The Buccaneer Newsletter
September 22nd, 2026
It’s Homecoming Week here at VHS! Spirit Week is in full effect, with all the “Airport Fit” on display from our students and staff. Be sure to check out the rest of this week’s themes in the What’s Happening section.
Homecoming Week also means we have our last home football game of the season! Come out and help us recognize our senior football players and cheer on the Bucs. We’ll also be celebrating Homecoming with a tailgate gathering Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. before the game. Join us on the north end of the field, bring a dish to share, and enjoy some Buc Pride!
If you get a chance, come check out our hallways this week. School pride is in full effect as students participate in our Homecoming hallway decorating contest! Stop by the office to sign in if you'd like to take a look.
As we wind down some of our fall sports, we’re gearing up for others. Wrestling starts this week! We had a great turnout at the parent meeting last week. If you missed it, please make sure you check in with your coaches to find out what you need to do to be eligible.
We have a new system in place for athletic registration. Please check our school website for information about Arbiter Athlete, where you will complete the required paperwork to participate in athletics. In addition to registering, please make sure your student-athlete has a current physical on file. Students cannot practice without a current physical, which is valid for 18 months. Student-athletes must also be enrolled in at least six classes, per board policy.
Have a great Homecoming Week!
Go Bucs!
-Mr. Cronk
Mrs. Hopkins
Ceramics/Advanced Ceramics
This quarter ceramics students are learning all about how to hand build with clay. Their projects include an animal pinch pot, a coil pot, a slab box, and a handbuilt mug. As we have moved through the quarter these students have shown amazing attention to detail. Every load that goes to the kiln is better than the last! This week, most students were working on their slab boxes. Keeping a slab of clay from falling over is harder than it looks.
Advanced ceramics students are getting back on the pottery wheel to hone the skills they learned last year. They are practicing making mugs and bowls with thinner walls and bases and a more balanced and symmetrical finished look. Their handbuilding projects are focused on precision with projects that have fitted lids, matching sets, and an overall higher level of craftsmanship.
Technical Math
The technical math class reviewed for their first test this week. As well as the normal math class content, this chapter got us ready to dive into real world situations by stressing precision and accuracy in calculations and final answers, converting in and out of scientific notation, and practicing converting between units. Students were able to practice all of these skills when given situations relating to electrical work, water flow, building material strength, and many other real world applications.
Mr. Deaton
Metal Shop students have been off to a great start this year! Welding 1 and Welding 2 began with learning the ins and outs of the Oxygen Acetylene Cutting torch where students performed basic cuts, learned to use a guide, and cut bevels. After using the cutting torch students began learning grinder safety and use, and finally welding with SMAW (stick) welding process. Welding 1 students began by "building a pad" learning to run beads that are uniform, same width and height with proper overlap. Welding 2 students started by prepping groove weld plates with backing then learned how to run our root pass as well as root pass repairs.
Woods 1 and Construction Trades students have been learning safety and use of hand tools, power tools, and machines through building two smokehouses. Construction students have also been learning basic plan reading and we are about to begin learning how to build sub-floors and basic framing. We also took advantage of the beautiful weather this past week and used the sawmill to mill dimensional lumber and planks for construction and woods classes. Overall, I have been very happy with all of my student's effort and attitude as we've progressed so far into the school year.
Wrestling
It is upon us! Wrestling season begins this Wednesday, September 30th @5pm in the GMS wrestling room. This year we have a record 35 kids participating in wrestling, to my knowledge this is the largest team VHS has ever had. This season we return three state placers (Logan Beck, Kaden Vanbuskirk, and Cirque Carter) with the potential for many more this year. Go Bucs!
