MAY 10, 2024 EDition
MAY 10, 2024 EDition
Embedded Files
As the senior year draws to a close, my heart swells with excitement at the thought of honoring our graduating seniors this upcoming Friday. Witnessing their journey over these past few years has been nothing short of inspiring. Their leadership, school spirit, and dedication to community service have positively impacted our school and have also set a standard for others to aspire to.
With the weight of finals now lifted, the upcoming week holds a special significance as we come together to celebrate our seniors. From the senior farewell assembly to graduation day, each event will be filled with an abundance of love and pride.
As a mother to a senior myself, I find my heart caught in a whirlwind of emotions. While I am brimming with pride and anticipation for my daughter’s future, there’s an undeniable pang of bittersweet nostalgia as I watch her prepare to spread her wings and soar. It’s a delicate dance between rejoicing in her accomplishments and grappling with the inevitable tug of letting go.
As parents of seniors embarking on this journey together, let’s not forget to embrace every precious moment, to revel in the joy of this milestone, and to hold onto these memories tightly. For these remarkable seniors, with their courage, resilience, and unwavering determination are poised to leave an enduring mark on the world.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t express my deepest gratitude to all of you, our parents. Thank you for your partnership over the years and for your continued support. Together, we have provided our students with an exceptional educational experience.
With gratitude and respect,
Mica Buenning
Field Lights
We are exited to share that this spring work has begun for the installation of field lighting on the turf field and will benefit students involved in our schools athletics and activities programming. This project, funded by the 2018 capital improvement program, is designed to support the Jeffco Schools Equitable Start Times and will positively affect all 16 high schools within Jeffco Schools. Please take a moment to read this letter from Ralston Valley and Jeffco Schools to learn more.
SENIOR Parents and Graduates!!
Graduation Website
Graduation Website
Be sure to bookmark the Graduation Website and check it regularly to make sure that you are prepared to fully participate in the Graduation Ceremonies for the Class of 2024.
Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week - THANK YOU!
Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week - THANK YOU!
Thank you to our wonder PTSA and RVHS parents for providing an amazing lunch, treats and gift cards to to our staff.
To learn more about our amazing PTSA or if you are interested in joining please click here.
We would also like to extend a heartfelt "Thank you" to both Storyline Church for providing ice cream, and to Pacific Dental Services of Arvada for bagels and coffee.
We feel loved and appreciate all of the kindness and support.
Senior Sundaes at Meiklejohn
Meiklejohn Elementary invites the class of 2024 to Senior Sundaes on Tuesday, May 14th at 3:00 p.m., in the gazebo behind the Meiklejohn building. Ice cream sundaes will be served, and they are looking forward to seeing all of their former students.
Hazel Health
Hazel Health
Mental, social, and emotional wellness of students is a priority that we share with our community and one that we are addressing with layers of support including school counselors, social emotional learning specialists, school psychologists, social workers along with partnerships with outside agencies like Hazel Health.
This year, we continue our partnership with Hazel Health’s Telehealth services to provide a free telehealth extension of mental and physical health support for Jeffco students enrolled at district-managed schools accessed at home with a parent/guardian. Hazel Health will continue services over the summer.
Parents/guardians may access these services on behalf of your student by visiting this webpage and following the instructions for – Steps to Access Care.
Drop Off and Pick Up
Drop Off and Pick Up
It is a great time to remind everyone to be thoughtful of our neighbors during drop off and pick up. We must keep the right of way clear for emergency vehicles and through traffic. With only one road to enter and exit a building this size, with this many people, the roads at the school will always be congested. There are a few things we can do as a Ralston Valley community to help make these busy times of day run as smoothly as possible.
Main Entrance - Please be sure to pull as far forward as you can in the loop at the front of the school when dropping off or picking up your student. This helps to alleviate backups in the roundabout and get as many cars off of 80th Ave. as quickly as possible.
Roundabout - The roundabout is part of the road. Please do not park in the roundabout while waiting for dismissal time. This blocks the flow of eastbound traffic and prevents traffic exiting to the east from leaving campus as well. Please do not stop and pick up your student in the roundabout or on 80th Ave.
Fire Station - As traffic backs up on southbound Alkire, please be sure to leave room for our first responders to exit the firehouse safely and without obstruction. Do not block the exit of their garage.
82nd Ave. - Please pay attention to posted road signs along 82nd Ave. There are multiple speedbumps on 82nd Ave., making it necessary to go the speed limit or slower to ensure safe driving and prevent damage to your vehicle. There are also multiple No Parking signs along 82nd Ave. next to the school's property. Please do not park there to pick up your student.
