Senator Square: Carson High School celebrates its 150th anniversary

Carson High School will begin its 150th anniversary homecoming celebration Sept. 17 with the all school assembly in the Big Gym during the last class of the day. Leadership students well lead the assembly with the first activity being the introduction of the Homecoming King and Queen candidates who will make their grand entrance onto the gym floor.

Each student, male and female, will throw out some form of hilarity in order to make their entrance memorable as CHS students are the ones who get to vote for their King and Queen, not the teachers. Homecoming week officially begins Sept. 20 with a Birthday Slumber Party.

Students are free to dress up in pajamas, have a lunchtime Bingo activity in Senator Square, and a nighttime bonfire and club fair with music, games, and dunk tank from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 21 offers Western Nevada Day, a lunch time activity of Limbo, and the nighttime Goonies movie at 7:00 p.m. Sept. 22 is $1 hat day to support the charity, “Worthy of Love.”

Pin-the-Hat on Senator Man is the lunchtime activity, and “Wednesday Night Live” takes place at the Community Center at 7:00 p.m. Sept. 23 offers Way Back When Day with freshman in 90s plaid, neon colors, and yellow, sophomores with 70s disco, bell-bottoms, and green, juniors with 80s big hair, leg warmers, and red, and seniors with 60s tie-dye and blue.

The lunchtime activity will be balloon stomp and the nighttime football tailgate activity from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. with hot dogs, drinks, and a cookie for $2, along with corn-hole and washers. Sept. 24 offers Carson Proud Day with wearing as much Blue and White as possible with a lunchtime activity pep rally, and the ultimate nighttime activity of the Homecoming football game against McQueen.

The candidate parade begins at 6:30, the game starts at 7:00, and the ‘Crowning’ of the King and Queen at halftime. The CHS 150th Anniversary Homecoming culminates with the Sept. 25 dance from 7 to 10 p.m. in Senator Square. Students must purchase dance tickets; they are on sale in Student Finance for $5 with SBC sticker, $7 without or $15 at the door.

All students show student ID card and are not allowed to carry in bags. The 2022 CHS Senior class invites all of Carson City to CHS for the grand finale of its 150th birthday celebration.

CARSON HIGH STUDENT BODY OFFICERS
School Board Representative, Sarah Wiggins, far left, spoke about her responsibility. She biweekly goes to Carson City School District school board meetings held at the community center on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

After the introduction of the agenda, she gets up to the podium and speaks about upcoming events at Carson High. This is her second year in this position, and after the controversial year prior, she is prepared for the year. Student Body President, Angelica Germain-Sanchez, in the middle, always has to think of the student body and everyone at CHS. This year, with the 150th CHS Birthday Homecoming, she is running the entire week with the events, dress-up days, and the dance.

Next is CHS Student Body Vice President, Julia Kaiser on the far right. As Student Body VP, Julia is Angelica’s right-hand man, right behind her helping her with everything she needs, meaning if Angelica is gone for a day, Julia would be in charge and run things as normal, knowing how everything is supposed to be. — Contributed by Sarah Wiggins.

MAKER’S MONDAY
Carson City School District Library Coordinator and Media Specialist, Ananda Campbell brings back the CHS lunchtime Maker’s Monday activities available to all students interested in, this month, Stop Motion Animation programming. Students had a chance to play with the tech and check out the kits and iPads to use at home.

CHS Library is thrilled to continue its partnership with the Carson City Library with monthly programming and ongoing programming both virtual and in person at the Digitorium, a Carson City Library space dedicated to CHS students. For more information about this and other CCSD activities, call the State Council Libraries and Literacy’s Virtual Office at 283-1641. — Contributed by Ananda Campbell.

ECONOMICS CLASSES COMPOSE BUSINESS SIMULATION
This week in CHS teachers Dave Johnson's and Ali Cadwell's economics classes, students participated in a simulation to better understand key concepts in economics such as opportunity cost and trade-offs. This is all due to the scarcity of resources and the insatiability of human wants. The simulation also introduced the first model for the semester called the Production Possibilities Curve, or PPC. During the simulation, students created two products, paper chains and paper smiles, and students worked in ‘companies’ to gather data under fixed assumptions to then plot their own PPCs. Key components of PPCs, such as inefficiency and unattainability, were illustrated by controlling specific aspects during the simulation.

Economics is only a semester course and is required to pass in order to graduate. The more hands-on, realistic, and applicable to seniors' own lives the class can be, the more successful students will be not only in economics class but also in understanding the United States economy and personal finance as they move out into the world as productive young adults. — Contributed by Ali Cadwell.

HEALTH OCCUPATIONS STUDENTS OF AMERICA CAR WASH
Who can beat a $5 car wash…no one. If tickets are purchased early, Carson City community folks may have a car wash for a mere $3. Please come and support CHS’ HOSA students as they fundraise for their travels and competitions. Tickets may be purchased by any HOSA student, room 206, or at the CHS Main Office. Where will the car wash take place, at CHS from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the "U."

