Thoughtfully welcoming freshmen into high school.

Problem solved:

Members wanted to welcome new students to school, spread the word about Key Club and increase club membership across the division.

What was done:

Division 42 West Key Club members, including those at Santa Paula High School in California, did double-duty with a back-to-school project in August. They gave freshmen students help and encouragement at the start of the school year while inviting them to become new club members. At summer’s end, club members gathered to create Freshman Survival Guides. First, they decorated brown-paper lunch bags using colorful Sharpies and markers. They then filled the bags with inspirational and supportive notes, tips on surviving freshman year and school supplies (pencils, sharpeners, erasures, tape, glue, flash cards, mini notebooks), along with one important extra: information about the school’s first Key Club meeting of the year. Posters with meeting information and positive quotes reinforced the Guide content. “By working together to make the posters and Freshman Survival Guides, we tried to prepare the newcomers to serve our school and community, while being inclusive and caring of others,” says Santa Paula Key Clubber Regina Hernandez.

Supplies needed:

• Paper bags
• Pencils
• Markers
• Erasers
• Sharpeners
• Tape
• Glue
• Flashcards
• Mini notebooks

Santa Paula High School Key Club