Thank you for your continued diligence when driving in and around Ralston Valley.
activities
activities
A huge thank you to our PTSA for organizing and staffing After Prom this year at Urban Air! Thank you also to all of the parents who provided food, drinks, gift cards, and/or raffle items! We appreciate the work done to provide nearly 350 students with a safe place to have fun following prom! The students had a great time!
The Ralston Valley Unified Theater gave a great performance last night of "The Princess and the Pea". This was Mr. Thomas's final production with this group, and we wish him a happy retirement!
The Collage choir performance this week celebrated our graduating seniors and gave students the opportunity to showcase their skills in a variety of methods!
athletics
athletics
Tennis - The #1 Mustangs are bound for the State Championship match. Ralston Valley swept Rocky Mountain 7-0 in the semifinals. The task is now to take down the perennial tennis powerhouse #2 Cherry Creek in the finals of team State. In between these matches is the individual state tournament. As of the writing of this newsletter, six of the seven lines made it to the semifinals. Scarlett Lutz (3S), Adia Farling/Cassidy Gordon (1D), Kylie Engleking/Parker Lucas (2D), and Mataya Farling/Sofia Elola have won their semi-final match and qualified for the state final at their lines. Unbelievable season for Ralston Valley. Best of luck.
Soccer - The #5 seeded Mustangs won their playoff opener earlier this week 3-1 over Cherokee Trail. Raleigh Greason with a hat trick scored off of two separate corner kicks on direct goals. The Mustangs will take on a tricky Highlands Ranch team tonight at NAAC. With a win, the Mustangs will have a quick turnaround for a Monday quarterfinal at NAAC. Good Luck.
Swim and Dive - Powered by a deep team, led by Jeffco Swimmer of the Year, Ralston Valley won their third straight 5A League Title last weekend. The Mustangs won the meet by over 200 points and will forever be remembered as the last team to take the champion's plunge into Meyer's Pool. The historic swim center will be replaced over the summer and has officially held it's final meet. Congratulation!!
Girls Golf - The league season ended yesterday at Indian Tree. Ralston Valley finished second in the league standings. Addie Hines finished the top golfer for the Mustangs and was named first team all conference. The girls will be at West Woods on Tuesday for the 5A Western Regional. The top finishers will qualify for State.
Baseball - The Mustangs are finishing the season strong. Winners in six of their last seven games, they will play at Arvada West tomorrow morning at 11:00 for the Jeffco 5A League Tournament Championship. They have one make-up game next week and then will find out where they will be traveling for Regionals.
BLAX - Earned a victory in their playoff opener this week against Cherokee Trail. The 11-10 victory sends them to the second round for a match-up against Valor tomorrow night. The boys are hoping to pull the huge upset on the road. Good luck.
GLAX - The girls made the playoffs for the first time in over five seasons. They played really well at ThunderRidge on Wednesday, but the Grizzlies were too much. Lily Myhr had 13 saves in goal to cap off a great year in net. Congratulation on a great season.
Track and Field - In back to back seasons, the Mustangs can call themselves 5A League Champions of both the girls and boys Track and Field. Getting it done on the track, in the ring, and in the pits, the Mustangs outpaced a strong field. Ella Brooks set a school record in the shot put and in doing so is the first Jeffco Athlete to throw over 40 feet in the shot in more than a dozen years. Ella will enter state ranked number one in both the shot and discus throws. For the girls, this was their third straight title. Coach Vette and Coach Kinkley both were honored by their peers as Jeffco Coaches of the Year.
League MVP Luncheon
Wednesday, Jeffco Schools brought all of the League MVPs from the 2023-24 sports seasons together for the annual MVP Luncheon. It was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with so many great young women and men. Ralston Valley was represented well this year. Six separate Mustangs were recognized by the coaches of the Jeffco 5A Sports League as MVP of their respective sports, the most by any Jeffco school. This is a testament to their hard work as well as the hard work and support of their teammates and families.
Ryan Mann - B Soccer
Logan Madden - Football
Lincoln Gregersen - Wrestling
Lincoln Marschner - B Swim and Dive
Ella Brooks - Track and Field
Raleigh Greason - G Soccer
Hometown Ticketing - All Jeffco events have gone cashless this year. When attending games at our schools or stadiums, save yourself time by purchasing your tickets ahead of time by using the link below. You can also purchase punch passes to use for your entire family. Punch passes will save you money on processing fees.
off campus policy
off campus policy
Due to the nature of our campus, we do not allow students to walk off campus during the school day.
9th grade students are not allowed off campus at any point during the school day unless they leave with their parents/guardians.
