Picture of the Month!

Important Key Club Information!

The Cabinet

Richard Huang (President)

Sue Yee Chen (Vice President)

Anthony Choi (Secretary)

Olivia Hu (Treasurer)

Ashley Cheng (Editor)

Official Stuy Key Club E-mail

stuykc@yahoo.com

The Board

Jane Yang & Shadia Kim

(Advocacy)

Cissy Lin & Connie Liu

(Art)

Anne Tsay & Irene Kho

(Fundraising)

Send articles and pictures to

locksmith@stuykc.org

Visit our website

stuykc.org

The Locksmith

Caring—Our Way of Life

December 2007/

January 2008

Volume 3, Issue 3

Black and

White Ball

2

JCC Wrap-It-

Up

3

NYRR Hot

Chocolate

15K

4-5

USACF Pen

Pal Letters

6

20 Reasons to

Be in Key

Club

7

Comics 8

Word Search 9

Crossword 10

Crossword 11

Word Search 12

NYRR

Manhattan

Half

Marathon

13

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Stuyvesant

High School’s

Key Club

Joanna Chen & Pei Xiong Liu

(Locksmith)

Rachel Dekhterman & Judith Chow

(New Projects)

Jing W. Xiao & Snigdha Das

(Public Relations)

Gavin Huang & Victor Ma

(Web)

THE LOCKSMITH Page 2

The Black and White Ball – a fundraiser with HSMSE and Living Beyond Belief – was held on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at Cooper Chimney (a supposedly “elegant” location with many “luxurious” fea-

tures) to raise money for AIDS prevention education and awareness.

Well, at least there was a place. Oh wait, no there wasn’t, at least not for over a dozen people who were stuck outside waiting in the winter cold. I think it was a fire hazard to have more than a certain number of people in that small restaurant, so a policeman was standing out-

side by the door, not letting anyone in. -__-

I got there late, but luckily, not that late. The first floor was a restaurant, so I was es-corted upstairs and… whoa, I thought, is this it? It was a cramped, narrow, way-too-crowded place. There was barely enough room to move around in (just try dancing). The food was okay – not too shabby – but then again, there wasn’t even enough (nowhere near the “tons of

food” as promised).

Even though the place that was booked was horrible, we tried to make the best out of it, and I think we did. We met new people, talked, and got to know one another. I met someone from my ele-mentary school that I hadn’t seen since elementary school. The DJ was fine but the music couldn’t be played too loudly because there were diners downstairs. One good thing? There were enough drinks, non-alcoholic, of course. We had fun with the games that they came up with (except it made so much noise that it affected the kitchen

downstairs… but it wasn’t that much noise).

We raised money through raffles; the prize handouts are always fun! NY1 News came along and managed to interview some people in that oh -so-claustrophobic space. (They’re 24-hour local news, what else can they cover?) We were told

not to give the restaurant bad reviews, but I did so anyways… jkjk.

We also decorated the murals that were going to be auctioned… except, I didn’t know that so I wrote something that I would not have written if I had known that that was going to happen. In the end, we got so-called “goodie bags” which contained a bunch of brochures, a Brit-

ney Spears CD o.o, lubricant, o.O, and a bunch of condoms O.O.

Was it worth the $22 though? If you were just looking for a party, then probably not. (Perhaps Lily just overdid the description in her email and we were over-expecting.) We were promised another ball or something of that sort at a better place for free or at a cheaper price if we had paid for that ball. But there is something more to this that we should all realize – that these me-nial things and inconveniences should not matter when it comes to helping out the greater com-munity. We are lucky, and even if you take that fact for granted, you should realize why you are

helping out – because some are not as fortunate as we are.

By Victor Ma

B a k n W i e a l

VOLU ME 3 , ISSU E 3 Page 3

JCC WRAP-IT-UP

Wrapped-Up Surprises

Warm, tingly feelings fill my heart

When I know smiles are brought

To adorable little faces by my small acts of kindness.

Just a simple task of wrapping a small surprise is enough

To bring joy to a person’s life.

How wondrous it is to know

That a few minutes used could brighten a person’s day.

And knowing that I was the reason

A person smiled that day,

Gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

Since, I know that I made a difference in the world.

