For the month of April, The Pirateer Newspaper would like to acknowledge and congratulate the Newman Club for their excellent performances throughout the year and especially this month. The two club presidents, Su-Ann Wong and Nicole Garay have answered a few questions to help explain the club, its purposes, and past achievements.

1) What is it that your club does exactly, since a lot of people are unaware of it.

Our club can really be described as a community service club. Our main goal is to help others in any shape or form. The smile on a child's face or the tear in a senior citizen's eye really touches us in a way that makes us feel good about ourselves. By helping others, we can make the world a better place.

2) Why is it called the Newman club? Was it founded for any specific purpose?

The Newman Club (named after John Henry Cardinal Newman) originated as a Catholic-based club and was founded for the purpose of community service. Today, as a club at Tottenville High School, we simply maintain our club's primary goal: to help others. We invite students from any religion and background to help us in our endeavors. [added in by Nicole!]

3) What are some of the charity events you have done?

We have events that we do annually. In October, the members of the Newman Club help out by setting up for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk (JDRF). Yes, we wake up before the sun rises and start working at CSI at 6 in the morning! Trust me, it is difficult! However, when we see all the people who come to walk and volunteer with us, we know we've done a great job by bringing people together. During the holidays, we travel to the Vanderbilt Nursing Home to sing carols to the elderly. We even have Santa Claus come along and one year, the infamous Grinch joined us too! At last year's annual caroling trip, we teamed up with the American Sign Language Club and made it a holiday to remember. In March, we conduct the Bread of Life Food Drive which turned out to be quite a success this year! In May, we hold a special baby shower for single mothers at the Good Counsel Home. Their perseverance is respected by both the members and advisors of our club. This year, the club may make an appearance at the annual WalkAmerica so look out for us!

4) The bread of life drive was done this past month. How were the outcomes?

Before the week that the food drive was conducted, the Newman Club teamed up with the Young Democrats, headed by Mr. Hundley, to set up boxes in both Science and English classrooms. That Monday, members of both clubs went to English classrooms to encourage their peers how important it was for people to receive food for the spring holidays. The fall drive, conducted by Council For Unity, has amazing outcomes but the spring drive is not always as successful. With the diligence of all the members, we were in for a shock on Thursday as we collected the boxes after school. There was so much food! Nicole and I thank the members of the Newman Club as well as of the Young Democrats for making this year's food drive one of the most successful yet!

5) When and where do you meet? Is it open for any members to join?

The Newman Club meets every other Monday in Room C212B. Nicole and I welcome any members who are interested in joining our club. Just listen out for announcements! You'll be just in time for our annual baby shower at the Good Counsel Home. Come and join us!

Congratulations to the Newman Club! Keep up the good work!