Mrs. Norris
Bucs Musicians Entertain at Alaska Superintendent Conference
Eight Buccaneer musicians provided entertainment on Friday morning for the Alaska Superintendents Association Conference at the Civic Center. Zaidee Pallett, Emma Wesson, Haylee Tippetts, Abbigail Pagel, Maddison Wolfenden, Paxson Williams, David Sims, and Cody Miller presented a flavorful combination of music during the conference breakfast. The group began with “America, The Beautiful” on handbells, then sang a captivating rendition of the Renaissance tune “Scarborough Fair” with handbells, piano, and classical guitar accompaniment.
Cody Miller, on solo guitar and vocal, thrilled the audience with a resurrection of two John Denver tunes that were written about Alaska. Cody also sang his original lyrics to an Irish folk tune that was inspired by his PWSC backpacking trip.
The group sang “Beyond the Sea,” a lively jazz tune made famous by Finding Nemo– appropriate from the conference’s vantage point of the Port of Valdez on a misty morning. Haylee Tippetts and Cody Miller played a guitar and fiddle duet that brought smiles and a few bounces from the sleepy-eyed audience.
The Bucs finished up the set with a modern band tune “Groovin V3” which allowed for improvised solos from all the students. After just five weeks of practice, the Buc musicians pulled off a performance to be proud of. The previous morning, Haylee, Emma, and Cody sang the National Anthem for the conference.
–Ann Norris
Football vs. SWDP
We would like to start with a shout-out to Merrick McCumby. Even though he can’t be on the field right now, he continues to lead from the sideline pushing his teammates, staying engaged, and helping coach the young man who stepped into his position. It’s easy to lead when you’re making plays and in the spotlight. True leadership is continuing to show up and invest in your team even when you aren’t on the field. That’s the expectation we have for all our athletes. Dylan Passage had a tremendous game on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he made countless tackles, consistently won in the open field, and dominated his side of the ball. Offensively, he ran downhill and fought for big gains throughout the game. Bradley Hozey made the most of three kickoff returns, fighting through contact and always pushing forward. Emmitt Nauta stepped into a new position he hadn’t played before, was responsive to coaching on the sideline, and made some great plays. He also broke a kickoff return, fighting through multiple tackles along the way. We faced the undefeated champs for the second time this season, and while the scoreboard didn’t go our way, we never backed down. Players stepped into new positions and made plays we haven’t seen from them yet this season.
We’ll keep learning. We’ll keep building. We’ll keep showing up. Most
importantly, we will not quit.
XC Region VI Championship
Valdez runners showed up at the Region VI Championship at Fairbanks Golf Course ready to represent! After a roller coaster of a season and a test of runners’ mental and physical toughness all nine of our runners demonstrated true grit. Seniors Jewely Weber and Robert Taylor were excited to return to their favorite PR course the Fairbanks Golf Course. It is primarily flat with a couple little holes ills and soft grassy surface; the wide open spaces allow spectators and runners to see all competitors.
The varsity girls started it off with an incredibly fast first mile for both Seniors Ava Mitchell and Jewely Weber. Both girls set off determined to meet their goals. Mitchell blew hers out of the water with a PR of 22:54, over a minute faster than her goal and 1:57 faster than her last PR, giving her a place on the podium in 3rd place. Excited to be on her favorite course, Weber kept her drive and pushed hard to the end to finish in 10th place with a season best of 24:59, just shy of a PR.
We utilized all the boys on the team to make up our Varsity team and to compete with Hutchinson for team points. Freshmen JV runners Jeremiah Pruitt, Boston Tippetts, and Kavik Dibbs joined the varsity team. At the gun, Freshman Kaiden Leahy took off and remained out front with the top four runners. Leahy stayed steady the entire race and overtook 4th place to shave over 30 seconds off his time finish in fourth place at 18:17. Seniors Robert Taylor, Jeremiah James, and Junior Cirque Carter stayed as a pack during the 1st mile. Taylor pulled away from his teammates in 13th place to move to a 9th place finish and PR of over a minute at 19:37. He was closely followed by Carter who finished in 11th place at 19:50, getting a season best. Carter had his best run of the season and demonstrated his incredible athleticism. Then out of nowhere came Freshman Boston Tippetts who went from 17th place to 13th and overcame teammate Jaymyn James with a minute and a half PR at 20:14. James wrapped up his last race with a finish in 14th place and three seconds off his last personal best. Remaining steady and running the entire race was Freshman Jeremiah Pruitt. He surprised everyone by shaving an incredible three minutes off of his last time with a finish at 22:51 in 22nd place. Freshman Kavik Dibb finished his first official race. Dibbs worked hard and had a super strong 1st mile, then running out of steam he finished in 24th place at 27:07.
