Senator Square: Different dances at Carson High dazzle Carson City

April was an action packed month as several Carson High School clubs put on The Friendship Ball, A Night Under the Big Top Father Daughter Ball, and The Greatest Show on Earth 2019 Prom. Even more amazing than the dances are the students behind the scenes who, with the guidance of Leadership Adviser Ann Britt and FBLA Adviser Angila Golik, transformed the CHS Big Gym so that all visitors, young and old alike, would think they had walked into a beautiful dream.

Balloons and decorations filled the enormous room and made it seem like a fantastic getaway from everyday life. The Father Daughter Ball featured circus actors who took photos of these fathers and their little princesses. Teachers and students know there are no special funds available for high school clubs to put on three dances, so when CHS Leadership, FBLA, SkillsUSA, Photo, and Web Design organize an event or a fundraiser, the Carson City community is excitedly there to make the events a success. Students in these clubs came in before school, stayed after school, and even came in on weekends to make these once-a-year events happen.

CHS students from all of the on-campus clubs were on hand to take tickets, help people find their way around, and clean up after the event. Thanks to everyone who came; the dances were such a success. The Friendship Ball is always a wonderful experience for special needs kids to dress up and go on a friendly date. The 4th Annual Father Daughter dance gave fathers and their little princesses an opportunity to put on their nicest clothes and create a life-long memory.

Even clowns, the happy and exciting type were on hand to offer photos of fathers and their little princesses. Prom followed the next night with hundreds in attendance, and two students, Sy'Johnniqa Moore and Conner Couste were crowned CHS’ 2019 Prom Queen and King. Kudos to the students, teachers, and staff who made these events happen, but even more gratitude goes out to the community who attended.

QUIET ON THE SET
Digital Media has only been at CHS for one year, and this year is its second. Similar to the yearbook staff, Digital Media wants to preserve the memories school in getting the school news to students in an easy and more present tense way. Last year, the class started with both the students and teachers, Cynthia Mills and Patt Quinn-Davis, learning as they went.

Having a year of experience, the class is now running with minimum bumps in the road. “The class is easier because you have all this experience and knowledge about how to edit videos, and stuff just goes by faster now because you can get things done quicker and easier,” said sophomore director Ismael Diaz Venegas.

Even with the class being new, many students have heard about it, and it is being flooded with ‘newbies’ such as Gianna Johnson a sophomore. “I just heard about it, and I thought it would be a fun class to take,” Johnson stated. The class deals with technology, cameras, programs, microphones, etc., and these students are usually thrown in with hands-on experience in editing and interviewing.

“This part I do pretty much on my own, except for the person recording, and I have to run up to people and just ask them questions out of nowhere; I have social anxiety and that is really hard for me to do, but I do it anyway,” freshman, Xander Holcomb said. With this class pushing people to their limits, it can help with social problems. “I’m kind of scared to go out of my comfort zone…like going to Prom, I was scared and out of my shell, so that is definitely one of the hardest parts for me,” Johnson stated. But the new students do not have to do it alone; second-year students have been acting as mentors to help.

Sophomore Antonio Iglesias, a second-year student, loves helping the ‘newbies’ and said, “I help them read their questions, focus on breathing and not let their anxiety get in the way of their interview.” Though no one’s perfect, getting videos done on time is always tricky. “It’s very slow at first, for me at least because I have to wait until people get footage for me to edit, but once I get the footage it is like that,” said junior, Dominic Pertubal. He snaps his fingers to demonstrate how fast it goes.

On the editors part, sometimes getting the video finished is a pain, but students prefer getting work done during class, rather than stay after hours. “If it is for filming, I spend a lot of time like Prom was three or four hours-ish, but editing I like to only do in class; I like to get information or suggestions from Mrs. Mills or QD,” Johnson said. These students have to come up with their own content.

Sometimes the students have to get creative when thinking and looking for newsworthy events. “Getting ideas, original ideas or taking other people's ideas and shifting into one of our own in our own wacky way… Another hard part is executing these ideas and such properly,” Pertubal said. But this class is amazing when setting students up with skills for future use. “Since we are working with the broadcast, I can go work for the news, and be like a reporter or something and start working with some editing processes; it is fun,” Johnson stated.

