Senator Square: Carson High School students earn top honors at speech & debate tournament

Much of Carson High Schools’ success flows from the voluntary assistance of individuals and businesses selflessly giving of their time, their effort, and their resources to the advancement of Carson City’s youth and local community. Without the help of these amazing community members, none of the following could even remotely become a reality. Nothing lifts up the spirits of these young people more than the attendance of parents, friends, peers and the community to their respective events. As seen in the success of these students below, the community of Carson City is raising up Carson High’s educated and responsible future leaders of this amazing state. The community of Carson City rocks.

CHS TALENT SHOW

Carson High’s got talent, and its annual talent show, hosted by Future Business Leaders of America, begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Carson City Community Center. The cost is $5 for students and staff, if purchased early, and $8 for adults at the door.

NORTHERN NEVADA FORENSIC LEAGUE

Carson High hosted 17 schools from the Northern Nevada Forensic League for its tournament Jan 29-30. The two days saw 10 rounds of competition lasting 18 hours with 215 competitors. The team thanks Grandma Hattie’s, Gold Dust West, Costco, Del Taco, Port of Subs, and the 116 community members who volunteered as judges. Their help made the tournament a success.

Speech and debate teacher Patrick Mobley reports the Carson High team had a strong showing: Team Captain Sawyer Barnett was fourth in senior original oratory. Kate Torres was fourth in novice original oratory. Sophie Peterson and Evan Cherpeski placed third and first, respectively in novice impromptu speaking. Adam Lackey was second in novice congressional debate chamber; Duy Khanh Nguyen was fifth for novice poetry and third in senior congressional debate; Allesandro Figueroa was second overall in senior congressional debate; Shaylin Segura was third overall in senior Lincoln Douglas debate and first place in speaker points. Shane Morton won senior humorous interpretation and has won every senior humorous interpretation competition in the league for the season. Nathan Mersino won second place, and Jesse Session won overall in the Lions Speaking contest with Session moving on to compete at the next level of this competition. The team wraps up league competition this month at Bishop Manogue and then heads to state in March.

UNITED NATIONS PILGRIMAGE FOR YOUTH TOUR

Congratulations to Juliet Favero, Christy Krahn, Camryn Aten, and Ellen Cherpeski for their acceptance to the Odd Fellows and Rebehkahs United Nations Pilgrimage for Youth tour. They receive an all-expense-paid trip to New York City and the United Nations, where they will tour the United Nations Building, attend a Broadway play, and visit the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and World Trade Center.

NORTHERN NEVADA SCHOLASTIC ART AND WRITING AWARDS

Four Carson High ceramic and fine arts students received seven awards at this year’s 2016 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards; 1,452 works of art were received, and 582 awards were issued.

Congratulations to Lorena Herrera, Ashley Meyer, Alexandra Sprock, and Haleigh Williams for this distinction. They will be presented with their awards at a ceremony from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno.

Questions? Email http://www.nevadaart.org/, or call 775-329-3333.

PTSA MEETING IN THE LIBRARY

The February PTSA meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the school library. Immediately following the PTSA meeting at 6:30 p.m. is the third quarter Parent Advisory Committee meeting.

The PAC meets four times each year, and the topic for the PAC meeting is Carson City School District’s 1:1 Technology Initiative. Please consider attending.

HONOR BAND TO COMPETE AND PERFORM

The zone honor band will take place this Thursday and Friday at the Churchill County High School in Fallon with a concert at 7 p.m. Friday. The Carson Senators are well represented with 28 musicians.

ACT PREP AND TEST

On March 1, all juniors take the ACT, which is now a graduation requirement. Accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States and all schools in the Nevada Systems of Higher Education, ACT and/or SAT scores are utilized for placement into English and math classes. In February, after school from 2:15 to 3:55 p.m., ACT preparation will be in the library with teachers on site to help students.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

The student of the week is Gabrielle Palazzolo. Gaby is currently taking a rigorous load this year and regularly volunteers. She was a member of the varsity volleyball team for four years and was captain for the last three.

Thank you, Gaby, for all you do at Carson High.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

This week’s senior in the spotlight is Paris Regan. Paris has a 4.23 grade-point average and will graduate with an honors and advanced diploma.

She has served as the sophomore and junior class representative for National Honor Society and is serving as its senior class representative.

Currently, and for the past two years, Paris has served as one of the yearbook editors for Carson High. For four years of high school, Paris has been a varsity cheerleader and captain/team leader for the last two years.

This past summer, Paris received the honor of being chosen as an All American Cheerleader by the Universal Cheerleaders’ Association. She also contributes time to her school, and serving her community.

As Miss Nevada Teen 2015 for the National American Miss Organization, Paris collected and donated books and school supplies throughout the community to assist children in need; she also visited schools and read to classes.

For the past 10 years, Paris has devoted herself to educating her community about fire safety and has also served as a welcome ambassador for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension program, promoting fire safety throughout Northern Nevada. In addition to teaching fire safety, she has donated time to fundraising for PAW’s, Project 150 Foundation, and the Children’s Cabinet. Paris has also been an award recipient for her fundraising efforts for the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Paris will attend college in the fall, 2016 and major in broadcast journalism. Currently, she’s interning at KTVN, Channel 2 News in preparation for her future career. Carson High School thanks Paris for her contributions to her school and community.

Phil Brady is an English teacher at CHS.