Key Club International, founded in 1925, is a multinational organization that provides high schoolers with an opportunity to serve their communities, build character and develop leadership. Currently, Key Club has over 251,000 members in 40 different countries. This school year, a local Key Club chapter was founded at PVHS by juniors Ishika Desai, Nishita Gudipati and Tiffany Ku.

This club’s main mission is to provide students with service learning and leadership opportunities as well as encouraging participation in various school and community projects. “At PV, everyone is required to complete service learning hours. We noticed that some kids struggle to find opportunities to make their hours meaningful, so we began Key Club to help kids who wanted to make an impact on the community,” Gudipati explained.

Key Club has recruited many members this year. With a diverse array of available activities, anyone and everyone can find a place to fit in. Freshman Sashwat Choudhary joined the Key Club this year because of this inclusivity. “I walked into the club fair not knowing which clubs I wanted to join. Key Club caught my attention because they were not limited. Their main focus was to help out the community in any way possible, and this fit with what I wanted to do,” Choudhary said.

So far, the local Key Club chapter has helped organize volunteers  for the QC Marathon to assist with setup and other miscellaneous activities at the race. This event also served as an exciting collaboration with the Bettendorf Key Club. l. “This was our first event as a club, and it was awesome being able to work with Bettendorf’s club as well. It was amazing to see both of our schools come together to serve the community in a unique way,” Gudipati said.

The QC marathon was just  the beginning for Key Club. The team has many other projects on their horizon, including arranging after school care at local elementary schools and setting up fundraising projects to help with further events. Key club also offers different awards and scholarships to the active and registered members of the club.

As Key Club continues to grow and make an impact at PVHS and beyond, it continues to bring students together through service projects and collaboration. Meetings are held every Wednesday at 7:30 in room 267 for those interested in making a lasting impact on the community!

While some consider the legal field as difficult to hold a profession in, a small group of high school students are diving headfirst into the courtroom—mastering new skills and gaining experience in mock legal proceedings. After more than a four year absence, the PV Mock Trial Team was reformed in early September to help students learn about the legal process and is now recruiting new members.

The National High School Mock Trial competition is hosted each year in early May, and each state holds their own state qualifying competitions. In Iowa, the competition is sponsored by the Iowa Bar Association, which helps connect high school teams with real attorneys to bolster interest in legal professions.

The club offers a variety of situations during the trials. “Students have the opportunity to act as both witnesses and attorneys, and so far our participants are having lots of fun. Now we are just looking for new people to join,” said senior Andres Bravo, who is part of the club’s leadership.

Other members cite the club as a source of inspiration. “Mock trials are a great way to meet and hear from legal professionals. When I attended my previous school, our Mock Trial team was a deciding factor in my career aspirations,” expressed junior Asmita Bag, the team’s president.

The team plans to compete at the regional, state and national level this school year and has already started preparing for competition by rehearsing opening and closing statements, practicing with logic and reasoning and keeping proper documentation of courtroom proceedings. They initiated their preparation by reaching out to the Scott County district attorney’s office, followed by the Iowa Bar Association to be paired with a licensed attorney.

Students showed interest in the club’s pairing system. “I’m very excited to meet someone who actually works in the legal profession. I think it’s one thing for clubs to do mock trials and study content related to legal issues, but getting a professional involved will definitely be an invaluable experience,” remarked junior Brenna France.

Not only does the club help students learn about the legal process, it can help open doors to careers in the courtroom. In the past, the junior high has offered opportunities for the Mock Trial team via a previous lawyer, but the club hasn’t been present in the high school for quite some time. This new group of students aims to change that, providing students a space to practice critical thinking skills, public speaking and teamwork— essential skills to any career, not just law. Looking forward, the Mock Trial team’s members are ready to succeed as leaders in their school, community and future legal professions.

Students at PVHS came together for the 24-25 school year to start a chapter of a new club aimed at creating better medical accessibility for those with cleft lip and palate: Operation Smile.

Operation Smile aims to increase safe access to healthcare for those with cleft lip and palate. The initiative ensures that children with cleft lip or palate access safe surgeries. They accomplish this by providing medical training and education for volunteers and staff to create a pathway for safe surgeries.

Cleft lips and palates are openings in the upper lip or the palate. These openings can only be addressed by surgery. For under-resourced communities where access to safe surgeries and proper aftercare is not possible, access to surgery is limited.

