I would like to start off this newsletter by saying thank you to our Mustang Family for your generosity this past Tuesday night! It was, to say the least, awesome. During the evening we raised funds to help the family of Addy Voelker, a Linn Lutheran 2nd grader who is undergoing treatment for cancer at St. Jude’s in Memphis, Tennessee. The 50/50 raffle raised $755.00 with all of those proceeds going to the family. Our winner, Mrs. Delores Stump, graciously returning the money to the family! Our donations totaled an additional $537.00! This amount included a $200 donation our junior high students donated from their potato bar that night! I couldn’t be prouder of this group and their actions! I found out that the family and Addy were driving back during the game and were able to watch the presentation during halftime! It truly is “A Great Day to be a Mustang”!

The 2025 TVL Tournament is in the books and the Mustangs experienced some success during the week! On the boy’s side of the bracket we picked up two wins against Washington County and Onaga. This was after a first-round loss to Linn. The Lady Mustangs defeated Onaga and Clifton-Clyde before losing to Hanover and D-West to earn 4th place in the tournament! As usual, there was a lot of excellent basketball being played during the week! Ava Smith and Royce Ekstrum were named to the TVL All-Tournament Second Team so congratulations to both those student-athletes!

One of my favorite events here at Valley Heights is right around the corner and as you can imagine it revolves around food! Our FFA Community Pancake Feed is scheduled for February 19th from 7:00 am to 9:00 am! A free will donation will be encouraged! Please feel free to visit our Ag. Shop area, visit with our FFA members, and enjoy a hearty breakfast with us!

This is the third year for our Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) organization and we have seen an increase in membership and overall participation each year! This year has proven to be the best one yet at Valley Heights. Seventeen members qualified for the state competition in 22 events at the regional event hosted by Republic County. That is fantastic. A complete listing of the results is included in this week’s newsletter! FBLA is co-sponsored by Ryan Ehrlich and Aundrea Bruna.

The junior high basketball season is one game away from being concluded. Both the boys and girls are playing on the final day of the BVL Tournament which is this Saturday. The girls played a tough second round game against the Hanover Bluejays and lost during the final minutes of the game. They will play Clifton-Clyde for third place on Saturday morning at 10:00 am. The boys are in the championship bracket posting wins against Luckey and Linn. They will square off against Hanover on Saturday at 11:30 am. The games are being hosted by Blue Valley. Best of luck Mustangs!

We have been having fun this week with King and Queen of Courts Spirit Week! KAYS will be hosting a pep rally on Friday and we will wrap up the week with our Winter Dance on Saturday, February 1st. Before we get to the dance we will be crowning our King and Queen at halftime of the Valley Heights – Republic County boys’ game! Our queen candidates are Maddy Hanke, Faye Jones and Aubrey Umscheid. Our king candidates are Jayden DeWalt, Cayden Dummermuth and Dustin Denton. Congratulations and best of luck to all of you!

Have a great week and Let’s go Mustangs!

Mr. Savage

Day 1 of Concert Band Clinic at Kansas State University! 14 of our amazing high school band students were selected to participate in this awesome weekend. They had the privilege to experience the Boston Brass in concert and it was incredible. Now the students are hard at work rehearsing for their performance on Sunday! So proud of our Valley Heights band students. -Miss B.

It's performance day! 14 of your talented Valley Heights High School band students received their music just two days ago, rehearsed for hours over the last few days, and will now perform that music for over 1500 people at McCain Auditorium at KSU! This performance is open to the public, so if you want to come enjoy and support our students, they would love that! Performances start at 1 and there is no admission fee! So proud of our band students. They are hard-working, motivated individuals. Music is so important in our lives. Thank you all for your support of the music department at Valley Heights!

We want to say a HUGE congratulations to our very own Abigail Thorn for earning the Outstanding Musician award at Concert Band Clinic this year! This is a great honor. There are over 600 students who attended this event, and only about 20 of them a achieved this award. For Abigail, this award comes with a scholarship to one of KSU's amazing summer band camps. We are so excited for her! Congratulations Abby!

This week we feature sophomore, Everson Parker for his cartoon style acrylic & marker painting of LeBron James, entitled "Fly High." LeBron is soaring through the clouds, basketball in hand. Everson just completed this project, and his bold use of colors, along with his dynamic perspective and foreshortening, resulted in a striking and successful piece. Also pictured is a cardboard & mixed media collage self portrait.

Everson's favorite part about art is being able to bring unreal things to life through creativity!

Next week is CHIEFS SUPER BOWL spirit week for all three buildings. See the flier for details!!

