Sen. Square: Vision set for education; Social Studies teachers to visit D.C.

The Carson City community is creating a long-range plan to empower students in a modern world. After two public meetings where input was gathered from students, parents, business leaders, civic organizations and educational professionals, a committee was formed to draft a vision and strategic plan for the district.

The committee includes members of the community, businesses, parents, students, and teachers, including two from Carson High School.

The committee is chaired by Ben Contine.

"The message from the community was loud and clear," he said. "They want students who can think critically and creatively, innovate and lead. And they are willing to do everything they can to help make it happen."

To encapsulate the sentiment, the committee agreed on the vision: "Our community empowers tomorrow's innovators, leaders, and thinkers."

If anyone would like to participate in setting the goals, they should contact Richard Stokes at rstokes@carson.k12.nv.us or Ben Contine at 684-9523 or bcontine@carson.k12.nv.us. 

SOCIAL STUDIES STAFF TO D.C.

CHS is proud to announce that two of our teachers are Washington, D.C. bound!

Social Studies teachers Nicole Fagundes and Jenny Chandler were selected to present their teaching methods at the National Social Studies Conference this weekend in our nation's capital. Carson City teachers are teaching other teachers around the nation. Our teachers were selected from among 5,000 applicants from across the country.

Congratulations Ms. Fagundes and Mrs. Chandler - way to represent Nevada teachers on the national stage!

LINK CREW HELPS FRESHMEN

Cookies and Cram event is happening 2-3:30 p.m. Dec. 12-15 in the Carson City Library. It is open for all freshmen to study for their finals and they are given cookies and milk during the event.

Each day is a different subject and link crew leaders will be tutoring the freshman students.

For more information, contact Rachel Robison at rrobison@carson.k12.nv.us.

CULINARY UNIVERSITY TO VISIT

Johnson and Wales University will be hosting an admissions information meeting at the CHS Culinary Arts Restaurant at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Students interested in finding out more information about this school or scholarship opportunities should attend this meeting. Contact Penny Reynolds at preynolds@carson.k12.nv.us for more information.

MILITARY OPTIONS DAY

Carson High School will have recruiters from most branches of the military 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 13 in Senator Square.

Students will be able to ask questions regarding the opportunities the military can offer. Contact the guidance office at CHS at 283-1915 for more information.

NEVADA REFLECTIONS PROGRAM CONTEST

Carson High School PTSA is sponsoring the annual Reflections Program where students can win cash awards for showing their artistic abilities.

Entry categories include Musical Composition, Photography, Dance Choreography, Visual Arts, Literature and Film/Video Production. This year's theme is "Diversity Means..."

Students may submit as many entries in as many categories as they wish. Applications are available online or at the CHS attendance office. Cash prizes are awarded to the top three places.

Three entries in each category will reach the level of the Nevada State PTA and entries may be selected for submission to the National PTA. Award of Excellence and Awards of Merit are recognized at the annual National PTA convention and are displayed as part of the program's traveling exhibit.

Entries must be turned in at the attendance office by 2 p.m. Jan. 10.

TEACHERS & STUDENTS HELP ADVOCATES

Teachers Sharon Miller and Cheryl Macy and their students have adopted families from Advocates to End Domestic Violence for Christmas. The classes have raised money and have gone shopping to provide a brighter holiday to these families.

WEIGHT CLASSES HELP BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

Jenn Gray- Minifie's girls weight classes at CHS have developed a way to stay fit and give back to the community.

"Pennies for Push-ups" is a program where these young women do pushups every day from the start of November to the end of December. They are asking businesses and individuals to pledge a donation for each pushup they do. Donations raised will go to Western Nevada's Boys and Girls Club here in Carson City.

Ms. Minifie said it can be a challenge to impress upon young women the importance of fitness without emphasizing vanity. So her hope, with the help of the community, is to demonstrate that fitness is a means to the health, discipline and strength it takes to achieve the goals that will bring meaning and substance into their lives, not just make them feel pretty.

The girls have set a goal of raising $10,000 for the Boys & Girls Club. If you would like to make a donation, contact Minifie at jminifie@carson.k12.nv.us.

RED-NOSED REINDEER RUN

Erin Been, health teacher at CHS, along with the Nevada Association of Health PE, Recreation and Dance will be holding a Red-Nosed Reindeer Run on Saturday on the Carson High School track.

Registration is at 9:30 a.m. and the run begins at 10. The event is free with a donation of a canned good to be donated to the Ron Wood Family Resource Center.

Prizes will be awarded for the Best Dressed, Best Red Nose, Best Mr. or Mrs. Clause and Best Candy Cane outfits. The first 100 will get $5 Play-It-Again Gift Cards, and the first 200 will receive a Chili's Kids Meal.

All families are encouraged to participate in this fun, non-competitive fitness event! For more information, contact Erin at ebeen@carson.k12.nv.us.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

This week's senior spotlight is Sean Lopez.

Sean has a grade-point average of 3.56 and is enrolled in three advanced-placement. He is looking at several different colleges for a physical science or engineering major.

He would really like to attend MIT, Cal Tech or Amherst.

Sean is a part of our speech and debate team and placed fourth in the last tournament. He has been a key person in his computer class in organizing the first Robotics Challenge.

He is also a part of student senate, which is a new organization that pulls one or two students from every class so that the student council can get input from the whole school about activities, policies, etc.

We are very pleased to have Sean as a Carson High School student and wish him well after graduation.

STAFF FACT

Answer to last week's fact is Principal Ron Beck. Mr. Beck was a member of the 2009 Senior Softball USA team that won the National Championship that year, and a member of the National Championship team for the Senior Softball Players Association in 2011. Mr. Beck has also won four Olympic medals in softball at the Hunstman World Senior Olympic Games in 2010 and 2011.

New Fact: She is a graduate of CHS and went on to play basketball at the University of Kentucky from 1990-1994. She played in all but two games in her four years at Kentucky.

• Angila Golik is a government and sociology teacher at CHS and a member of Senator Pride.