Principal’s Message
The Mission and Ministry of MVL
We have much for which we can be thankful this year at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School. We have a great group of students enrolled this year. Our faculty and staff are working diligently on behalf of our students. Our parents and Board of Directors have continued to be incredibly supportive. We will proudly graduate a class of 43 seniors this spring. At the time of this writing, we have 73 freshmen enrolled for the 2023-24 school year. The possibility does exist that we could add another 5-10 new students. What incredible blessings!
When everything is going well, whether it’s here at MVL or in our personal lives, we sometimes forget that our Lord is the source of all these blessings and we’ve done nothing to earn or deserve it.
Let’s just take a moment and focus on the real reason for the existence of MVL. We find that in the mission statement “training students for Christian lives on earth and for eternity.” Based on our mission, our purpose is ready our students to be responsible and contributing members of society when they graduate from MVL. That means we want to offer a high quality Christian education to our students we serve. Yet, even that portion of the mission statement pales in comparison to the second part of that portion of our mission: “training students …for eternity.” All of our teachers at MVL want nothing better for our students than to one day see them in heaven. That’s our goal and our mission. That’s the difference between thinking of MVL as just a school, rather than a ministry. Each day, we get to share Jesus with our students without fear of reprisal from other teachers or our students. That’s why our students attend MVL – to learn more about Jesus! What an incredible blessing!
Yes, we are greatly blessed this year and have been for many, many years. Yet, we look to Jesus and say “Thank you, Lord, for all you’ve done for us!”
Christ Our Conqueror
Senior Photos Needed!
The MVL yearbook needs your senior photo. Please reserve good judgment for apparel and poses. These photos do not need to be professional photos. All photos are subject to review by the yearbook committee. The deadline for senior photos was March 31, 2023.
Junior/Senior Prom
This year’s prom will be held at Turner Hall. The theme this year is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Grand March will begin at 7:30 PM. All are welcome to come and watch our students walk across the stage in their beautiful dresses and handsome suits/tuxedos and dream of warmer days!
History Tour Payments through FACTS
Those participating in the History Tour saw the fee billed to their Family FACTS account in November. You are now able to see an ongoing balance and also make online payments when it is convenient for you and your budget. The hope is that most will be making monthly, or at least regular payments, toward their History Tour trip. All funds do need to be paid prior to trip departure. These funds do not come out automatically. You do have to go on your Family FACTS account and make payments manually for the History Tour trip. To do this you would choose the “Make a Payment” button. The next screen you will see “Select a Term to Pay”. At the bottom of the selections there is a button that says “Other Amount”. Select this and you will now see the option to pay on any amount you still have due, the History Tour being one of them. It will ask you the amount you wish to pay. Follow prompts to complete the transaction. As in the past, if you prefer to pay by cash or check at school, please have your student bring the money to the financial office. A receipt will be sent home as documentation for your records. Note: When sending cash or check to school, it may take a day or two to show up on your family FACTS portal, as the payment will have to be entered manually.
Music Groups Earn Superior Ratings
On Wednesday, March 15, our A Cappella Choir and Symphonic Band once again earned Superior ratings at the MSHSL Large Group Music Contest at Comfrey High School. Both groups performed extremely well and are to be commended for their work!
Important Immunization Information for Juniors
Minnesota law requires that all students get vaccinated against certain diseases or have a legal exemption on file. A new requirement is that students entering 12th grade need to have documentation or a legal exemption for the booster dose of meningococcal vaccine. (Most students received the initial dose of this vaccine when they entered 7th grade).
Please schedule an appointment with your child’s health care provider to get this vaccine, or sign a legal exemption in front of a notary and return the form to the school office.
For a current copy of your teen’s vaccination record, you may contact me at school to print one off for you or call the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection (MIC) at 651-201-3980.
For more information on meningococcal disease, go to www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/meningococcal/basics.html on the Minnesota Department of Health website.
If you need exemption information, the information form is available at www.health.state.mn.us/people/immunize/basics/imzform.pdf.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 507-354-6851 or email at estark@mvlhs.org.
Elen Stark, Licensed School Nurse.
