The Buccaneer Newsletter

This Friday marks the end of Quarter 1! Students, take some time this week to check your grades, complete any missing assignments, and get everything turned in. Let's finish the first quarter strong! Parents and guardians, if you need assistance accessing PowerSchool, please contact the office. As always, feel free to reach out to your student's teachers with any questions or concerns. They are here to help!

It's another exciting week for Buccaneer athletics! Our swim and wrestling teams are both hitting the road and heading to the Valley, while our volleyball teams will be wrapping up their home season. Come out, pack the stands, and show your Buc Pride as we cheer on our volleyball players! We will also be recognizing and celebrating our seniors on Friday. Check out the sports section below for more details.

Let's have a great week, finish the quarter strong, and keep that Buc Pride going!

Go Bucs!

-Mr. Cronk

October 13th - Picture Retake Day

October 16th - End of 1st Quarter

October 21st- PSATS (registration is closed, $ due by Oct 14)

November 7th - SAT offering (collegeboard.org to register)

December 5th - SAT offering (collegeboard.org to register)

Homecoming theme this year was "Around the World" Sophomores won with their take on Rio de Janeiro Carnival.

Make a mini-tote bag in the library during the October 16 Flex Friday. You can use fabric provided by the school or bring your own. The project will require 2 pieces of fabric, approximately 1/2 yard each (one for the exterior, one for the lining). All sewing abilities are welcome. Please see Mrs. Verfaillie to sign up.

Mrs. Humphrey offered Bling in the library, a fun cool way to get creative and add some sparkle and shine to your every day items.

This project started last year in the woodshop here at VHS and is a great example of what our students can accomplish! It was one of our first major projects made entirely from locally harvested Sitka spruce that students milled themselves on our school sawmill. From cutting logs into lumber and stacking it to dry, to turning that lumber into a finished product, our woodshop students were involved in the entire process.

River had the idea to build a dining room table, and while it took some time and patience, the finished product turned out fantastic! A little extra work was needed at the beginning of this school year to get it across the finish line, but the table is now complete and in its new home.

A big shout-out to River for the hard work, dedication, and extra effort to see this project through, and to Mr. Norris for his assistance with the finishing process this year.

What a great example of hands-on learning, craftsmanship, and making the most of our local resources.

Dear Valdez High School Families and Fans,

Here is your weekly update on upcoming events and athletic schedules for the week of October 12th. Please note the following dates, times, and locations to support our students and athletes:

Events & Academics

• Grade Check: Monday, October 12th at 3:45 p.m.
• Wrestlers Weight Certification: Tuesday, October 13th @ 4:30 in the GMS Weight Room.
• Football Awards Banquet: Tuesday, October 13th at 6:30 p.m. in the VHS Cafetorium.
• Congratulations to Parker King for being selected as the ASAA GCI Student of the Month for September.

Travel Departures (Thursday, October 15th)

• Swim Team Departure: Leaving at 12:30 p.m. for the Palmer Swim Invite.
• Wrestling Team Departure: Leaving at 12:30 p.m. for the Houston Altercation.

Home Volleyball vs. Delta Huskies & Senior Night

Come out to support our JV and Varsity Volleyball teams as they take on the Delta Junction Huskies at home!

We will also be hosting our Senior Recognition Night on Friday at 6:00 p.m. to honor our four incredible seniors: Hali Fitka, Elaine Gilson, Hazell Vanderpool, and Raina Wells.

Friday, October 16th Game Times: Breast Cancer Awareness Night-Wear Pink and get free admission

• JV Match: 4:30 p.m.
• Varsity Match & Senior Recognition: 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 17th Game Times:

• JV Match: 10:00 a.m.
• Varsity Match: 11:30 a.m.

Go Buccaneers!

This past weekend the Valdez Buccaneer Varsity Volleyball Team traveled to Anchorage to compete in the 31st Annual Grizzly 3A Volleyball Tournament against a record number of 3A and 4A teams from across the state. After battling against six other contenders in pool play, the Bucs were able to fight their way into the Platinum Bracket, the top 9 teams of the 22 varsity squads.

Tournaments are such an incredible opportunity for our team to perform, reflect, recover, and adapt. Our Buccaneer athletes played ten teams overall this weekend, all at various skill levels. Throughout the weekend we experienced highs and lows in our own performance, but were able to put into practice a “next-game mentality”—how will we allow this game to influence and improve our performance in the next game.

There were so many exciting great plays! The Bucs beat Houston, MCCA, and Kodiak in single, pool play sets. They also beat Bartlett in a match on Saturday and stole a set from East High School (who ended up earning 2nd place overall against the Colony Knights). From our first line of defense (blockers— Vanderpool, Gilson, Wells, Smelcer, Unger, and Cronk), to the back row specialists (Pedersen, King, Scott, and Branshaw) we were able to take the heat off of many powerful attacks which allowed our setters (Fitka and Lawrence) to establish all ends of our offensive attack. From power tips to down the line shots and block kills, our offense was able to apply pressure to the other team.

