Pacifica High School

Division 4 North | Region 3

Cal-Nev–Ha District

June 2013

Summer is finally here.

For most of us, that means only one word; vacation! At last, after nearly ten months of being in school, waking up early and going to class five days a week for seven hours at a time or more, we get a well deserved break. Summer means sun, fun, unwinding, and enjoying ourselves until school come back again.

However, for us Key Clubbers, summer is just more time for us to work and help those around us. The service never stops! This vacation, we plan to arrange different fundraisers for the Pediatric Trauma Program, find volunteer opportunities, and host bonding opportunities to get to know everyone better. Like this month of June, Key Club is just heating up! We hope you join us in all we have in store.

Sincerely, Executive Board

PS: Check us out at OTC!

In this issue:

What is PTP? pg2

Journey to Atlantis

pg3

My Day at OTC pg3

Otters Moving Up pg4

Upcoming Events pg5

Closing Thoughts pg5

Remember our pledge: I pledge, on my honor, to

uphold the Objects of Key

Club International; to build my

home, school, and

community; to serve my nation

and God; and combat all

forces which tend to

undermine these institutions.

What is PTP? Did you know, that in children age 14 and under, the leading cause of death is Pediatric Trauma? Pediatric Trauma, simply put, is unintentional injury that children suffer, and it kills more children than all childhood diseases combined. Children are dying from causes that are easily preventable. Yet in our country, everyday about fifteen children die from such injury.

So what can we do to help? The key in reducing the number of such fatalities is prevention. In 1994, the Kiwanis Cal-Nev-Ha Foundation established the Pediatric Trauma program, or PTP, to develop projects that aid in educating and training communities in how to prevent trauma injuries and deaths in children. And this summer, Division 4 North will be dedicating a majority of its efforts into fundraising for this program. As a club, Pacifica Key has pledged to raise $150 dollars by August to benefit PTP. In order to reach this goal, we need YOU to help by participating our fundraisers this summer (check out our upcoming social/fundraiser coming this July, on page 5!) where 100% of profits go to PTP. The children of today are the future of tomorrow, so let’s help secure the future by making theirs safer.

PTP is a major focus for our division and region this summer.

Pediatric Trauma

Facts

Children ages 4 and under are at a higher risk at suffering from Pediatric Trauma related injuries or deaths.

50% of Pediatric Trauma injuries and 40% of unintentional deaths in children 14 and under happen around the house

The majority of childhood injuries occur from May to August

It only takes $5.40 to save 3 lives from Pediatric Trauma

From the Eyes of an Otter

Journey to Atlantis | Michelle Tran,

Treasurer | Senior Our club decided to do a service with other clubs in the division requested by our Kiwanis at the Atlantis Play Center for its 50th anniversary event. Before the event opened, an employee from the play center assigned us to designated work areas, and I was lucky enough to be assigned to the face painting booth where plenty of children were present. At first, I was really nervous because the children were around ages 3-5 and nobody wants to make children cry or make their parents and guardians angry. It was hard, and there were requests that I couldn’t do, but the parents were really accommodating because they helped me persuade their children into choosing something easier to illustrate. I remember one young man who lost a bet to his siblings and had to let me paint anything, so I drew him a fancy goldfish. He actually loved it and said I did a nice job, making me feel great because of his initial hesitation. I ended up having a lot of fun and met members from Rancho Alamitos working at the same booth! The service was also uplifting because I got to see the joy-filled smiles of children after having been transformed into a kitty, a doggy, a lion, a butterfly, or a caterpillar. I'm truly grateful for services like these; they make me feel great inside and out because I know I've made a positive impact on someone or something.

