Senator Square: Carson High School students advance to state history competition

Honors World History students recently competed in the National History Day contest at Carson High School and the competition was phenomenal. Students conducted extensive historical research and investigated the leadership and legacy of a historical figure. This year’s winners were selected the assistance of CHS faculty, former competitors, community members, and the Carson City Library staff. The winners listed have the opportunity to compete at the state competition at UNR on March 14 and potentially advance to the national contest at the University of Baltimore in Maryland in June. Good luck to all CHS competitors.

Individual Exhibit

1. Richard Wagner: The Musical Innovator that is Unjustly Associated with Hitler (Nick Rosen); 2. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini: Leading Iran Towards a Hostage Crisis (Ryan Tomita).

Group Exhibit

1. A Betrayal for Trust: Operation Catapult (Lauren Hudak, Valerie Sue Meyer, Shaylin Segura); T2. The River Ran Red: Annihilation, Deportation, Starvation, and Dehumanization (Megan Tingle & Kailey Lambert); T2. Pol Pot: A Picture Perfect Leader? (Jessica Ayala, Kara Berggren, & Jiavanna Wong-Fortunato).

Individual Website

1. Marie Curie: The First Lady of Science (Chloe Dodge); T2. Ben Franklin: America’s Savior (Austin Schofield); T2. Florence Nightingale: Founder of Modern Nursing (Elizabeth Lepe).

Group Website

1. The Devoted Influence and Abiding Legacy of Clara Barton (Daisy Perez & Cristina Saenz); 2. Leonardo Da Vinci: Modern Genius (Devin McMenamy & John Rowe).

Individual Documentary

1. The Unsung Heros of WWII within the German Border; The German Resistance (Nick Tibma); 2. Haile Selassie: The Sun Sovereign of a Wounded Nation (Menen Ashagrie).

Group Documentary

1. Into the Woods: A Story of Survival (Michael Mendoza, Andrew Trejo, & Noah Doddridge); 2. The Awakening of Hope — Mother Theresa (Larry Garcia-Castillo & AnnJi Hodorowicz).

SPEECH & DEBATE NEWS

Carson High School competed in the final league tournament of the season in Elko last weekend. Carson High took 21 students to the competition. A special thanks to Sharon Miller, Cynthia Chech and Brad Barber for driving students and supplies to this meet. CHS had an excellent showing with students advancing to many final rounds. Carson High debaters took half of the top six spots in novice poetry and prose interpretation. Juliet Favero placed sixth overall with her cutting of Les Misérables, Sadie Share took fifth with her piece highlighting the loss of personal interaction due to technology, and Evan Allred locked up second place with his cutting of A Tell Tale Heart. Carson debaters also claimed three top spots in impromptu speaking. Captain Jacob Bertocchi took fifth in senior division, co-captain Luke Szatmary took second in senior and third in public forum speaker points. Duy Khanh Nguyen took second place in novice impromptu and also won the votes of his peers to take first place in Congressional Debate. Sawyer Barnet took sixth place in senior Original Oratory highlighting the fear of failure as well as third place in senior Lincoln Douglas Debate and second place in speaker points arguing whether a just government ought to require employers pay a living wage. Alek Henricksen placed third in novice Lincoln Douglas debate and second in speaker points. As a team Carson earned 216 sweepstakes points from students advancing to final rounds, nearly double from last season. The team now sits fifth place overall in the league of 23 schools.

Carson is the outright winner in impromptu speaking for the league. Carson has never before taken first place as a team and it’s a fitting ending to the best season we have ever had. In addition to regular competition the team remains active in other public speaking events. Shaylin Segura placed second in the zone level competition of the Lions Club speaking contest, the team travels to Henderson for state next week, and several members are also competing in the Rotary Club speaking competition later this month.

CHS MUSICAL

Don’t miss your chance to see the recently broadway-revived production of Pippin staring an incredible cast, crew, and pit orchestra of talented and dedicated Carson High School students.

Pippin is a musical by Stephen Schwartz (who also wrote the more recently produced and acclaimed Wicked). Written in the 1970s, the show does touch on some controversial topics. What interests me more about this show is the story of a young man’s search for meaning and a band of “players” who take him on his journey to find something that’s “ultimately fulfilling.” Join us, to see what he discovers. “We’ve got magic to do!”

Due to strong language suggestive situations, the show is not recommended for children under 12. All shows will take place at the Bob Boldrick Theatre in the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St. Show dates and times are 7 p.m. Friday, March 20, Saturday, March 21, Thursday, March 26, Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28. A 2 p.m. showing on Saturday, March 28 also will take place.

Tickets are $12 general admission and $5 for high school and middle school students.

Submitted by drama teacher Dana Fleming.

CHS SENIORS TO LEGISLATURE

All CHS seniors will be visiting the Nevada State Legislature during one of their government classes these next two weeks. This is a memorable and relevant experience for our senior class and a key component of their civics education. The field trip will be contained within the government class period.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

This week’s student of the week is Melissa Espino Cortes. Melissa is a senior at Carson High. She dedicates her full effort to all of her classwork, poses thoughtful questions in discussions, and is always willing to share her opinions and listen to the perspectives of her classmates. Melissa goes out of her way to help others and comes to class every day with a smile. Thanks Melissa for all the hard work you have done here at CHS.

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