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.
Southern Valley girls runner up at the Dale Harsin Invite in Alma. Adi Hunt was female athlete of the meet winning 3 races and setting 3 meet records.
The golf team had their best performance of the year at the Dennis Knipping Invitational. They shot a 369 and ended up with 3 individual medalist. Tylor Grove (87) placed 5th, Xander Sherwood (90) 13th, and Jace Hammond (90) 14th.
Holly Hunt has been teaching at Southern Valley for five years. She teaches 3rd grade math, reading, science, and spelling. Her favorite thing about teaching is that she can get to know all the kids and watch them grow throughout the year in their confidence. What she likes most about her job is that she gets to be surrounded by amazing colleagues who all want kids to do well. Mrs. Hunt is married to SV alumni, Samuel Hunt. They have two daughters.
It is the last day of school for the Class of 2025. Hayden Taylor is the last man standing in our Salute to the Seniors series. Please join us in congratulating Hayden and wishing him the best as he graduates from Southern Valley. Way to go Hayden!!
Having been encouraged to study music by her band teacher, Ms. Hofaker had pursued her love of music in college. She went to UNK with a major in Music Education: Pre K-12 Vocal, Instrumental and Vocal as she continued to work towards her passion. As a band teacher, Ms. Hofaker believes that high school students can use band as an outlet for self-expression and that it is important to our culture as band music has brought the community together for years. In addition, band can develop skills such as multitasking, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, reading, hearing, and team skills. Ms. Hofaker’s plan for the future of the band program at Southern Valley is to add a jazz band, to take students to districts, marching band competitions, and to band-related trips.
Mrs. Gina Ellis has been teaching at Southern Valley for 34 years. She was originally going to get into the SPED department, but started off as a 1st grade teacher. In her more recent years, she has taught upper elementary. Mrs. Ellis wants all of her students to learn how they learn best whether that means sitting somewhere specific or working in groups. She says that the hardest part of her job is that every day is a new day and it is challenging to make split second decisions. Mrs. Ellis retired at the end of 2023, but came out of retirement for one year to come back for the 24-25 school year. She looks forward to heading back into retirement after the end of this school year. Her husband, Ben, is the principal in Arapahoe and all three of her children are SV graduates.
Dani Schultz has been teaching at Southern Valley for 8 years, but she previously worked as a substitute before that. She has a strong background in early childhood education, working previously as a paraeducator, center director, and teacher at different schools. Her love for teaching started in college where she first studied family education, but she decided her real calling was in teaching young children. She loves building close relationships with her students and helping them learn and grow through play and exploration. Her teaching focuses on building social and emotional skills and helping children learn to share, take turns, and solve conflicts. She handles challenging behavior with positive reinforcement, teaching children to manage emotions and work through problems. She carefully plans lessons around letters and themes each week but is flexible, adjusting activities to meet her students’ needs. She also has two children that go to Southern Valley, Mikah and Maddex Schultz. Mikah is a Sophomore and Maddex is in 6th grade. Dani Schultz has helped so many kids grow into the beautiful people they are today!
Meet information for the track meet to be held at Alma tomorrow, Thursday, May 8.
Happy Wednesday SV Nation. Today we celebrate Abby Byrd in our Class of 2025 series. Please join us in wishing Abby the best of luck as she finishes her High School career. Way to go Abby!!
This is Ms. Allison Railsback's first year teaching at Southern Valley. She had previously taught in Kansas for four years. Ms. Railsback graduated from Fort Hays State University with her bachelor's and master's degree. "I became a teacher because it was in my blood." Ms. Railsback's mother is a teacher and her brother is an ag teacher as well. "Being an ag teacher and FFA advisor means guiding students to learn about agriculture, build leadership skills, and engage in their community." Ms. Railsback loves to see her students succeed in both agriculture and FFA.
Tonight was the SV FFA Banquet. Thank you seniors for your dedication to the program! Great job all!
JH track had a good afternoon @ Cambridge. They finish their season next Monday, May 12 at the SV Invite starting at 1:00 pm. Come on out and watch our squad compete at their final meet.
