ThE MuStAnG MeSsEnGeR

We have a full weekend of post-season action coming up! Our high school cross-country team will be running in the 2A Regionals on Saturday morning. This event is hosted by Marion High School. The girls will start things off with a 10:00 am run and the boys will follow with a 11:10 am start time. We want to wish our runners and coach the best of luck as they run towards a spot at the 2A state meet. Right after that event, the Lady Mustangs will be in Bennington for the 2A Substate contest. The action starts at 1:00 pm with Bennington squaring off with Inman. The second game of the afternoon will pit the Valley Heights Mustangs against the Elbing-Berean Academy squad. The winners of these first two games will advance to the championship and play for a spot in the 2S State Volleyball tournament. We want to wish our squad and coaches the best of luck as we advance in the post-season!

Our cross-country team competed at the TVL meet on October 16th and did very well! Freshman Emma Warders was crowned the TVL Champion and Lindsay Gray finished in the top 10 in the 8th spot! On the boy’s side, Kebeb Zimmerman PR’d and placed 3rd overall! Langston Gray placed in the top 10 with 7th place finish! Great job Mustangs!

The Valley Heights Booster Club met on Wednesday, October 22nd and set their eyes on some events and projects for the 2025-2026 school year. On November 22nd we will be hosting a fall sports athletic banquet to recognize the achievements of our football, volleyball, cross-country, dance and cheer squads. The idea behind a fall banquet is to recognize these sports when the memories are still fresh. Be on the lookout for the plans for this event which will be prove to be fun and entertaining. The Booster Club will also be hosting a Murder Mystery night in February as a fund-raiser! Be watching for more information and ticket prices because space will be limited! And finally, they decided on a project for their fundraising efforts – a new score table for the gymnasium. This table will be a great addition to the new bleachers we will install in the spring! Thank you, Booster Club!

The Valley Heights Booster Club held their first meeting on October 22nd at Waterville Elementary. The topics covered were our 2025 State Assessment scores, two facets of our Strategic Plan and a historical breakdown of enrollment figures for Valley Heights schools. Site Council is a group, made up of parents, business owners, patrons, staff members and students and we are always looking for members! We meet quarterly and the meeting is limited to one hour so you would have plenty of evening left when the meeting concludes. The purpose of Site Council is simple! Members are the voice for our communities!

In case you missed the Facebook post USD 498 recently earned some awards from the KSDE! These awards are referred to as the Kansans Can Star Recognition Program. USD 498 earned the Copper Award in the categories of Social-Emotional Growth, Kindergarten Readiness and Civic Engagement. We were awarded the Silver Award for Academically Prepared for Post Secondary. Congratulations to all!!

Go Mustangs!!

Mr. Savage

POSTSEASON PRESSURE. On Monday, October 20 the Lady Mustangs Volleyball team traveled to Hillsboro to play Republic County, Remington, and Hillsboro. The girls spent all last week thoroughly preparing for these teams. After a long night they ended up 2-1, defeating Republic County (25-20, 25-15) and Remington (25-14, 25-9), but falling short to Hillsboro (16-25, 20-25).

Sophomore libero Teagan Spoonts says, “As a team we struggled with our blocking and Hillsboro did a good job at serving us out of system. The adversity we faced last night will only help us become better for Sub-State.” Senior Josie Parker says, “My favorite play was against Remington when we had a really long rally and it ended with a good kill with lots of celebration. It felt like all night we were pulling energy out of us and we kept getting stuck in certain rotations.”

The Lady Mustangs will advance to Sub-State on Saturday though time and place are still to be determined. They would love to continue to have the support from the Mustang community as they finish their post season play.

Article by Paige Miller

October 24, 2025

THE LEAGUE SHOWDOWN. The Valley Heights varsity volleyball team wrapped up their regular season play on a high note with an impressive third-place finish in the 2025 Twin Valley League (TVL) tournament on October 11. After a season full of hard work, dedication, and standout performances, the team delivered a strong showing against some of the league's top competitors.

The tournament, held at Onaga, brought together the best teams from across the TVL. The Mustangs opened the competition with intensity and energy, securing a hard-fought victory in their first match against the Axtell Eagles. Although they fell short in a tightly contested semifinal against the Hanover Wildcats, the team regrouped and bounced back to claim third place in the consolation match with a commanding win over the Centralia Panthers.