In our competitions against Palmer, Kenai, West, Su-Valley, Sitka, and East the Bucs faced some trends in performance that we need to build consistency on. 1. Volleyball is a mental game and we need routines before, during, and after the game that help us mentally prepare to perform with energy and focus. 2. Consistent serve and serve receive were fundamental skills that became some of our biggest challenges. Some of these games were extremely close competitions where the Bucs were swinging away, blocking, and digging up hard hits from great volleyball teams. We saw first hand that in these tight fights, we have to be able to control our part of the game.

The Bucs have a lot to take pride in from this past weekend! Huge thank you to the Buc Fans who came from near and far to support, cheer on, and celebrate our Buccaneer Volleyball Team!

The Valdez JV Buccaneer Volleyball team travelled to Anchorage this weekend to play in Lumen

Christi High School’s Spiketacular tournament. There were 16 teams that travelled from all over

Alaska to participate- most of which were 2A Varsity teams. This was a fantastic opportunity for

our young JV team of mostly freshman and a couple sophomores to be challenged and to face

some different, more experienced competition. The tournament consisted of two days of pool

play to determine standings and one day of bracket play that was split into two brackets–Silver

and Gold. Going into this weekend our JV squad was smaller than usual with only 1 substitute

available on the bench. The goal for the weekend was to qualify for the Gold bracket.

To begin pool play on Thursday, we played a single set to 25 against Lumen Christi 2, Cordova

JV and Ninilchilk. The set against Lumen Christi 2 was quick and allowed for some of our

servers to shine against their weak serve receive. Sophia Malcuit served 8 aces and Lexi

Passin had 3 aces, which helped secure the win of 25-9. Next up, we played the Cordova

Wolverines JV which was a more competitive set that ended in a second win of the night for the

Lady Bucs (25-20). The third set of the night against Ninilchik ended with a win (25-16).

Friday’s pool play started off with a competitive set against Cook Inlet Academy (CIA). Backrow

passers Keana Wilkinson, Amelia Alex and Sophia Malcuit had the important job of digging up

everything CIA hit our way, which then gave us opportunities to turn those passes into some

sweet kills by middle hitter Lexi Passin. Unfortunately this back and forth set did not end in our

favor as it was our first loss (24-26). We played the Sandpoint Eagles next in a tough battle that

had our team constantly on the defensive trying to dig up strong attacks from their experienced

hitters. Even when our offense gave our best attacks, Sandpoint was able to dig them up

consistently. Ultimately, the set ended in a loss of 17-25. Next up we faced Koliganek, whose

team played similar to Sandpoint in that their hits were hard and strategically placed. Our Lady

Bucs gave them a run for their money though and did not let them off easy. Lexi Passin, Airoh

Smelcer and Amelia Alex earned several kills each that set. In the end, our Bucs fell to them

21-25. The last set of pool play was against the Nenana Lynx which gave us a much needed

easy win (25-6) after a tough day of close losses. Our win/loss record for pool play was 4-3 and

earned us a spot in the GOLD BRACKET!

The first match up for our Lady Bucs in bracket play was against the Koliganek Huskies in a

best of 3 match to 21 points. Having played them the previous day, we knew this was going to

be a tough battle. Right out of the gate the Huskies came out serving strong and got a quick

lead on us that we were never quite able to overcome and fell 8-21. After a good pep talk and

time to settle down between sets, our Bucs came out determined. Better communication for

passing and aces from Passin, Malcuit, Wilkinson and Fitka helped to earn a win for that second

set with a score of 21-19. The third and final set against the Huskies went much like the first–the

Huskies came out serving again and proved to be a challenge for our serve receive. We lost that

set 2-11, which knocked us out of the Gold Division bracket play. Although we lost our first

match in the bracket, our Lady Bucs should be proud of reaching their goal of making into the

Gold Bracket as one of the top 8 out of 16 teams in the tournament. This weekend, we play

Delta on our home court and get to honor our 4 Varsity Seniors on Friday night.

It's the time of year when the season is changing, darkness and cold weather start becoming more consistent, and the first quarter comes to a close.... which is wild we are already here!

We hear more tired remarks and thoughts of being overwhelmed with homework, grades, and life expectations. This is NORMAL and valid but it doesn't mean it needs to stay that way! Some tips to help get into the winter swing of things early:

* Sleep - Teens should be getting roughly 8-10 hours of sleep for every 24 hour period (American Academy of Sleep Medicine) to ensure proper brain function, growth, lower risk of depression, emotional regulation, etc.