Tissues Needed
Spring allergy season is almost upon us. Our supply of tissues may not last until the end of the school year. If you are able to, please buy a couple of boxes of kleenex and send them to school with your students. It would really help! Many thanks!
A Note from Mr. Schoenherr:
Recently, I was extended a Divine Call to serve as instructor and athletic director at East Fork Lutheran School in Arizona. After much prayerful consideration about my Call to East Fork, my Call at MVL and my wife, Carol’s Call at St. Paul’s, New Ulm, the Holy Spirit led me to return the Call to East Fork Lutheran. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for all the kind thoughts and prayers said on my behalf by members of the MVL association as I deliberated the Call. I humbly ask for your continued prayers as I carry on my teaching and coaching duties here at MVL. Please also join me in praying that the Lord fill the vacancy at East Fork, that the ministry of sharing the amazing message of God’s grace with His lambs may continue at both schools.
Yours in Christ,
Jeff Schoenherr
Palmer Bus Service News: Stop-arm and interior cameras installed on School Buses
Palmer Bus Service (PBS) has been servicing Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School with busing for the past 20-plus years. The number one purpose for PBS is to transport MVL students safely to and from the various communities that provide students to MVL. Our main safety tool has been our drivers here at MVL. Several have been driving for MVL even before PBS started. We have a great bunch of dedicated and safety conscious drivers, driving both routes and for various activities.
This past year, PBS added another safety tool to all of the buses at MVL, as well as to the other 26 school districts that PBS services. That tool was Stop-Arm and interior cameras to all of their buses. The safety of school-age students attending schools in Minnesota has been a big concern with the transportation of these students. In the past several years, the State of Minnesota has made funds available to assist school districts and school bus contractors to install Stop-Arm and interior cameras into school buses.
Minnesota state law under section 169.443, subdivision 2, requires all drivers to stop at least 20 feet away from any bus that has its red lights activated and the stop arm extended on undivided roadways. This law pertains not only to drivers who are approaching the bus from behind the bus, but also from the front of the bus. There has been an increasing number of drivers who have been driving through the stop arm when a bus is stopped with its red lights flashing and the stop-arm extended throughout Minnesota. The cameras are on whenever the bus is running and the drivers are able to mark the video by just hitting a button on the dash board so that finding the location on the video is easy. The cameras capture any driver that violates this law and aides in citations being given to the violators. Motorists who violate the law pertaining to the safety of school children face a $500.00 fine for this violation. PBS will continue to use the tools available to them so that transporting the students safely can be done throughout the year.
Year End Sacred Concert
MVL’s annual Year-End Sacred concert will feature music performed by the A Capella Choir and Chargaliers. The music will include highlights from the year gone by as well as a few new selections. This year’s event is hosted by Bethany Lutheran College and will be presented at 3:00 and 7:00 PM in their Trinity Chapel.
Due to a limited capacity, we are asking you to follow the link provided to reserve your tickets (free) ahead of time. Walk-ins will be let in as space is available. Parents and alumni are encouraged to attend the later concert while other community and church members are encouraged to come to the earlier performance.
http://minnesotavalleylutheranhs.ticketleap.com/mvl-choir-year-end-sacred-concert/
Here are a variety of facts that may be of interest to you. Graduation Day is Sunday, May 29. The service will begin at 2:00 p.m.
Each family may lay claim to eight seats in the reserved section on the main floor of the gymnasium. Extra guests and family may have to sit behind the reserved section or on the bleachers, either on the main floor or on the stage. Please note that, at 1:45 p.m., those previously reserved seats will become open for general seating. As we’ve done the past few years, no “tickets” will be distributed. We trust that families will limit their seats to eight per graduate.
Gowns will be handed out in April. Follow the directions that come with the gowns to insure that they look good for graduation.
Cords and/or gold tassels will need to be picked up on the day of graduation. Cords are awarded to those achieving a GPA of 3.84 or higher. Gold tassels are awarded to those achieving a GPA of 3.5 – 3.84. Final grades of the senior class will determine those receiving these honors. Cords and tassels belong to the graduate. Stoles are the property of the NHS chapter and must be returned to school this summer. NHS stoles will need to be picked up on that day as well, unless other arrangements have already been made.
