OCTOBER ISSUE PUBLISHER

2022 N.2022 RAMEEN RAUF

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
Hello deca members!
Deca Minicomp time has now officially arrived! As you submit your writtens, perfect your roleplays,
and practice your cluster exams, keep a few things in mind. You MUST compete in Minicomp to be
eligible to qualify for DECA Norcal. All things, such as not showing up on time, being unprofessionally
dressed, or not having your Chromebook, may have you disqualified from the competition. This
newsletter gives you more insight on Minicomp and tips and tricks to deca writtens and roleplays.
Confidence is key. David Latimore from Plainfield North DECA said, “Go in confident; going in with a
weak mind is the first step in making sure you don’t do well. Remember everything you have learned
and practiced.” Too much confidence may go to your head, but there is an amount of confidence that
is necessary to do well in competition.
OCTOBER
2022

MHHS
MHHS DECA:
DECA:
MINICOMP INFO
BY: SRISHTI GAJJAR

DECA’s competitions allow you to meet new people, make connections, learn new skills, and even
place in your events. As MHHS DECA officers, we are preparing members to succeed in all aspects
of the competitions. One way to prepare them is by hosting a mini-competition on October 29,
2022. During Minicomp, members will be taking a multiple-choice test about their cluster that they
chose, presenting only 70-80% of their written and one roleplay. The officers are helping all the
members prepare for their writtens but for minicomp to prepare for the roleplay, members can use
the resources provided in deca+
(login information can be found in their canvas).The Mini-competition on October 29 will begin at
8:00 am, so everyone must arrive by 7:50 am. Everyone should be dressed appropriately, such as in
suits, dress pants, or skirts. All participants should bring their school-issued chromebook (they will
not be able to take their test if they don’t have their school-issued chromebook, they will receive a
0 and it will affect their roleplay score), a sufficient amount of money to buy food as there will be
food trucks, and any other items that the member might need for their written presentation.

Schedule for Minicomp:

8:00 am- Everyone enters the small gym
8:00 am- 8:30 am- Opening Ceremony: Brief introductions & speech from the
officer team
8:30 am - 9:30 am- Testing (school-issued Chromebook is required)
9:45 am- 12 pm- Written and Roleplay presentations
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm- Break where members will able to get food from the food
trucks
2:00 pm -3:00 pm - Speech from keynote speaker
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm- Closing Ceremony: Awards

MiniComp will typically run from 8:00 am and end at 6:00

pm. Just a reminder that no one’s events will overlap, as
everything has been carefully planned so there won’t be
any scheduling issues. Also, with the exception of TEAM
DECISION-MAKING ROLEPLAYS, all event timing adhere
to DECA guidelines.

The same amount of time will be allotted to Team

Decision roleplays, as well as preparation and
presentations for individual roleplays (15 minutes for
prep and 15 minutes of presentation time). All members
should show up to check into their written/roleplay
event at least 10-15 minutes before their scheduled time
starts, so as to not create any complications for them or
any other members.

If any members need any help with their preparations for

their events, they can feel free to reach out to any of the
officers! We are all here to help!

DRESS TO IMPRESS!
OCTOBER
2022

A LOOK AT OUR GUEST

SPEAKER BY: SAMBHAV AGARWAL
The MHHS DECA’s officer team has been carefully planning the Mini Competition at the high school
and have been trying to conduct events that help enhance our students. One of the events we will
be conducting features a guest speaker. Our guest speakers will be (*drumroll*) JP and Jimmy.

JP and Jimmy are the owners of Royalty athletics here in Mountain House. They coach multiple
sports including Basketball and Soccer to over 900 students in the duration of 9 months. Not only
are JP and Jimmy hard-workers, but their story is really inspiring.

JP and Jimmy grew up in San Jose, CA and did not have as many resources and opportunities for
education. In fact, they shared a bedroom apartment with 6 people and struggled throughout their
childhood. While they didn’t have many opportunities, JP was an excellent basketball player who
practiced on a regular basis. His dedication and love for basketball continued to grow as he got
older, landing his dream career as a professional basketball player in the Philippines.

After playing a few years, he decided to return back to the United States to his family and got a job
as a property manager in the Bay Area. Serving multiple properties, he enjoyed the experiences but
he knew that his true passion is basketball and he aspired to teach it - so more students could play
at a competitive level.

He decided to partner up with his childhood friend, Jimmy, and start Royal Athletics. While they
were initially a start-up, they decided to grow their business in Mountain House and follow their
passion. With enough dedication and efforts, they have been able to expand to over 900 students
and project to teach over a 1000 students in multiple cities over the next few years.

