Senator Square: Ananda Campbell has limitless love for being Carson High School's Librarian

Though the level of library support varies throughout school districts in Nevada, the Carson City School District highly values school libraries as it promotes literacy through funding, a full-time library staff at each school, and certified teacher-librarians at CHS and the middle schools.

Many amazing opportunities are going on in the CHS school library. The CHS Library is piloting the Nevada Teacher-Librarian Evaluation framework and transitioning from a “library” to a collaborative learning commons. 

“The instruction looks different than in a typical classroom, and my specialty areas are a mix of information literacy, reading, tech support, professional development, and research," said CHS Librarian Ananda Campbell.

The library is literally and figuratively the heart of CHS; students use the space to study, research, read, socialize, work collaboratively, and find a quiet space, not to mention how often teachers schedule their classes to listen to a ‘Book Talk’ with Campbell.

Recently, Campbell petitioned the PTSA and received a donation of beautiful lounge chairs. Moreover, everyone at CHS is thanking the National Honor Society, in association with United Blood Services, for their generous donation of HotSpots to the CHS Library.

These devices can be loaned to CHS students with no internet connection at home to provide additional levels of support for academic success and college and career readiness. Asked why she chose library science as a career, Campbell said, “My heart is in teaching, and to be a part of students' learning and growing is rewarding because I have loved every age and every subject from 1st grade to adult learners.”

Campbell went on to say, “When I transitioned from a classroom teacher to the library, I was worried about losing that personal connection; thankfully, the worry was misguided, and I actually have more opportunity to connect with the students and to be a resource for them in different ways.” About CHS, Campbell says, “I love what I do and the people I work with, and I'm so lucky to be in this position; I'm not sure I can brag on all the awesome students adequately.”

MOUNTAIN BIKE TEAM
The Senators mountain bike team traveled to Truckee, Oct. 15 for the Sierra Nevada MTB Championships to finish their racing season. Team member Greta Pugh kicked off the championship with a powerful performance of the Star Spangled Banner, concluding the season on a high note.

Thanks to consistently strong individual riding, the Senators took home 3rd place overall. Individual results are as follows. Tobin McRae took 2nd for varsity boys. For JV girls, Taylor Jenkins took 7th, and for JV boys, Gavin Bakkedahl took 12th and Yonas Kerkoub 13th.

For sophomore boys, Jens Robison took 7th, Owen Lieder 8th, and Ian Canter 11th. Additionally, Robison and Lieder ended the series on the podium tied at 5th place overall. Freshman boys Isaac Harrison took 11th and Cameron Rice 14th. For advanced middle school boys, Eric Billings took 15th, Parker Story 16th, Mackade Chambers 17th, and Julian Dale 19th.

For advanced middle school girls, Elsa Harrison took 2nd and Annika Robison placed 1st again, taking the leader's jersey for the series. Racing is not a requirement for being on the team; however, everyone showed great improvement in fitness, ability, and confidence over the season, and the coaches are proud of students’ effort and support for teammates. Contact Coach Gary Castleman with questions at gcastleman@carson.k12.nv.us.

SPEECH AND DEBATE BRINGS HOME TOP FINISHES
CHS competed at the Wooster High School tournament last weekend. Twenty-two members brought home 11 top-ten finishes. Valeria Torres took 4th place in novice storytelling with her “Michael Rosen’s Sad Book” piece.

Cierra Randal won 6th place in her first tournament talking about “Millennial Humor” in informative speaking. First time competitor Marion Haffey placed 4th in novice Dramatic Interpretation with her cutting of “The Lovely Bones.”

Kevin Avila and Alexis McKenzie placed 4th presenting “The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet” and Becca Trejo and Kieran Dazzo took 2nd with “The NSA Guide to Winning Friends.” Team Captain, Sophia Peterson, placed 10th in speaker points and 5th in senior Lincoln Douglas debate.

Becca Trejo and Kieran Dazzo placed 5th and 4th in novice public forum speaking points debating the South Korean missile defense system. Captain Evan Cherpeski placed 8th in speaker points, and he and teammate Sadie Share took 1st place in senior Public Forum. The Poetry Out Loud competition is next month in addition to a league tournament at DHS. Contact Coach Patrick Mobley at pmobley@carson.k12.nv.us.

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY

Congratulations to CHS Cross Country for an excellent race in Reno. Varsity boys placed second overall and girls placed third.

TRICK OR TREAT CANNED FOOD COMPETITION
The local chapters of Future Farmers of America at both CHS and DHS are competing to be called the winner of the Trick-or-Treat Canned Food Competition. Committee chair Brett Veader says, “We are collecting food the night of Halloween and want the community to know [because] October is a forgotten month for supporting local food banks.” The CHS Ag Program is holding a Trick-or-Treat for Canned Food Drive Oct. 31, a school and community based event in which students enrolled in the Ag Programs will trick-or-treat for non-perishable food items on Halloween, asking for canned food rather than candy. Drop off donations at the ROTC building from 2 to 4 p.m. or the front office until Nov. 1. Email questions to Ag teacher Charles Mann at cmann@carson.k12.nv.us.

CHS ACCREDITATION
CHS is opening the Parent Surveys section of the accreditation process for a two week window. Parents and guardians are asked to fill in two surveys through Nov. 3: Parent Survey for Schools at eprovesurveys.advanc-ed.org/surveys/#/action/38324/31950 and Climate and Culture Parent Survey at eprovesurveys.advanc-ed.org/surveys/#/action/35646/31950. The purpose of these surveys is to find out parents’ and guardians’ opinions about their child's school. All responses are completely confidential.

COLLEGE REPS
Representatives from University of Montana and University of the Pacific will be in the Tech Center Conference Room Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 at 1:15 p.m. to meet with interested students, and a representative from University of Oregon will be in the Administrative Conference Room from 1:30 to 2:05 p.m. Stop by the Guidance Office for a pass.

CHS 2017-2018 SPORTS REGISTRATION
Registration for 2017-2018 winter sports will be open for five more days, ending Nov. 3. All athletes must register online at registermyathlete.com. Questions? Contact the Athletic Department at 283-1900.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK
The CHS Student of the Week is Chris Luna. Chris Luna is a junior and has a very positive attitude while maintaining a busy academic and athletic schedule. Chris is inquisitive and kind to his classmates. Thanks for being an outstanding member of the CHS family.


SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
The CHS Senior in the Spotlight this week is Dallin Shaffer, a student who goes above and beyond for everyone he knows and loves, not to mention his tenacious work as a student and a CHS football player. Dallin currently has a weighted Grade Point Average of 3.99 and a Cumulative GPA of 3.44.

He is taking many advanced courses such as AP Literature, AP Calculus, AP Enrichment, Honors Government, and advanced weightlifting. His future plans include attending college after fulfilling his mission responsibility for his church upon graduation from high school.

After his mission adventure, he will attend Brigham Young University, Idaho and pursue a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Dallin has already finished the Career & Technical Education courses in Business and Marketing offered at CHS, subsequently earning him several college credits.

His multiple extra-curricular activities include playing for the CHS Football and Track teams. Outside of school, Dallin has earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout with Boy Scouts of America as he continues to volunteer throughout the Carson City community. The administration, teachers, counselors, and staff of CHS will miss Dallin Shaffer and wish him the best in his future educational and personal pursuits.

— Senator Square columnist Phil Brady is an English teacher at Carson High School.