As a gift to each senior, MVL will provide each graduate with a group picture of the class taken that day by Lifetouch Photography. Those pictures will be mailed out later in the summer. We will take the group picture at 12:55 p.m. so your senior needs to be here no later than 12:40 p.m. to get robed and ready and be in the gym by 12:55 p.m.
We encourage the seniors to remember that their high school graduation is a worship service. We are confident that their manner of dress and their actions during their graduation service will reflect that fact. Please speak with your senior and encourage them to let his/her light shine in this way.
Join the MVL Drama Department as they present the timeless story of the fast-talking salesman, Harold Hill, who cons the good folks of River City, IA into believing that he can teach their children to play in a marching band. Before the fraudulent teacher can skip town with the loot, Harold’s got trouble when he falls for the quick-witted, not to mention beautiful, small town librarian, Marian. A slice of Americana you won’t want to miss!
Showtimes will be Friday and Saturday, May 5 & 6 at 7 PM, and Sunday, May 7 at 2 PM. All performances will be held at State Street Theater Co in New Ulm. Tickets are $4 and $6 and may be purchased at the door. Come join the fun!
2023-2024 School Year
The 2023-2024 Academic calendar has been posted on our MVL website under the Academics tab. We are hoping that an early release of this schedule will help you prepare for next school year and the scheduling of vacations and doctors’ appointments.
2023-2024 Reenrollment
A reenrollment email from FACTS should have been sent to you for reenrollment for the 2023-2024 school year. Follow the link in that email and check through your enrollment information and make any changes necessary. The reenrollment was due by March 15.
2023-2024 Payment Plan Information
During your enrollment, you will be asked to set up a payment plan to complete enrollment. Do your best to set this up, but please know we will be able to make changes prior to school starting, or if your situation changes. If you will be paying in full, or by check or cash at school, please check the “invoice” button under the “Pay in full” option. This will let you bypass entering banking information. You will be asked to pay a $50 registration fee for each child at this time. If you choose to pay in full, with one installment, the $50 fee will be credited back to your account after the payment is made. If you choose to pay in two installments, you will receive a tuition credit of $30 after the second installment is paid.
A few reminders for online payments:
Please remember to log onto your Family FACTS portal when making incidental payments or paying tuition. When you do this, you will see your payment post immediately to your account. If you log onto the general FACTS site to make a payment, that will have to be manually applied. Since FACTS holds the funds for a week before releasing them to MVL, it will take about two weeks until you see your account credited if you pay this way.
If you need to make a change to your payment date, please contact the financial office at least three days ahead of the scheduled payment to make sure it can be completed.
If you need to make a payment change that you are unable to complete yourself, please call or email the financial office for help.
If you have any questions, or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact Deb Kuck at (507)233-8656 or financial@mvlhs.org.
Lunch Payments
To make an online lunch payment please go to the mvl.org site, click on “Student Life or Parent Resources”, and then choose the dropdown “Lunch Program”. When making the payment, make certain to indicate first and last name of the student the lunch money is to be applied. Please note that it may take a day or two for the payment to show up on your child’s lunch account.
Tuition Assistance Program
Tuition Assistance for the 2023-2024 school year will be done through FACTS. To get to the online application, go to www.mvl.org and click on Apply to MVL. The deadline for submission of the application is May 15. If you have any questions about the online process, please contact the MVL office.
2023-2024 Additional Educational Opportunities
MVL offers online courses, PSEO, and Career Technical Education(CTE) options. Two new Project Lead the Way(PLTW) courses, Engineering Essentials and Computer Science Essentials, will also be offered for the first time in the 2023-2024 school year. If your student is interested in participating in any of these opportunities, please see the MVL Course of Study website for more information https://mvl.org/academics/course-of-study-handbook/
Congratulations!
