Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We are excited to get the year going and we expect a fantastic year for our Valley Heights Mustangs!

We would like to welcome and introduce our newest members to the Valley Heights Mustang team! Three familiar faces will be walking the halls this year with Mr. Tommy Tryon taking over the PE and weightlifting classes and Ms. Ali Jones stepping into the Journalism and Speech classroom. Joining them is Mrs. Anna Berger who will be the SPED instructor. Mr. Ryan Ehrlich will be moving out of the SPED room and will taking over the Technology classroom. A new face at Valley Heights will be Mrs. Anita Hinkle who will be teaching Grade 7 & 10 ELA! We are excited to have them on board and know they will be a key part of our staff here at Valley Heights!

We have some important dates to share with everyone to help us start the new school year!

JH & HS Fall Sports Coach/Parent Meetings

First Day of Practice (Properly signed physical form and concussion form required prior to practicing.)

7th Grade Orientation - 6:00 pm

Open House for Grades 7-12 w/ Ice Cream Floats - 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

First Day of Classes

(1/2 Day – 8:05 am – 12:25 pm) (Breakfast & Lunch Served.)

Mustang Spirit Night @ VHHS

Our maintenance crew has done a phenomenal job this summer in helping us get our building and grounds looking great and we plan on keeping the facilities in tip top shape! Besides the usual maintenance they were able to upgrade the duct work and lighting in several classrooms, replaced the mulch out front with river rock to create a very clean look, paint the gym walls, trim and classrooms, and rehang the athletic plaques in the commons. We have included their pictures and pictures of just some of the projects to give credit to where credit is due! Thank you!!

With that being said I will sign off and get busy with many of the other things that still need to be done prior to the start of classes! I hope to see you and visit with you at one of our start of the school year events!

Go Mustangs!

Mr. Savage

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

The high school volleyball team has continued to push their comfort zone as the summer season heats up. They have had the expertise of some local volleyball minds that have helped conduct the Tuesday night open gyms and have also competed in some extremely competitive tournaments these last few weeks. These tournaments have included a two day trip to Abilene and a full day of volleyball at Washburn University.

On Tuesday nights at VHHS, you can find the volleyball team learning from previous coaches and VH volleyball alumni some techniques and drills to step up their game. Mrs. Jenni Perry came to focus on serving technique, strategy and placement on June 25. On July 9, Molly Roepke shared blocking footwork, while Ellie Musil taught serve receive and base defense skills. Sarah and Emma Toerber came on July 16 to work on attacking footwork and timing, with Ellie Musil returning to help with offensive transitioning and out of system play. We are so thankful for the help of volunteers to continue the strong tradition of powerful Valley Heights volleyball.

June 27 and June 28 found the varsity team at Abilene in a new tournament for varsity only. This tournament had a wide range of competition, including teams such as Abilene varsity, JV and alumni, Smith Center, Clay Center, Beloit, Salina Central, Salina South, Sylvan-Lucas, Belle Plaine, Axtell, Ellinwood and Wamego.

The players that attended the tournament were Lily Busey, Anne Toerber, Tessa Miller, Haily Stoudt, Ava Smith, Kaitlin Hemry, Krista Porter, Mia Vermetten, Aspen Perry, Layla Woodyard, Paige Miller, and Avery Stevenson. Only 2 sets were played per match to 25 points.

Results were as follows:

VH vs Salina Central 25-17 (W) , 21-25 (L)

VH vs Clay Center 16-25 (L) , 15-25 (L)

VH vs Salina Central 25-18 (W) , 26-24 (W)

VH vs Sylvan-Lucas 25-20 (W) , 22-25 (L)

VH vs Smith Center 25-18 (W) , 19-25 (L)

VH vs Wamego 24-26 (L) , 19-25 (L)

VH vs Abilene 2 25-17 (W) , 25-21 (W)

VH vs Ellinwood 12-25 (L) , 15-25 (L)

VH vs Beloit 13-25 (L) , 13-25 (L)

VH vs Belle Plaine 25-12 (W) , 25-16 (W)

VH vs Abilene 18-25 (L) , 13-25 (L)

VH vs Alumni 26-28 (L) , 25-7 (W)

Overall, the team went 10-14 (sets) and placed 8th. We tried players in different positions and got the opportunity to play teams on another level than us as well as at our level. It was a lot of repetitions over 2 days and a great experience. The girls were ready for the 4th of July buffer week to gain some well deserved rest.

On July 12, we traveled to another new tournament experience at Washburn University, called the MoKan Top 10. There was a varsity division held at Lee Arena and a JV division held at the Rec Center on campus. The JV players that participated were Aspen Perry, Alyssa Perry, Tessa Bigham, Layla Woodyard, Bella Smith, Leah Steinfort, Teagan Spoonts, Macy Stoudt, Kinze Wessel and Julia Heinen. They encountered some junior varsity teams that were experienced and from larger schools and got the opportunity to play a lot of volleyball in 1 day. After 9 matches with each set starting at 7 points and going to 25 points (2 sets per match), they finished the day 4-14 (sets only). We thought it was a beneficial tournament for the players to match up with high caliber teams and continue to get quality repetitions.

Rock Creek JV: 20-25 (L) , 15-25 (L)

Beloit JV: 16-25 (L) , 12-25 (L)

Hays JV: 16-25 (L) , 20-25 (L)

Crest Ridge JV: 23-25 (L) , 16-25 (L)

Millard South JV: 27-25 (W) , 15-25 (L)
Hays JV 2: 22-25 (L) , 23-25 (L)

Johnson Country JV: 19-25 (L) , 25-22 (W)

Circle JV: 21-25 (L) , 21-25 (L)

HTRS JV: 25-18 (W) , 25-19 (W)

The varsity players that participated were Anne Toerber, Haily Stoudt, Ava Smith, Krista Porter, Layla Woodyard, Kaitlin Hemry, Violet Slifer, Bella Smith, Avery Stevenson, and Paige Miller. They played 8 matches, beginning at 9:30 am and we were the very last team to leave, finishing up at 6:00 pm. There were 16 total teams from all classes in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. The caliber of volleyball was excellent and we were pleased with the results. We came out the 6th seed in our pool (but extremely close to the 5th seed). We proceeded to win the 6th seed bracket play game against the 6th seed in the other pool, Falls City.

Ottawa: 19-25 (L) , 25-21 (W)

HTRS: 25-21 (W) , 25-22 (W)

Winneotonka: 25-21 (W) , 25-19 (W)

Beloit: 17-25 (L) , 17-25 (L)

Spring Hill: 18-25 (L) , 25-23 (W)

Circle: 21-25 (L) , 18-25 (L)

Rock Creek: 20-25 (L) , 17-25 (L)

Falls City: 25-20 (W , 25-27 (L) , 15-4 (W) Bracket Play Match

As the organized team season winds down, we are hoping to continue to push our comfort zone in the weight room as well as small group volleyball and leadership sessions. The 2nd Annual Lift-a-thon will be on August 1st where the community can extend support to our weight room and Valley Heights Athletics by monetary donations connected to how much an individual athlete can lift. This is an excellent opportunity for you to show your dedication and appreciation for the commitment these young athletes are making to becoming better athletes and leaders for Valley Heights!

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