Senator Square: High school back into full swing

Welcome back to another week of Senator news. After two weeks of school, students and staff are beginning to settle into their new schedules. We have lots of new faces at CHS and exciting things happening in and around the school. Also, congrats to our sports teams who are off to a roaring start. Victory is our nickname at CHS. Come on out and support our athletes. Go Big Blue!CNA FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPThis is a rare opportunity for ninth, 10th and 11th graders to obtain financial assistance before entering college. Casey, Neilon & Associates will be accepting applications from Carson High School students until Sept. 28. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have at least a 3.5 grade-point average. Students can pick up applications in the Guidance Office.ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGECarson High School students who may be interested in spending a semester or year in a foreign country are encouraged to attend one of two short, informational meetings.Rotary representatives will be in the CHS library during lunch on Sept. 13 and 17. All interested students are welcome to attend.FORMER CHS GRAD NEWSMackena Bell, CHS graduate of 2008, is competing in her third season with Revolution Racing in North Carolina in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. Toyota Racing, one of the major sponsors of NASCAR, is currently holding a contest to raise money for cancer.Toyota Racing has asked NASCAR drivers and their friends and families to put their fashion expertise to work. Mackena was asked to take part in the contest by designing a T-shirt.The contest asks people to visit the website and vote for their favorite design. Voting will continue through Oct. 4, with the winning T-shirt design being announced during the Charlotte Motor Speedway race weekend.The winner from among all nine participants will have their T-shirt created and available for sale, with all proceeds donated to Charlotte-based Carolina Breast Friends. Toyota Racing will also donate $500 for each participant to Carolina Breast Friends. Visit www.toyotaracing.com/RacingForAwareness to vote for Mackena’s T-shirt design. We are so proud of Mackena and wish her the best of luck in her racing career and with this contest.NEW DRIVER CONTESTAre you going to be a new driver soon? Marilyn Lewis of State Farm Insurance has partnered with Western Nevada College to co-host an event focused on the 2012 class of new drivers.The event includes the possibility to win a $100,000 grant from State Farm for Carson High School and the chance to win a free Drivers Ed class for participants from Western Nevada College. The event is Sept. 15 at the Farmers Market.Contact Marilyn at 882-4875 for more information.HOSA FUNDRAISERThe Carson High HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) will be holding a carwash 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 15 in the U at Carson High.Cost is $3 if you buy a pre-sold ticket (must bring ticket on Saturday to get car washed) or $5 on Saturday.All money raised will go to help send students to the State Leadership Conference. Contact Kelly Gustafson at 283-1710 for more information.SENIOR SPOTLIGHTThis week’s senior spotlight is on Casey Reid. Casey has a weighted grade-point average of 4.5. Casey has been an integral part of our school’s community as a member of National Honor Society, HOSA, and the Carson High School tennis team. He is currently the senior class representative for Honor Society and as such helps organize the club’s many service projects.Casey has spent the last several summers participating in foreign mission and aid trips and has traveled to Russia, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Australia. Casey is interested in pursuing a degree in biology with the intention of attending medical school.CHS is proud of the contribution Casey has made to the class of 2013.MEET CHS STAFFJeff Greb has been an English teacher at CHS for 18 years. Mr. Greb has been involved in many activities during the years, but currently he heads up the Language Arts Department, which means he represents the department at all administration meetings of the high schoolHe ultimately helps make the final decisions of teaching positions, and curriculum content, as well as runs weekly meetings within the department. Mr. Greb also has been actively involved with the Ormsby County Education Association over the years, which is the local county educator’s union. He currently holds the position of administrative vice president of that group.Mr. Greb’s dedication to education and children is evident and for his efforts he has been recognized with multiple awards over the years. Just this past year he won the OCEA Outstanding Leadership Award and in 2000 won the OCEA Light of Education Award.In 2005, as the club’s advisor, he won the NCTE Highest Award for CHS Verbatim. An interesting little tidbit about Mr. Greb was that he worked for seven years at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles before he began his teaching career. I say this is interesting because while at the observatory he looked at the stars, now he inspires students in his classroom to “reach for the stars.”Thanks Mr. Greb for all your service and commitment to the students of CHS.• Angila Golik is a sociology and government teacher at CHS and a member of Senator Pride.