Senator Square: Carson High School's NJROTC Orienteers compete; music, art students thrive

Editor’s Note: The following is from Chief Dan Ingram, who is is head of the Naval Science Department at Carson High School.

The CHS, NJROTC Orienteers competed in a weekend long orienteering festival in Anza Borrego State Park, Calif., Jan. 17-18. During the festival, team members competed in three different races over the two days.

There were over 200 orienteers competing from the United States and countries around the world. The “Sprint” race was held at dusk on day one and CHS’ top finisher was Riley Dunn finishing 16th out of 94 competitors. The main event of the weekend was a US Orienteering National Ranking “Classic” race.

CHS excelled in their respective courses: On the brown course for females under 18 (F-18) CHS made a clean sweep of the top three places with Trinity Harvey placing 1st, Anika Soulier placing 2nd, and Bryar Fancher placing 3rd. On the green course for males under 18 (M-18) it was the same where CHS swept the top three places with Riley Dunn taking 1st, Kyle Navarro 2nd, and Hayden Hold 3rd.

On the orange course for males under 16 (M-16), Logan Kenison came in 2nd and Travis Navarro came in 4th. The third and final race was the Maze run, which took place in the vast canyons full of sheer cliffs. It was a fast-paced and challenging course full of obstacles. CHS’ top finishers were Kyle Navarro in 13th, Jared Deselms in 14th, Travis Navarro 15th, and Coach Dan Ingram 19th out of 102 competitors. Orienteering can be a dangerous sport; it is an arduous race through the wilderness with many dangers which can slow down even the most experienced Orienteer.

NJROTC students are not just NJROTC students as they take other courses for which they have passions. A young lady from France reaped the benefits of both Trinity Harvey’s and Bryar Fancher’s passion for their Emergency Medical Services class. Bryar and Trinity applied their first aid skills to remove multiple thorns from a Cholla Cactus, also known as the jumping cactus which was imbedded in the leg of the young lady.

Finally, the CHS NJROTC Orienteering team is once again heading to the NJROTC National Orienteering Invitational Competition in Clifton, VA. The team is getting better every year and has steadily moved up the ranks at the national level competitions. Last year, Carson placed 3rd overall, and this still leaves room for improvement upward movement.

The team is training hard and staying focused with a goal of moving up the ranks once again. The orienteering team is fundraising to offset the travel and lodging costs, any contributions will be welcomed.

PIZZA FACTORY FUNDRAISER FOR THE ROMAN FAMILY
Most are now familiar with the loss endured by the Roman family, and, not at all a surprise, the Carson City community and beyond have been there to help them with expenses too numerous to list. However, help is still needed and appreciated, so the Pizza Factory is stepping up Feb. 4 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. to give 20 percent of its proceeds to assist the Roman family. Stop by between these hours and mention the Roman family name in order to support this worthwhile endeavor.

HONOR ORCHESTRAS PERFORM AT CARSON MALL
The Northern Zone Honor Orchestra, grades 6-9, gave a stellar performance at the Carson Mall Jan. 18 at 11:00 a.m. to a standing-room only crowd.

The ensemble, directed by Wendy Hartman, Adjunct Professor of Music at Boise State University and veteran Orchestra Director, was made up of 53 students from CHS, Elko High School, Carson and Eagle Valley Middle Schools, Adobe Middle School, and Flagview Intermediate School.

Hartman rehearsed the group for two days at Western Nevada College leading up to the concert, which also included a faculty string quartet performance. The level of accomplishment among students was high; they had been participating in preparatory rehearsals since November. Directors Brian Fox and Roderick Royce commented that they were proud of their students' achievements.

REAL LIFE BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP YIELDS MULTIPLE WINNERS
Vitality Dance Tour and Ms. Patricia Ababio’s Graphic Design III classes at CHS recently collaborated to create professional business logos for the dance company. Vitality is an upcoming dance company owned by Ryan Maw. Maw grew up in Carson City, but he moved to California at the age of 13 to pursue his dance career.

The company Maw created will travel worldwide and provide opportunities for dancers to be trained from some of the most current dance professionals in the industry. Vitality Dance Tour was excited to collaborate with the Graphic Design III class on a real-world media production.

The graphic design students produced numerous logos, and Maw chose the top three winners: 1st Place was Makayla Mueller, 2nd Place went to Garrett Wilson, and 3rd Place goes to Angel Navitidad. — Submitted by CHS Graphic Design teacher Patricia Ababio

OPTIONS NIGHT FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS
Tables in Senator Square are going to be available to share information about Advanced Placement classes at CHS’ Options Night. Students and their parents together will be able to Choose Their Own Adventure in seeing next years’ classes in advance. Doors will open Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m.  Parents and students from all grade levels will have opportunities to check out tables representing future classes until 8:00 p.m. For more information, please call Career and Technical Education Vice Principal Amy Freismidl at 283-1930.

SENIOR PROJECT VOLUNTEERS FOR CLASS OF 2020 INVITED TO PARTICIPATE
CHS Senior Projects for the class of 2020 are coming in soon, and the Senior Project Committee is looking for community members to volunteer to judge and review portfolios; reviewing takes place in April, and judging for presentation day is April 27. This week’s Senior Project Spotlight is on senior Kiana Martinez. Kiana is taking ‘Gratitude’ to a whole new level with her 21-day-challenge.

