ThE MuStAnG MeSsEnGeR

Homecoming 2025 is in the books and the staff and students celebrated the week in style. Congratulations are in order for our Student Council and their sponsor, Mrs. Sammie Parker, who did a tremendous job of planning the entire week for all of us! It takes quite a bit of prep for this event! Dress-Up Days, Spike-Fest, Powder Puff, Bonfire, Hype Video, Parade and the Crowning Ceremony all fall within their duties! Thank you, Student Council! Congratulations are also in order for our 2025 King and Queen, Mr. Creighton Smith and Ms. Ella Swearingen! Thanks, also, to the Blue Rapids United Methodist Church for providing snacks for our students at the Homecoming Dance!

Student Success Meetings were held this past Wednesday night and we really appreciate the opportunity to visit with our parents about their students. The students were able to share their career interests, current grades, any missing assignments they might have at this point in time, state assessment scores, Fastbridge scores and how school was going in general. Our goal was to have 100% participation but we were not able to meet with everyone! If you would like to visit with a staff member please contact the school and we can set up a meeting time for you! A major point to make is that the end of the 1st Nine Weeks is right around the corner – October 17th! Please visit with your child about ending the grading period in great shape! Thank you to the Valley Heights Booster Club for providing the staff an evening meal during the activity. The meal was greatly appreciated!

Our fall sports season is pushing ever so close to postseason play! Our Lady Mustangs will be in action this Saturday, October 11th, in the TVL League Tournament hosted by Onaga. The Mustangs are the top seed in the tournament and we wish them the best of luck. Volleyball sub-states are scheduled for either October 20th or October 21st depending on our seeding so stay tuned as this is determined. Cross country will be running this Saturday as well at the Riley County meet. The races are held at the Leonardville Golf Course. The TVL Meet will be hosted by Centralia on October 16th and Regional Cross Country will be hosted by Marion High School. The girls will run at 10:00 am and the boys at 11:10 am at Regionals. Our junior high fall seasons are quickly coming to an end! The BVL Junior High Volleyball Tournament will be hosted by Blue Valley on October 20th. The BVL Junior High Cross-Country races will also be hosted by Blue Valley and will take place on October 14th!

Mr. Broxterman and Coach Trimble will be meeting in Salina on October 15th to build our 2025 and 2026 high school football schedules. This is the day that district assignments are announced! Every school in Kansas will be in attendance in order to fill their schedules with non-district games. It can become a very fast and furious activity with some schools leaving with an open slot or two!

Some important dates when classes will not be in session! October 10 – PT Day and October 13 – Professional Development!! October 17th is the end of First Semester with a 12:30 dismissal!

Go Mustangs!

Mr. Savage

The Lady Mustangs win the 3rd set 16-25 against Hanover, taking the match.

Members of the All School Play want to give a big THANK YOU to Storm Design & Apparel for donating this banner to promote "Murder on the 518!"

We love that we get the opportunity to collaborate with local businesses!

Catch the show on stage November 14-16 at the Waterville Opera House.

VHS ran great at Centralia despite the windy conditions!

Emma Warders: 23:08 (7th)

Lindsay Gray: 23:57 (11th)

Riley Skalla: 25:18 (22nd)

Klara McIntyre: 29:46 (32nd)

Kebeb Zimmerman: 17:41 (3rd)

Langston Gray: 18:31 (8th)

Tyler Holmes: 19:08 (11th)

Henry Bachura: 21:58 (40th)

The boys team placed 3rd as a team!!!

Seniors went to Marysville High School on Tuesday morning to attend County Civic Day. Students had the opportunity to listen to Doug Whitesell, BR Mayor, discuss why he chose to get involved in local government as a City Council member and later lead as mayor. VH students learned about the voting process in the county and even participated in a mock election, where they had the opportunity to use replica ballots and place them in a voting machine.

Monday afternoons, starting at 3:30pm

Tuesday mornings, starting at 7:00am

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

Valley Heights FFA Members are selling meat sticks until October 17th!

$30 for a bag of 24 individually wrapped meat sticks.

** Edit: We will NOT be selling meat/fruits/gifts, Meat sticks are the only fundraiser items we will be selling **

Please reach out to an FFA member to order!!

for questions contact Ms.Husband chusband@valleyheights.org

Valley Heights Journalism

October 6, 2025

MIA’S PERSPECTIVE. Mia Janay Vermetten was born September 25, 2007 to Mike and Stacy Vermetten. She has grown up in Waterville Kansas with her three sisters; Shelby, Sam, and Maddy. As the youngest, Vermetten has always looked up to her sisters. “Growing up obviously they were my role models. I wanted to be just like them, they exhibited ambition, perseverance and diligence. I’ve had the advantage of watching them grow up ahead of me. They were like a preview of what my life could be like and they set the bar high. They’ve influenced me in every way, from how I treat people to how I chase my goals. I’ve learned so much just by watching them.”

During Vermetten's 4 years at Valley Heights, she has been involved in art for one year; NHS and Stuco for two years; FACS, Volleyball, Basketball, and Cheer for three years; and Journalism, All School Play, KAY, and track for four years. Her favorite high school memory was State Volleyball of 2024. “We were in the locker room getting hyped up before the game which gave us all the energy we needed to come out and beat the number one seed, Inman.” One of Vermetten's greatest accomplishments is leading the state in serve receive percentage during the 2024 volleyball season. She spends her Friday nights driving around listening to music with her friends or going on late night sonic runs.

After high school Vermetten will attend Emporia State University where she plans to achieve a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance. Later on, she would like to become a physical therapist working at a small practice. In 10 years she plans to be married with a few children while continuing her love for traveling.

Albert Einstein once said,“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” This quote speaks to Vermetten because it is a reminder to look for lessons in challenges. Vermetten’s senior mentor, Miss Jones stated, “Mia is a responsible, hard working, and trustworthy leader. Her personality draws people to her and she never fails to make me laugh.” Finally, Vermetten would like to leave Valley Heights with the advice to not worry about fitting in with everyone, instead use your uniqueness as a strength.

Article by Paige Miller

In our staff spotlight this week is Ms. Anna Berger! Anna is our 7-12 Special Education Teacher and coaches our high school softball team and our junior high volleyball team! Anna is a graduate of Valley Heights High School where she was a member of the Class of 2004. Anna is a native of Blue Rapids, Kansas and has a daughter, Raegan, who is a freshman at Valley Heights.

This is Ms Berger’s second year at Valley Heights! She earned a B.S in Elementary Education and Adaptive Special Education K-12 from Bethany College. Her favorite thing about working at Valley Heights is that it is truly a family environment. The culture in our school and communities is great!

Ms. Berger’s hobbies are camping, coaching and watching softball, playing board games, watching K-State football and cheering for the Chiefs. When asked what was something very few people know about her she says, “I love listening to true crime podcasts.” Interesting!!

Ms. Berger - welcome back to Valley Heights. We are fortunate to have you on our staff!

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