ThE MuStAnG MeSsEnGeR

"A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with--a man is what he makes himself."~Alexander Graham Bell

Here is a picture of Nathalie and Zita Duensing holding the banner Nathalie made for The Community Foundation Match Week

Homecoming Float calculation of supply cost, density and volume. Also construction of floats in Physical Science. Floats get tested to see how much mass they can hold for the least cost.

Chemistry students completing Fermenting ethanol lab from corn grind, enzymes, and yeast. The amount of carbon dioxide produced is equivalent to the amount of ethanol produced.

Delana Murk, a student in Film Studies, reacts to a scene in Jaws. Students are doing a compare contrast study of Steven Spielberg’s early films Duel and Jaws.

My junior high drama class has produced a version of their own Would You Rather.

The students came up with their own choices and exercises.

Come support our Jr/Sr High students by being a part of the Booster Club and its activities.

The Booster Club raises money to support school activities and give scholarships.

There are many ways to participate!

1 - You can give money and be a member. There are $25, $50, and $100 membership levels, but any amount is welcome. Here is more information about membership Match day flier.

*If donations are made September 11-18, during Match Days, you will be giving even more. Find more information for Match Day here https://www.bluerapidsmatchday.com/nonprofits/Valley-Heights-Booster-Club.

2 - You can help with a Booster Club activity by giving time, food, or whatever donations are needed. Booster Club will be hosting a meal and staffing the concession stand for the Valley Heights Homecoming Game on Friday, September 29th. You can sign up to help here https://www.perfectpotluck.com/THZK3840. There will be more opportunities in the future too so stay posted.

3 - You can come to a Booster Club meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 8th at the Valley Heights Football Field following the game. All are welcome. You can see the meeting agenda/minutes here Meetings.

The 2022-2023 yearbooks are still for sale, $50 each! They can be picked up in the VHHS office at the high school. The yearbook is a recap of our staff and student body in candid form. All of our activities, and hard work we put into the year. Contact Lynette Steele-Coon@lcoonvalleyheights.org or call the office at 785-363-2508 to reserve your copy today.

As many of may have noticed our Mustang in front of the school was taken down this week! The last two wind storms did not do the mascot any favors and we were afraid that with this damage and some earlier damage that our Mustang would become impossible to fix. We have notified all parties concerned but wanted everyone to know that we will have him back up just as soon as the repairs are made. However, this may take some time so please exercise some patience. We would like to thank the City of Waterville for the assistance in getting the Mustang down. We have provided some pictures in this edition of the newsletter showing you the project in progress.

We often share the successes of our students for school activities but it is also important to note that many students compete in events outside the school. Two such individuals are junior, Dustin Denton and sophomore, Kinsley Gillig who recently participated in events at the Kansas State Fair. Dustin earned Supreme Champion Female (All Breeds), Champion Senior Beef Showman, Champion Hereford Steer, Champion Hereford Heifer, and Champion Commercial Heifer. Kinsley was honored to win the Champion Charolais Market Animal and was a finalist in Showmanship! Congratulations to these two students!

Homecoming is right around the corner! As always, Student Council and their Advisor, Mrs. Sammie Parker have done a great job of planning our activities for the entire week! All of the events lead up to the Homecoming Game between the Mustangs and the Salina – Sacred Heart Knights. Homecoming week is September 26th through the 29th. Monday is a No School day because of Professional Development. Tuesday’s theme is PJ Day and Wednesday’s theme is BBQ Dad/Soccer Mom. Thursday will be Scrabble Day where students dress up as something that starts with the letter of their first name. Friday, of course, is Mustang Spirit Day. We also have a busy week of activities with our high school volleyball team hosting their first game of the season with a 5:00 pm start against the Frankfort Wildcats and the Axtell Eagles. Wednesday evening will be our annual Spikefest and Powder Puff football game for our students and on Thursday night we will have the Bonfire starting at 8:30 pm. On Friday we will participate in the parade which is slated to start at 2:15. Remember – we are moving the parade back to Waterville this year so that we don’t have traffic issues due to the bridge project. On Saturday, our Cross Country team is in action at the Centralia meet. Our Homecoming Dance, on Friday night, will mark an end to the festivities and it is scheduled to start just as soon as the game is over! We hope that you can join us for one of the events or all of the events and help us celebrate Homecoming!

Picture Day is scheduled for September 20th! All students and staff will have their picture taken because we use those in the yearbook but you will also have the option to purchase a package if you so wish. Remember – Courtney D. Photography is handling our picture duties this year!

Have a great week!

Mr. Savage

Our faithful mascot has been taken down for repair. Due to the harsh weather the last few years, he has gotten some bumps and bruises and is being sent off to be brought back to his original grander. We may not see him for a few months, but he will be returning to his home soon.

Rick is originally from Eudora, KS and played college basketball and baseball at JCCC. He attended KU before joining the Army in 1983. While stationed in Germany, he met his wife Nicole and they were married a year later. They have four grown children (Chris, Ben, Aaron, Jessica) and one grandson (Van). Rick earned his teaching certificate in 1993 and four years later coached the Wellsville girls basketball team to their first state championship. In 2000, he joined Oracle Corporation and traveled all over the world as a business consultant. He decided to go back to teaching seven years ago and helped coach the Elkhart boys baseball team to a state championship. He earned his Masters degree at Fort Hays State University and became a principal at Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana. Rick has been a Social Studies teacher at Valley Heights since 2021 and he strives to help his students learn about life and the value of uncommon kindness.

For the past several years, our Valley Heights seniors have been asked by Mrs Yungeberg, 10-12 English teacher, to do a senior service project. This is a year-long project that each student will work on through their senior year. Some past projects that have been done are the creation of a Mustang Apparel Shop, murals in our communities have been revamped, volunteer time has been given at the nursing home, local museum, help was given to mentoring our younger students and also helping organize and clean at our local libraries. Updates to the fair grounds, city parks, and even Alcove Springs have been accomplished by some of our past seniors. Bible studies were made at the county jail, home made dresses were sewn for little ones over seas, and new books were designed and printed for them to read as well. So we now are going to spotlight our seniors of 2024 and what they are accomplishing with their service projects.

So our first senior, Olivia Skalla, is working on a multitude of ideas with her senior project. She is helping our custodial staff with extra cleaning.(pictured is Olivia helping in the girls' locker room) She also took the time and designed several posters to add to the decor of the room, brightening it up with some positive posters and new colors. She also plans on helping with some landscaping around the high school. She has created new name badges for everyone in the district and continues to come up with ideas to help improve our high school. She is also working on some new signage and posters for our building as well.

2274 6th Road

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