Senator Square: Carson High School Winterfest candidates chosen

Destination unknown. Sounds like the beginning of a spy novel, an exciting movie, or even the title of a hit soundtrack. Sure, unknown is simply an adjective modifying the noun destination, and people may certainly say "Our destination is unknown" or "We are going to an unknown destination", but to be more dramatic or literary, it is better to say, "Where are we going? destination unknown."

No matter how it is said it sounds exciting, and CHS students have nominated their 2021 Winterfest candidates. The magically fun Monday activity for teachers Feb. 1 will be to go for a walk and judge classroom doors. There are prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. For students, Feb.1 offers a Virtual Assembly in homeroom with Band, Cheer, ROTC, Choir, Student Council, and the Winterfest candidates. Feb. 2 and 3 are Tacky Tourist days where students and teachers dress up as Travel Tourists, and the lunchtime activity is Bingo in Senator Square.

The Senator Square night-time activity is the Covid Style Talent Show premiering on YouTube at 7:00 p.m. The video link will be pushed out to the grade level google classrooms, and the CHS Student Body will have a chance to vote for the winners, who will receive cash prizes. Feb. 4 is Staycation with students allowed to dress up in pajamas and the day’s lunchtime activity is Travel Kahoot. The week will end with both a King and Queen from each class being crowned Feb. 5 and the video of the crowning released at 8:00 p.m. on grade level Google classroom.

The 9th grade Winterfest candidate girls are Corinne Ternau, Jessica Artz, and Hailey Osborne; 9th grade candidate boys are Edgar Fausto, Michael Hoffer, and David Stoffer; 10th grade candidate girls are Sydney Remeo and Annika Corder; 10th grade candidate boys are Lucas Gonzalez, Trevor Britt, and Nate Crossman; 11th grade candidate girls are Julia Kaiser, Reese MacKenzie, and Hannah Walker; 11th grade candidate boys are Denton Fitzpatrick, Jacob Campbell, and Wesley Dunkin; 12th grade candidate girls are Camille Larkin, Emma Peterson, Emma Tuttle, Kira Grist, Serena Danzler, and Abby Golik, and the 12th grade candidate boys are Ryan Graunke, Isaac Harrison, Max Gunkel, Sebastian Krueger, Will Breeding, and Levi Wooks.

2021 TALENT SHOW CONTESTANTS, COVID STYLE, HAVE BEEN SELECTED
A slate of Future Business Leaders of America students and teachers have concluded viewing talent show submissions. Congratulations to the following students and groups advancing to the CHS 2021 Virtual Talent Show. The following students and group's submissions will appear Feb. 3 on YouTube at 7:00 p.m.

Winners will be determined by student ballot vote. Contestants include Hannah Walker, Mackenzie Tackett, Amara Tedford, Flute Trio with Jasmine Fortunato, Clare Stephenson, and Bahar Jazani; Jazz Band with Jake Xie, Emma Doty, Nathan Parsons, Rosalind Macy, Jonah Torel, and Emma Thomsen; Kamryn Main, Bita Jazani, Aiden Cole, Ethne Myler, Alivia Aschenbach, Shiloh Cyphers, Jacob Xie, and Sarai Jauregui-Rivas. CHS teacher and FBLA adviser Angila Golik said, “Thank you everyone for participating and entering a submission; we encourage all underclassmen, those who did not make it this year, to audition again next year.” Golik added, “The decisions of the panel were very difficult, and we wanted to keep all of you; however, because of time constraints, we had to cut some videos, but please make sure all of you have filled out the Google form to receive your free t-shirt for entering.”

SKI TEAM COMPETES AT BOREAL MOUNTAIN CALIFORNIA
On Jan. 26, the Carson Senator Ski Team competed in the first NIAA sanctioned competition in 10 months. Those who were able watched a live stream of the race at TTCTV.org which began at 10:00 a.m. The next Ski Team meets will tentatively take place Feb. 1, 2, and 4. For more information about these events, please contact head coach Billy McHenry at wmchenry@carson.k12.nv.us.

MULTIPLE AWARDS EARNED BY THESPIAN TROUPE 5180
This past weekend, the CHS Thespian Society Troupe 5180 competed in the Nevada State and Regional Thespian Competition online and walked away with several awards and scholarships. Congratulations to Parker Schmid, Erich Parker, Bailey Meyers, and Hayden Breiter, who scored Excellent.

Sydney Lewis, Hannah Walker, Jalina Whitney, Jacob Nichols, Ethne Myler, and Natalie Maguire scored Superiors and qualified to compete at the International Thespian Festival this summer. Also, congratulations to Hannah Walker for earning a near perfect score and receiving a scholarship to the International Thespian Festival. Great work, thespians. Go Carson! — Contributed by CHS Theatre, Musical Theatre, and Language Arts teacher Andie Wilkerson

CARSON CITY BUSINESS OWNERS MAY ADVERTISE IN THE CHS YEARBOOK
Carson City business owners may purchase an advertisement section in the yearbook, multiple sizes available, to help immortalize the name of their business, the name of a student, and to also support the CHS program. It is super easy; business owners simply need to go to yearbookforever.com, search for Carson High School, select shop, and select business ad. They may then upload a predesigned ad, or they may design their own ad online.