Reminder!!! Come join us tomorrow at Valley Heights High School as we play Republic County and cheer on our mustangs! During the half time of the boys basketball, we will crown the King and Queen Winners. Saturday Feb 1st will be Winter Formal put on by KAYs. This will take place at the VH Commons area, 8-10pm. $3-single $5- couple. Go Mustangs!!!

The Junior High Girls fought a hard battle against Hanover but unfortunately came up short, with a final score of 20-23. They will be playing for 3rd place and face off against Clifton-Clyde on Saturday at 10:00 at Blue Valley.

Junior high boys basketball team beats Linn tonight 46-19 in second round of BVL tournament. They will play in the championship against Hanover on Saturday at 11:30 at Blue Valley!

The District FBLA results are in! Students that have placed in the top 4 will get to compete in that event at the State Leadership Conference in March! Congrats to all students on their efforts! Test Results: Dawson Vermetten- Agribusiness-3rd place Lawson Stryker-Agribusiness- 8th place Dino Conti- Computer Problem Solving- 1st place Ruger Ryan- Computer Problem Solving- 3rd place Ruger Ryan- Cybersecurity- 3rd place Kadence Pierson- Economics-6th place Morgan Vinduska-Human Resource Management- 5th place Julia Heinen- Into to FBLA- 4th place Dino Conti- Into to Information Technology- 5th place Callie Schmidt- Into to Parliamentary Procedure- 9th place Harmony Conti- Organizational Leadership-3rd Place Lawson Stryker- Securities and Investments- 1st place Presentation Results: Callie Schmidt, Leah Steinfort, Klara McIntyre- Business Management- 2nd place Lawson Stryker-Business Plan- 1st place Jaqueline Sandoval- Client Service-1st place Kebeb Zimmerman-Digital Video Production-2nd Place Dino and Harmony Conti- Graphic Design- 1st place Kebeb Zimmerman and Ava Smith- Graphic Design-4th place Harmony Conti- Help Desk-1st place Lawson Stryker, Everson Parker, and Logan Gray- Hospitality and Event Management- 1st place Dawson Vermetten- Impromptu Speaking- 4th place Callie Schmidt- Introduction to Public Speaking- 3rd place Haily Stoudt and Julia Heinen- Social Media Strategies-1st place Kadence Pierson and Violet Slifer- Visual Design- 2nd place Krista Porter and Jacqueline Sandoval- Website Design-1st place

Thank you Kansas Northeast District FFA for making and donating these fun BirthdayCake kits! Valley Heights students and families in need of a cake kit for their upcoming birthday celebration please contact our Family Advocate. 💜eat cake and celebrate!

Senior Parents: Here is a list of scholarships through the Kansas Board of Regents along with a PDF to describe scholarships and grants you could potentially be eligible for. These have all been sent to the seniors emails but please let Mrs. Gallimore know if you need help. https://www.kansasregents.gov/resources/PDF/Students/Student_Financial_Aid/State_Aid_Brochure_2025-26_Application.pdf https://www.kansasregents.gov/students/student_financial_aid

“Never regret a day in your life. Good days give happiness, bad days give experience, worst days give lessons, and the best days give memories.” This is Dustin’s favorite quote because it is something that he lives by. Dustin Darrell Denton, born May 14, 2006, to John and Angie Denton grew up in Blue Rapids, Kansas.

FFA has been a big part of Dustin's high school career. He has been District FFA Secretary for one year, District FFA President for one year, Chapter FFA President for two years, and Chapter FFA Treasurer for one year. He is the most proud of being named a District Officer for FFA. Outside of school, Dustin spends most of his time involved in 4-H where he shows cattle.

After graduating, Dustin will attend K-State to attain a DVM or Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. He strives to become a successful veterinarian and be involved in embryology. In 10 years Dustin sees himself, “married, with a child, and a nice house and job.”

Dustin’s ideal Saturday night would be hanging out with friends and family. “My parents and brother, Wes, have had the biggest impact on my life because they know me the best. They have really shaped me into the young man I am today.” His favorite high school memory is the trip to Dodge City his junior year to watch the Girls State Basketball.

Dustin has been very involved throughout his 4 years of high school. He participated in All School Play, FFA, KAY, Mustang Mentor, and Basketball, 4 years; STUCO and golf, 3 years; Art and NHS, 2 years; and Band, Football, and Track, 1 year. Some advice that he would like to pass on to underclassmen is, “Try as many activities as you can and then cut down to what you like the most so you don’t have a stressful high school experience.” After leaving Valley Heights, Dustin would like to be remembered as a hard worker with a successful future ahead of him.

Article by Paige Miller

Respecting yourself so you have what is needed to care for others is important this year! Be kind to yourself first. Self Care is the single most important step to creating positive mental health habits and caring for others too. Take care of your body, mind and heart.

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