Senator Square: Carson High School is settling into its routine

As we get settled back into a routine here at Carson High School, it is obvious we aren’t off to a quiet start, but rather an exciting one with many new faces on staff.

We welcome the new teachers who came to us from various parts of the U.S. or from other schools in the area to be a part of the best school district in Nevada. (I might be biased.) I will be introducing you to the new faces of Carson as the year goes by.

COUNCIL REPORT

The following is by Kyle Kunz, public relations officer.

Things are finally starting to return to normal. Classes are getting back in the groove of things, as are the sports teams.

One of those sports happens to be football. Junior varsity will have its first game against Reno at Reno High School, and for varsity, the Senators will take on the Huskies at their place at 7 p.m. Our volleyball team will compete in a tournament in Vegas this Friday.

Clubs such as the National Honor Society and Skills USA also are making their way to the starting gate. Anybody interested in NHS can grab an application in Mrs. Glenn’s room. As for Skills USA, it will hold its first meeting at lunch in the culinary room Wednesday.

Lastly, the high school will have its first assembly of the year this Friday.

AP RESULTS

Congratulations to our 2012-13 advanced-placement students. Advanced-placement classes are college-level classes that require students to take a national exam at the end of the course that is scored by college professors.

Last year, 186 students at CHS took a total of 327 advanced-placement tests in nine subjects: calculus, chemistry, biology, physics, English language, English literature, psychology, Spanish and art.

Sixty-three percent of the tests received scores high enough to qualify for college credit, and 72.6 percent got at least one score of a 3 or better (eligible for credit depending on where they go to college), compared with 51.7 percent in Nevada and 60.9 percent globally.

We are excited that for the 2013-14 school year, the number of advanced-placement students has increased to 233, with 385 tests being taken. CHS wishes these students the best of luck as they take on the challenge of these advanced classes.

TEACHER AWARDED

Frank Sakelarios, sports management teacher and co-adviser of Health Occupation Students of America, was recognized this summer at the National HOSA Convention as the Outstanding Local HOSA Advisor for Nevada. Congrats to Mr. Sakelarios for this honor!

CLUB NEWS

Carson FFA

The CHS FFA chapter recently was selected to compete for national recognition in a career-development event at October’s 86th National FFA Convention & Expo. The Capitol FFA Chapter from Carson City will send members to Louisville, Ky., as they vie for national honors in the area of agricultural sales.

FFA members who will represent the chapter in the event are Caden Lehmen, Kayla Hall, Mikayla Story and Rachel Andersen. The chapter adviser is Charles Mann.

“Through this event, students are able to prepare for career opportunities by participating in a wide range of sales activities that develop their interpersonal skills,” said Melissa Dunkel, CDE education specialist.

Agricultural sales is one of 25 national CDEs, covering job skills in everything from communications to mechanics. Participants collaborate as a team to develop a pre-call plan for a variety of customer types. Individual team members then use their skills in information gathering to sell a pre-selected product to one of the customer types.

Members also have their knowledge of sales principles tested in the written exam. CDEs help students develop the abilities to think critically, communicate clearly and perform effectively in a competitive job market.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 557,318 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,498 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Skills USA

CHS Skills USA represented Carson City at National Skills in June. Elected as state officers were Amanda Breen and Sarah Chrystl.

Competing in the National Skills Contest was Andrea Davis, who took seventh in the nation in job demonstration by demonstrating pulled ribbon candy. Carson Skills USA will compete in March at the state competition in Las Vegas. Some upcoming fundraisers include Drive One For Our School on Sept. 21, Bingo Night on Oct. 11 and the CHS Craft Fair on Nov. 22-23.

Angila Golik is a government teacher at Carson High School and a member of Senator Pride.