It may seem small but in my little world,

It is GIGANTIC!

Victoria Tsang :]

THE LOCKSMITH Page 4

Hot Chocolate on a Cold Day

It felt like one of the coldest days of the year. At 7 o‟ clock in the morning, it was probably

only around 20 degrees. Through my thin jacket, I could feel the full chill of the wind. The

name of the event, NYRR Hot Chocolate, had misled me to think that I would be nice and

toasty warm during the event.

As I arrived at the volunteer sign-in, my spirits were slightly lifted as

we were offered some of the sweet confection after which the event was

named, along with some bagels, for breakfast. Despite the frigid weather,

the volunteer coordinators were surprisingly warm towards us. They

cheerily signed us in and gave us our volunteer vests along with bull-

horns and hand-warmers (my lifesavers!). With my piping hot Styro-

foam cup of hot chocolate as my source of heat and two packages of hand-warmers in

my pockets, I felt for the first time that I could brave the cold weather. That is, until another icy

blast of wind swept across Central Park. All in the name of community service, I thought.

As we waited for our assignments, the Key Club from Bayside High approached the volun-

teer sign-in table. While we were prepared for the “Boomba!” greeting, many of the Stuy Key

Clubbers answered with silence as Bayside Key Club said “Hey Stuy, how do YOU feel?!?”

Richard quickly took over his presidential duties, teaching us how to respond to this Key Club

greeting. “When they say „Hey Stuy, how do you feel?‟,” Richard explained, “We respond, „We

feel good, OH we feel so good, UH!‟, with a pelvic thrust on the „uh.‟ Don‟t forget the pelvic thrust,

it‟s very important.”

We were then led on a march, with one of the volun-

teer event coordinators slowly picking us off the end of

the procession and assigning us to spots along the

trail. As we walked, I realized that I could hardly feel

my toes. I shook my hand-warmers viciously, seri-

ously considering putting them in my shoes. Our

task for this event would be to cheer on the runners as

well as to make sure they stayed on the left side of

the lane. After waiting about half-an-hour for the

event to start, we saw a police vehicle coming around

the corner. With a few runners behind it, the Hot

Chocolate run had begun!

NYRR Hot Chocolate 15K

VOLU ME 3 , ISSU E 3 Page 5

At first, our task seemed easy enough, with cheers of “great job, keep up the good job” and the occasional “stay to your left, please.” This relatively easy job quickly became chaotic after an-other half hour. Since we were at the one mile mark, many of the faster runners had passed by. However, after this half hour, the mob started appearing. I quickly looked on in shock as hun-dreds of runners rounded the corner. Rather than taking up the half of the lane that was marked off by orange cones, the runners started overflowing onto the rest of the path, until there was only a narrow space available for cyclists and joggers traveling in the opposite direction. With a greater sense of self-importance, I encouraged the runners, shouting out to keep to their left every few seconds. While this did not exactly work out very well, I was impressed by how many people had braved the cold and come to this event to run so early in the morning.

As thousands of runners passed by, certain people stood out in the crowd, such as a two people

dressed as ketchup and mustard. Santa also got his exercise at this event as he jogged past with

his herd of reindeer. In addition, I was surprised at how many elderly people were trying their

hardest to finish the 5 kilometer run. I was especially touched later in the day when one elderly

man passed by as we were heading back to the start line to sign out, asking us to “Tell them to

wait for me. I want to finish this race.”

The cold started becoming more bearable as time progressed. In fact, after about another hour,

the temperature was probably in the 40s. I could feel my toes again. I reluctantly took my

hands out of my pockets and found that I didn‟t need the hand-warmers anymore. In addition,

my mood was being warmed by the runners passing by. The best part of the run was after the

large group had passed by. As runners passed by in smaller groups, the cheers I made seemed to

be more personal. “Let‟s go runners, let‟s go!” I shouted. I was delighted when many run-

ners clapped along to my chants.

Towards the end of the run, I added an-other line to my cheers. “You‟re doing great, thanks for coming!” With just one sentence in reply, my entire morning of braving the elements was worth it. In a response that warmed me up better than any hot choco-late could have, some of the runners re-plied, “Thank YOU for coming here to-day.”

