Newark Key Club Joins Jamaican Clubs in Interclub
The newly formed North Star Academy Washington Park High School Key Club met with two Jamaican Key Clubs over Google Meet.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Soccer
The Key Club at North Star Academy Washington Park High School in Newark joined Key Clubs from Cedar Grove Academy and Excelsior High School in Jamaica for an interclub meeting held by Google Meet on Friday, November 6. The meeting was arranged by Mackayla Binns, president of the Washington Park High School Key Club.
Why it matters
The interclub was held to share ideas, learn about one another's service projects, and build friendships across schools and countries. It also connected the newly chartered Newark club with Kiwanis International leadership, including President Hope Markes.
The Washington Park High School Key Club chartered with 51 charter members and is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of West Orange. The Key Club network includes about 229,000 members worldwide, while the New Jersey District alone has 10,621 members across 145 clubs.
The players
Hope Markes
Hope Markes is the first Black woman and first Caribbean national to lead Kiwanis International, the 110-year-old service organization that sponsors Key Club.
Kiwanis International
Kiwanis International is a 110-year-old global service organization that sponsors the Key Club network of high school service clubs.
Key Club International
Key Club International is the high school service arm of Kiwanis International, founded in 1925 at Sacramento High School in California.
The details
Binns opened the meeting with a Kahoot icebreaker, after which students from all three schools held a question-and-answer session with one another and with Kiwanis leaders. The meeting marked the first interclub for the newly formed Newark club.
Timeline
Key Club was founded on May 7, 1925, at Sacramento High School in Sacramento, California.
The New Jersey District of Key Club International was established in 1947.
Hope Markes took office as Kiwanis International President on October 1.
The interclub meeting was held Friday, November 6, at 6:00 p.m.
Season Trajectory
The Newark chapter extends a network founded at Sacramento High School in 1925 and organized in New Jersey since 1947. The interclub adds a new chartered school to the New Jersey District's 145 clubs and 21 divisions.
The Newark club now has a live channel to Jamaican Key Clubs and Kiwanis leadership for joint service activity. Students at the three participating schools gained direct access to one another through the shared question-and-answer format.
The takeaway
Interclub meetings give newly formed clubs a direct way to exchange service ideas with schools in other countries. Students who want to join or start a similar club can ask their school's Key Club or sponsoring Kiwanis chapter how to begin.
Further reading
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Source note: This article includes information reported by Parsippany Focus | "All Local, All Parsippany".