Valdez‘s cross country boys team took 2nd place in the region, missing first place by only 3 points, yet it was still enough to guarantee a visit to state for all seven boys and our Valdez girls finished in the top 10 to guarantee their spot at state. Congratulations runners for an incredible season and hard work! Your dedication and determination paid off. Let’s go Bucs! Next stop, State at Bartlett High School!
JV Volleyball vs. Wasilla
The Buccaneer JV volleyball team travelled to the valley to compete in the Wasilla JV Volleyball Showdown this weekend. The 14 teams that competed in the tournament were: Wasilla, Eagle River, Nikiski, Kodiak, Colony, Kenai, East, MCCA, Soldotna, Valdez, Grace, Palmer, Homer, and Houston. The teams were divided up into 4 pools to sort out the competition. On Friday, Valdez played each team in their pool (Soldotna Stars and the Grace Christian Grizzlies) and a cross-pool game against the Houston Hawks. Each of these was 2 sets to 25. On Saturday morning, Valdez played another cross-pool game against the Eagle River Wolves. The Lady Buc’s goal for the weekend was to have enough wins in the pool play to qualify for Saturday’s Gold Division Bracket, which was where the top 8 teams competed for the Championship.
For the first two sets of the night, Valdez played against the Soldotna Stars. The Stars’ team was tall and confident on the net and put up double blocks wherever Valdez hit from. The blocks proved to be a challenge for the Bucs as they had a tricky time with coverage around their hitters and lost several points that way. The Bucs fought until the end but lost both sets 13- 25 against the Stars. The next 2 sets against the Grace Grizzlies went quick and resulted in two wins (25-11, 25-6). The Bucs were able to go on a few serving streaks which held the Grizzlies at bay and allowed them to hold a strong lead the whole time. Backrow passer Sophia Malcuit shined during these sets with several excellent passes and Airoh Smelcer came away with some great kills from the outside. Top servers were Kristen Fitka, Madi Wesely and Savannah Hammerly. To finish the night, the Lady Bucs played the Houston Hawks in the cross-pool match up and came out on top with a win from each set (25-16, 25-22).
On Saturday morning the pool play finished up with Valdez playing against the Eagle River Wolves. Valdez came onto the court ready for action–their communication was on point and their backrow passers were super scrappy. Lexi Passin was formidable as the middle hitter and came away with several impressive kills- one of which was an overpass from the Wolves that she slammed down to the ground. The Bucs came away from the pool play with 6 wins and 2 losses which helped them reach their goal of earning a spot in Gold Division Bracket as the 5th seed. To start the single elimination bracket play, the Bucs faced a tough rematch against the Soldotna Stars. Once again, the Stars came out with strategic hitting and found all of our openings on the court. Our girls scrambled to adjust to the Stars’ offense and tough blocking and ultimately fell to them in two sets (18-25, 14-25) which knocked them out of the tournament. Overall, it was a great weekend and the Lady Bucs JV Volleyball team should be proud of how well they played. We faced some much bigger and experienced teams but still met our team goal of making it into the Gold Division as one of the top 8 teams of the tournament. Airoh Smelcer was recognized for her overall strong and consistent play for the weekend with an All Tournament Award. The Lady Bucs have no games scheduled for this coming weekend. The JV team will travel to Anchorage to play in a tournament at Lumen Christi on October 9th and 10th.
