Valley Heights Elementary Schools

It is officially the last full week of the 2025-2026 school year! On Tuesday the senior class will walk through the halls of Waterville Grade School in their caps and gowns and our students will cheer them on.

Please see the calendar changes below!! The last day of school will now be Wednesday, May 20th!

Reminder: No more Colts Round Up for the remainder of the school year!

Monday:

• No elementary activities

Tuesday:

• No elementary activities

Wednesday:

• No elementary activities

Thursday:

• No elementary activities

Friday:

• No elementary activities

Looking Ahead:

• May 19th
• Preschool/Kinder Prep Program at 8:30
• Kindergarten through 2nd grade program and 2nd grade promotion at 9:00
• May 20th- Last day of school! Dismiss at 12:30!

It was a great week at Blue Rapids Elementary! The students and teachers have been enjoying a variety of educational and fun activities these last few weeks of school. On Monday, the 3rd graders went to Beatrice, NE to the Homestead National Monument. Friday was the Charles Steele play day. I want to say that I was super impressed with the effort and attitude of the students in all the events. I just loved seeing the high fives and fist pounds and all the great encouragement and positivity! With that said, we are down to the last week and a half of school, please take note of the important dates listed below.

Here are some upcoming dates to remember:

• 5th grade field trip - May 11th
• 6th grade orientation to Jr High - May 11th
• 6th grade field trip - May 14th
• 4th grade "Wax Museum" - May 14th
• 3rd - 6th Year End Program/6th gr Promotion - May 19th
• Last Day of School - Dismissal @ 12:30 pm - May 20th

As always, thank you for the privilege and blessing that it is to work with your children. My door is always open if you have any concerns or you need to visit.

-Mr. Staples

Valley Heights Elementary is proud to announce that Mrs. Meadows’ 4th grade class has been crowned Kansas State Reading Champions! This championship resulted from reading the most minutes per team over four weeks during READBowl IX: The World Championship of Reading, a global reading competition put on by Read With Malcolm, the Youth Literacy Initiative of NFL Super Bowl Champion and children's book author Malcolm Mitchell.
The seventh annual competition was held from January 12 through this past Super Bowl Sunday.

"Winning a state championship is always prestigious," said Mitchell. "However, this year is especially notable, as there were more than one million students, from all 50 states and 19 countries on the reading field for the big game this year. I am so proud of every student who competed and congratulate our state and national champions.” Overall, students from across the globe read for more than 800 million minutes during READBowl IX.

Mrs. Meadows' class has been crowned Kansas State Reading Champions for the last 3 consecutive years!

This week's Waterville VHS ticket winners are Lux and Claire winning lunch with Mrs. deBoer and Beaux, Kale, and Jet winning prizes! Great work!

Each week we'll give you a fun question to talk about around the dinner table with your family! Eating together as a family is an excellent time to strengthen relationships and check in with your child and their needs. Enjoy discussing the question of the week!

Did you know you can pay your child's lunch fees online? We'll even cover the processing fees for you so you have no extra fees! Click HERE to be taken directly to the link! Or you can navigate to this page from the Valley Heights website, then clicking on Parent & Student Resources, then Online Payment.

Check out the Schools That Care newsletter below for information on resources available in our community!

Early Head Start 0-3 provides services to infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. It promotes

• healthy prenatal outcomes, healthy babies
• enhances the development of infants and toddlers, and
• promotes healthy/thriving families

NEK-CAP, Inc. receives federal funds for 160 children to operate and provide Early Head Start (0-3) services for infants, toddlers, pregnant mothers, and fathers.

NEK-CAP, Inc. receives federal funds for 238 children to operate and provide Head Start services. Head Start is committed to cultivating partnerships with the community to ensure that children and families receive an array of individualized services focused upon early childhood development, family support, health and education.

Head Start/Early Head Start 0-5 services are available at no cost to children and families. Up to 10% of enrollment may be used to serve children that are over income. Transportation is available at some locations.

Click HERE for more information!

Did you know that even though packaging no longer has box tops on them to cut out, that you can still support your school? Download the Box Tops app and scan your receipt to earn money for schools. This is a simple way to give back to your community! Click here for more details!

Another avenue of supporting your school is through Casey's rewards! Check it out at caseys.com/community/donate-your-points!

Email: judeboer@valleyheights.org tstaples@valleyheights.org sspoonts@valleyheights.org
Website: www.valleyheights.org