Gavel Club motivates members

      Some of Clark County School District's most motivated students attend Sunset High School East.
      Its principal, Kay Hawkins, said students attending the alternative school, which offers evening classes, are there because they want to succeed.
      For instance, 18-year-old Rubi Contreras has been attending Rancho High School from 7 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. and then rushing to Sunset for evening classes (1:45 p.m. to 8:20 p.m.) for a year.
      Why would someone keep such a hectic schedule?
      "Nobody has gotten a diploma in my family," said Contreras, who is credit deficient. "I want to be the first. And my ultimate goal is to become a teacher."
      In addition to her nine classes, the energetic teen-ager works during the weekends. With all this on her schedule, she said one of her most exciting activities is being the vice president of the school's Gavel Club.
      Last semester, students at Sunset -- 3801 E. Washington Blvd.-- started the club through Toastmasters International, a nonprofit organization that teaches public speaking and how to overcome the fear of talking in front of groups.
      Sunset has the only active student Gavel Club in Clark County.
      "The best part is we get to learn about each other," Contreras said about the club that has 25 students. "One of our first speeches is the icebreaker, where we have to tell about ourselves. And we help each other out because we're all going to be in the same spot up there."
      Principal Hawkins has been at the school for six years and said the club's members are encouraged with trophies.
      "These are often students who haven't won many ribbons or trophies in their high school careers and this gives them an opportunity (to succeed)," said Hawkins, who was a member of Toastmasters in Arizona. "We just have a different atmosphere here because these kids have chosen to come back to school."
      Sunset is an alternative school for students who don't fit within a traditional high school setting. Evening classes accommodate the students who work full-time day jobs, and an on-campus child-care center is available for those who have children. Sunset shares a building with Horizon East, an alternative high school that meets during daytime hours.
      "Half my population goes to two high schools," Hawkins said about her student body of 400. "And we have some from every high school in the valley. They can take one to four classes all year long to catch up on credit deficiencies. They'll tell you, they want to walk with their class."
      The other half of Sunset's students attend the school full time.
      Hawkins said her students understand the importance to graduating from high school, and the Gavel Club members understand the importance of good communication, whether in a speech or interviewing for a job.
      During a typical Gavel Club meeting, the students followed the directions of a sign hanging on their classroom wall, a Classroom Do List. 1) Do stay awake. 2) Do follow instructions. 3) Do respect me, yourself and other classmates.
      The club's president, Charles Tatum, led in the "Pledge of Allegiance" before the impromptu speeches were given on such topics as: If you were homeless, what would you do for fun? What do you think bunny rabbits do on Easter?
      Then three students gave formalized Sincerity Speeches on topics they believed in strongly. The most passionate was given by Tatum, who for nine minutes spoke to his classmates on graduating.
      "We're all credit deficient," he said with a preacher's cadence. "We can't keep doing the things that brought us here: ditching class, smokin'. We should adopt to our new environment. ... Whatever comes around, goes around. I don't want my kids to go through what I've gone through. Let's conversate in good deeds."
      He added: "People tell me I'm always preaching. Sometimes I just can't stop. I hope we all graduate and get our credits."