ThE MuStAnG MeSsEnGeR

Heads Up Parents!! We have our first Professional Development Day scheduled for September 15th so we will not have classes on that day.

Tryouts and casting have been completed for the All School Play that is scheduled for November 14th through the 16th. In fact, the cast had their first read through on Monday night, September 8th. Make sure you mark your calendar and join us the Waterville Opera House for this event. It is sure to please! Show times on the 14th and 15th is 7:00 pm and on the 16th the curtains will go up at 2:00 pm.

We want to say thank you to Blue Valley Technologies for their generous gift to Valley Heights. Over the summer they installed the equipment for our fans and guests to have a free wi-fi connection in both the gymnasium and the press box area at the football field. This will make it much easier to access the internet without needing a password!

The Lady Mustangs picked up two key victories this past Tuesday night when they travelled to Linn for a TVL matchup with the Bulldogs and Blue Valley Rams. All three teams played some terrific volleyball during the night with our Mustangs coming out on top! The Valley Heights vs. Linn game pitted two state ranked teams and their play showed the abilities both teams have this year. These two wins put the Mustangs at the top of the TVL with Centralia. The squad will travel to Riley County on Saturday for tournament action.

We were able to get in a JV Football game this past Monday night when we travelled to Centralia. Due to our numbers or the other team’s numbers it has been hard to play junior varsity football games during the season so it was nice to get our younger players some game action. The great thing about the game was that the Mustangs came out on top 7-6! Great job Mustangs! We will be hosting the Onaga Buffaloes on Friday night with the game staring at 7:00 pm. This will be our Hometown Heroes Night and we will be honoring our military veterans, police officers, fire fighters and EMT’s during halftime of the game! A huge word of thanks to this great group of people who provides us these services!

On the second day of classes I visited with the Class of 2026 and talked about goal setting and just how fast their final year of school will go! Well, that part of our discussion has already started. We have already finalized how their names should look on their diplomas and the Jostens’s rep. was here this week to help the students order their caps and gowns for Commencement! The days do really fly by during your senior year!

Another big date right around the corner is October 8th on which we have scheduled Student Success Meetings! We will have a much different look to the meetings this year and we are aiming for 100% attendance. One of the biggest changes is that we will host these meetings from 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm on the 8th. This will, of course, eliminate the Monday-Wednesday format we have been following the past few years. We will continue to post more information about these meetings as we get closer to the date.

Go Mustangs!

Valley Heights Journalism

September 8, 2025

CURTAIN UP: CAST & CREW. Play auditions were held the 26th and 28th of August. To prepare, Miss Jones read multiple plays throughout the summer and she came to a conclusion that Murder on the 518 was the perfect show for this year! There are 15 crew members, led by Stage Manager Bella Smith and Assistant Stage Manager Kaitlin Hemry. This year there is also a total of 23 actors participating on stage. Stage Manager Bella says, “I hope this year we are able to keep focused and work more efficiently to stay on task and reduce the noise level in the wings’’

This is Miss Jones’s second year as the play director at Valley Heights along with the help of Miss Tryon. “I'm really excited for this year's play. We are partnering with Miss Husband and her Advanced Welding class to produce pieces for the set, which will be reused in future productions.” This year she is offering a Play Production class which focuses on the technical side of theatre from how the set is built for the production, to doing makeup, creating costume designs, and more.

Miss Jones also shared that she is thrilled to continue to be a part of the Valley Heights play program and continue to be able to deliver the best plays possible to the community. Practices will start September 8th, where students will begin to sharpen their roles to further improve their acting skills and hopefully enjoy it the process to the fullest.

Article by Jaqueline Sandoval

Freshmen class is learning all about the FFA! To learn about the elements of the emblem - they made their own edible version

Monday afternoons, starting at 3:30pm

Tuesday mornings, starting at 7:00am

Wednesday morning at 7am and after school at 3:30pm

All veterans, active service members, first responders, EMTs, law enforcement, and volunteer firefighters will receive FREE admission to the upcoming Valley Heights football game against Onaga on September 12th.

Senior Parents: It's time to order cap and gown along with any other goodies you would like in preparation for Graduation in May. Jostens was here on Wednesday and gave all the information to your senior. The website to order is jostens.com and orders are due 9/17/25.

Kansas Apply Free Days are approaching. This year they will be October 6, 7, and 8th. This is a chance for students to apply to schools in Kansas with $0 application fee. Attached is the link to see which schools offer no application fee all year long, along where how to apply to schools.

The staff spotlight is focused on Mrs. Lana Stevenson this week. Lana is a member of our ELA staff here at Valley Heights and made the transition this year to take over our 11th and 12th grade classes. She has been a part of the Valley Heights family for 10 years. During this time she has taught 6th grade and also 7th, 8th and 9th grade ELA!

Lana is a native of Chapman, Kansas and earned her high school diploma from Chapman High School. Lana then earned her B.S.E from Emporia State University and remains a proud Hornet. Lana states that it has been fun seeing students she taught in 6th grade grow up and she is now able to continue establishing relationships with these same students as they complete their high school classes.

Lana is married to Tim Stevenson and lives in Blue Rapids, Kansas. Her family members include Braden and wife Sydnee, Taylor, Kennedy, Avery, and Carter. Avery and Carter are still students at Valley Heights! Lana also became a grandma for the first time to grandson Ledger who just turned one! Lana comments that her grandson is very smart and already calls her Nana!!

Lana’s hobbies include reading and planting and taking care of flowers which sounds like a relaxing thing to do after a day in the classroom!

Lana - thank you for being a valuable part of the Mustang Family!!

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