Coach Miller comments, “We started off the day a little quiet but throughout the tournament our communication got better. We had to sit for two hours after our first game which I think brought our energy down going into the game against Hanover. I think that is why we lost that match but we overcame our issues going into the next game and we defeated Centralia in two sets.”

Article by Ava Smith

Earth Science testing viscosity and flow of various liquids. We are going to relate this to lava flow in volcanoes

Valley Heights NHS members and sponsor, Mrs. @Brandy Turner distributed food at Harvesters Mobile Food Pantry in Waterville this morning with other community volunteers! Your service makes a difference. Thank you!!

Thursday Victory Vittles for the football team we're served at Blue Valley Nursing Home. The football team enjoyed dinner with the residents and some of our cheerleaders showed up and did a few cheers. Lots of smiles and laughs from our students and the residents and staff.

Monday afternoons, starting at 3:30pm

Tuesday mornings, starting at 7:00am

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

Valley Heights Journalism

ONE GIRL, A MILLION SMILES. Ella Nicole Swearingen was born on June 3, 2008 to Dan and Lila Swearingen. She grew up in Blue Rapids, Kansas with her younger brother Seth, but recently moved outside of Waterville where she currently resides today. Ella has been in Art Club and Volleyball 4 years; Cheer 3 years; Dance, Golf, Softball, and Track and Field 2 years; and Band 1 year. Some of Ella’s leadership roles include Student Body President and Art Club President 1 year.

Ella’s favorite high school memories are accidentally dropping Violet Slifer from a stunt at TVL basketball junior year and popping her grandpa's tire during homecoming her sophomore year. Some non-school activities that Ella does is babysitting and working for her family at Fire and Ice and Sharp Manufacturing. Ella’s ideal Saturday night is to hangout with friends and drive around. Her favorite songs include “American Country Love Song” by Jake Owen and “Wonder” by Megan Moroney. Other interesting facts about Ella is that her favorite food is pickles, she loves babies, and she has also been to Salem, Massachusetts. Finally, Ella’s advice to underclassmen and up-coming freshmen is, “Never wait till the last minute to do your homework, get it done!”

Someone who has had the biggest impact on Ella’s life is her mother. She states, “My mom has helped me with almost everything, she is my biggest supporter.” Her Senior Mentor, Liz Miller, describes Ella as having a lot of energy and being silly. Mrs. Miller also quotes, “I know that Ella is going to go far in life, because when she puts her mind to something she gets it done. She is going to be very successful in life.”

After high school Ella plans to attend Emporia State University for Early Childhood Education. In 10 years Ella sees herself teaching kindergarten, owning a house, and starting a family. Ella hopes to be remembered as being a fun, outgoing, and caring person when she graduates from Valley Heights.

Article by Violet Slifer

In the staff spotlight this week is Mrs. Sammie Parker! Mrs. Parker is married to her husband Dane and they have four children. They are Reece (Freshman), Sophia (8th) and Eloise and Aiden (1st)!

Mrs. Parker wears many hats for us at Valley Heights. She is our Life Science instructor and also serves as our JH Assistant Volleyball Coach, our Jr. Class Sponsor, MTSS Coordinator and Student Council Sponsor. This makes for a very busy year for Mrs. Parker when you consider that Homecoming Week, Prom and many of our Pep Assemblies are a part of those duties. Thank you Mrs. Parker!

Mrs. Parker has been at Valley Heights for 17 years! Thirteen years have been in the classroom, one year as a para and 3 years with At-Risk. Mrs. Parker has her BS in Neuroscience from Texas Christian University, her MS in Curriculum & Instruction from Kansas State and her Special Education Certificate from Kansas State.

Mrs. Parker’s favorite thing about Valley Heights is that we have a small school with a big school’s opportunity!

Her hobbies include gardening/landscaping, reading, travelling, and watching sports (Especially her kids)!

Something that is unique about Mrs. Parker is that she has visited six countries outside the United States and has visited 32 of the 50 states that make up the United States of America!

Thank you Mrs. Parker for being a valuable member of our staff at Valley Heights Jr./Sr. High School.

NOTICE: There will be a Board of Education Work Session on Monday, October 27th at 5:00 p.m. The Work Session will be held at the Valley Heights District Office. This Work Session is a Special Meeting and is open to the public. The purpose of the session will be to discuss and review the Capital Outlay Long-Term Plan, DCS Facilities Assessment, ideas and thoughts on a future bond project, and the timeline of a bond proposal should the Board choose to move forward with that process.

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