Senator Square: Carson High School students to present senior projects

Carson High School students worked tirelessly over the previous eight months to prepare for Carson City community volunteers, many of them CHS graduates who completed the senior project themselves, to evaluate both their portfolios and their speeches to be delivered Monday. All those involved — from Superintendent Richard Stokes and his son Cyrus, who will be presenting Monday, to the administrators, teachers, and staff at CHS — look forward to this day. Seniors, whose teachers encouraged them to pursue a personal interest, something to benefit others, or something to prepare themselves for their future, are probably a bit terrified and ready to get it over with.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, former CHS Principal Fred Perdomo, then the Dean of Students, and Mary Jean Lang, then CHS Language Arts Department Chair, went to a Model Schools Conference where they learned about and then introduced the senior project to teachers and students as a culminating event for seniors. Piloted with a few classes for a couple years, it was then instituted as a CHS graduation requirement. Now, no CHS student will receive a diploma unless he or she completes all aspects of this truly amazing and one-of-a-kind assignment.

Said by a former CHS student, “You can run, but you cannot hide; this senior project thing is real, and it’s big, basically, it’s real big, and the truth of it is, however, that it can only help you. What you put into this project is what you will get out of it, regardless of the grades attached. As much as I stressed out about this project, I really enjoyed it once I jumped into it. Also, as much as I hate to admit it, my teacher was right: I feel a sense of accomplishment and come away with my learning experiences, both of which are more valuable to me than the grades attached to this real big senior project.”

CHEERLEADING PARENT MEETING AND CLINIC

A cheer parent meeting for the 2017-2018 school year takes place at 6 p.m. April 24 in the CHS library. The meeting will cover registering a child for cheerleading along with information about cheer tryouts. After the meeting, parents may use the computer lab to sign up their athlete on registermyathelete.com with assistance from the CHS Athletic Department. Also on April 24 and May 3 at a meeting in the CHS big gym from 6 to 8 p.m., the cheerleaders will host a cheerleading clinic for upcoming students in grades 9-12. Attendees will learn the CHS fight song, cheers, jumps, and cheer styles. This clinic will prepare students for cheer tryouts May 12 and 13. Registration forms are found at the CCSD website under “News and Announcements.” They can then be mailed to CHS, dropped off at the Athletic Office or turned in the day of the event. The cost is $25 per student to attend clinics or $15 to attend one clinic. All proceeds benefit the cheer program. Call Sheila Story at 775-283-1675, or email her at sstory@carson.k12.nv.us for information.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY BLOOD DRIVE

Save a life; please give blood. National Honor Society’s Spring Blood Drive is April 26 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the small gym, and sign-up sheets and donor forms are available in room 221. Donors must be 16 years old and have a picture ID. Any student under 18 must bring a signed parent consent form. Snacks and drinks are needed for this event as well, so anyone interested in helping out is encouraged to call NHS advisor and teacher Brian Branch at 775-283-1749, or email him at bbranch@carson.k12.nv.us.

ACADEMIC AWARDS

Seniors, the Academic Award Ceremony is April 26 at 6 p.m. in Senator Square. Please check Edmodo to see whether or not the correct award is listed with the correct name. A list will also be posted on the outside of the guidance office. Please notify the guidance office if a mistake is seen.

GNCU CONTEST

In celebration of National Credit Union Youth Month, the Greater Nevada Credit Union branch at CHS is having a contest during the month of April and will be giving away two $100 Visa Gift cards! The contest is open to all students. In addition, GNCU will give out $10 gift-of-membership coupons, and students who make a deposit to their account will receive a free gift. Stop by between 7:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to get details and pick up an entry form. Entry deadline is 1 p.m. April 28.

SENIOR SONG

Auditions are April 28 before school, at lunch, and after school. Sign-ups to audition will happen until April 27 at the Student Store. The senior song is “Stole the Show” by Kygo.

EOC TUTORING

Freshman and sophomores must pass Math I, Math II, ELA I and ELA II end of course assessments in May. If anyone has received a letter indicating they must retake the Math I or ELA I EOC this year, they’re advised to take advantage of exam tutoring after school. Math EOC tutoring is in room 225, and English is in room 131. There will be a late bus leaving at 3:50 p.m. for transportation home.

CARSON SENATORS GO BLUE

In support of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, CHS staff and students are going blue. Senators are wearing blue and posting their Go Blue Day pictures to #GoBlue NV on Facebook and Twitter. Ann Britt’s Leadership students constructed Pinwheels for Prevention and Shanell Cavener’s Link Crew arranged them on the front lawn of CHS. Pinwheels symbolize the great childhoods children deserve with their whimsical nature. For information on this call to action, visit www.preventchildabusenevada.org.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

Luis Cabrera is a sophomore at CHS and this week’s student of the week. He’s a motivated and active learner in and out of his classes, and he works hard to achieve excellence. He’s an excellent addition to the school; his inquisitive nature and outstanding work ethic will serve him well in the future. CHS looks forward to what Luis Cabrera will become in the future.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

The Senior Spotlight this week shines on Sophia Waite. As a student at CHS, she has maintained excellent grades during her freshman, sophomore, junior and the first semester of her senior year. Sophia has taken both Honors and AP classes, while maintaining an excellent weighted grade-point average. As a senior, she has continued taking AP classes. Sophia has been involved in the National Honor Society for three years and the Future Business Leaders of American club for two years. She took first place at the FBLA state tournament last year in both business plan and presentation and in marketing role play. Additionally, Sophia is a crew member at Trader Joe’s and a math tutor. Her senior project raised more than $10,000 for The Greenhouse Project. Sophia plans on attending UNR where she will major in engineering and minor in business. CHS knows Sophia will be successful in all her future endeavors.

Phil Brady is an English teacher at CHS.