Other students agree, “I feel like this is a stepping-stone to a way I can submerge myself into the world of editing and content creating, and then later on I can probably practice with good equipment, programs, and such in order to better the quality of videos,” Pertubal added. Other students found the class helps with more than understanding technology. Holcomb said, “Well, it’s helped me develop social skills because I met a couple of friends in this class, and I had to do a lot of different interviews with people I don’t know.” This class is fast-paced and students are always working on the next video till the school year ends, but many plan on coming back next year, though this class is not for the classic procrastinator. “Do your work, because no one’s going to babysit you,” Venegas advises to those thinking about joining the class. — Lindsay Chowanski

CHS LIBRARY IS MAKING ROOM FOR NEW BOOKS
According to CHS Librarian Ananda Campbell, “As we make room for new titles with diverse representation and contemporary stories, we have many titles ready to retire.” Translation, the CHS Library is retiring many of their older books and making room for some new biographies and novels. Campbell told students of CHS, “Feel ‘free’ to browse our discarded books, and you may find a prize such as John Lennon or Bill Cosby: Family Man; the carts will be available until next week, and then the books will be boxed for the warehouse.” Each of the books is marked with a red discard stamp, so Campbell told students to browse and take as needed.

NIGHT OF ALL NATIONS FOOD EXTRAVAGAZA COMING TO CHS
It is time once again for the community event Night of All Nations occurring May 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Carson High School’s Senator Square. Last year, everyone who brought food, or simply came to support the festival and enjoy the food, made it a huge success with a total of 32 dishes from a represented 14 different countries.

Anyone may bring a culinary dish or a non-alcoholic beverage which connects to her or his cultural heritage. This dish should feed 20 to 30 people a small sample of food, and please share the recipe. A CHS teacher at the event will be more than happy to print and place the recipe on the table.

Please bring decorations as well in order to show how the culinary dish represents the country in which it originates. Because the event begins at 6:00 p.m., so be sure to arrive at 5:30 p.m. to give time for setting up. Please bring necessary utensils to properly serve the dish. Plates, bowls, cups, and plastic cutlery will be provided by CHS. The link to the online sign-up page is forms.gle/KccCwPnZiGxRuy3YA to provide the needed information by May 6.” Please call Rachel Avidano at 283-1670, or email her at ravidano@carson.k12.nv.us for more information.

JOIN THE SALVATION ARMY CLOTHING DRIVE HOSTED BY CHS LEADERSHIP
Leadership class is hosting a clothing drive for the Salvation Army from April 29 through May 10. Students who donate gently used, clean, and nice clothes to the CHS Student Store will receive a raffle ticket, 1 ticket per item donated. Raffle winners will receive a Dutch Bros. Gift card.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
CHS Athletic Department’s Athletes of the Week for April 29 through May 3 are Camryn Quilling for Girls Varsity Softball and Juan Brena-Guiterrez for Boys Varsity Swim. These athletes, and all students who participate in school functions through leadership, clubs, and sports, deserve a high level of recognition and congratulations.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK
Johnny Hunziker is the CHS Student of the Week. Johnny, nominated by CHS Social Studies teacher Will Houk, is a student in his AB55 push-in class with CHS teacher Pam McMullan. Due to some personal challenges, Houk said Johnny, “missed the last part of the first semester, but when he came back, he really tried to turn over a new leaf; we are working on a project in my U.S. History class, and he is doing a fantastic job with it.” Houk then went on to say, “I think it would be great for him to be recognized for his hard work.” Congratulations to Johnny Hunziker; nothing makes a teacher happier than when students care about their education.  

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
This week’s Senior in the Spotlight recognizes one of CHS’ most cheerful and accomplished students, Leonardo Rodriguez Melgarejo.

This young man is a superb student as well-liked by both peers and adults. He has a GPA of 4.87 and will have successfully completed 6 AP classes as well as numerous honors classes. Leo, as his friends call him, has been very active in CHS athletics, having been on the CHS Varsity Soccer team, the CHS Varsity Football team, and the CHS Track and Field team. He has also been a member of Key Club and National Honor Society.

In addition to his busy schedule at CHS, Leo has worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken for the last two years, averaging approximately 25 hours per week. Of special note is Leo’s involvement with Project RECON, a research project being conducted at WNC and funded by the National Science Foundation to explore the outer solar system. He first had the opportunity to participate in this project when taking AP Physics as a junior, and his continued interest inspired his making this study the focus of his Senior Project.

His research involved measuring the sizes of asteroids in the Kuiper Belt of the solar system. Leo will be a first generation college student, and he plans to pursue his education at UNR. He would like to major in math with an emphasis in operations research and discrete mathematics. CHS is proud of the contributions Leo has made to the high school community and the Carson City community and looks forward to the future accomplishments of this kind, generous, and talented young man. CHS wishes him the best in all his future endeavors.

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