Senator Square: Carson High School graduate addresses National Honor Society members

National Honor Society held its induction ceremony Sept. 23 in the CHS Big Gym featuring guest speaker Ryan Costella a 2000 CHS graduate. Costella was an active member of NHS, and this fact influenced his desire to attend college at Villanova University in Philadelphia, PA where he earned degrees in Political Science and English.

Afterwards, Costella attended the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, focusing his research on the Chinese economy and political system where he graduated in 2006 with a Master of Philosophy degree in Modern Chinese Studies. He then had the unique opportunity to serve as a special assistant in the United States Senate and has been part of the team at Click Bond, Inc. ever since.

Today, he serves as the Vice President of Organizational Development & Strategy. Costella plays an active role in work force development and education policy in partnership with the National Association of Manufacturers and the Aerospace Industries Association. He has delivered messages on numerous occasions to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Costella is the eldest of six children, all of whom attended CHS. He resides in Reno, NV with his wife Anna, daughter Dania, and new arrival in December, Silas. Moreover, NHS will soon be hosting another blood drive. CHS’ NHS won the Northern Nevada High School Blood Drive Challenge last school year and received a check for $3,000 from United Blood Services. NHS’ first blood drive this year is Oct. 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Medical staff will be in the CHS Small Gym. Large numbers of donors are needed, and donors must be 16 or older. Anyone under 18 must have a signed parent consent form and a picture ID when they donate. Students may sign up by room #221 or drop by the day of the blood drive. Snacks and drinks are also needed. Call teachers and NHS advisers Monica Chavez, 283-1749, or Jennifer Alexander, 283-1720, for more information.

HOMECOMING EVENTS A HAPPY SUCCESS

Homecoming Week every year is a fun-filled time with a frenzy of activities to celebrate the students and events of CHS. The theme this year was Happiest Homecoming on Earth, and each day’s activities centered on a different aspect of ‘Disney’. Homecoming continued every night last week with a bonfire, Lip Sync Battle, Wednesday Night Live, and a drive-in movie. Homecoming culminated Sept. 20 with the crowning of the King and Queen as well as the CHS Varsity Football team defeating Hug High School. The CHS Homecoming Queen is Taryn Encinas, and the King is Anthony Singh. Happiest Homecoming on Earth, like Disneyland, will never be forgotten. Another fun Homecoming event was the annual cow plop, but this time they borrowed the bowels of a donkey and are now calling it the donkey plop. CHS teacher Levi Grabo and Christina Lane participated in the lucrative endeavor of the Pony Plop, and their investment paid off big-time. Grabo won the grand prize of $250, and Lane won the $75 raffle.

THE 3RD ANNUAL 2019 JOG FOR JORDAN RACE AND SCHOLARSHIP
CHS students need their parents, their teachers, and their community members in order to become successful in life; every ‘one’ matters. Please support the 3rd Annual Jog for Jordan 5K/10K/One-Mile Run Sept. 28 at McFadden Plaza to raise suicide awareness and prevention. Seniors who have participated in a sport in high school, and who have a minimum 3.0 GPA, are invited to apply for the $1000 Jordan Woodward Scholarship, awarded to one male and one female.

Extra consideration will be given to students who participate in or volunteer at the Jog for Jordan Race, have multiple years in a sport, and have a GPA above 3.5. Scholarship applications are available in the CHS Guidance Office and are due by Oct. 20. Register online at ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=70580. Race day begins 8:45 a.m. for the one-mile. Race day registration will also be available Sept. 28 from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. The one-mile kid's race begins at 8:45 a.m., the 10k will begin at 9:00 a.m., and the 5k will begin at 9:15 a.m. Race fee includes a t-shirt, lunch, and a participation medal. Please register early to reserve preference of size on the t-shirt.

FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES MET AT THE POLE
FCA jumped at the opportunity to participate in the National See You at The Pole event Sept. 25 in front of school at 7:10 a.m. to pray for the school, city, state, country, and world. All staff was welcome to join, and many of them did just that. Donuts were provided, and 20 people showed up to fellowship, enjoy one another’s company, and spend a few minutes in prayer before beginning the school day. See You at the Pole encourages students, teachers, administrators, everyone, to gather around the flagpole in the morning in order to bring God's Word into their schools. Public school educators may be wondering how they can legally and wisely participate in these events, and courts have generally affirmed the rights of teachers, outside of their role as educations, to participate, have personal items in their workspace like family pictures, mementos, and yes, Bibles.

THESPIANS TO SHARE PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
Everyone is invited to attend the CHS Theatre Arts production of Peter and the Starcatcher Oct. 4, 5, and 6 and 11, 12, and 13 at the Bob Boldrick Theater in the Community Center. This hilarious play, written by Rick Elice, and based on a book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is the prequel to the beloved story of Peter Pan. Learn how Peter and Captain Hook became enemies, who taught Peter to fly, and the creation of the story everyone loves. The audience will be seated on the stage, so please enter the side closest to Mills Park. Performances will be at 7:00 p.m. Oct. 4, 5, 11, and 13, and performances will be at 2:00 Oct. 6 and 13. Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for adults; they may be purchased at the door.