The MHHS DECA Officer team would like to invite them to the mini-competition and have a
discussion with them regarding their experiences and challenges. Their inspiration to the business
led to their success, and we would like to interview them about their advice on starting a new
business. We will be questioning them about the different components of a business, such as their
channels, marketing segments, and ways of advertisements. This will help DECA members
understand the real-life application of businesses and potentially motivate them to persevere their
idea in the future. All members in DECA will have an opportunity to ask them questions and
understand the entrepreneurship mindset.

If you would like to learn more about JP and Jimmy or have any personal questions for them, feel
free to reach out to any of the DECA officers and we will assist you with the right resources. We
hope to see you at the competition and have your questions ready for JP and Jimmy.
OCTOBER
2022

CATERING IN MINICOMP
BY: CHARAN BATTULA & JASMINE TADROS

ATTENTION EVERYONE!

DECA is proud to announce that we will bring catering services for MiniComp! Now, members
can buy from the extensive menus of meals, desserts, and more! Read along for more
information about the catering options, as your purchases will support the growth of the DECA
club, as it allows the club to increase its budget for conferences, trips, and more!

Peacock Indian Cuisine

Mountain House High School DECA partnered with Peacock Dublin to bring the lunch catering
options for MiniComp. There will be a stall with Peacock in the quad from 11 A.M to 2 P.M. The
restaurant will offer foods with stalls for live cooking and more! Peacock will offer the main
lunch dishes.

Confetea
Our DECA chapter has partnered with Confetea to bring dessert options to MiniComp. Confetea
will also be in the quad from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M, and they will be selling boba drinks in multiple
flavors so make sure to bring money.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at MiniComp! Please keep in mind that by purchasing
food from these catering options on the day of MiniComp, you will be supporting our DECA
chapter and helping us raise money for our conferences and the club. So, make sure to bring
money and enjoy the food!

*IF INTERESTED IN COLLABORATING WITH OUR MHHS

DECA CHAPTER, PLEASE REACH OUT TO
MHHSDECA@LAMMERSVILLEUSD.NET*
OCTOBER
2022
“CONFIDENCE IN COMPETITION”
Everything you need to know before walking into Mini-Comp…

BY: HADIA ASHFAQ & DISHA ANANTHULA

As you all know, competition season is coming up faster than you know it. From the VPs of
Competition to you, we’ve prepared a series of tips and advice to help each and every one of you to
be prepared before you walk into your event rounds, whether it be your Cluster Exam, Written
Presentation, or the Roleplay.

Written Presentation tips:

Own your presentation. Nobody knows your presentation better than you do. Even if you are unsure
about parts of your presentation, use acting skills to the best of your ability. Hand gestures can
also play an important role in how confident you see with your presentation. For example, if you
find yourself having to refer to the presentation you made to accompany your writing often, use
hand motions to show that you are acknowledging the information that is there.

Practice beforehand. “Winging it” with your presentation is only going to hurt you. In fact, the
actual presentation part is just as important as the written. Since the judge will have no knowledge
about the contents of your written entry, your best bet will be to clearly convey your message.

Collaborate with your team. If you are presenting within a team, it is important that you stay
engaged with your partners throughout the duration of your presentation. Make sure to be engaged
with your partners, as if you are an audience member while you are speaking. Before you walk into
your round, be sure to practice proper transitions and handoffs if you are referring to any visual
props or presentations. Keep in mind that you are also judged based on whether everyone in the
group contributes evenly, so make sure to have your timings set in place.

Visuals. There are so many factors which go into your presentation and its impression on your
judge. Solely talking to your judge can only do so much, and the last thing you want to do is bore
them. With that being said, have a visual presentation ready. This can be in the form of a physical
poster, powerpoint, or even with props. The execution is completely up to you. Just like your
written, you have the power of creative freedom to express your skills!

With these presentations, it is important to keep in mind the location and environment you are
surrounded by. Resources such as Wi-Fi will be limited, and may not work at all due to the high
volume of individuals, or simply because technical difficulties spark at any time. Don't depend on
outlets or internet connections for your presentations, save the hassle ahead of time and plan
ahead for obstacles like these.
OCTOBER
2022

Roleplay Presentation tips:

Analyze your situation carefully. Given on the roleplay participant instructions sheets is everything
you need to know to successfully go through a roleplay presentation. Read through everything at a
steady pace, DO NOT SKIM THE FIRST TIME AROUND. Details that may initially seem small and
unimportant could actually be the center of your reasoning in terms of business decisions,
suggestions, or predictions. In addition, it’s important that you’re specific in your response, so use
things like numbers to show you are well-versed with the situation.

Cover all the PIs. Performance indicators can be found on the roleplay participant instructions
sheets. They are what the judge will be looking for in your response. To ensure that you have
fulfilled them, make a mental checklist to see that you have covered everything being asked of
you. They do not have to be specified when brought up (ex. “The functions of prices in market
are…”) but they should be discussed as part of the presentation.