My Day at OTC |Chris Pile,

President |Senior On June 22nd, my officers and I attended the annual OTC with high hopes we will gain new knowledge to improve ourselves in all directions. We were all excited to spend time with the division and the region, so we showed up with a lot of spirit! Before OTC, our division had its DCM where we picked up new ideas like the buddy system and the hang-in-there goals. After the DCM, our executive board decided to have our own photo shoot for a kickstart on our new website. To make it casual and fun, we ended up doing the famous otters pose. Afterwards, our division bonded by playing Ride that Pony, always a fun way to get everyone together. We ate lunch and played icebreakers, then OTC soon began and we entered the gym for the opening session. I attended the President and Service Project workshops with my friend Jenny from Bolsa. Personally, I gained a lot of information from these workshops and was truly grateful for that towards all the LTGs in our region. After the closing session, our cabinet knew we gained valuable knowledge that will definitely help us improve. I had a really memorable and fun time during DCM and was truly excited to use our new knowledge to its fullest extent!

Chris listens intently to our LTG Tommy as he introduces new ideas during DCM.

Michelle and other otters strike a pose after a long day of volunteering.

Otters Moving Up

Congratulations, class of 2013! After four years of working hard, the seniors of Pacifica High School finally close one phase of their life and begin on a new road to college and beyond. However, their efforts do not go unrecognized, because every year our school holds a Senior Awards Night, where outstanding soon to be graduates receive recognition for their many accomplishments during their high school career. On June 12th, Key Club had the privilege of presenting medals to several outstanding seniors for their achievements as otters. With President Chris Pile handing out the medals, these graduating otters were able to be recognized for the time they took out to give back to their community, among the many other awards they received that night. From all of us here on board, we would like to congratulate all of you once more, and we wish you the best of luck in the journey you have before you. Most of all, we wish you never forget the marinotter spirit of Pacifica Key Club and continue to better the world around you.

-Yearam Choi -Linh Thao Chung, former Key Club Secretary -Deanna Dao -Jessica Huynh -Vince Lam -Emily Le -Annie Lee -Roger Leung -Annalyn Mai, former Key Club Treasurer

-Alan Nguyen -Brandon Nguyen -Tami Nguyen -Christina Ta -Christina Thai -Julie Tran -Isabella Valbuena -Sara Vo, former Key Club president -Kevin Vu, former Key Club Vice President

Medal Bearers of 2013

Some of our graduating otters share their best memories of Key, and why they enjoyed being a member. The best thing about Key Club is how spirited it is. Being a member for four years, this is one of the clubs that really focuses on volunteering, not just getting service hours done. - Deanna Dao Sadly, I didn’t spend a lot of time in Key Club, but whenever I was at a service or an event I had a really fun time. At March of Dimes, it was cool to see everyone so spirited while helping for a great cause. And we won the spirit stick that day! (Can’t forget that!) - Tami Nguyen One of my most memorable services was Bubblefest. We got to interact with children and learn with them as well. I had lots of fun, and hopefully, Key Club can get that service again for others to experience. – Isabella Valbuena

Kevin Vu, Sara Vo, and Chris Pile

What’s in store next month…

7/1: Karaoke Fundraiser Social for PTP At Cafeoke Ding Dong Dang 3pm-7pm 7/8: Division 4 North Scavenger Hunt Social At Downtown Disney 3pm-5pm 7/20: July DCM/Sports Day At Mile Square Park 1pm-5pm 7/26: Division 4 Beach Boomba At Huntington Beach 12:30pm-9pm Make sure to check Facebook for the details of the events, and any new services or bonding events that

may come up. You don’t want to miss out!

The Marinotter

of the Month

Dat Nguyen

We’re quite proud of this otter! As only a freshman, Dat has always been a regular attendee of our events, whether it be socials, services, or DCMs. This month, he was at every event, including OTC, demonstrating his strong commitment to not only being a faithful member, but the best he could be. Congratulations, Dat!

Closing Thoughts

Change is coming. Summer, for us here on board, is not only a time to continue the spirit and service, but also a time of self – improvement to become better officers. For example, you can notice some tweaks to our newsletter. You can be sure that we will continue to make an effort to reach our goal of $150 for PTP, bring you service opportunities, and make Key Club a fun experience for everyone. Big or small, we will all make changes to make our home club better and stronger for everyone part of it. Watch out for what we have in store! Until next month, marinotters.