KERRI OXOBY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT
Silver Oak Golf Course, 1251 Country Club Drive will host the Annual Kerri Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament Sept. 12. The tournament, a four-person scramble, is limited to the first 60 players to register, so do not wait for this pre-winter activity to pass by as winter is fast approaching. Proceeds from the event provide scholarships to CHS graduates to attend the University of Nevada, Reno.

There will be multiple $200 contest prizes awarded as well, not to mention the post-tournament barbecue at 1224 Crain Street. Prizes will be awarded to the longest drive, closest to the pin, and first and second place team awards. $115 green fees include range balls and a golf cart. Registration at the event is from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. with a shotgun start at 9:00. In order to register, please contact Silver Oak Golf Course at 841-7000, Steve Oxoby at 742-7224, or go to silveroakgolf.com.

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS MY VOICE MATTERS FIRST EVENT OF THE YEAR
Last year, the School Social Workers worked with a group of students to discuss how to increase cultural inclusion and school engagement. To work towards their mission, the group My Voice Matters is pleased to announce the 2021 CHS Scavenger Hunt as their first event.

The first step is to encourage students to find and sign-up for their class’ Google classroom for more information on the event and the distribution of clues which will begin to go out next week. Please help them spread the word. Alejandra Ayala is a School Social Worker II at CHS. Contact her at aayala-ayala@carson.k12.nv.us, call her at 283-1834, or go here to schedule a Virtual Office, for appointments and more.

GRANTS FOR TEACHERS FROM DOLAN AUTO GROUP
The Dolan Auto Group is providing the following grants for teachers: One Grand Prize winner of $10,000, 13 classrooms with $5,000 prize winnings (voted by the community), and five classrooms with $5,000 prize winnings (voted by the teachers who submitted videos).

All it takes to apply is submission of a short video (keep it to two minutes, max) that will be voted on by the community. According to Valerie N. Dockery, Director of Grants & Special Projects with Carson City School District, “I would love to see Carson City teachers receive some of these awards…as always, I am happy to help you focus your ideas.” The last day to submit a video is Oct. 1. Dockery also added, “If students are in the video, make sure you have permission to feature them.” Please go here for more information and to submit a video.

NEVADA RECYCLES POSTER CONTEST CALL FOR ENTRIES
Nevada Recycles invites all Nevada’s K-12 students to celebrate the 2021 America Recycles Day through its poster contest and the theme ‘Empty, Clean, and Dry’. Not only is there $600 in prizes for students and schools, students’ artwork will be showcased throughout Nevada.

All entries must be submitted to by Oct. 18, 2021, no later than 5:00 p.m. here. To see full contest details and to find more great resources on recycling in Nevada, visit ndep.nv.gov/nevada-recycles. This event is sponsored by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the Nevada Recycles division of NDEP.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Congratulations to Mackenzie Tackett, a senior, on being nominated CHS Student of the Week. According to one of her nominating teachers, Angila Golik, Mackenzie is a 4th year Alternative Learning School student and NJROTC member, and this year she is actually the teacher's assistant; Mackenzie is helpful and kind to everyone, students and staff alike, works hard to keep up on her grades, and has participated in the CHS talent show three years running, placing twice with her martial arts performance.”

According to CHS Counselor Monica Weaver, “Always a team player, Mackenzie is willing to do what is best for her swim team; she shows up on time and is always ready to give it her all whether it is practice or a swim meet, and she cheers on and encourages her teammates.” This hard work and dedication has earned her a Varsity Letter.

Congratulations to Mackenzie Tackett on being nominated Student of the Week.

SENIOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT
This week’s outstanding Senior in the Spotlight is Grace Turner. Grace is an exceptional student with a 5.02 GPA, who will have successfully completed 11 AP classes and numerous Honors classes when she graduates. In addition to exceling academically, Grace’s cheerful nature and genuine personality are assets and will serve her well in the future. Although Grace prioritizes her academics, she is also very involved at CHS as well as in the Carson community. Grace has been an integral part of the CHS Varsity Volleyball team during her four years and is presently captain of the team. She is a member of Blue Crew and has been a member of the CHS chapter of the National Honor Society.

Through these organizations, Grace has participated in numerous community service activities and fund raising events. Grace has many interests in life, which she enthusiastically pursues. One of these passions is photography. Grace is currently in the CHS Advanced Studies Photography class and has obtained state CTE certification in this field. She hopes to start a side business as a photographer in the near future. Grace has a very compassionate personality and a talent in caring for others.

She has worked as a caretaker for the elderly and spent summer working as a nanny. She is enrolled in her fifth year of Spanish and would love to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country. Grace will be applying to several colleges where she would like to pursue studies in business and agriculture. Having grown up in a dairy farming family, she has a particular interest in the genetic aspect of breeding cows.

Grace has already designed a research project on this topic and would like to incorporate further research in this field into her studies. CHS is very proud of the contributions Grace has made to the school and knows she will have a successful future. Her warm smile will be missed next year. Best of luck, Grace. — Contributed by CHS Counselor Susan Grunert.

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