Tomorrow, Valley Heights will be celebrating our 2025 Jr/Sr Prom. The public is invited out to enjoy the red carpet event, which will start at 6pm. The community is asked to park in the overflow or out back of the high school. Parking up front of the high school will be reserved for the prom attendees.

We have had a very successful year here at Valley Heights and that extends to all of our programs! Case in point, our FFA organization. This group, under the supervision of their advisor, Ms. Carrie Husband has accomplished quite a bit this year! We now have a fully functional greenhouse full of plants and major upgrades have been made to the classroom and shop area that provides a clean, neat and safe area for our students. The program has also experienced success at their Northeast Kansas District contests both individually and as teams. This group hosted their annual banquet and awards program this past Wednesday night in front of a very large crowd and the list of accomplishments was impressive. We want to congratulate these young people as well as our new FFA officers for the 2025-2026 school year!

In the good news department, we have heard that our Mustang, that has been undergoing major repairs and new paint, is nearing completion. Our maintenance supervisor, Ryan Bishop, has said the Mustang has been reinforced and repaired and could be back in its proper place by the end of next week, depending on the weather. It will great to see the Mustang in front of the building again so our communities and visitors can clearly see the pride we have in being Mustangs! Thank you everyone for your patience as we completed this project!!

Our Kansas State Assessments are now complete. As a building we put into place some changes to how the tests were being administrated and we hope to see some major improvements in our scores. Some of those changes are an incentive for high scores or improvements in the students previous scores, a dedicated room to take the tests, snacks for the students after they completed the test and strictly limiting the amount of interruptions during the testing sessions. Thanks to Mrs. Caley Gallimore for assisting with the testing schedule and our great staff out here for administering the sessions!

Parents – we need your help with an issue here at Valley Heights! As you are aware our calendar is very full and time in the classroom is very limited for some students. We are have been getting a lot of call outs so that students can leave the building for a variety of reasons and that removes them from even more classroom time. We certainly understand that some call outs are necessary like medical appointments, etc. Please have your student plan ahead and bring all necessary items to school as they start the day. We appreciate your help with this matter.

Remember – Prom is this weekend! Please plan on joining us for the Red Carpet as we introduce our students and their outside dates. The plan is to host this event at the main entrance of the school, weather permitting! If the weather does not cooperate we will move the event into the Commons.

The athletic banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30th with a start time of 6:00 pm. There will be no advanced ticket sales and payment for your meals will be made at the door as you arrive. Booster Club is asking that you go to the Valley Heights Facebook Page and register that you are coming and how many will be attending. If you have already done this – thank you!

Have a great week and Let’s go Mustangs!

Mr. Savage

The high school track team had a great showing today in Frankfort. Lots of medals, personal/season bests, and a 300m hurdle record broken by freshman Klara McIntyre! No practice for the team tomorrow. Enjoy the day off!⚡️🐴⚡️

Klara McIntyre ran a new school record of 47.4 in the 300m hurdles today at Frankfort! ⚡️🐴⚡️

Emma Warders broke the 3200m school record yesterday with a time of 13:51.22. The old record was set by Cat Toerber in 2018 with a time of 14:21.39. Langston Gray broke his own 1600m record by 12 seconds with a time of 4:50.98.

Lady Mustangs sweep Blue Valley. Game 1: 15-5 Game 2: 8-7 Our bats were hot tonight with 4 home runs! Stella Martin, Teagan Spoonts with 2, and Tessa Miller. This is Tessa's second home run of the year!

Use this link to RSVP for the Athletic Banquet on April 30th. We are not selling tickets this year and instead will be taking payment at the door upon entry. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOt_Hqkg6DNyrP4LRK9KDNl2y9uorREuU0JgBYzUautc-zLg/viewform?usp=dialog

Valley Heights golf has been busy this week. Varsity golfers were at Belleville on Monday and Nemaha Central today. Jayden DeWalt finished third at Belleville. Everson Parker and Logan Gray were able to compete in their first Varsity tournament. Dustin Denton and Royce Ekstrum also put together successful rounds. Today Henry Bachura and Royce Ekstrum competed in Nemaha Central's tournament, both continue to show improvement in their game. On Friday, weather permitting, we will be hosting a JV tournament at the Waterville Golf Course. We wish our JV golfers the best of luck!

Join us Tuesday, April 29 for our annual Forensics Night! Get a taste of the work students have been putting in all season before they compete at state.

