Senator Square: SF, fantasy, and horror interclass writing competition winners

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Senator Square 10302021

Teachers and students enjoy participating in competitive endeavors and events, especially when the winners receive worthwhile Starbucks gift cards and a first place, second place, or third place certificate.

The event is the three times per school year annual writing competition. Three times, every school year, the CHS Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror classes, not necessarily in that order, also known as English IV incognito, participate in an interclass writing contest. During first quarter, students study the genre of horror and the structure of all fictional literature using what is called the Freytag Pyramid Model.

After coming up with a pen name, alias, or creative pseudonym, they then write their short horror stories paying particular attention to structure and readability. Creating a pen name, an alias, or a pseudonym is almost as important as the short story itself as this alleviates all bias. No student reader knows whether or not the writer is male or female, let alone other potentially bias laden factors. For instance, and not surprisingly, one popular name is Justin Time.

Even the teacher is not allowed to participate in the judging of the papers and does not get them until the end of the competition in order to read and evaluate them himself. For the judging, students form five groups of five and are given the stories from another class. A3 is given the stories from B2, B2 is given the stories from B4, and B4 is given the stories from B2. This is where phase one of the competition begins. Each group then reads and chooses the best story of their initial five. In the following class, phase two begins with each group receiving a copy of the final top five stories. They read them and then choose the best story yet again in order to narrow it down to a first, second, and third place winner. For the horror story competition, first place in the A3 block went to CHS Seniors Brett Barbarigos, Ari Erickson, and Clinton DeWitt. In the B2 block, winners are Cindy Hernandez-Platero, Mario Morgan Meza, and Gisselle Diaz Mata. In B4 block, the winners are Eric Arteaga Almaraz, Courtney Reilly, and Yullisa Solis Pacheco. Though winning is fun, the same people do not win every time, and tennis star Boris Becker summed it up best when he said, “I love winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I love to play.” For love of the game, congratulations to all those who love competition and fair play.

SPECIAL EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES FILL CARSON HIGH @SENATORS LIBRARY The Carson High @Senators Library was full this week with activities and special events. New entryway rugs featured a new CHS student-created library logo to welcome guests to the active space. The Carson City Library held a Maker Monday event at lunch with Virtual Reality. CHS sudents are invited to explore the resources and may check out the devices to use at home. Students may visit the Carson Library Digitorium Mondays and Wednesday through Friday from 3:00 to 6:00 to hang out, work, and create in the teen center. Heather Engle, (CHS Class of ‘86) presented to CHS teacher Erin Been’s Health classes as part of a unit on career exploration and decision making. The library lounge space, with comfortable seating, stationary bikes, and space for students to interact and engage, is the perfect backdrop for guest speakers. This week CHS and WNC celebrate Dia de los Muertos with an ofrenda created by student volunteers. Next week, CHS is hosting lunchtime activities and games for students. To learn more about this holiday, click the icon on the @SenatorsLibrary discover page at bit.ly/SenatorsLibrary.

CERAMICS I AND II DISPLAY WORK AT WESTERN NEVADA COLLEGE

CHS Ceramics I and II students will have their Calavera masks on display at WNC until Nov. 22 in the Bristlecone building. CHS Visual Art and Ceramics 2 students will have their Dia de los Muertos inspired art on display in a CHS ofrenda at the Nevada State Museum Nov. 5 and 6.

TEACHER DRESSES IN PINK FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH

A $300 donation to go to Carson Tahoe Cancer Foundation for breast cancer awareness and research was made after AP teacher Jason Macy work pink for Breast Cancer research.

MARCHING BANDSGIVING BANQUET

The CHS Blue Thunder Marching Band will be enjoying a Marching Bandsgiving Banquet to celebrate the hard work and dedication of its members, ‘Potluck Style,’ Nov. 15 in the upstairs cafeteria at CHS beginning at 6 p.m. They will enjoy appetizers, chicken, ham, drinks, supplies, desserts, and condiments. For more information, please email CHS Band Director Nick Jacques at njacques@carson.k12.nv.us.

HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR IS A GO

The Carson High Holiday Craft Fair will take place Nov. 19-20. There are a limited number of spaces available for interested vendors. The craft fair needs adult volunteers to assist with admissions, raffle, vendor check-in, volunteer check-in, and parking assistance. The shifts are two hours long, and the hours are donated as a cash stipend to CHS students’ clubs, sports, or class. All proceeds from this event go directly to CHS students, and the craft fair also awards CHS Senior Scholarships, which go to the college of the senior’s choice. Please contact Cathy Barbie at 882-8109 for more information.

SAMSUNG SOLVE FOR TOMORROW PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPETITION

Each year, Samsung hosts a $2 million national competition for public schools grade 6 – 12 in which students are asked to consider how science, technology, engineering and math can be used to create change in their communities. With the help of their teachers, students may apply to the contest and compete to win up to $100,000 in prizes for their school, plus the opportunity to work with Samsung employees to develop their prototypes. For more information please visit samsung.com/us/solvefortomorrow/?cid=int-cha-cha-cha-082919-102319-112156, email SolveforTomorrow@sea.samsung.com, or contact Education Programs Professional Andrew Snyder of the Nevada Department of Education Standards and Instructional Support, 755 Roop Street Suite 201 in Carson City, NV 89701 asnyder@doe.nv.gov.

STUDENT OF THE WEEK

The CHS Student of the Week is Yvon Ambriz Cabrera, a junior. According to the nominating CHS teacher, “I find Yvon to be uncommon among students, one who is always thinking about the needs, hopes, and dreams of others.” He went on to say, “Yvon ‘flies below the radar’ but has much to say without a demand to be heard.” Yvon is sixteen-years-old, is in drama club, has been into Theatre Arts for five years, and has been doing Musical Theatre and Graphic Design all years spent at CHS so far in order to receive a Fine Arts diploma. Regarding colleges Yvon is looking into the Academy of Arts in San Francisco University or Portland State University and is intending to major in motion pictures and television or criminology. Yvon is humble in nature and said, “Thank you again for this; I did not deserve this, but thank you again.” Obviously, the teacher thought otherwise. Employees within Carson City School District nominate CHS Student of the Week, and it is often their teachers who do the nominating, though anyone in the district may do so by sending an email to pbrady@carson.k12.nv.us. Congratulations to Yvon Ambriz Cabrera on being nominated CHS Student of the Week.

SENIOR IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Congratulations to Allison Gerow on being nominated CHS Senior in the Spotlight. Since the beginning of her academic career, Allison Gerow has been committed to challenging herself. This can be seen through her choice of classes in middle and high school. In middle school, she took Algebra I in order to be on course for advanced math by the end of high school. When high school began, she continued an advanced track with honors classes that challenged her during her freshman and sophomore years, and has taken advanced placement classes during her sophomore, junior, and senior years. She has a 4.76-weighted GPA, while maintaining a 3.9 cumulative GPA. Additionally, Allison has been a cadet in the NJROTC program all four years of high school. The NJROTC program has taught her leadership, responsibility, and motivational skills. She has been on the air rifle varsity team all four years, too, serving as team captain and competing at nationals. She is serving as the Executive Officer, a top leadership position in the battalion. Allison also volunteers in community service work, completing at least 80 hours of service in leaning a river, helping run events at elementary schools, assisting at local events like dog shows and air shows, and helping local organizations and businesses. Allison is highly motivated, has a strong sense of responsibility and commitment to a lifetime of learning. Her commitment to learning is a part of her motivation to be ready for any path she chooses. Allison is planning to attend UNR in the fall, focusing on getting a degree in the Sciences. CHS celebrates Allison Gerow as this week’s Senior in the Spotlight. ~ Contributed by CHS Counselor Fawn Lewis.

Phil Brady is an English teacher at CHS.