-Irene Kho

THE LOCKSMITH Page 6

A Little Note Goes a Long Way

If you were in Key Club last year, you would probably have heard of the United States African Children Fellowship (USACF) Pen Pal Program that several of your fellow Key Clubbers participated in. These pen pal let-ters were mailed almost a year ago and finally, responses have arrived.

My pen pal, Bhekukuthula Mathuthu, is twelve years old and in sev-enth grade. Although his English is not perfect, he writes earnestly about his everyday life. “[I] like rice and cassva [and I] like football.” Thanks to all the donations to this program, this boy can finally experience the joy of see-ing a football glide gracefully through the air, and the satisfaction that comes with every goal and touchdown.

He also writes, “I like math [too].” This simple statement shows just how wonderful these children are—their love for education (go math!) is strong, despite the hardships they face every day inside and outside of school. This love cannot be taken away; it will propel these kids to become the future leaders and empower them to better their communities.

Bhekukuthula concludes his letter with a drawing of a teacher writing letters on the chalkboard. I have to admit, this boy draws better than I can ever hope to. Without the donations from USACF, who knows what would have happened to this undiscovered talent? Just think—an artistic, creative, and beautiful imagination was made possible all due to one simple little thing: a pencil. This just goes to show that a little note goes a long way.

By Kenny Yu

USACF Pen Pal Letters

VOLU ME 3 , ISSU E 3 Page 7

1. We get to help other people.

2. We have fun while helping other people.

3. You get credit for helping other people.

4. You get to know that you made someone’s life easier.

5. You get to know that you made someone’s day. 6. The feeling you get when people thank you for volunteering is amazing.

7. You feel like you’re part of a big, caring family.

8. You get to meet new people from every background.

9. You make lots of new friends.

10. You have plenty to talk about when you get back to school.

11. You get free t-shirts. 12. You get free breakfast.

13. You feel useful.

14. You feel needed.

15. You become an ACTIVIST in your community.

16. You get experience. (Some of them you’ll never forget)

17. Events are great excuses for procrastination (Disclaimer: KC does NOT endorse this =p).

18. There are so many things you can do in Key Club (like the different

committees) that there is always something for everyone.

19. You get the right to shout “BOOMBA!” at people and laugh when other

people don’t get it.

20. All the cool kids are in Key Club! :D

20 REASONS TO BE IN KEY CLUB

~DONNA KOO

THE LOCKSMITH Pag

LAUGH OUT LOUD! =D

ZOE WU

VOLU ME 3 , ISSU E 3 Page 9

DECEMBER EVENTS!

By: Jensen Cheong

NYRR HOT

CHOCOLATE

BLACK AND WHITE BALL

JOE KLEINERMAN

RACE JCC WRAP

IT UP

GIFT WRAPPING AT B AND N

HOLIDAY FOUR

MILER PEN PAL LETTERS

Q Y B A H X M W U S J C E I D K V R O J F

F N U L K I L O J T V S M N Z G P T B O L

W Z A Q A X S C R H D B Y E G M P P L E O

B N H J C C W R A P I T U P Y U J M I K K

G T R F V C K D E W S X Z A Q M X H A L Y

N R O F L B E A I D K V E W U S J C A E Q

Z G Z N M I Z I N W F N U A C R H K O I H

W F N P M O O J T D V S E I Y B D A Q N O

A A R L J B V S O U W G C X E K Y T D E Z

D R E N Y R R H O T C H O C O L A T E R Q

A L T H N E Q W E R T Y I E P L K J V M A

B O O T Y E R F U I K J H T G F D S A A C

H O L I D A Y F O U R M I L E R R J R N I

N E S N E J M X C V B N A S I B F E R R B

I Y A H A W E H S E B H U K N I A H F A A

G D S A Q W E R T M I L W C D E V L R C E

M E P E N P A L L E T T E R S E R T L E U

M Z N X B C V L A K S J D J F H G A E R Y

T H E O U J M I Y H N TU G B A R F V C D E

A E G I F T W R A P P I N G A T B A N D N

THE LOCKSMITH Page 10

BY BETTY ZHAO

T

H

E

C

R

O

S

S

W

O

R

D

P

U

Z

Z

L

VOLU ME 3 , ISSU E 3 Page 11

Across:

