addition to volunteering, Key Club recycles! This year we are participating in TerraCycle’s Personal Care and Beauty Brigade. By collecting empty hair care, skin care, and cosmetic containers, packaging them, and shipping them to TerraCycle, which recycles the waste into new and improved products, we earn money which can be donated to a charity of our choice. The TerraCycle fundraiser will be for the March of Dimes, a nonprofit which seeks to improve and promote the health of babies. We have to collect over 10 pounds of personal care and beauty items to raise money, so we need your help! Similar to the can tabs, for every 5 items you bring, you will receive 1 hour of service for a max of 5 hours. TerraCycle is a great way to help the earth and mothers and babies through the March of Dimes. Start recycling!

Similar to Tab for a Cause, we have Goodsearch and Goodshop. Every search on the Goodsearch search engine (powered by Yahoo) raises $0.01 for a selected charity, which for Key Club will be UNICEF. Goodshop provides coupons and deals for online shopping; when you shop with Goodshop, a percentage of your purchase is donated to your chosen cause. Goodshop has offers from top retailers from J. Crew to Starbucks.

Answer: Broom Service!

PHOTO CREDIT: NORTH CROWLEY

9/11 – the mere mention of this date sparks a sense of consternation, apprehension, and enmity amongst most Americans. Every year we remember this day as one of By: Kidus Negesse, North Garland intense hate, both directed against and emanating from our citizens. North Garland’s Key Club took the inherently negative day and put a positive twist on it – it delivered batches of cupcakes to different fire departments throughout its community to show America’s appreciation of the courageous service that firefighters provide this country with.

A Twist

After school ended, Key Club members quickly met up and had the cupcakes prepared and ready for quick delivery. The first fire department we visited was incredibly surprised; not only were the firefighters all eating their dinner, which coincidentally was perfect timing for our arrival, but its members were also not expecting a bright group of high school volunteers on such a somber day. After introducing ourselves, we informed the department of how many cupcakes we had and our plan to evenly split them amongst all the firemen. We had already assigned specific roles to the volunteers who had come, so our method of delivering the cupcakes was speedy and efficient. Much to our delight, we were shortly given an unprecedented amount of appreciation, and the firefighters all volunteered to give us a tour of the location. There, we had the chance to view the insides of a fire department, such as the areas where the firemen relaxed and slept. Next, we learned the basics and intricacies of the fire truck, such as how fire trucks are pumped when emergencies arise.

Apart from the tour given of the fire department, Key Club connected with our nation’s brave men and women on a more personal level. Our inquisitive volunteers were eager to learn what firefighting was truly like difficult, full of anxiety, and a lot more intense than we had originally thought. The strain that their jobs placed on their home lives was unimaginable and unlike anything we’ve ever faced. But through it all, we recognized the immense bravery that these men and women possessed, one that is a rare occurrence in our society. All of the fire departments we visited afterwards were composed of firemen who had a similar nature.

We will never forget the effect that 9/11 has had on our nation, but we can make a concerted effort to honor the lives of the men and women who sacrifice their lives daily to keep our friends and family safe.

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Grace Fall Festival

By: Lexi Cepack, North Crowley

On Saturday, September 26th, at Grace Lutheran Church, Key Clubbers attended Grace Fall Festival. At precisely ten o’clock, volunteers arrived to set up the balloon darts booth.

Once they finished blowing up balloons and sticking them to a board, members split up. Some worked at the hotdog stand, some helped with balloon darts, and some helped distribute tickets.

Before people trickled into the festival area, some members got to spend some quality time with the horses. Olivia Courtney, Vice President, and Elias Lara, Officer At-Large, enjoyed petting the horse. He was a calm horse, so they were happy the children would get to meet him. They were sad to depart from him to go to their separate stations as the event began.At the hotdog stand, members both made and sold hotdogs. Some took people’s orders while others prepared the food. For some volunteers, it was their first experience working behind a counter. They thought it was really fun, and some decided that getting a job over the summer might be a beneficial experience because of it.

While some volunteers were working hard at the hotdog stand, others were helping distribute tickets.