* Maximize natural light - Take advantage of the daylight hours as much as possible! Take a short walk as a family, walk to school, sit outside at lunch.. this helps ensure your circadian rhythm is balanced, as well as your emotional and mental state. "Happy Lights" can also help boost serotonin and balance focus and energy.

* Activity - MOVE! Although it feels like hibernation season, a minimum of 30 minutes a day of activity will keep your body engaged and depressive episodes more manageable. Call your friends and walk to the track, check out the high school gym after school for some inside activity, or join a local Zumba or Yoga class. The more you move, the more energy you create and the more drive you have!

If your mental health seems bigger than something sleep or movement can fix, there is help for you:

988 Lifeline - Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is open 24 hours a day

Providence Counseling - Local, 907-835-2838

Sound Mental Health - Local, 907-835-9355

WSS is a free program that supplies students in need with snacks for weekends and school breaks. Items will be distributed to lockers/backpacks at end of every Thursday.

Contact Ms. Goudreau for any further questions or if you are interested in being on the list for this year. kgoudreau@valdezcityschools.org

SAT dates are posted and live to register for! You all had the opportunity for the junior year school day test, but this is an opportunity to improve your scores for college applications, scholarships, personal achievement.. whatever! Dates are: November 7th (reg deadline is Oct 23rd, late registration Oct 27th) and December 5th (reg deadline is Nov 20, late registration November 24).

REGISTER HERE

2027 United States Senate Youth Program

The Department of Education & Early Development is soliciting applications for the U.S. Senate Youth Program—a national program sponsored by the Federal Senate and underwritten by the Hearst Foundation. It is open to juniors and seniors who hold elected positions in student government during 2026-2027 academic year. Students must be enrolled in a public or private school. State delegates will have outstanding leadership qualities and a strong commitment to public service. This is an equitable opportunity for student leaders from across the state and we encourage students from rural areas to apply.

Each delegate receives a $12,500 undergraduate scholarship and will participate in the USSYP Washington Week in Washington, D.C., 6-13 March 2027, where two Alaska students will join 102 other delegates for an intensive educational program about the workings of the Senate and the federal government overall.

Interested students will apply online via Google Forms (https://forms.gle/78egDTgbaQ5BbCDa8). Students will need a Google affiliated email address to apply but may specify an alternate contact email address if they prefer. Students can visit the form multiple times to fill out various sections. It will automatically save and only be transmitted to DEED when they press the submit button at the end of the form. Required signatures will either be collected via DocuSign (directly from DEED) or in person by the student and uploaded to the form.

Applications are due by 5 p.m. 23 October 2026.

For more information on the USSYP, please see https://education.alaska.gov/recognitionprograms. Also please feel free to contact me with any question at 907.465.6542 and bjorn.wolter@alaska.gov

Special notes:

• Please carefully review the submission form with applicants. There are four separate signatures needed, including principal, guardian(s), and representative of elected body the student represents. Applicants should coordinate how signatures will be gathered—via DocuSign from DEED or in person by the student and uploaded.
• Students are required to submit a brief video as part of their application. Please review the process for submission with applicants.
• All applications must be received at DEED by 5pm on 23 October 2026. Digital submissions are required.
• Official transcripts must be sent by either the school principal, registrar, or counselor directly to the program coordinator. Transcripts must include an unweighted GPA. DEED will not calculate this for your students and failure to include it may result in the application being denied.

• Each school can recommend only one applicant. If a principal expects interest from multiple students, they will need to do some internal decision making about who’s name to forward.
• Applicants must hold an elected office for the entire 2026-2027 academic year. For more information on qualified positions, please review the USSYP brochure that is part of the attached application packet.
• Applicants must be either juniors or seniors.
• The Hearst Foundation provides a scholarship of $12,500 to each state delegate.
• If selected to represent the state, the nominee must be available to attend the entire Washington Week from 6-13 March 2027. Travel to Washington, D.C., accommodations, and food is provided to delegates free of charge by the Hearst Foundation.

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ELKS MOST VALUABLE STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP

(click above link to visit website)

Eligibility:

• Current high school seniors, or the equivalent, who are citizens of the United States are eligible to apply.
• Applicants DO NOT need to be related to a member of the Elks.
• High school graduates are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are submitted; permanent legal resident status does not qualify.
• Scholarships are available only to students who enroll in four-year undergraduate degree programs at accredited U.S. American colleges or universities.

The 2027 application deadline is November 12, 2026 at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time.

Awards:

• The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships.

• Male and female students compete separately.

• Ranging from $1,000 per year to $7,500 per year, Most Valuable Student scholarships are for students pursuing a four-year degree, on a full-time basis (minimum of 12 semester hours), in a U.S. college or university. All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the full-time enrollment of the winner in an accredited U.S. college or university.

Don't forget to check out the SCHOLARSHIP MOTHERBOARD access for many more scholarship opportunities to browse!