Rebecca Jorgensen has been teaching for 27 years and is the 7-12 Art teacher here at SV. Her main inspiration for becoming an art teacher came from her mom and her grandmother because they were both artists. Mrs. J says that she doesn’t have a specific “favorite” project, she just likes seeing the “lightbulb” go off in the students' heads. She also helps direct one act and is the junior class sponsor. Mrs. J enjoyed acting in the plays when she was in high school and she was always asked to help make the set when she became a teacher. Her favorite part of one act is all the inside jokes that the actors have and how much fun they have performing. Mrs. J is married to superintendent, Mr. Jorgenson. They have three children - Brooke and Brianna who are SV alumni, and Bennet who is a current sophomore at SV.
Justin Adams has now been involved with Southern Valley as a teacher and a coach for almost six years. He currently teaches 8th-grade American history, 7th-grade ancient world history, and Google Suites. He has been the head football coach for the last four years, after spending his first two as an assistant. He has also assisted with girls' basketball and track. Mr. Adams’s wife, Amanda, and his two kids, Jackson (10th grade) and Payton (9th grade) are also very involved with SV athletics and activities. Mr. Adams says it can be difficult to balance all the activities his family is involved in, but they try to make it a point of emphasis to spend time together on the off chance that they aren’t busy. His favorite part of what he does is watching kids learn and grow.
Congratulations to SV art student, Camila Hudson, who will be participating in Hastings College's Open Space program this summer! This art immersion program held at the College’s Jackson Dinsdale Art Center in June includes an art scholarship for attending Hastings College.
Ms. Eman has taught high school math for six years, but this is her first year teaching at SV. She was inspired to start teaching when she was working in a daycare teaching preschool kids. It was there that she realized she liked teaching, but not so much teaching preschool kids. She decided high school math was the route for her. Her favorite part about teaching is when a student finally understands something and you can see that light bulb go off in their head. She makes math more engaging for the students by using some technology to keep kids engaged and by making it a little bit more related for her students. Ms. Eman was a 2010 Southern Valley High School graduate.
Lacy Rice is Southern Valley’s second grade teacher who has all of her four children enrolled at SV. Mrs. Rice is a Southern Valley graduate, she has been working for Southern Valley for the last five years. She made this decision because this is where she originated and she feels she gets along with everyone very well. One of her key focuses is making sure her students are doing well in the classroom and at home. She often checks in with her students and wants all of her student to feel welcomed. Thank you, Mrs. Rice for your commitment to our school.
Order of events for the Southern Valley JH Track meet to be hold tomorrow, Monday, May 12.
Jordyn DeVries has been working at Southern Valley for two years as a kindergarten teacher. Her favorite part about teaching is watching students’ growth through the beginning of the year to the end of the school year. She also likes that kindergarteners are just fun. Mrs. DeVries is thankful to have had very kind and supportive co-workers while at SV. She will be continuing her journey as an educator at Holdrege Elementary School next fall. She is married to her husband, Calvin, and she has a son named Bennett who just turned one.
Here is what is happening at Southern Valley this week. Please note that Field Day is on Friday this week after it was postponed last week. Have a great week SV Nation!!
Mrs. Stalder is the elementary music teacher and high school choir teacher. She has worked at Southern Valley for 11 years and went to Kansas State for band and choir in college. Mrs. Stalder says the most important skills for students to develop when it comes to singing are being confident, being able to sing out, and deciphering between different styles of music. She motivates students through various kinds of music from educational to popular songs. She also uses different singing and listening activities along with some entertaining games to keep students engaged in lessons and practices. One of her most memorable performances was last year's concert on fine arts night, or the Disney-themed concert she did with the elementary students. We're all grateful for the hard work and dedication of Mrs. Stalder each year.
Tina Brown is both a resource teacher and the unified bowling coach at Southern Valley. She also helps out with the kids club after school every Wednesday night. The main factors that make her job enjoyable include the kids, her coworkers, and the administration. Even though she has been here for 28 years, she did not always want to work in a school system. She wanted to be a vet, but eventually changed her mind, leading her to do what she does now. She did incorporate animals into her current job, as her room is filled with all sorts of cool different pets. Mrs. Brown is married to Todd Brown who serves on the Southern Valley school board. The couple have two sons who have both graduated from Southern Valley.
