This year, the Kansas State High School Activities Association created a league sportsmanship award for every league in the state of Kansas. Their thought was to honor one school from each league rather than pick from those schools the earned a trip to state. League member schools vote on the school they feel is most deserving of this honor and KSHSAA presents them a plaque. This year – the inaugural year for this award – was given to Valley Heights! We feel very honored to be chosen by our fellow league member schools for this honor. We would like to congratulate our fans, our pep band, our dance squad, our cheer squad, our student body, our coaches, sponsors and our players! It truly is “A Great Day to be a Mustang”!

We have hosted two track meets this past week! Although both days were windy the athletes did a very fine job at these early meets. It takes quite a bit of planning to host a meet since you have a variety of events all happening at once. Add to that we need a full crew in the press box to run the finish line camera, enter the times and distances, announce, etc. We have volunteers and students that fill in where necessary and that helps tremendously and we appreciate the help. However, we do like to show off our facility and the opportunity to use the track for these events. We do have several more meets on our track this year so plan on coming out, enjoy the weather and cheer on our Mustangs!

Speaking of track and field, we had another junior high record broken during the meet on Thursday. Eighth grader Langston Gray ran a solid 3200-meter race and clocked in at 11:06 which broke the old record by twenty seconds. The old record was held by our very own track and cross country coach, Adrian Pishney. Congratulations Langston!

The members of Rotary Club celebrated the Class of 2025 with a banquet on Friday, April 11th. The guest speaker was Mr. Jeff Christ and the seniors then shared their post-secondary plans with the group! We would like to thank Rotary for hosting this event!

Our golf team headed to Washington County on Tuesday and played in some very windy and cold conditions. Senior Jayden DeWalt won top honors and the team placed third overall. Joining Jayden were Dustin Denton, Royce Ekstrum and Brady DeWalt. Our golf coach is Mr. Ryan Ehrlich. Great job gentlemen!

We are continuing with our Kansas State Assessments this week with the 7th, 8th and 10th grade math assessments on the schedule. The students are really working hard on these tests as we have been emphasizing the importance of the data and setting the standard for Valley Heights. We have brand new state assessments this year so this will create some new data for our building. Next week we will be wrapping up the assessments with 7th, 8th and 10th ELA and 11th Science on the schedule.

Just a reminder that we do not have school on April 18th for well deserved day off and then again on April 21st for Professional Development!

Have a great week and Let’s go Mustangs!

Mr. Savage

This Friday, April 11th, our local Rotary Club will host a Banquet for our Seniors and their parents or families. The banquet will start at 6:30 pm at the high school commons.

Mrs. Yungeberg’s Psychology class traveled to St. Joseph, Missouri on April 2. They toured the Glore Psychiatric Museum to learn more about the history and advancements in the study of psychology. Pictured l to r: Calee C, Saige W, Tayra L, Violet S, Paige M, and Connor B

Mustang Forensics wasn’t messing around tonight at Wamego! This meet is the largest and hardest meet we compete at before state. Here’s how we did: Carter - 1st Solo Acting Serious and 3rd Prose Abby - 6th Solo Acting Serious Lawson - 4th Solo Acting Humorous Harmony - 3rd Original Oration Saige - 5th Informative Dino - 6th Informative Lawson and Charlie - 6th Improvised Duet Acting The team also placed 4th out of 18 teams, missing 3rd place by only two points!

Langston Gray broke another school record! This time it was the 3200 M run. He ran a 11:06.01 to break the record! The previous record was set in 2013 by Adrian Pishny who ran a 11:26.59.

We may have been too busy running the home track meet off today to get any individual pictures, but we were able to take one of the pile of medals we won before we hand them out tomorrow!

Valley Heights golf started their season today at Washington. Jayden DeWalt finished first place at 10 over par. Dustin Denton finished 6th at 19 over par. The team also brought home 3rd place! A strong start to the 2025 season!

This week, we're turning up the color with a humorous piece by Ella Swearingen, Junior. Ella has created a fan favorite piece as a tribute to the Fire & Ice Crew, that catches your eye with the vibrant colors and painterly style. Ella uses a unique watered-down, layered technique with acrylics that creates a bold and breezy feel, as shown with her 3 ladies on the beach. Her quirky details, such as the gemstones added on the beach scene give a light-hearted, visual twist to her piece. Currently Ella is working on a ceramic pinch pot bowl.

DEAL WITH THE RAIN. “If you want the rainbow, you have to deal with the rain.” This quote by Dolly Parton speaks to Sylvia Kabriel because she thinks that no matter what you go through, it will get better.

Sylvia Kabriel was born July 20, 2007 in Marysville, Kansas. She is the daughter of Cassandra Kabriel and Tony Barnes, her siblings are Nellie, JJ, Gavin, Alexis, and Adam. The person that has made the biggest impact on Sylvia’s life is her Dad. Sylvia says, “He has pushed me to do better in school, to step up, and be a better person.”

One thing people might not know about her is that she really enjoys a good book. Sylvia is also very proud of herself for having motivation this school year, in the past getting up early and having time to get ready isn't something she has prioritized, but she decided to change that this year.

The senior sunrise this year was a very emotional experience for Sylvia, she said, “It’s my favorite memory 've made in high school so far, It was so fun and just had a lot of emotional moments.”

After high school, Sylivia plans on attending Bellus Academy to get her cosmetology license. She is also going to get an extra 150 hours so that she can travel and do makeup for weddings and events. In 10 years she sees herself owning a house with 2 cats and 2 dogs, Sylvia is quite the animal lover! Some advice Sylvia would give to underclassmen is, “Just keep going, the older you get the faster it goes.”

Article by Haily Stoudt

1 in 36 kids in the US are diagnosed with Autism. The spectrum is wide. If you have concerns about your child, talk to your child's doctor and their teacher. Early detection is a key to success! #autismawareness

Blue Rapids, KS 66411

785-363-2508

Principal-Mike Savage

Athletic Director-Jordan Broxterman

1. Come to the HS office between 8am and 4pm

2. Email msavage@valleyheights.org

3. Call the office (785)363-2508

Email: vhhs@valleyheights.org
Website: valleyheights.org
Phone: (785)363-2508
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Twitter: @usd498