Senator Square: CHS English teacher and former student takes on weekly column

It is my pleasure to take over for Angila Golik as the new “Senator Square” column writer, which for me is right up there with winning an election, winning a game, and winning a prize in a contest all at the same time. Though I will not be reporting on cures for warts or offering advice on marriage, I will be delivering current news and upcoming events for Carson High School.

Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a successful product of Carson City School District and believe most of my now retired former teachers would agree, from Corbett Elementary to Fritsch Elementary to Carson Junior High (now Carson Middle School) and all the way through Carson High School, where I have been teaching English for 15 years.

Though I am proud to be a Nevadan, I was not born here — nobody’s perfect. However, I did go from CHS to WNC to UNR where I earned bachelor’s degrees in both journalism and English Literature. Living and working as a sales rep in southern California upon graduation from UNR led to the realization that I despised traffic and needed to travel, so around the world I went, a little longer than eighty days, and lived in several countries for an extended period of time doing everything from assisting a failed government in Albania to training teachers in Southern Sudan.

I went on to acquire my teaching credential from Sierra Nevada College and then on to earn my master’s degree in film and literature from UC Santa Dominguez Hills. Sounds good, right? I have been married to Stacie, a 5th grade teacher at Mark Twain Elementary, for 22 years, have two daughters, Bekah, 2nd year UNR nutrition major, Elise, a junior at CHS, and my special son Samuel, 5th grader at MTE.

It is my goal to always be positive and encouraging as I report on the most amazing high school in Nevada.

PTSA's 2015-2016 Reflections Contest Winners
Reflections is a national PTA contest engaging nearly 300,000 students and their families nationwide in arts education by encouraging students to explore the arts for fun and recognition. This year, CHS had approximately 250 entries in 4 different categories.

The 2015-16 theme was "Let Your Imagination Fly."  The winners are: Visual Arts: 1st Annette Avila, 2nd Sharline Villeda, 3rd Ryan Tomita. Literature: 1st Nick Rosen, 2nd Darby Griffin, 3rd Kaylee Gordon. Music Composition: 1st Carlos Montejano, 2nd Chandler Blueberg, 3rd Ethan Lopes. Photography: 1st Kathryn Liemandt, 2nd Sydnie Schuller, 3rd Sydnie Schuller.

First place students were awarded $50 by CHS PTSA, 2nd place received $25, and 3rd place received honorable mention. The top three entries from each category will compete at the Nevada PTA's state Reflections Competition, and their winners will go on to the National competition to earn further awards. The CHS PTSA is very grateful for the support of teachers and staff and all the community members and local artists who volunteered to be judges for our contest. They made this year's Reflections the best ever.

Mr. Carson High
Who will be the next Mr. Carson High 2016? CHS has 24 senior boys competing for the title, and they would like your support on February 6th, 6:30 pm at the Carson City Community Center. General Admission tickets are $10.00 and VIP Tickets—which include dinner served at the Community Center (sponsored by Casino Fandango's Ti Amo Italian Grille Restaurant), preferred seating, and the show — are $20. Raffle tickets are available for $2 each with great prizes. Please contact a CHS Cheerleader or a Contestant for tickets, or call CHS at (775) 283-1675. All proceeds will help pay for the Carson High Cheer Team to attend Cheer Camp this summer.

Spring Sports Signups
Spring Sports signups will be held Thurs, Feb 4, 5 - 6:30 pm in the library. Returning athlete forms are available in the CHS athletic office. These forms are to be completed by athletes who have already turned in their 2015-2016 sports packet whether or not they were on a roster. New athletes need to sign up online at www.carsonhigh.com under the "Athletics" tab.

Student of the Week
The CHS student of the week is Ashley Lynch. Ashley is a member of Link Crew, National Honor Society, and Key Club, and she is always willing to help out and show her school spirit! Thanks for all your hard work at Carson High, Ashley!

Senior Spotlight
This week’s Senior Spotlight features Melissa Glanzmann, a talented student and athlete who has taken many honors and AP classes, while maintaining a stellar GPA of 4.28. This has earned her academic letters each year and membership in NHS.

You may have seen Melissa on the soccer field or the basketball court, as she plays on both CHS teams; she is currently team captain for both. Her love though is for soccer where she plays as a center, midfielder or outside defender. All her hard work has paid off as she has committed to play soccer at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, Oregon next year. After earning her associates degree in Oregon, Melissa will transfer to a four year college, possibly in Colorado, and earn a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She would also like to study abroad.

During her middle school years Melissa traveled to Australia one summer and to Europe another with the People to People Student Ambassador Program and has fond memories from those adventures. Just recently, Melissa was voted as this year’s CHS Winter Fest queen. She truly is a queen for all of the accomplishments she has earned, and Carson High School is proud to have her as one of our own. Please join me in congratulating Melissa for a job well done.

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