The Buccaneer Newsletter
September 22nd, 2026
We had another busy weekend of events here at VHS! We had teams on the road competing at the State XC Meet, while Swimming traveled to Fairbanks to compete. We also held our final football game of the season, had a great community tailgate event, and wrapped up Homecoming Week with our Homecoming Dance. A big shoutout to Mr. Runion and Ms. Hopkis for putting on a great Homecoming event for our students!
A big part of Homecoming Week at VHS was our Spirit Week! On Thursday, the theme was Class Colors, with each class wearing its designated color. Our staff decided to get in on the fun too—and we had 100% staff participation! We have such an awesome staff here at Valdez High School, and they do a great job showing their school spirit and making these events fun for our students.
Last weekend, our Student Council traveled to Healy for the AASG Fall Conference. Our own Jackson Vincent was elected as the Junior Region Representative for Region 3! Our students had the opportunity to debate important topics and vote on resolutions while working with student leaders from across the state. They did a great job representing Valdez, and we are proud of their involvement and leadership.
What a time to be a Buccaneer!
Go Bucs!
-Mr. Cronk
Homecoming Week is a busy week for Student Council and the whole student body. The week kicked off with spirit days around the theme of Around the World. Students dressed for the airport, had anything but a backpack, and then became tacky tourists. Flex Friday was spent decorating for the dance on Saturday and everyone pitched in. Thank you to all the students who helped! Saturday was the big day and started with our first ever Homecoming Tailgate. Students, staff, and members of the community were all welcome to come watch the game and enjoy some delicious food. Thank you to everyone who attended or helped supply food. Finally, the week commenced with the Homecoming Dance. Students danced the night away and celebrated another successful Homecoming Week.
Student Council decorating for Homecoming.
Homecoming Tailgate.
Homecoming King and Queen.
Mr. Kraemer
This week in Creative Writing, we have been exploring a unit on poetry. Students have had the opportunity to experiment with and explore many different forms of poetry.
Most recently, students created a series of blackout poems. Blackout poetry is created by taking a page of existing text and selectively erasing or blacking out words, lines, and paragraphs until the remaining words form an entirely new poem. This unique process places a constraint on the poet’s word choices, challenging students to use their creativity and imagination to discover new meanings within the original text.
Mr. Runion
HIST131- U.S. History
In this college course, students are learning about the Revolutionary War. To help break up this big topic, students are creating videos of a specific topic to be uploaded into Google Classroom for their classmates to watch. They get to use their creative expression and do their video in any style they choose; it just needs to cover the topic.
Government
Government students learned about the complex process it takes to for laws to be passed. To help learn all the steps, students created a flowchart puzzle of the steps to use for studying and reviewing how bills become laws.
World History
World History students have been studying world religions as a way to better understand history and cultures. Part of each unit involves the strategy of analyzing primary sources. This week students read, analyzed, and then combined sources into a larger essay related to the topic of monotheistic religions. These skills can be hard, but students put forward their best efforts and did a great job for their first attempt at this type of project.
A Message from our Athletic Director:
As our Football, and Cross-Country seasons officially draw to a close, we want to extend a massive thank you to Coach King, Coach Roller, Coach Koontz, and Coach Davis. Thank you for your relentless passion, dedication, and the love you pour into our student-athletes every single day. You make Buc Nation proud!
Football
- Season Finale: The Bucs wrapped up their gridiron season at home this past Saturday against the Seward Seahawks.
- Heart & Grit: Though the final score didn't tip our way, our players fought hard through every whistle, showing incredible growth, resilience, and true Buccaneer pride until the very last play of the season.
Swim
- Personal Bests: The team saw several swimmers clocking personal bests in their final heats, capping off weeks of grueling pool sessions with a stellar finish.
Cross-Country (X-Country)
- Crossing the Line: The Bucs left everything out on the trail for their final meet of the year.
- Strong Finish: Running through unpredictable fall elements, our runners pushed through the hills to close out a fantastic season of endurance and personal growth.
On the Road This Week: Volleyball
Our JV and Varsity volleyball teams are packed and ready for a busy multi-city road stretch! Come out and support the girls if you are in the area:
- Thursday, October 8th
- Varsity: Away at Palmer High School @ 5:30 p.m.
- JV: Opening games at the Lumen Christi JV Tournament starting @ 5:00 p.m.
- Friday, October 9th
- Varsity: Competing in the highly competitive Grace Christian Tournament
- JV: Continuing bracket play at the Lumen Christi Tournament
Local Action: Middle School Basketball Jamboree
Looking for some great hometown hoops? Stay right here in Valdez! Our Middle School Basketball teams are hosting a Jamboree this coming weekend. Come grab some concessions, loud-up the bleachers, and support the future of Buc Basketball!
Have a great week and Go Bucs!
VHS Football
Valdez Football wants to give a huge shout‑out to our athletes for showing incredible creativity, pride, and heart this week. Instead of just talking about appreciation, they put it into action spending part of practice designing and writing personal thank‑you cards for the people who supported them all season.
They voted together to pass out individual cards to staff, parents, coaches, students, and community members anyone who cooked meals, showed up, encouraged them, or helped them keep fighting week after week. That’s leadership. That’s maturity. That’s Buccaneer pride.
This season wasn’t always perfect on the scoreboard, but the growth, the fight, and the pride were undeniable. These boys showed what it means to represent Valdez: toughness, gratitude, and a commitment to adding value in everything they do.
To our community thank you for showing up, cheering loud, supporting these young men, and believing in the future of Valdez Football. The scoreboard didn’t always go our way, but the standard is rising, the foundation is stronger, and the future is bright.
Here’s to a brighter future ahead, and thank you for coming out to support us this Saturday against Seward for Homecoming. Let’s pack the stands, show our pride, and finish this season together.
Go Bucs.
Valdez Football vs. Seward
This week, we faced Seward in our final home game of the season. Our players showed just how far they have come throughout the year. A scoreboard only measures four quarters of play. It cannot measure the heart, brotherhood, and growth built over the last three months.
For five of our football players: Dylan Passage, Merrick McCumby, Raymond Shirey, Axel Metzger, and Isaac Disney, it was the last time they would strap on their shoulder pads with Valdez across their chests. Five players may not seem like a large senior class, but together, these young men represented a combined 17 seasons of high school football. That’s 17 seasons of practices, games, road trips, adversity, and commitment to the Valdez football program.Their departure will leave a significant loss in leadershipand experience for our program. Dylan Passage made a big impact on both sides of the ball, scoring our only touchdown and answering the call wherever we needed him, from running back and quarterback to outside linebacker. Raymond Shirey played nearly every offensive and defensive snap, providing a steady presence on both sides of the line. Axel Metzger played well on the offensive line and at outside linebacker, spending the majority of the game contributing on both sides of the ball. Merrick McCumby stepped into a new role on the offensive side of the ball this week and exceeded our expectations with his ability to adapt and contribute.Isaac Disney started on both the offensive and defensive lines and provided a steady presence before unfortunately having to exit the game early. We want to recognize and thank all five of our seniors. Each of them has left a lasting impact on this program and, more importantly, on the younger teammates who will carry Valdez football forward.
We would also like to thank the entire Valdez community for showing up and supporting our young men throughout the season. Seeing the sidelines filled with people standing behind our players and hearing the support from the crowd made our home games feel special for our athletes and everyone involved with Valdez football. We truly appreciate everyone who showed up and supported this program. We are already looking forward to next season and continuing to build on the immense growth we saw this year. We didn’t get the record we wanted, but we became the team we needed to be. The foundation is laid, and the build has begun. We can’t wait to get back to work in the off season.