1. the number of bake sales we've had this school

year

4. location of Key Club bulletin board

5. NYRR Hot __________

9. our sister school in upper Manhattan (organized

the Black and White Ball)

10. number of Key Club committees

12. this event involved wrapping gifts and writing

Down:

2. Boomba!

3. Key Club's college equivalent

6. in October, we handed out fliers for this

organization

7. he's our faculty advisor

8. dues cost _______ dollars

11. October's Project of the Month

13. ________ Educates Youth

By Divya Dayal

LOCKSMITH DECEMBER CROSSWORD

ANSWER KEY

Across: 1.Three 4.First Floor 5.Chocolate 9.HSMSE 10.Seven 12.JCC Wrap It Up 15.Olivia

Down: 2. Hey 3.Circle K 6.ACS 7.Cocoros (Mr.) 8.Twelve 11.MSABC 13.Kiwanis 14.Central Park

THE LOCKSMITH Page 12

NNNEWEWEW YYYEAREAREAR’’’SSS WWWORDSEARCHORDSEARCHORDSEARCH

D F T H I V W O L D E C N U X S A M L K R P

P A R T Y E H D B I S C K W I S H E S E Z L

C I S E P Z G J O N R I F E P Z O D E L V I

K P G H S C U H E U F J D L F I L K F Y I H

F L C S G O U H M R A U U U V S I R A D O M

I K H A F U L D G J A H E B I D D N M C T S

A M S V I N S U E V S U K F S L A S I N E D

X X I A E T H O T A B T Q D R C Y E L Z I V

C R F Y L D L F R I E N D S K O K M Y D U U

B U B I W O C H O P O O B I S P D Z I O A Z

H D D R V W I S H I Z N F M O E A P X W T B

D H V F S N E H M D J E S A D I M R P B E R

I F R E D N E L A C A N B U Z J L I D A J E

W O N S M G P E F H B W J G V Y C F T L U A

O G O T V S C Y D A E F R W X G Y P G Q C K

K E S R D O V W S M P M S O N S N T A U F N

E T V E Y N S H J P F O I X Y R A U N A J L

T I X A O H I T C A S U S N E C L L D K U Y

V S B M D S E D L G N Q G Y G H W A C P O R

M R J E S R M I D N I G H T S R D K I S S E

T F H R V Y I J R E D W A F J E O T E W L W

L C U S X H P E S H O M J A M J S W H M I A

BREAK JANUARY

CALENDAR KISS

CHAMPAGNE MIDNIGHT

COUNTDOWN PARTY

FAMILY RESOLUTION

FRIENDS STREAMERS

HOLIDAY TIMES SQUARE

BY LOREN OUMAROVA

VOLU ME 3 , ISSU E 3 Page 13

The New York Road Runners Half Marathon,

which was held in the Upper West Side on January 27

and lasted from 7 AM to 12 PM, was certainly not an

easy event to volunteer for. With temperatures below

freezing, the Sunday morning proved to be a formidable

challenge to both volunteers and runners. Initially, I did

not want to get out of bed to volunteer for the marathon,

since it was on a Sunday, and I had a nagging cough at

the time. However, I felt that I would regret it if I did

not participate at least for a portion of the event. Hence,

I rolled out of bed, still somewhat groggy, and arrived in

Central Park’s East Drive at a little past 9:30 AM.

I was a little disconcerted when I first arrived, though; I could not find my project captain since I had arrived late. Nevertheless, it did not take me long to find one of the volunteer coordinators for the half-marathon, and soon, I was cheering for the runners on a part of the course not far from the finish line. I felt a little awkward at first yelling, “ Stay to your left, runners!” or “Good job runners! Keep it up!” to unfamiliar people. How-ever, most of the runners appreciated the support, and that positive reception motivated me to keep on cheer-ing. By 11:30 AM, the lower part of my body was numb, but I was all smiles as I signed out, took one of the shirts the coordinators were giving out, and left the park.

At the end of the event, the satisfaction of know-ing that I had participated in route marshalling the event and had put my all into encouraging the runners to do their best in the half marathon left me with a warm feel-ing that compensated for the cold toes and fingers.

- Shayra Kamal

The

NYRR

Manhattan

Half

Marathon