Senator Square: Sharks at Carson High School circle the tank in entrepreneur skills contest

Bringing an American reality television series to CHS Business Students is another reason why Carson High School is a cutting edge high school. Thanks to teachers Billy McHenry and Angila Golik as well as Carson City community professionals, students are offered real life experiences.

Shark Tank allows aspiring entrepreneur-contestants to make business presentations to a panel of ‘Shark’ investors who then choose whether or not to invest. McHenry’s students first developed a start-up business idea. Next, they wrote a professional business plan. Finally, they presented their plans in class, and the top 4 from each class advanced to the finals which happen March 2-3.

Like the show, 6-12 community "Sharks" will listen to and judge the plans, and award $300 to the winner in each class period. Students either worked as an individual or with a partner.

Greater Nevada Credit Union, US Bank, Mutual of Omaha Bank, Sierra Financial Planners, In Plain Sight Marketing, and the Adams Hub sponsor this competition with the monetary awards as well as the community "Sharks."

Additional support comes from Micheal Salogga, Carson City Visitors Bureau, and Polymer 80. Anyone interested in becoming involved in future events should contact Billy McHenry at 775-283-1726 or email him at wmchenry@carson.k12.nv.us.

Who knows, one of these business students may become the next Jerry Yang and David Filo, founders of Yahoo or Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google or 21-year-old David Karp, founder of Tumblr.

Congratulations Bowling Club
The CHS bowling team finished their competition season winning the championship event this week at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno 28 to 17. Carson is the first place team for the High Desert Interscholastic Bowling Program league in Northern Nevada.

Dominic Cerniglia and Jessica Mathiesen are the Regional All-Star team nominees. The Regional Players of the Year nominees for CHS are Dustin Floyd and Chesney Minor. The junior varsity Regional Player of the Year nominees are Rylan Fancher and Cindi Redus. Dustin Floyd had the high scratch game of 297 and high scratch series of 736 for all boys in the league.

Jessica Mathiesen had the high scratch game of 226 and the high scratch series of 613. Also, Jessica Mathiesen and Dominic Cerniglia received $100 scholarships with their awards, and Amber Minor received a $1000 scholarship because she is the league female player of the year. A big thanks of support goes out to the coaches, parents and the CHS administration.

College Week
It is time for the first annual CHS College Week Feb. 27 through Mar. 3. There will be schoolwide activities, college reps visiting at lunch, a question of the day posted on the CHS website to promote discussion between parents and students, and a list of possible activities to choose from for teachers to cover in their classes. Posters with college seal and list of staff who earned their Bachelor’s degree from that institution are even now posted on the CHS Library windows.

Students will get to wear gear from their favorite colleges too. College reps will visit at lunch from local schools: Feb. 27-28 is UNR at 1:15 p.m.; Mar. 1 is Mark Lobsinger from WNC CTE and Honors Program; UNR College of Agriculture Biotechnology, and Natural Resources; Grand Canyon University; Mar. 2 is UNR Nevada Fit and UNR CABNR; Mar. 3 is Paul Mitchell with UNR College of Liberal Arts School of Cosmetology. The question of the day will also be posted on the CHS website and CHS Facebook page to promote discussion with parents.

College and Career Expo
Do students want to meet up with colleges and employers at the same time and same place? Do students want to know where their futures are headed and know how to maximize their starting salary after graduation? The Annual CHS Career Expo Night happens Mar. 1 starting at 6:00 p.m. in the big gym. Parents are welcome too. WNC, TMCC, UNR, and Carrington College, as well as more than 30 employers, will be in attendance to talk about career pathways with: Veterinary Science; Horticulture; Greenhouse; Natural Resources; Entrepreneurship; Banking; Culinary Arts; Emergency Medical; Sports Medicine; Pharmacy; Technician; Graphic Design; Photography; Web Design; IT Service & Support; Engineering Manufacturing Tech; Welding; Architectural Design. Please direct all career questions to Mrs. Michele Lewis, CTE Administrator at mlewis@carson.k12.nv.us.

Prom dress 'Try on' set for March 3 and March 5
The Carson City Library is hosting a ‘Try-on’ event March 3 and again on March 5 in order to give underprivileged students at CHS an opportunity to choose a gently used prom dress from 30 collected so far. Nevada Photo Source is advertising the Prom Dress Drive Donation and ‘Try-on’ events.

CHS secretary Kim Arnold will be making size tags to for the dresses, and Home Depot is donating and constructing a fitting room for students to use during the event. Additionally, two LuLaRoe consultants are lending clothing racks, and a Mary Kay Cosmetics consultant will donate makeup to raffle. Patchwork Giraffe is donating gift cards to be used in their shop to help girls get their dresses hemmed, fitted, and repaired. Ms. Carson City may attend the event too. Event Coordinator and Senior Carson City Library Assistant and Digitorium Facilitator Kim Babcock may be reached at 775-283-7587, 609-879-1369 or, kbabcock@clan.lib.nv.us.

JR Cheer Camp
Meeting in the CHS big gym Mar. 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., the CHS Cheerleaders will host a JR Cheer Camp for girls and boys grades K-8. This will encompass teaching in dance and cheer along with valuable team and leadership skills. All participants will perform for their families at 11:45 a.m. on the day of camp and then again Mar. 10 at “Mr. Carson High” which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Carson City Community Center.

Registration forms are found at the CCSD website under News and Announcements. They can then be mailed to Carson High School, dropped off at the CHS Athletic Office, or turned in the day of the event. Cost is $30 per cheerleader, and no cost for those with special needs. All proceeds directly benefit the CHS Cheer Program. Questions: Call Sheila Story at 775-283-1675.

GNCU Carson High Prom contest
Seniors, want an opportunity to go to Prom for free? The Greater Nevada Credit Union branch at CHS is giving away $635 of CHS Prom awesomeness. The prize winner will receive 2 Prom tickets, tux rental, flowers package, dinner at Adele’s, Dillard’s gift card, and hair up-do. Entry forms and contest rules are available at the CHS Greater Nevada Credit Union branch. The contest begins Feb. 27, and all entries are due by 1:00 p.m. Mar. 15. Do not miss the chance to win this amazing prize package!

Student of the Week
The Student of the Week is Liliana Barajas. She is a hard worker and challenges herself by taking honors level classes. She has shown success in each class, and she is always willing to come in and go above and beyond to find needed assistance. CHS thanks Liliana Barajas for being such an amazing student. 


Senior Spotlight
This week’s Senior in the Spotlight is Anna Glenn. Anna maintains a 5.23 GPA while taking 5 AP classes, tutoring elementary students, and completing various internships. She is currently the National Honor Society president and has also been a part of Link Crew, Philosophy Club, and the after school tutoring program.

On the athletic front, Anna has participated in swimming, tennis and skiing. Last summer she served as an intern at a research lab at UNR, and she also interned at Desert Research Institute as a GreenPower volunteer. With varied interests and talents, Anna has also participated in a summer debate program at Princeton University and Camp RYLA, for youth leadership training. Her most recent achievement is being named a National Merit Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Competition.

Anna is passionate about the rights of others and is currently completing her Senior Project with Advocates to End Domestic Violence in Carson City. She will be facilitating a self-defense workshop later this year. Anna has applied to many colleges and is eagerly awaiting acceptance emails. Largely undecided as to a major, she would like to pursue a career field that will change the world, and make a positive impact on the lives of others.

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