Her challenge is simple too as it takes just a few minutes time each day. Participants are to write down three items they are grateful for, journal one positive experience they had in the previous 24 hours, meditate for two minutes, and look to perform one random act of kindness each day. In fact, Kiana is so excited about her Senior Project she is guest speaking in classes around the school.

On Jan. 28, Kiana spoke to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This is a great opportunity to get involved with the CHS Senior Project program in order to support graduating seniors. Please sign up to volunteer at chsseniorproject.weebly.com, contact Melisa Kunter at 283-1640, or email seniorproject@carson.k12.nv.us for more information.

LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER OFFERS STUDENTS A SELF-CARE DAY IN CLASS
“One of the other Advancement Via Individual Determination teachers said she would be giving her students a self-care day … I thought that was brilliant, so today was our first” said CHS Language Arts teacher Lynette Gardner. They needed to bring something to do, and it could not be homework” Gardner added. She made sure students would not choose anything disruptive to other students, and she said, “I also told them that while I would let them listen to their AirPods, I would not let them use a screen, so there was a lot of coloring, reading and playing with play dough; one student brought bright watercolors and painted all period, and another brought a book and wrote poetry; I was very pleased with the result.” What a fantastic opportunity for students to relax and work on their own without having the daily expectation of completing an assignment for a class, a parent, or a job.

LUNCHTIME IN THE CHS LIBRARY
Maker Monday at the CHS Library is an ongoing opportunity for students to ease their brains back into school after a weekend of sleeping in. Carson City Library provided Stop-Motion Animation at Maker Monday this week.  Students stopped by the station to create videos.  Kits are available for checkout from the Carson City Library. Upcoming events are a book club Feb 10, the Nevada Career Explorer Feb. 24, a book club March 9, and Makey Makey March 23.

Students and staff are invited to stop by the library to create, connect, and practice self-care. Beatboxing has been requested by students, but so far no one at school or in the community has taken the opportunity to teach this much-desired skill. Building birdhouses is a request as well. Skilled individuals, working, or retired, are invited to the high school to teach these crafts and more. Please call Library Media Specialist Ananda Campbell at 283-1641, or email her at chsenatorslibrary.weebly.com for more information.

WEEKEND ACT, SAT BOOT CAMPS, TESTING, AND COLLEGE INFORMATION
ACT/SAT Weekend Boot Camps have been taking place throughout the school year, and students who attend these camps see substantial improvement. There is no need to sign up as students simply need to bring their Chromebooks to the CHS Library after school. The classes go from 2:15 to 3:50 p.m. English test prep is Feb. 4, writing is Feb. 11, and reading is Feb. 18. Math is Feb. 5, 12, and 19, and science is Feb. 6, 13, and 20. For more information, please call CHS Language Arts Department Chair Cheryl Macy at 283-1660, or email her at cmacy@carson.k12.nv.us.

UPCOMING ATHLETIC EVENTS AT CHS AND BEYOND
CHS is filled with the action of winter sports. Everyone is always invited to come and support the CHS athletic teams and programs whether their games take place at CHS or occur elsewhere. These games are so fun to watch, so it is hoped the kinda-wanna-go Carson City community members to some we-just-gotta-go supporters of the teams playing will get up and come on by. Regarding times, schedules, and locations, please go to carsonhigh.com and click ‘CHS Calendar’ on the left to find out dates, times, and locations of upcoming games.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK
The CHS Student of the Week is Brandon Steel. Everyone in the CHS Counseling Office nominated Brandon Steel because, “We love him.” Brandon is their Office Aid, and together they said, “Aside from being dependable, positive, helpful, and hard-working, he also really cares about taking care of those around him; he has taken the adversity he has experienced and is using it to help others.”

The CHS Counselors also said “His goals are incredible; he is genuinely going to change this world for the better with the work he hopes to achieve, and the world is a better place because Brandon is in it” the counselors added. Everyone in the Counseling Office feels very lucky to have him.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
This week’s Senior in the Spotlight is Saeed Mobaligh. Saeed has a weighted GPA of 4.4, and his senior year class load consists of AP Government and Economics, AP English Senior Literature, Honors Physics, Honors Trigonometry and Pre-calculus, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, and Entrepreneurship II.

Saeed has been a student athlete during his time at CHS playing on both the CHS Soccer and Track and Field teams. Along with being the captain of the Varsity Soccer team, he has maintained a Grade Point Average higher than a 3.5 and is a member of the National Honor Society. Along with his accomplishments in sports and in the classroom, Saeed is a member of HOSA Future Health Professionals, where he is currently the treasurer. After graduation, Saeed plans to major in finance and economics and continue on to earn his Masters of Business Management.

His goal is to become an investment banker on Wall Street. Congratulation to Saeed Mobaligh on his four years as a student at CHS and his future success in attaining the goals he intends to accomplish. The administrators, faculty, and staff of Carson High School know Saeed will be successful.

— Senator Square columnist Phil Brady is an English teacher at Carson High School in Carson City, Nev.