Senator Square: CHS librarian shares research into how the 'C' made it to C Hill

This is the last issue of Senator Square for this school year. As always, I am amazed at how fast the year went by. My mother always told me it goes faster and faster the older you get. Mom’s have so much wisdom that you don’t want to admit they have until you become older and wiser also.

As long as we’re talking about moms, let me add congratulations to all those moms and dads in Carson City who are celebrating their son or daughter’s graduation from CHS. I know these days are bittersweet, but know that we as a staff at CHS loved having your kids and we enjoyed watching them mature. Teaching them was our honor. Congratulations to the Class of 2015 and best of luck to all of you.

A right of passage or tradition of graduation is that the seniors take to “C” hill and rearrange the C into the graduation year. This year was no exception as we woke up on Tuesday to the ’15 on the hill. Our librarian, Ananda Campbell, recently received an inquiring phone call from a community member asking about the tradition. After doing some research here is what she found out. The following story was sent to me by Ananda.

The Carson High Library staff enjoyed revisiting the yearbook collection in search of information about the Carson "C".  We found two historic references in the early yearbooks. This research task was a great end to the school year! In the 1924 Yearbook we found this entry. “Block C Society…Plans are now being made by the Society to construct a large “C” on one of the hills not far from town.” In the 1926 yearbook it was written: “The "C" on the Hill …Early one spring morning several years ago the boys of the High School arose and erected a “C” out of rock on the hillside southwest of Carson. 

The boys worked with a will and were amply repaid for their efforts by a feed arranged by the girls. Later this big “C” was painted and became very vivid. Although it has begun to fade out several times the paint has been renewed each time. This letter stands for more than one thing for the High School. It takes school spirit, “pep,” and leadership to make such a letter. 

These assets to the school may be realized by those who view the “C.” Great credit is due to all three factors, so instrumental in having such a letter erected. Our Block “C” will undoubtedly live on for a long time and will bring pleasant memories to those who are out of school but who were once perhaps only “freshies” when the letter was first made.”

As the sun sets on this year, we have many people to thank for supporting our school and the multitude of clubs, sports, and programs. It is impossible to create a list in this short column but know that the success of our students, staff and school would not be possible without your generous support. The community of Carson City is a wonderful partner with CHS. We thank you from the depths of our hearts and our classrooms for your continued support.

Finally, I will leave you with thoughts from our students regarding a recent trip they took to the river for their biology course. The following quotes were compiled by their teacher Julie Koop.

The Carson River Project: Biology at the River
The following are quotes from the CHS Biology students. They were taken from their field journals after they had taught 4th graders from Empire Elementary School Science Standards at the Carson River CHS Interpretive trail. Read together they tell a story, enjoy…

“I think the River Project was a great opportunity to learn and teach kids about the wildlife in Nevada. We got to go down to the Carson River twice, once in October, and the other just recently in April. Both times we checked the conditions of the river and the area around it. Such as the animals, the trees, and the quality of the walking trail.” - Hannah Williams

“This trip was both fun and educational for the kids and for the mentors. The kids got to learn what native and noxious plants were, what the water cycle was, what a watershed was, and last but not least the major data of the Carson River.”- Larry Garcia-Castillo

“It really teaches the younger and even the older students about nature and how to take care of our environment. It’s not just that we got to miss class, it was great to go out and explore/adventure and learn new things. I enjoyed most of the activities because I myself got to learn something new from them. It was cool to know they were actually learning something from us and still had fun. They were all great kids.” -Hannah Sayan
“I liked when they asked me questions about the river. They were all so curious about the animals, plants, the trees, and the water.” – Nohely Montes

“I learned that they wrap trees to protect them from the beavers and that there are plants that grow here that aren’t from here. I also learned a lot about myself in this field trip. For example, I learned that I like being a leader and working with kids. This was a good hands-on trip that helped kids learn better and it was fun learning while not in school.” –Brenda Pacheco

“Biology class took a road trip to the Carson River to learn ways of how to protect wildlife and their homes. It’s a whole different situation when you’re learning vs. teaching someone else. They came to learn, and that’s what they did.” –Connor Quilling

“I learned a lot of information about what is needed to maintain out watershed. Working with the 4th graders was a blast because they looked up to us. This made them more excited. When working with them it also made me think about what I wanted to do in the future, which is to teach. It was a good experience learning to teach the kids about stuff I knew.” – Dylan LaFollette

“My favorite part of this whole experience was our lunch break because sitting and talking with the kids was interesting, getting to know them and their stories.” –Yaneli Ramirez

Have a safe summer and we’ll be back with more exciting Senator news in August.

— Angila Golik is a government teacher and member of Senator Pride.