When there was a lull, they would walk around the area and make sure all of the trash was picked up. They ensured that the church wouldn’t look like the inside of a home after the notorious high school house party shown in movies when parents leave for the weekend. They had a great time socializing with each other and helping out.While volunteers cleaned and helped with tickets, Key Clubbers worked their balloon dart station. It was, by far, as some members claim, the most fun booth they could’ve helped with at the festival. Yerasly Duran, our club’s treasurer, handed children darts to throw at the colorful balloons. Very few were able to pop them, but when one boy hit a balloon, he screamed! He wasn’t prepared for the loud popping noise that would follow.Daisy Doan, North Crowley Key Club’s president, also worked at the balloon dart booth. She handed safer, less pointy darts to the younger children, who seemed really excited about popping the balloons.

She noted that the kids were really adorable, but they sometimes needed help because they could barely even see over the table. One kid attempted to pop a balloon with his finger by leaning over the table, but he was so small that his arm wouldn’t even reach!

Lost in Service (and a Corn Field) !

By: Brittany Tu, Randall High School

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PHOTO CREDIT: RANDALL HS

By far, our club’s most important fundraiser of the year is working out at the Amazingly Fun Farm. The Amazingly Fun Farm is the local corn maze in Amarillo. The manager out there is a former Key clubber and graduate of Randall High School. She is the one that hires us, Randall High Key Club, to work at the Fun Farm during the month of October.

Out at the maze, it is like a job. Randall High School Key clubbers get paid minimum wage, and shifts are usually between 5 and 7 hours. There are 4 shifts every weekend of October, plus the last weekend of September, and three Wednesday night shifts. There are fourteen key clubbers at every shift. This adds up to approximately 14,000 dollars raised in one month. Plus, with a club of over 100 members, if each member worked one shift, we would have enough key clubbers to cover all of the shifts.

Out at the maze, there are a lot of different jobs.

One of my favorites is maze walker. That’s where we walk the maze constantly. There are 2-3 pairs of people throughout the maze. Their main job is to help people get out if they need help and find lost kids. Among maze walker, there is also the person who works the front of the maze. This is the most important job at the maze, and it is the hardest. In order to work the front, you have to know the maze, be able to remember if someone goes in and doesn’t come out, and make sure everyone who enters the maze understands the rules. The Fun Farm is more than just a corn maze. There is a jumping pillow, a zip line, friendly fire, corn cannons, a pumpkin blaster, and laser tag. There are 1-2 key clubbers stationed at all of the different activities. The Fun Farm attracts kids and adults of all ages. During the week, elementary schools and daycares take field trips out to the fun farm. On Saturdays, groups of church goers and high school students visit the Fun Farm.

I love that we raise our funds through work instead of sales. Working at the maze is so much fun every year.

Working at the maze provides our club with the funds we need to help organizations like March of Dimes, Children’s Miracle Network, and Ronald McDonald House throughout the year.

PHOTO CREDIT: NORTH CROWLEY

TIPS AND

ADVICE FROM ONE KEY

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D TRICKS

Y CLUBBER TO ANOTHER

Photo Credit: North Crowley

Hello Key Clubbers! Have you started volunteering with the club yet? Hasn’t it been fun!?! For those who haven’t gone to any events yet- Don’t worry! You still have a month left to complete your hours your club may require you to make and I guarantee you, it will be worth your time! Here are a few things to help you kick off your key-club filled year!

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1.Get acquainted with the officers! – Don’t be scared. All of us are super friendly and are happy to help you if you have any questions about events or if you don’t know what to do in a situation. We are elected officers so we can help improve this club, but we can only do that if you By: Christine Vu, Garland are willing to be a part of it! Chances are, if you’re going to an event, at least some, if not all, of the officers will be there and you’ll probably become really close friends with at least one!

2. Have your friends join Key Club with you! – If you’re worried that you won’t see anyone you know when you go volunteering, call or text a friend to go with you! Have them join key club and be volunteer buddies with them!

Most likely, you’ll make new friends in Key Club anyways! Take this as an opportunity to meet people outside of your grade level! Senior key clubbers are super cool and already know what to do at most events, as they have been in the same situation for several years already.