We had an amazing time at Highland Art Day 2025! We showcased our own artwork, admired incredible pieces on display, and took part in a variety of fun, hands-on activities. A day full of creativity and inspiration!

Congratulations to our Highland Art Day ribbon winners! 44 schools, almost 900 students, over 1,200 pieces of artwork on display! Senior, Aubrey Umscheid and Junior, Stella Martin both received yellow ribbons!

On Wednesday, April 23, FFA members gathered to celebrate their success, hard work, and dedication to the agricultural education program. Achievements at both the district and state levels were recognized. Congratulations to all FFA members on your outstanding accomplishments!

Valley Heights Journalism

April 23, 2025

WHEN PEOPLE SAY ENJOY IT, ENJOY IT. “When people say enjoy it because it goes fast, they really do mean it. High school goes by so quickly and you truly have to cherish all the moments, even the ones where you just stayed up late doing homework.”

Aubrey Kay Umscheid was born on April 18, 2007 and was raised in Blue Rapids, Kansas. Her parents are Matt and Dinah Umscheid, she also has a younger sister, Molly, who she loves to spend her free time with.

Within Aubrey's past four years of high school, she has been involved with Journalism, FFA and Band for one year; Art Club and KAY Club for two years; and Mustang Mentor for four years, additionally, this year she is the FACS Club president.

Aubrey is a very fun girl who can always make you laugh in any situation, but one thing people may not know about her is that she really loves babysitting and would probably choose it over hanging out with friends. She also really enjoys jamming out to her favorite songs on the Am I Okay? Megan Moroney album.

Aubrey mentions how much her mom means to her, she said, “My mom has had the biggest impact on my life because she is always pushing me to do the best I can. She is always there for me when I need help or for late night drives and talking about the recent gossip.” In 10 years, Aubrey sees herself in a great position in the medical field, and hopefully with a big family. Her future goals are to become successful in her career and to own a vacation house on a lake.

Aubrey's future plans are to attend Southeast Community College to Major in Radiology. Aubrey has had a lot of fun these past years, she says “An accomplishment I’m most proud of is becoming more outgoing. Mrs. Pacha has truly helped me a lot, especially with becoming more outgoing and independent.”

Article by Haily Stoudt

Valley Heights Journalism

April 17, 2025

FAMILY OVER EVERYTHING. Royce Ekstrum was born March 14, 2007. Royce is the son of Corey and Angie Ekstrum, he grew up in the small town of Waterville with his three younger sisters; Shaylee, Sydnee, and Ryenne. “ Family over Everything” is Royce's favorite quote because family is very important to him. Royce’s family has had the biggest impact on him because they are always there for him and push him to do his best in everything he does. His favorite songs are "Meet me Halfway” by Black Eyed Peas and some of the “Young Boys” songs. Royce's favorite food is steak.

Royce has been involved in KAY and Mustang Tough 2 years; All School Play and Track 3 years; FFA, Football, and Basketball 4 years, and was a football captain for 1 year. Royce’s ideal weekend plans are playing sports like Basketball and Football on Friday night, and on Saturday nights he likes to hang out with his friends.

A high school memory Royce won't forget is when some of the basketball team went to the Creighton basketball camp. Some advice he would give to underclassmen is don't fall behind in school, and to get your work done and turned in on time. When Royce leaves the Valley Heights community he wants to be remembered as someone who was hardworking, respectful, and nice to everyone.

After high school Royce plans to attend Kansas State University and major in business. His future dreams are to graduate college and be successful in life. In 10 years Royce hopes to see himself with a family and having a good stable job so he can fulfill his dreams of being successful.

Article By Tayra L’Ecuyer

Valley Heights Future Business Leaders of America is putting on a trivia night to raise money for 7 of our students to compete at the FBLA national competition in Anaheim, California. Put your team together and join us for a fun filled night of trivia! Please submit your team and number of players to Mr. Ehrlich at rehrlich@valleyheights.org Entries due by Thursday May 8th. Pay in advance or at the door.

VHHS cheerleaders will be hosting our annual Mother/Son night on May 4th at 5:30 PM. Any boys K-6th may be signed up to enjoy an evening of fun with their mom/aunt/grandma, etc! Forms and payments are due by April 30th.

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
Facebook: facebook.com/vhusd498
Twitter: @usd498