They may purchase a full page, 1/2-page, or 1/4-page section. Please, businesses of Carson City, use this type of advertising to support the physical publication of the CHS Senators’ yearbook. Also, parents, students, and others may also purchase a section of the yearbook as well and use photos to capture and immortalize an unforgettable memory of time spent in the Carson City School District and beyond. Have a look at the possibilities by going to senatorsnow.org/.

All purchases need to be made by Feb. 26. For more information about the CHS yearbook, email CHS teacher and yearbook adviser Cynthia Mills at cmills@carson.k12.nv.us.

AMERICAN COLLEGE TEST FEE WAIVERS AVAILABLE
The American College Test is coming soon, and it will be administered, free of charge, to all CHS Juniors. In fact, taking the ACT is a graduation requirement. However, interested CHS Seniors may desire to again take the test at the possibility of receiving higher scores. Fee waivers for seniors may be available to cover the registration and late fees for the full ACT with writing or no writing, or a section retesting of up to three subjects. Approximately 18,000 students in grade 11 are eligible for an ACT Fee Waiver.

During the 2019-2020 school year, 2,199 waivers were requested and only 1,348 were used. Eligible students may request up to four waivers. The waiver covers one report to a student’s high school and up to six college choices at the time of registration. After registration, the student may request unlimited regular score reports for free. Also included is full access to ACT Online Prep, ACT Rapid Review, and ACT Academy. Refer to the attachment for information on which students are eligible. www.act.org/the-act/resources.

NOW HIRING STUDENT CUSTODIAL WORKERS AT CHS
Good money, normal hours, and a truly safe and familiar place to work, the Carson City School District, and CHS in particular, needs students to become stewards of the facility. Wages begin at $10 per hour, along with 15 or more hours per week, Monday through Friday. Students must be 16 or older, and they get to choose which school site within the district they would prefer to work.

This could be the beginning of a new career. Three letters of recommendation from teachers, administrators, former employers, etc. are needed, and students must be passing all their classes and have good attendance. If absent from school, then students would be unable to work that day. Those hired will work with a Lead Custodian to clean, mop, scrub, and vacuum floors, dust furniture and equipment, and clean windows, along with other custodial duties.
To apply, please go to drive.google.com/file/d/16dS971zNlfBwQRG5R3SZW3i9aRoHMyml/view.

THE 2021 NEVADA STEAM CONFERENCE IS GOING VIRTUAL
Join from anywhere, Feb. 3 through 6, 2021. The Nevada Museum of Art, in partnership with the Desert Research Institute’s Science Alive program, invites educators to push the boundaries of STEAM Education at the 2021 conference: Design Thinking, a strategy used by artists, designers, and scientists alike is used to empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test, an approach which may be used across all disciplines and is critical to developing 21st-Century skills to translate from the classroom to the workforce. This year's presenters include designers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs and artist Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky.

Check out the schedule, choose workshops, and start connecting with like-minded colleagues. The lead sponsor is Tesla, lead sponsor of the Museum’s STEAM education programs. Another major sponsor is Nevada Gold Mines, and supporters include Nevada Department of Education, Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology, and Nevada STEM Advisory Council. Nevada STEAM subcommittee event collaborators include Discovery Children’s Museum, Las Vegas, NASA, Nevada State Museum, and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP TO THE SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM
Build your students’ design toolkit! Dedicated to educating, inspiring and empowering people through design, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum is offering 60-minute virtual Design Field Trips to engage K–12 students in real-life design challenges that spark creativity—all from their home or school. The interactive field trip inspires the next generation of designers to take action in their community, build self-confidence and self-esteem, and learn how to harness their superpowers to create change for the better.

Students will: Practice creative critical thinking, Develop interdisciplinary problem-solving skills, Collaborate with peers using verbal and visual strategies, Define key design process terminology, Build advocacy/empathy competencies. Registration is open and spots are going fast at cooperhewitt.org/education/k12/. Request your Design Field Trip today. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Kul Axtell at: kaxtell@doe.nv.gov or Dr. Sophia Masewicz at smasewicz@doe.nv.gov.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Congratulations to Trevor Castillo, a CHS Senior, for being nominated by CHS Photography Instructor Kara Ferrin as the CHS Student of the Week. Ferrin said, “Not only is Trevor one of my level three students, he is also a student who puts in extra effort in everything he does with photography.”

Ferrin went on to say “Trevor volunteers for every event, will enter work into every competition, is always willing to help, and two weeks ago, when I was not at work during a crucial time in which we had to get photos ready to submit to not one, but two shows and, without being asked, Trevor stepped up and not only prompted students to get their pieces submitted, he also made sure over 30 photographs were printed, matted, and ready for the exhibit; and, when I returned the following week, to my surprise, everything was expertly done and ready to go; he is just one of those students who, when asked for one photo, will give me five.”

Ferrin added, “Additionally, he is constantly striving to grow, learn, and excel in his craft and consistently seeks out constructive criticism from his peers, other professional photographers, and me regarding his photography; I am super proud of the person he is and also the photographer he is becoming.” Like all those who take the time to nominate students for Student of the Week, Ferrin said it perfectly about Trevor Castillo; it is “because of his hard work and dedication I would love to see him rewarded for his efforts.”

— Senator Square columnist Phil Brady is an English teacher at Carson High School in Carson City, Nev.