The Math Team competed at the State Tournament on March 13th. We had a full day of various activities such as listening to Po-Shen Loh talk about the impact of ChatGPT, watching the top 10 individuals compete in the Math Bowl, and finally competing in the AA tournament where we took 6th place. It was a fun day and a truly exciting season. Both our division and section were decided by only 1 point over the course of a 5-meet season. Each meet has a possibility of 136 points, so having this tight of a back and forth battle over the course of the season doesn’t happen too often. It was really something to see the team work hard and come out on top of Mankato West. MVL also had 5 individuals place in the top 10 of the division. This is essentially the same thing as achieving all-conference in another sport. Bethany Spike – 2nd, Josh Carlovsky – 4th, Jack Kom – 6th, Isaiah Rogotzke – 7th, Henry Manthe – 8th
Career Expo
The sophomore class attended the New Ulm Area Career Expo during the afternoon of Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the New Ulm High School. This event provided attendees with the opportunity to explore a variety of hand-on activities regarding a variety of careers. It also gave students a setting in which they could ask local professionals about potential vocations and the education required for specific jobs. Any questions about the Career Expo can be directed to Mr. Smith at tjsmith@mvlhs.org.
Senior Scholarship Recognition
Per tradition, MVL will recognize the variety of scholarships that have been awarded to our seniors in a special lyceum that will be held on Wednesday, May 17th in the MVL gymnasium. Friends and relatives are invited to join the MVL student body for chapel beginning at 9:38 a.m., with the presentation of scholarships to follow. Members of the Senior Class will be given a form at the end of April to identify the various scholarships they have received. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Smith via email at tjsmith@mvlhs.org or via telephone at 507.233.8685.
The Booster Club board will have some positions up for election in August. If you’d like to be involved with this organization that supports MVL students’ activities, please contact President Adam Schmidt or Secretary Linda Kramer.
MVL New Athlete Weight Room Safety Certification
June 11th, 5-7 PM
All students who intend to participate in MVL Athletics NEED to be weight-room safety certified. If you haven’t already been certified, please plan on attending the certification class on Sunday, June 11th from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM at MVL. With summer sports workouts beginning in June, students new to MVL will want to attend so they can utilize the weight room during these workouts.
New attendees for the BFS Summer Strength and Conditioning Program can also attend the June 11th certification if they aren’t able to attend the certification offered on July 10, 12 & 13.
Please contact Kirk Schauland (kschauland@mvlhs.org) with any questions.
The groundhog was right this year. We had 6 more weeks of winter, but now it just seems to be hanging around for a while. While we wait and pray for the weather to make a turn for the better our students are preparing like its spring and they are ready to go. Over the course of time, we’ve seen spring come early only to get dumped on with snow. It was only a few years ago we got one baseball and softball game in early April then canceled the next three weeks’ worth of games, meets and matches. So, we went back inside to practice until the fields were ready again. God has a plan and at least the moisture has been restored to the earth.
As this snow melts and the moisture return to the ground, you’ll see a lot of black dirt hiding under that snow and even what looks like softball infields. Many thanks to the Holtmeiers for all the time, effort and labor they donated to help us relocate the softball fields away from the highway wall and closer to school. They also added a much thicker layer of black dirt inside the track on the practice football field. Quite a bit was done on the other side of the swamp last fall and is slowly emerging this spring. More work will be done over the spring and summer to get those fields and spaces completed.
Boys Basketball
What an exciting season and a long hard-fought playoff run. I can’t think of a better way to pass the time of Old Man Winter than indoors watching our Chargers play a few games each night. A big thank you from the team! It was awesome to see the excitement in people’s eyes as they bought their presale tickets and hear the loud cheers as baskets were scored. The guys said they could only remember when they were younger watching earlier teams playing at St. Peter High School, Gustavus and the Taylor Center and how exciting it was. When we were in the locker room for the section championship game I overheard one of them say, “This is the biggest game of our lives.” I just smiled and said, “Enjoy it guys and create some more memories.” This was a season to remember. To God give the glory.
Congratulations to Ben Pearson for being named to the Tomahawk Conference All Conference team and being name Tri-Conference Player of the Year. Ben also was recognized by the New Ulm Journal as First Team All Journal, Cole Thompson was named to the Tomahawk Conference Honorable Mention Team and was also selected All Journal Third Team. Kyler Flunker was name to the All Journal Honorable Mention Team.