3. Get your hours every month! – It may seem like a lot, but when you go to a single event, you’ll basically have half of your hours completed (depending on your club)! You’ll find out that time passes by really quickly when you’re busy helping out! At some point, you might think you’re too busy to sign up for events, but you can do it!

Push through! Every key club member should end the school year with at least 50 hours!

Tips for Key Club

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If you can take these suggestions into consideration, you are well on your way to becoming a great KeyClubber! It’s going to be an awesome year!

Gulp! With a sporadically beating heart and piercing eyes, I stare down the second hand of the clock as it clicks its way around. With the dismissal from the bell at 2:55 PM, I haphazardly shuffle my things together and make my way down to the lecture hall. In every step, my heart beats faster and faster. Why am I so nervous today? Today is the first Key Club meeting of the year! Although this is not my first year as an officer of Key Club, the fluttering butterflies feeling still resides within me. Just about with any club, the board members may be eagerly anticipating this day since the summer. However, good planning and team work are sure steps to having a successful one!

The most important thing for a club to be successful is to By: Kelly Xavier, Summit High School engage your audience. This is not an easy task especially since a meeting may contain fifty to one hundred people.

But you must be tactful. Playing music at the beginning of the meeting is a good way for other members to feel comfortable in a new setting. Depending on the type of music you choose, it can set moods ranging from a calm and tranquil one to an energetic and pumped up one. You should also wait five to ten minutes before you start the meeting so that people can socialize with one another. During this time, the president should go around the room and meet as many individuals that he or she can. This will provide a more welcoming environment to the members who are on the fence about joining. It will help them feel like they belong and there was meaning in them coming there.

During the meeting, it is also vital that you engage the members as well. Ask questions to the audience regularly and engage them by rewarding them pieces of candy for getting the question right. You can try to do “Question of the Day� that is related to Key Club for example. Although it may be unreasonable to try to do every meeting, you should have food and other snacks at the first meeting at least. Especially since this is the make it or break meeting for members deciding on whether or not to join, food will be a good way to win their hearts.

Most of all, it is important for a club to be adaptable to any situation. Each club is different and each may experience different things, so it is important that the board members can adjust to the situation. Good luck in the new year!

How to Plan Ahead

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Time is Key!

By: Stephanie Tran, Jersey Village

As we all know, high school comes with many difficulties when you participate in anything outside of the educational curriculum. Organizations such as Student Council, Key Club, HOSA and a variety of other clubs tend to feel like they’re taking over our lives. Of course, overloading yourself with an enormous amount of responsibilities will most likely leave you as a husk of your former self, some ways to help lighten the load and make having a social life not feel impossible do exist.

A great way that I highly recommend is to have some sort of planner. Whether it is a phone app or a physical calendar either of them will suffice. Writing down things you need to do and figuring out when assignments are due can help you manage your time accordingly. For example, if there are 4 homework assignments due on one day and you have a week to do them, spread all the assignments out throughout the week! Don’t procrastinate and do them all as soon as possible! Personally, not procrastinating is one of the most difficult things for me; however, having a planner and writing down the things that need to be done that day helps significantly.

Along with planning your time and making time for yourself, you need time for friends. If clubs are taking over your life and you hardly see your squad at all in school, bring squad into your clubs! Key Club is one of the ideal clubs that combine actual club activities with the in person social aspect of high school that we need. Instead of having a girls day at the mall or a gaming night with the boys, volunteer together at festivals or runs in addition to other more service oriented events such as the Food Bank. Club events can be thought of as a preplanned hang out day along with the chance to make even more friends.

Finally, the tip that most people will not like is sacrificing. Sometimes your schedule just can’t handle every single thing that you want to do. For me, being an officer in three clubs and having to deal with AP classes causes me to stress out to the point where I don’t even know what to do.

Church school on Saturdays, Houston Youth Symphony and rehearsals on Sunday, with school and club activities leaves me with little to no free time. Prioritize things that are important to you and put those things first. Most importantly, make time for yourself too. Getting caught up with activity after activity without taking the time to relax and take a breather will just make things worse for you. Although it is high school and it’s been categorized as a ‘norm’ to stay up until the late hours of the night, sleep is one of the best things you can do for yourself when you’re stressed. If you sacrifice sleep for more time to get things accomplished, you’ll just be hurting your body and causing stress to increase even further.