Operation Smile, however, has impacted thousands of people with its global efforts.

While the organization was founded in 1982 by Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, students at PVHS decided to continue their work by starting a local chapter 42 years later.

The PVHS chapter was founded by juniors Ramandeep Kaur, Saria Fiaz and Selynna Song. The students wanted to contribute to a cause that would create accessible medical treatments for all students.“Our purpose is to raise awareness about cleft lip and cleft palate conditions and to contribute to the global project through service projects and fundraising,” expressed Kaur.

The club held its first meeting on Monday, Oct. 7 in teacher Angela Staber’s room. Many students attended the first meeting to join the movement. “I joined the Operation Smile club as I felt it directly made a difference in the lives of so many kids, I felt pretty motivated to join the club as it is not only about making a difference medically but also restoring kids’ smiles and confidence,” expressed senior Vibhuti Ghildiyal.

Currently, the club is planning a variety of projects such as service projects, fundraising, and awareness campaigns.

Operation Smile brings a smile to those leading the project and those the organization impacts. “Being a part of this project will bring a smile to someone’s life. Your actions will count towards making a global difference,” stated Kaur.

The new chapter of Operation Smile is creating a positive step forward toward establishing a positive and inclusive community at PVHS. While the club was created to raise awareness for cleft lip and palate patients, their goal is to bring a smile to everyone’s face.

This week, Mar. 3-7, Amnesty Club will be engaging in school-wide awareness campaigns for the National Week of Student Action (NWSA). This year’s focus is on advocating for human rights amid mass deportations and violations of immigration rights in the United States.

Amnesty Club is Pleasant Valley’s local advocacy chapter of Amnesty International, an organization devoted to ensuring everyone the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and participating in “research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of these rights.”

For the National Week of Student Action, Amnesty Club members will be tabling in the Commons every morning at 7:15am, providing information about recent executive orders, First Amendment rights and more. Brochures, stickers, bookmarks and other resources will be available as well as opportunities to get involved in student activism.

This Tuesday through Thursday, Mar. 4-6, Amnesty Club will be meeting from 3:30-4:15 pm in club advisor Jenni Levora’s room, room 03. Students can participate in various advocacy activities, including the Write for Rights letter-writing campaign, poster design, games and art.

Amnesty Club stresses the fact that human rights should not be political and hopes to raise awareness about these issues in the student body. “Despite immigration rights currently being a partisan issue, we advocate for the proper treatment of all immigrants — something that isn’t being done under new policies,” said senior and club co-President Swetha Narmeta. “There are clear violations of human rights no one should have to face, including the right to live in a safe place, the right to not be separated from your family and the right to privacy.”

In speaking out against mass deportations, Amnesty highlights how the presidential administration weaponizes fear and nationalistic ideology to normalize abusive policies. Through executive orders, President Trump has suspended refugee resettlement, reinstated the remain in Mexico program and established a hotline to inform the government about immigrants involved in crimes, to name a few.

Because these policies may not affect students directly, many remain unaware of their detrimental effects. “Every individual should have more than just their basic needs met regardless of age, race, gender, and religion. Those who are victims of the system or of others should not be blamed for their own misfortune,” Amnesty member Adrienne Kelsch stated. “A lack of empathy is a horrifying thing to see. Students should be aware of what’s going on in their own world, they should be fighting to protect other humans.”

As human rights continue to be an ongoing domestic and worldwide struggle, Amnesty’s action during NWSA underscores the importance of student engagement and the power of student voices. “It’s important to advocate even at a level as low as a school club, because it can help enact change globally,” said Narmeta.

Outside of NWSA, Amnesty Club meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 3:30-4:15 in room 03. To learn more about PV’s Amnesty group and how to get involved, visit their instagram page @amnesty_pleasantvalley.

Starting this school year, PVHS’ A Positive Place Club and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America  (FCCLA) partnered together to bring feminine hygiene products into girls’ restrooms.

The club collaboration began in October, when members of the clubs came together to begin planning the hygiene drive. In December, both clubs created a hygiene product proposal and invited Mr. Jones, the assistant principal, and Mrs. Rhoades, the school nurse, to gain approval and feedback for the drive.

The hygiene drive strives to create a comfortable learning environment for students. “Our aim for the hygiene drive is to provide students with the products and support they need to feel their best and learn comfortably,” said A Positive Place co-leader and junior Siddhi Bharadwaj.

