The Mustang Messenger

Our Commencement Ceremonies for the Class of 2026 is now in the books! The seniors and their families had a fantastic day to celebrate this big event. We had a nice crowd on hand to send our seniors off in style. We would like to thank our vocal and instrumental music students for performing during the ceremony. They were under the supervision of Mrs. Malari Schroller. Thank you to Mrs. Kim Oatney for being our accompanist for the vocal number. Thanks also to Mrs. Gallimore and Mrs. Jen Pacha for working together to bring the Class of 2026 to this very moment. We would also like to thank the Board of Education members who helped hand out diplomas – Mrs. Lisa Stryker and Mrs. Jami Gillig. Thank you also to our maintenance staff, staff members and students who helped us set up the gym on Friday and then again as we put things back in order! Congratulations go out the Class of 2026! You made it!!

During our graduation ceremonies we were able to announce those students who earned academic honors over the past four years! Lawson Stryker was named the Class of 2026 Valedictorian and Krista Porter earned Salutatorian honors. Academic honors were also given to Kadence Pierson and Mia Vermetten for maintaining a perfect GPA during high school! Great job everyone!

We said “See you in August!” on Wednesday, May 20th to our 7th-11th grade students and they were all very eager to get their summer break started! We want to wish them all a fun, but safe, summer vacation and we will see you back here for the 2026-2027 school year!

The school year may have ended but we still need to wrap up our spring sports. Both the baseball and softball teams had their seasons end in the first game of Regional action this year. We would like to congratulate our athletes and coaches for working hard this year! Our track squad travelled to Jefferson County North for their Reginal meet and we had nine Mustangs qualify for the 2A State meet this weekend! Congratulations to our athletes and our coaches!

I often say that just because we are starting summer break does not mean that the school and facilities take a rest! That is not the case at all with all kinds of things already on the summer calendar! The first priority is getting the facilities back in shape for the fall. There are smaller summer projects being taken care of plus the annual deep cleaning of the rooms and other areas in the buildings! The maintenance crew also has outdoor duties such as mowing and landscaping so we say thanks to this group of people who keep things looking good for USD 498!

We would like to remind everyone that the gym and stage here at the high school are off-limits for pretty much the entire summer. The floor will be sanded down, repaired, stained and painted, and then the new backboards, volleyball nets, scoreboards and shot clocks will be installed! The gym will have an incredible new look when we start classes in the fall!

Let’s go Mustangs!!

Mr. Savage

On Monday, May 18th the golf team battled through wet course conditions and high winds at the Western Hills Golf Course for our 2A Regional Tournament. The team fell short of qualifying for state this year. Everson Parker led the team with a 35th place finish after rallying during his last 9 holes!

Back in March, our high school art students teamed up with 4th graders to help them draw a monster and write a story about their creation. Today, we surprised them by bringing those monsters to life in clay!

Over the past few weeks, 24 unique monsters were sculpted, painted, and carefully assembled… and yes, some super glue may have been involved along the way!

We are pleased to announce that Kebeb Zimmerman has also

qualified for state in the 3200 after an incredible race on Thursday!

Here is our list of state qualifiers:

Kebeb Zimmerman-3200
Aiden Unruh-Pole Vault
Isabella Smith-Shot Put
Mia Vermetten-800, 4x800
Emma Warders 1600,4x800
Langston Gray 800,1600
Klara McIntyre-100, 100 Hurdles, 300 Hurdles
Lindsay Gray 4x800
Eleanor Toerber 4x800

Congratulations to junior Lindsay Gray on an outstanding season behind the plate! Over the past 3 seasons, Lindsay has thrown out 31 base runners, including 21 caught stealing/pickoffs this season alone. Three of these were in the final game of the year! What an incredible accomplishment! Congratulations, Lindsay!

A huge congratulations to junior Paige Miller on an incredible final game of the season! Paige earned her 300th career strikeout and topped it off with a 3-run homerun. What an amazing accomplishment and a great way to end the season. Congratulations to the Lady Mustangs on a great season!

Created by Valley Heights Class of 2026 Seniors Lawson Stryker and Ashton Crook.

Friday, August 21, 2026 5pm- 7pm will be the Annual Mustang Spirit Night at VHS. An indoor/outdoor event for the whole family! The Pep rally will begin at 7pm in the gym and it will be a great time to present the new Gymnasium Updates to our VH family and the Community!

Check out Ms. Jayne's latest newsletter at https://app.smore.com/n/v57f0

Ms. Jayne's schedule each day will begin at the VH Jr/Sr High to meet student needs there before the bell rings. The rest of the week will primarily be:

• Monday at Blue Rapids
• Tuesday at Waterville (third Tuesday is Harvesters)
• Wednesday at VH and out and about in our community
• Thursday AM in Waterville/PM in Blue Rapids
• Friday at VH

Meet the Family Advocate, Jayne Whitson by appointment. She is available to help students and families succeed with resources, referrals and donated items to help during a family trauma, crisis or setback.

The best way to reach the family advocate is via cell, 612-202-7366.

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. E-mail Mr. Savage 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