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Photo Credit: Randall HS

Breaking the Ice By: David Zhou Cypress Ranch

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Icebreakers. A cliché so Key Club that it is present and forthright in almost any Key Club sanctioned events. Outrageously fun ways to meet new people, icebreakers truly fulfill the meaning of their name. At the end of a large majority of Cypress Ranch’s meetings, the officers often try to find entertaining ways to keep the members engaged and as a method for meeting their fellow Key Club family. Icebreakers are often a go-to game in situations like this. One icebreaker often employed is “Perfect Match”, an eclectic and extremely awkward way for new “couples” to meet. The game starts with a girl or guy called to the front of the room to the ridicule of his or her peers. As the fun progresses, the person in front has to call off qualities or traits that their perfect match would have to have. If a person doesn’t fulfill a requirement, he or she has to sit down until only one person is left standing: love at first sight of course. In my personal experience with this icebreaker, I have learned things about my friends that have really shocked me. Who would think that one of my best friends finds long, romantic walks on the beachside with the sunset in the background a personal requirement for their perfect match? The egregious and shocking fun that everyone has is one of the reasons this game is popular at many Key Club events from District Convention to weekly Key Club member meetings.

Another compelling icebreaker for Key Club events is Swab the Deck. In this interactive activity, a person calls out commands for the rest of the group to perform. For example, if the leader calls out “man overboard!” the members have to form themselves into groups of 3 and imitate the motion of a life preserver circling a drowning person. However, usually a few people cannot satisfy the number of people needed to create these formations and they are out of the game. As a few more suggestions for positions, one is swab the deck, two is lighthouse, three is man overboard, four is octopus, five is chow time, and six is row the boat. In all of these, the groups do the motions that are associated with each of them. The anxiety and the laughter that is procured from this game often ensure this icebreaker is present at many large group socials.

Icebreakers are a great way for new people to meet and have fun together! They take out the stress of meeting new people and often ensure people have a great time together. So for your next Key Club event, ensure that is a great success in creating awkward couples by incorporating icebreakers!

LETTERS TO THE

DISTR

Q:

What's the best way to motivate Key Club members to write articles? I always end up writing them myself, even though we have tons of Key Club members. At our first meeting, we had 90 people show up. We already offer one service hour for each article written. What else can I do?

-Lexi Cepak, North Crowley HS A: Motivating club members to write articles can be one of the hardest tasks a club editor faces due to lack of interest and time. When I was a club editor we would award each member who wrote an article 1 service hour (like your club does), and we would enter their name in a drawling for an iTunes gift card each month. Their name would also be entered into a larger drawling that would happen at the end of the year for a larger prize. Each month a member wrote an article their name went into the drawling again, raising the chances of their name being drawn. We also made it a requirement for people to write 2 articles to be eligible to go to DCON.Â

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*Continued on to the next page*

RICT EDITOR This is just something my club did, but certain things only work for certain clubs. Be sure to ask your members what would they like to receive as an incentive for writing an article(s).

Q: If we are ever running low on inspiration for our newsletters, what could we do to help us get some ideas? - Maddie Rodger, Bullard HS. A: Be sure to check out the featured newsletter of the month! I have created a new kind of club editor recognition that can also be used as an example of what an outstanding club newsletter looks like! So if you need ideas or inspiration for your newsletters I highly recommend checking out the previous months featured publication and any district publications produced by a District Editor!

Email your questions to EDITOR@tokeyclub.com!

District Governor Rachel Iselin

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Email: governor@tokeyclub.com

District Treasurer Emily Zhao

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Email: treasurer@tokeyclub.com

District Editor Matthew Riley

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Email: editor@tokeyclub.com

Convention Liaison Megan Reynosa

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Email: cl@tokeyclub.com

District Administrator Walt Roetter Email: administrator@tokey club.com

DISTRICT SECRETARY APPLICATIONS DUE OCTOBER 12TH @ 11:59PM Answer: Mask-Scare-A!

#TOKeyService Winner!

North Garland High School

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