Southern Valley held their commencement exercises today to celebrate the Class of 2025. We want to extend our best wishes to these 28 students as they are now officially alumni of Southern Valley Schools. Go do great things!!
Mrs. Bose is one of the junior high/high school math teachers at Southern Valley. She has taught at Southern Valley for 20 years and had taught in Orleans for 9 years before the schools consolidated. Her favorite part of being a teacher is watching the kids learn, seeing their reactions, and having them understand what she teaches. She sees her teaching style as structured and disciplinary, in her own words, very black and white. “That's why I like math because there's a right answer. There's no gray area.” In order to foster a positive and inclusive learning environment in her classroom, Mrs. Bose allows students to communicate with each other during practice time and makes sure that they feel comfortable with giving wrong answers. Mrs. Bose became a teacher because she wanted to be a coach, but quickly realized that teaching was just as fun as coaching for her. She also has a daughter, Tori Bose, who attends Southern Valley as a junior. Mrs. Bose is a wonderful math teacher, and we are all grateful for what she's managed to teach us in these past 20 years.
Southern Valley Schools Senior Graduation 2025 is live streamed at https://www.sveagles.info/live and on our Hudl fan app.
First grade had an amazing time on their field trip to the Harlan County Dam. We sure love exploring and learning new things!
The PBIS team would like to say a big thank you to all of the teachers here at SV that continue to help student's SOAR in many ways. To wrap up teacher appreciation week, teachers got some delicious treats! Special thanks goes to Emily White for putting it all together for us!
Chelsey Sutton is one of Southern Valley’s fourth grade teachers. This is her seventeenth year teaching, but her second year at SV. As a teacher, she makes sure to have communication between kids and their families to make it a more healthy and comfortable environment. The only thing Mrs. Sutton would change about her job is how much she is required to teach the kids online instead of letting them experience hands-on activities that are fun for the kids. Mrs. Sutton believes the location and communities that surround Southern Valley is what makes the school special.
Ali McCord has been at Southern Valley for eight years. She has taught a variety of subjects over the years but she is currently teaching 5th and 6th grade Math. Mrs. McCord said that her favorite part of her job is figuring out how to teach something so that it makes sense for her students. If Mrs. McCord wasn’t a teacher, she would be a coffee shop owner just for fun. The thing that most inspired her to be a teacher was when she was in college as a business major she did volunteer hours in a Children’s Museum. She spent most of her volunteer hours helping with the museum’s preschool classes. Mrs. McCord said “I loved watching their little brains work and watching them figure it out. It was just so awesome to see them learn and grow, so right after that I switched my major to teaching.” Ali McCord is married with two daughters, one in kindergarten and one in preschool.
Dexter Becker coaches JH wrestling, JH Track, and is a HS assistant football coach. He also teaches 5 weight classes, a health class, and 2 PE classes. Dexter has been coaching wrestling for six years, but is now a former HS wrestling coach to spend more time with his three young kids. Rudy Glur, Becker's high school wrestling coach, played a big role in shaping his skills and mindset. Through his guidance and mentorship, Glur inspired Becker to pursue his own path as a coach, following in Glur's footsteps to impact future athletes. His favorite part of coaching is watching kids develop into better athletes. Becker says, “It's tough to stay motivated throughout the school year because I do a lot of farming.” But he stays positive by telling himself that he's here for more than himself. He's here to help kids get better and help them grow. Mr. Becker has three children and another on the way!
Pictures from the SV track meet at Alma today! Great job girls for getting 2nd and for Adi breaking 3 meeting records. Up next, districts at Kearney Catholic.
Mr. York teaches 9-12 business, FBLA, and runs Joe’s Snack Shack. He has been teaching for 23 years total and has been teaching at SV for 12 years. He was inspired to become a business teacher by his Junior High and High School History teacher in Wyoming. The most rewarding thing for him is when the students come to visit him after they graduate. Some challenges he faces are Mondays. He says they are very hectic because he has to worry about getting in orders for the concession stand. Mr. York uses Facebook and other similar apps to stay current with the latest trends and developments in the business world. He believes the skills and qualities that are important for students to develop are that students are able to function well in both personal finance and business classes, so they can be successful and make the correct decisions in their own lives. He enjoys it when the students help him out with the concession stand and when his FBLA students do well.