Baseball
MVL is happy to have Mr. Nickolas Doeckett as MVL’s head baseball coach. Coach Doeckett hails to us from St. Paul’s in Arlington. He graduated from Sibley East High School where he played baseball all four years. He is also a member of the Arlington A’s baseball team.
Our team started throwing on March 13 in the mornings before school and now has started working on their fielding and hitting skills. While the team is eager to get outside, we’ll keep honing our skills indoors…
We have 18 players this spring. With those numbers and the pitch counts we can’t play a varsity and JV game at the same time. It was decided to drop the “Official JV Schedule”. So, in cooperation with some of our opponents, we have come up with combination Varsity and JV schedule. The varsity will play first followed by the JV team. Those JV games can be anywhere from 3-5 innings.
Softball
MVL was without a softball coach until a month before the first practice when MVL alum Katie Scherer stepped up and said she would take it over this year. Katie is no stranger to MVL or softball. Katie played all four years of high school, four years at MLC, and also assisted Coach Barb Leopold for two years. Katie has a special love for MVL and a heart to show others the value of coaching and life.
Our softball team consists of 12 girls. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough girls come out to make up a varsity and JV team so we’ll just play a varsity schedule except when we play BLHS. They only have very young girls and will play a JV schedule all season, but we have decided to play their girls in a doubleheader that day and give our younger girls some experience and more opportunities to play.
Schedule and Schedule Changes
If you would like up to the minute game, match or meet changes, there is an app that you may download and is tied into our calendar. In the app store download the Activity Scheduler app. It looks like a light blue baseball cap with the letters “rS” on the front. Then set it up for our school. You will need to know we are members of the Tomahawk Conference.
How you can help
The Capital Campaign Committee is seeking 100% participation from its members through a monetary gift or supporting the campaign through prayer. Both options can be completed on a pledge form or logging on to MVL’s website at www.mvl.org and navigate to Support MVL, then Capital Campaign to donate a tax-deductible gift.
MVL Bowl-A-Thon
On Tuesday, March 21, the MVL student body took place in a Bowl-A-Thon “fun”draiser for the Building on the Rock campaign. Students were transported to Concordia Lanes in New Ulm throughout the school day. Once at the bowling alley, the students could bowl up to two games with their classmates/friends. The students had an absolute blast!
The MVL students were able to raise very close to $30,000 in pledges/donations. Almost 200 people helped donate to the event, in retrospect, to the Building on the Rock campaign. This is absolutely amazing! MVL is incredibly blessed through these acts of kindness and generosity. Thank you so much! The top 3 students to collect donations will be awarded the following prizes: 1st Place (Ella Buessman) receives a 45-minute private flight/lesson for 3 from North Star Aviation, Kyle Smith. 2nd Place (Leah Kuehl) 30-minute flight for 3. 3rd Place (Macord Lindstrom) 20-minute flight for 3. The class that raised the most funds will receive a pizza party. The freshman class won that prize by raising almost $10,000 with almost 50% class participation.
I want to add a special thank you to our host/sponsor Concordia Lanes and prize donor/sponsor North Star Aviation. Here is a list of other sponsors ($500 or more donation) for the event: Nate Bode, Tim/Renee Oakland, Bruce/Melissa Beussman, Ken/Sherry Groebner, Jeff/Connie Majeski, Alisha Schuch, Steven/Valerie Pearson, Brian/Jill Henderson, Gary/Lorraine Lindstrom, Dan Peterson, Joe/Beth Holtmeier, Kyle Smith, and Bryan Bode.
Here is a list of businesses who participated as sponsors or donors also: High Point Farms, New Ulm Pizza Ranch, New Ulm Dental, Purposeful Media, Autotronics, Joy and Grace Customs, Plumb Rite Plumbing, MV Aviation, Tailwind Group, and Mechanical Resources.
A special thank you also to: Ms. Sarah Allee for promotional work, Mr. Mark Smith and Mrs. Valerie Holzhueter for assisting in organizing the event, Palmer Busing for transportation, the MVL Faculty/chaperones for their flexibility, the MVL students for their excitement for the event, and again all of you who help support this legacy campaign, Building on the Rock.