FUTURE HEALTH PROFESSIONALS COMPETE IN HEALTH CAREER DISPLAY
Health Science II Future Health Professional (HOSA) students will compete in a Health Career Display event, Sept. 24-27, in which groups of two students research a specific health career of choice, develop a visual display, and give a five minute presentation to guest judges explaining their choice of career, what they learned by researching the career, what forms of research they used to complete the display, and what they included on the display and why. Students will be scored in two rounds: The display board where judges look for artistic value, creativity, and originality as well as neatness, spelling, and grammar, and then listening to oral presentations for presenting the above information with voice, stage presence, diction, and pronunciation.

Total points from both rounds are then tallied up and averaged, and the top three groups will be recognized. Please pay attention to the HOSA fundraisers around Carson City as well because all money raised will help send HOSA students to State & National Competitions. HOSA students are not only busy learning at CHS, they also volunteer their time at Carson City Health & Human Services Drive Through Flu Pod at the DMV. In school and out of school, HOSA students excel. This event will result in a grade for the groups as well as a competition amongst one another. This is also a HOSA Nationally recognized competitive event.

STATE OF NEVADA 2019 FIRE PREVENTION POSTER CONTEST

The 2019 theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 6 through 12, was released in June, “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape - Plan and Practice Your Escape”. Information may be found at the Nevada State Fire Marshal Website or the Nevada State Fire Marshal Fire Prevention Bureau: 684-7526, or email the Department of Public Safety’s Public Information Officer KY.Smith@dps.state.nv.us.

WEARABLE RECYCLABLES THE THEME OF 2019 RECYCLED ART CONTEST
As part of a mission to foster a ‘greener’ Nevada, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection’s Recycling Program is partnering with The Venetian Resort Las Vegas to promote the importance of recycling through this year’s “Wearable Recyclables” statewide art contest. To participate, students must create a ‘wearable recyclable’ item, and submit it to nevadarecycles.nv.gov by Oct. 17.

What type of wearable items can be made from recycled materials? Think funny hats, crazy masks, exquisite jewelry, funky clothing, unique costumes, must-have accessories, futuristic backpacks, even superhero capes. The goal is to be creative, and ‘repurpose’ items headed to the landfill into something real or imagined to transform them into an “upcycled” fashion statement.

The Venetian will provide first, second and third place prizes, $250, $100 and $50 respectively, in six categories: Kindergarten-grade 5, grades 6-8, grades 9-12, class, and adult. In 2018, Nevada’s recycling rate was 22 percent. Based on residential and commercial sector data, Nevadans and area tourists throw away approximately 5.8 pounds of trash per person, per day; that means approximately four million tons of trash enters a Nevada landfill each year. “Recycling is one of the easiest things we can do to save energy, conserve natural resources, and create green jobs,” said Pranav Jampani, Director of Sustainability for The Venetian, The Palazzo, and Sands Expo. Winners will be announced on America Recycles Day, Nov. 15.

ANNUAL WEEK OF RESPECT EVENT
Over 40 students gathered in the CHS Library recently to plan the Annual Week of Respect, scheduled for Sept. 30 through Oct. 4. The Social and Emotional Learning Committee traditionally spearheads this weeklong celebration of kindness, inclusion, acceptance and respect, but his year students were encouraged to join the planning team in order to generate ideas how CHS may foster more respect on campus. So many students joined this event the library was not big enough to contain them.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
CHS Athletic Department’s Athletes of the Week are Karen Beglin for Varsity Girls Golf and Jonathan Laplante for Varsity Boys Football. 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
The CHS Student of the Week is Dana Corbett, a junior at CHS. Dana said, “I’m taking Honors Human Anatomy, Publications, and Physiology; these are my favorite classes because they actually get me thinking.” Corbett added, “I love to play basketball with my friends, go on long runs, and participate in working on the Carson High yearbook.” Dana is an amazing young lady who would drop everything she is doing to lend a hand to someone in need. Congratulations to her on becoming the CHS Student of the Week.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT
The Senior Spotlight this week is Marcus Yeager. Marcus is an outstanding student at CHS, maintaining excellent grades during his freshman, sophomore, junior. and the first semester of his senior year. He has taken several Honors and AP classes while maintaining a 3.95 Cumulative GPA and 4.35 weighted GPA. He has been involved in the NJROTC Drill and Rifle Team as well as Blue Crew, Roller Derby, and Robotics. Marcus also finds time to work at the Boys and Girls Club. He plans on attending UNR in hopes of acquiring a degree in Psychology and then continuing on to medical school. With all of Marcus’ determination and achievements, there is no doubt he will succeed in his future goals. Congratulations to Marcus Yeager.

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