If your 10th grade student is driving, they may leave campus with parental permission. They are expected to follow local and state driving laws. Please click on this FORM to give your sophomore child the ability to leave campus with your permission.
Our campus is not closed to our 11th and 12th grade students and they may leave campus.
Schedule for The week
Schedule for The week
May 13 - May 17, 2024
May 13 - May 17, 2024
Monday, May 13th - White Day with Assembly Schedule.
I.C.E. from 8:15 - 8:55 a.m.
Block 2 starts at 9:00 a.m.
Regular schedule resumes with the start of block 4/1st lunch at 11:40 a.m.
Tuesday, May 14th - Blue Day
Wednesday, May 15th - Silver Day
Thursday, May 16th - White Day
Friday, May 17th - Graduation Day @ CU Events Center - 10:30 a.m. (No school for 9th - 11th grades)
Counseling Department
Counseling Department
Jeffco Summer School
Jeffco Summer School
If students failed a course and need to make it up over the summer, Jeffco is offering free credit recovery at five different sites, including Arvada West HS and Jeffco Virtual Academy. Students must enroll for classes through Enroll Jeffco and classes will run from June 3-28. Click here for a flier.
Arvada Library Teen Volunteer Hours
Arvada Library Teen Volunteer Hours
The Arvada Library is offering teen volunteer hours on Saturday, May 18 from 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. Students can come for the full time or just for an hour. Click here for more information.
Red Cross Babysitter's Training
Red Cross Babysitter's Training
Rocky Mountain CPR & First Aid offers American Red Cross Babysitter's Training Courses for 11-16 year olds. Participants will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care safely and responsibly for children and infants. For traning dates and to register, click here.
Advisement Corner
Advisement Corner
Advisement
In 9th and 10th grade Advisement, students will have their Favorite Things Advisement Celebration on Wednesday, May 15th. We have also asked students to complete an end of the year survey. The purpose of this survey is to give student voice to the activities and lessons that are presented during Advisement.
*Please note that the last make-up Advisements classes will be offered Monday, May 13th at 3:40 - 4:20p.m. in L1101. This is offered for students who have missed more than four advisement classes.
ralston valley HAPPENINGS
ralston valley HAPPENINGS
Getting Ready for a Fiesta in Spanish Classes
Sra. Hayes's Spanish students made papel picado, a traditional Mexican decoration. In this unit, we are celebrating our families, complete with a fiesta next week. Of course we need muchas decoraciones!
Capstone for Honors Anatomy and Physiology
Honors Anatomy and Physiology students attended a cadaver lab at Red Rocks Community College. Students integrated information from body systems learned in class and pathology during this capstone experience.
French Students Earn Medals in National Exam
Shout out to Ms. Frie's French students who were top finishers in the Grand Concours, which is a national French exam! Congratulations to Lauren Sabus, Lucy Satre (silver medal), Giselle Mueller, Hannah Hubbard, Emma Johnson (silver medal), Natalie Cowgill, Sophia Kalkhorst, Tyler Jensen, Cohen Satre (gold medal), Gracie Clapper, Olivia Fulle (silver medal), Kate Garamy, Karmen You, Charlie Ousterhout, Jackson Prew, Lukas Maxey, and Eclipse McFatridge. Great job!
Chemistry Classes Wrap Up Unit
To wrap up their unit on acid-base chemistry, students made tie dyed shirts. The dye used in this process is fiber reactive. Cotton is made up of cellulose fibers. The shirts were soaked in a solution that removes ions (charged particles) from the fibers making the cotton fibers negatively charged. The dye solutions are positively charged and so when the dye is added it will bind more tightly to the fiber and resist washing out over time. The dye solution and t-shirt preparation and the interactions between the dye molecules and cellulose fibers in the cotton are exemplars of acid base chemistry. The results were colorful and beautiful!
Mr. Lowrey's Physics class perform a shock lab with waves on a string in order to understand how the same principles of waves work for musical string instruments.
Tenth grade Biology and Honors Biology students in a dissection lab of a fetal pig.
Administration
Administration
Principal - Ms. Buenning, (303) 982-5600
9th Asst Principal - Ms. Nigut, (303) 982-5101
10th Asst Principal - Ms. Abrams, (303) 982-9463
11th Asst Principal - Mr. Ackerman (303) 982-5595
12th Asst Principal - Mr. Litzau, (303) 982-5611
Athletics Director - Mr. Pergola, (303) 982-5604
Dean - Mr. Duplice, (303) 982-8274
Important Links
Important Links
Page updated
Report abuse