For the past two months, the clubs have been collecting donations- both monetary and physical. Just two weeks ago, the club began distributing products among the girls’ bathrooms. Additionally, there is now a stocked hygiene closet in the locker room in the downstairs gym with products and toiletries so each product can be accessed by students anywhere in the building.

As the initiative gains momentum, all participating clubs have received growing positive feedback. “Everyone has really liked the idea and like what they have seen so far. They think it is important and helps our school overall,” expressed FCCLA leader Laura Machetta.

The collaboration doesn’t stop there. The Art Club contributed to this project by decorating upcycled cardboard boxes to house each of the hygiene products. “When we started the hygiene initiative in APP, I thought it would be cool if Art Club would design boxes to put the products in,” said junior and Art Club president Sherry Tang. “In APP, we talked a lot about destigmatizing menstruation while we were initially planning the project; by making the boxes pretty, it makes the products more friendly to use.”

Not only did these clubs contribute to creating a comfortable environment for students, but they also fostered a sense of community among the student body.

PV administration has been incredibly supportive of the initiative and has seen the positive impact on the student body. “We are at our best when we are supporting others and I’m happy to support student’s effort to make this happen. I am very proud of our students for their initiative, organization and desire to help others, ” expressed associate principal Jason Jones.

The clubs are continuously working to expand the drive with their next goal being to bring the initiative to the bathrooms at the junior high. To contribute, any donations can be dropped off in the Nurse’s office.

This March, Pleasant Valley’s Spartan Assembly is facilitating their first diaper and hygiene drive to help those in need.  The need for diapers is often overlooked in the US, and the drive aims to help those in the Quad Cities area struggling with purchasing diapers.

Nearly 50% of young parents in the United States face significant struggles in providing diapers for their children. In a single year, disposable diapers cost an average of $1000 per child. While some families are able to receive aid through SNAP or WIC, the majority of families fall into the grey area of making “too much” to qualify for aid but not enough to be able to comfortably purchase diapers on their own.

Many families that fall into this group resort to other processes to help reduce the amount of diapers they have to purchase. Families will often reuse diapers, use clothes, cloths or towels, putting the children’s health at risk.

The diaper need can cause many other issues for families as well. When families do not have the diapers needed to send their children to childcare, they are forced to miss work, furthering the inability to purchase diapers, often meaning the kids will have to wear the same diapers for longer. Furthermore, babies who sit in diapers for too long are at an elevated risk of skin irritations, disrupted sleep and urinary tract infections.

In the US, there are an estimated 225 diaper banks that aim to help families in a pinch. Hiney Heroes is among them, helping serve the Quad Cities area. “To put it simply, our mission is to ensure that babies in the QCA have clean diapers. Many families struggle to afford this most basic need for their babies. There are no government safety nets to help meet this need – diapers cannot be purchased through WIC or SNAP,” founder Karree Fah said.

Spartan Assembly supports a variety of different causes throughout the school year, but this year is the first time they have organized a diaper drive, not only raising products, but bringing awareness to the cause as well. “I never knew diaper need was such a prominent form of need in the US, nonetheless in the Quad Cities specifically. I think it is so awesome we are supporting this cause and I hope it is something we continue in the future,” senior Dawsyn Green said.

Being one of the only local diaper banks in the area, the drive will extend to the majority Quad Cities area, emphasizing the importance of donating. “According to the National Diaper Bank Network’s Diaper Check 2023, 47% of families with young children have experienced diaper need. Without clean diapers, babies are more susceptible to diaper rash and other health issues. Babies that are not changed regularly cry more, putting them at higher risk for abuse. Without a day’s supply of clean diapers, families cannot take their baby to daycare, leading to missed work and decreased financial stability. Most of all, though, we ask you to donate because the need here in our community is huge. Hiney Heroes has distributed up to 19,000 diapers a month and there are still many babies that are not being served. We wholeheartedly believe that EVERY baby deserves a clean diaper and everyone that steps up to help babies is truly a HERO,” Fah continued.

Diaper need is a greatly overlooked type of need in the US that the vast majority of American families struggle with. Hiney Heroes is a great local diaper bank that supports anyone in the Quad Cities community in need. Consider donating to the Spartan Assembly diaper drive, or visit https://www.hineyheroes.com/ to see where else to donate.