Senator Square: CHS Choir prepares for Feb. 14 Madrigal Dinner

The Carson High School Choral Program will have its Madrigal Dinner on Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 before February 1st and $25 after Feb. 1. A Madrigal Dinner or Madrigal Feast is an American form of dinner theater often held by schools.

It is set in the Middle Ages and is generally comedic in nature. The meal is divided into courses, each of which is heralded with a traditional song. A play is performed between the courses and a concert of choral music concludes the festivities. There will be a silent auction. Please plan to attend and support your CHS Choral Program. For more information, contact Mr. Sonnemaker at asonnemaker@carson.k12.nv.us.

Honor Band Concert
Thirty-four band students from the Carson High Wind Ensemble and Concert Band will be performing in Fallon with the Northern Zone Honor Band this Thursday and Friday, Feb. 5-6. The concert will be free to the public this Friday, February 6th at 7:00 PM at the Churchill County High School Auditorium.

NHS Blood Drive
National Honor Society is hosting its winter blood drive. It will take place on Feb. 4.
from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the library. Anybody who is 16 years of age and in good health can donate. Online signups are available at bloodhero.com, code word is Senators. Every person who donates gets a free cholesterol test. Free refreshments will be available. Find the hero in you and save three lives. Community members are encouraged to support such a worthy cause.

Speech and Debate Host Meet
Carson High Speech and Debate co-hosted the January Northern Nevada Forensic League Competition with the Northern Nevada Home School team last weekend. Eighteen schools were present for the two-day event. 146 students competed Friday in speech events and 171 students competed in debate events held Saturday. Sixty-eight volunteers from the community participated as judges for the tournament each day.

Carson High had a very successful meet on our home field. Team captain Luke Szatmary placed 10th overall in public forum speaker points. Shane Morton and Bailee Barber claimed 5th place overall in senior duo interpretation with their piece titled “Jerry Finnegan’s Sister” on the struggle to ask out that perfect girl. Carson debaters had their best Congressional debate results ever over the weekend with Kailey Lambert placing 5th, Sadie Share taking 3rd overall and point scorer, and Duy Khan Nguyen taking 2nd. Duy was also the top point scorer in his chamber.

Duy also took fourth place in novice expository speaking for his piece on confronting American challenges. Allesandro Figueroa took 2nd place overall in novice U.S. extemporaneous speaking and now advances to senior division competition. Juliet Fabero took 1st place overall in novice dramatic interpretation with “Darkest Moment” in her first competition.

Finally team Captains Jacob Berttocchi and Luke Szatmary took 1st place overall in senior public forum going undefeated with the topic of Should UN peacekeepers have the power to engage in offensive operations?” Assistant coach Megan Motley earned the merit-coaching award from the National Forensic League as well. We would like to thank Grandma Hatties, Costco, Port of Subs, and Del Taco for catering the event, as well as everyone who volunteered their time to help make the tournament a success. Carson looks to follow up this success next month at the American Legion speaking competition, the Lions Club Speaking Competition, and the final league tournament of the season held at Spring Creek High School. 

Bowling News
The Carson High School Bowling team has had a great start to our competitive season winning the first 4 events against North Valleys, Wooster, Spanish Springs and Manogue.  In the Manogue match last Monday, Skylar Belcher had a high series of 607. High games were Matt Hinton, 214, Skylar Belcher, 213, and Matt Liddell, 205.  The next match will be Wednesday, Febraury 4th against Damonte Ranch at Coconut Bowl. 

Student of the Week
This week's student of the week is Vanessa Torres. Vanessa is a junior at Carson High. She is involved in Link Crew, National Honors Society, as well as being enrolled in several honors classes. Vanessa is always prepared and ready to learn. She never hesitates to ask for help when she needs it and is always willing to lend a helping hand. You rock Vanessa!

Senior Spotlight
This week’s senior spotlight is on Jody Ostrander. Jody has a GPA of 4.19 and is currently taking classes at both Carson High School and Western Nevada College in Carson City. At CHS Jody is enrolled in two AP classes while taking Calculus II and Chemistry II at WNC. She has applied to several selective colleges and universities to continue her studies.

Jody has been an integral part of Carson High School leadership during her four years at CHS. She served as her Freshman and Sophomore Class President and during fall of her junior year served as the Student Body Vice-President. In addition, Jody is a member of the CHS National Honor Society and a Link Crew member, helping freshmen in their transition to high school.

During the spring of Jody’s junior year, she was chosen to participate in the United States Senate Page Program and spent her spring semester working and studying in Washington, D.C. She was sponsored in this endeavor by Senator Harry Reid and worked for the Senate Democratic Caucus where she prepared the Senate chambers for daily sessions and provided support services for senators. During this time she attended the US Senate Page School where she was elected the Student Body President. In this role she was in charge of organizing numerous community service events and acted as the MC at the Page Graduation Ceremony.

Jody has also been very active in the Carson City community. She was a Student Representative to the Carson City Strategic Plan Steering Committee, working with community members and school personnel to set goals for the Carson City School District. In addition she is involved with YIELD (Youth Influencing Everyday Life Decisions) which is a group that brings awareness of substance abuse to the community and organizes and hosts prevention activities at local schools. She currently spends time each week volunteering at the Veteran’s Resource Center.

Jody is a remarkable young lady who will go far in life. We wish her the best of luck in her endeavors and thank her for the contributions she has made to Carson High School as well as our community.

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