We are off and running! The 2024-2025 school year officially got underway on August 22nd. The staff and students are excited to get the new year underway and celebrate all of the great things we will achieve this year.

We want to welcome all of our new staff this year! We have several familiar faces back in the hallways of Valley Heights this year starting with Tommy Tryon who is taking over the PE and Weights classes. Another alumnus on board is Ms. Allison Jones who is handling Speech, Forensics, Yearbook and the School Play. Finally, our last alumni is Ms. Anna Berger who is moving into the Special Education room. Ryan Ehrlich has moved from Special Ed. to our Business and Technology program this year. Mrs. Anita Hinkle, a new face in the halls of Valley Heights, will be teaching ACT Prep and ELA – Grades 7 and 10. Ms. Grace Holle will be handling Social Studies – Grades 7 & 8 and World History. Additions to our coaching and activity staff include Kenny Steinfort, Head Boys Basketball Coach, Mr. Austin Mitchell, Head Boys Baseball and Ms. Brittany Stern, Co-Cheer Sponsor.

We hosted two big events to kick start our year here at Valley Heights. On August 21st we hosted a 7th grade orientation for our new parents and students and then an Open House for all of our families. This gave the students a chance to meet their teachers, drop off school supplies, and listen to some opening remarks to make their first days of school more comfortable. A huge thanks goes out to our FACS program who provided ice cream floats to those who attended. The second big event was our Back-To -School Fun Night that was hosted on August 23rd. We had an excellent crowd on hand with events being hosted outside and inside. I would like to thank everyone who was involved with our evening of fun but I am sure I would leave someone or some group out! We had food, games, a huge pep rally, introduction of new staff for the entire district, routines from our dance and cheer groups, vendors, and our band performed! We also had a debut performance by our bitty dance group! All in all, it was a fantastic night!!

I want to give a shout out to our summer maintenance crew one more time. This group of people did an outstanding job during the summer break to make our building and grounds look great. This crew not only handled all of the general maintenance, mowing and cleaning but also tackled some large projects as well. We were able to rehang the athletic plaques in the Commons and upgraded our hallway display cases with new shelving and paint. The gym got a new coat of purple paint and our landscaping out front got a facelift with river rock taking the place of the mulch beds. Right before the start of the school year all of our lighting was upgraded so the classrooms and other areas are nice and bright and conducive to a positive environment. Thank you to each and everyone of you for making our facilities top notch.

Activities will be in full swing with two events on the calendar for this week. On Friday night the High School Football team will travel to Clay Center for the Jamboree. This event is a controlled scrimmage with each of the four teams involved running a specific number of offensive plays. The other teams involved besides us would be Riley County, Clay Center and Republic County. The Jamboree gets underway at 7:00 pm. On Saturday, our Lady Mustangs start their fall season when they travel to the Marysville Tournament. The tournament starts at 9:00 am. We want to wish our coaches and fall athletes the best of luck this season!!

Remember – Monday is Labor Day so enjoy the three-day weekend!

Go Mustangs!

Back Row:(l to r)Parker Winslow, Jamie LeSage, Amber Swearingen

Front Row:(l to r)Melinda Flower, Jaqi Woodyard, Monica Sump, Ryan Bishop

Left: Tori Simmons Right: Dana Stryker

Left; Clayton Reed Right: Megan Martin

My name is Mr. Tommy Tryon. I was born and raised in the Valley Heights School district, graduating in 2012. After graduating from VHHS I graduated with my associates degree from Cloud County before transferring to my dream school, Kansas State University(Go Cats!). In order to pay for the high cost of tuition, I enlisted in the Kansas Army National Guard where I proudly served a six-year contract that included a deployment to Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, and UAE in 2017-2018. Returning home from deployment made me really question what I wanted to do with my life, and I was thankfully encouraged by my family and former teachers to start my journey as an educator. In 2019-2020 I spent the year substitute teaching and student teaching in the district while earning my masters degree in education. From 2020-2024 I worked at Washington County High School teaching 8-12th grade history, social studies, and government. During that time I also coached high school football, junior high basketball, high school track, and powerlifting. I have been very blessed to be surrounded by awesome teachers, leaders, coaches, and people that have guided me to become a servant leader for our kids and community. This year marks a bold new chapter in life that I am eager to take on with enthusiasm in my new role as the physical education/weights teacher and coach at Valley Heights! Let's not try to have a great year, but MAKE it a great year! Mustang Proud!

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
Facebook: facebook.com/vhusd498
Twitter: @usd498