Make an outline/find a method of organization that works. A lot of the time, you will be asked to
address multiple things in a roleplay. To ensure that you are covering everything in a sufficient
time frame and with enough detail, you might want to make an outline. You are allowed to use any
notes you make during the time allotted to formulate your answer, but referring to them the whole
time is not the best idea. You want to show the judge that you know what you are talking about, so
something that might be helpful to do is use keywords that indicate things you want to say. If you
are doing a team decision making event, work with your partner to see what part each person will
cover (can be indicated clearly on the outline).

Be prepared for any potential questions. If time permits, your judge will likely have questions to
ask about your response. These questions could either be general or specific to your response. To
make sure you are prepared, think of what you would ask yourself if you were a judge. A question,
for example, to think about might be “Are there any holes in our solution? How do we address
them?”

Cluster Exam Tips:

Practice Exams. You all have access to a wide range of exams specifically catered to your event
and cluster which it falls in. The most accurate content is within these exams. To access them, log
into DECA+, with the login found on your canvas cluster courses. At the bottom of all the
documents, there are the answer keys along with highly detailed descriptions of why that answer
is correct.

DECA+ Practice. Within DECA+, each cluster has an exam they can take through the website. Once
you complete the exam and submit, you will receive exact feedback on what you scored well on,
and what you need to improve on. This feedback is very specific and will help you significantly
improve your scores.

Narrow down your choices. If you didn't know, the cluster exam is a 100 question, multiple choice
exam. You are given exactly 90 minutes to complete it all. This will be more than enough time, but
make sure you have a proper method of taking the exam. We recommend that you narrow down
two choices, and make your best educated guess based on what you know about your topic.
OCTOBER
2022

TIPS AND TRICKS: FORMATTING

BY: ZAHRA UMAR AND AAKRITI SINGH

Headings
Even in it’s most basic form, you must have headings specifying each part of content on your
written. Otherwise, what will the reader know what you are talking about? Include a heading just
how it says on the guidelines with each respective part of your written, and make sure to keep it
distinguishable from the rest of your text.

Color
Although you are writing a business report, you dont want to make it basic and boring with just
some black and white. Incorporating color is essential in producing a written that is not just is
readable but also visually appealing to the eyes! However, you don’t want to be too extra with the
color and be very careful in choosing the theme of your written. You don’t want the colors to
become too overpowering to the point where instead of the reader wanting to look through you
written, they immediately close it because your report looks like color vomit. Here’s a tip: look up a
color palette corresponding to the theme you want to put off with your written, so that you’ll
already know what colors work well with each other and which ones clash!

As certain colors mixed together can be very overwhelming, you must also be sure not to set
certain parts of your written a color that may make it hard to read or understand. For example, if
you have an orange background, don’t set your text color as yellow. The last thing you want to do is
make it hard for the judge to understand your report.

Fonts
It’s been hard wired in us to put all our fonts in
either Ariel or Times New Roman. But here is your
time to be creative. But again, don’t go too crazy.
Pick a font that goes well with the theme of your
written, but be sure that it is easy to read, as you
don’t want to make it difficult for the judge. Font
ties in with color, it contributes to your written
looking visually appealing, so definitely use that as
a tool to hook your judge to your report.

Charts and Images

You are expected to have many images and charts
throughout your written. Don't just make it a big
block of text, make it enjoyable! Using graphs to
help underline key financial aspects or help get the
point across can be a good way of utilizing space
on your writtens. Make them easy to understand
and match with the overall theme of your written.

Example Writtens
In the example executive summary below, the
students used a blue highlight to make all headings
look prominent. They also used a graph to make the
budget more comprehensible and easily
understood.

A FORMATTED EXECTUTIVE SUMMARY EXAMPLE.

OCTOBER
2022

Well, folks, that is all for now! Enjoyed reading our NEWSletter? Stay tuned for
our October issue! As you start preparing for our mini competition and Norcal-
keep in mind that all questions, comments, or concerns be directed to:
mhhsdeca@lammersvilleusd.net
Any general emails sent to officers separately will not be responded to.
MHHS DECA 2022-2023 OFFICERS

PRESIDENT - KOMAL VIJ

VP OF LEADERSHIP - TEJAS TOMAR // SAMBHAV AGARWAL

VP OF COMPETITION - SAMARTH HIREMATH // MAHIT NAMBURU // DISHA

ANANTHULA // HADIA ASHFAQ

VP OF MARKETING - RAMEEN RAUF // AAKRITI SINGH // ZAHRA UMAR

VP OF FINANCE - CHARAN BATTULA // JASMINE TADROS

VP OF HOSPITALITY - SRISHTI GAJJAR // SATHYA SEELAM // VIVEK

NALLURI

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SOON!