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Principal’s Message
Dear Friends of Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School:
Did you know that Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School sits on a bed of an incredibly hard quartzite rock? There are locations on campus where this quartzite is exposed above the soil. This is the actual rock on which the physical foundation of MVL is built. The spiritual foundation on which this school was built more than forty years ago is God’s Word. Our Lord shared the importance of building a house on a rock as compared to sand:
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7: 24-27
Those leaders who established MVL realized the importance of providing an education that trained its students for life in this world and the next. More than forty years later we are still “training students for Christian lives on earth and for eternity.”
It is on this principle that our Capital Campaign and Building Project stand. Thus, the title: “Building on the Rock.” The addition of new science classrooms, the field house and convening area and the fine arts center will all provide our students many opportunities to praise our Lord through work in the classroom, on the stage and on the court. We want to provide our young people with a foundation of faith that will serve them for the rest of their lives!
Yet, we cannot do it without you. The total estimated cost of this project is $11.8 million. At present, we have received $3,910,259 in gifts, commitments and pledges. There is still plenty of time for you to get involved. Whether it’s a gift or a commitment for the next five years, we are asking for your financial support. Most importantly, would you please pray for Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School? Ask God to bless the work of those involved with the campaign and the building process. Ask our Lord to continue to grow and increase the size of our student body so that more young people can learn about Jesus.
It is our prayer that these new facilities will be a blessing to teachers and students who use them on a daily basis, as well as the visitors and potential families who view this addition as a desire to provide the best high-quality Christian education we can for the students entrusted to our care.
It is our hope and prayer that you will support this endeavor. To God be the glory!
We will be hosting our Open House event on the evening of Tuesday, March 14 starting at 6:30 p.m. That evening, we will offer tours of our school, a session for parents and students on our mission, academics and activities, and an opportunity to register for the 2023-24 school year. Parents and students of new 9th-12th grade students are invited and encouraged to attend.
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!
Updates at MVL
- Miranda Maasz has accepted our call to teach social studies next year.
- Mr. Evan Vant Hul has been permanently assigned to MVL to teach science.
- The Board will continue to call for a pastor to teach religion. If no pastor accepts our call, then Mr. Koepsell will return in 2023-24 to teach junior and senior religion.
- We are still working on the positions for English for next year.
- Mr. and Mrs. Schoenherr have received calls to teach on the Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. Please keep them in your prayers.
- We are now able to offer Virtual Learning Days as an alternative to snow days.
- The Board has approved the addition of Project Lead the Way to our curriculum. More information on this exciting addition to our curriculum will be shared later in this issue.
- Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, MVL will partner with interested schools to offer FFA to our students in their home school districts.
- God willing, construction will restart on Highway 14 in the month of April.
- This summer, work will be completed on our new septic system and our new boiler system will be installed.
- MVL recently received a $2700 grant from the New Ulm Hub Club to help fund an outdoor classroom and garden on the hill above MVL. Besides wildflowers, the plan is to plant and harvest various vegetables to be used in our food service program.
- As of this writing, 30 new students have enrolled for next year. Continue to encourage families to take advantage of the Christian secondary education we offer at MVL!
As you can see, there are so many blessings for which we can be thankful!
Project Lead the Way Update
As part of our last accreditation visit, one of the main thoughts that came out was that MVL needs to improve the ways in which we meet the needs of diverse learners. Since then, we’ve offered a Certified Nursing Assistant Program with Oak Hills Living Center. This year, we began a partnership with New Ulm High School to offer hands on classes (woodworking, small engine repair, welding, etc.) at the Career Technical Center in New Ulm. Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, we will also offer courses from the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum. This curriculum offers three pathways: Biological Science, Computer Science, and Engineering
The Board of Directors recently approved the addition of this program to our curriculum. We will begin teaching classes from two of the three pathways: Computer Science and Engineering. Mr. Schauland will be teaching Computer Science Essentials and Mr. Nehls will teach Principles of Engineering. Both are introductory courses to the pathways and are full year electives for our students. The Computer Science pathway could lead into a topic such as cybersecurity, while robotics would be an obvious fit for the Engineering pathway. MVL received two grants from PLTW totaling $30,000 to be used towards the annual participation fee and training for our instructors. We’re excited about this opportunity and thankful that Mr. Schauland and Mr. Nehls are willing to teach these classes. Interested students should talk with Mr. Nehls to register for next year!
Virtual Learning Day Guidelines
One of the blessings of the COVID pandemic was the attention placed on virtual learning as a way of staving off the knowledge loss due to no school because of a pandemic. While virtual learning will not likely replace face to face instruction, we can use is to our advantage to help our students learn. We can also use virtual learning to provide assistance to us in the learning process when we have snow days.
The guidelines listed below for our students will provide a foundation for the virtual learning experience we will use as needed at MVL when we’ve had a number of snow days or for other reasons. When a storm is impending, we will alert the students at the end of the day to take their devices home in case we experience nasty weather.
If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact Mr. Buboltz or Dr. Plath.
Virtual Learning Day Guidelines
- MVL teachers will utilize Google Classroom for a Virtual Learning Day. With the exception of Band, Choir and PE classes, a learning activity will be posted in Google Classroom for every class.
- All directions and assignments will be posted by 8:30 a.m. that morning.
- Teachers will utilize a variety of ways to determine attendance:
- Have the students hand in the assignment due that day from the previous day;
- Give a new assignment due by class time the next day;
- If the class is synchronous, each student will check in virtually; or
- Each student is to check into Google Classroom as part of the requirements of that day’s class.
- It is up to the teacher to determine whether the class will be synchronous or asynchronous.
- Each class will be 20 – 30 minutes of time committed.
- Teachers will monitor email from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. to answer any questions students might have.
- Normal grading guidelines will be applied for each class.
Bus WIFI
Thank you to everyone who provided their input and feedback on the Bus WIFI Survey sent out last month. We truly appreciate the thoughtful feedback. Based on those responses, MVL will be offering WIFI access on the buses again next school year. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mr. Schauland (kschauland@mvlhs.org).
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 is March 31, 2023.
NHS Induction
on Sunday, February 26, inducted 24 students into the National Honor Society. Guest speaker for the event was Mr. Toby Freier, president of the New Ulm Medical Center. The following students were inducted: (front row) Priscilla Bauer, Gabbie Bleick, Kerigan Brau, Makenzie Christensen, Mercy Dobberpuhl (second row) Lukas Freier, Benjamin Halvorson, Bradon Kock, Anna Kramer (third row) Mackenzie Merseth, Lexis Meunier, Caitlyn Otto, Caleb Pavelchik, Benjamin Pearson, Zachary Riederer, (back row) Madeline Schmidt, Sebastian Smith, Bethany Spike, Robert Trebelhorn, Sophia Urban, Ella Wurster (not pictured) Owen Dunkel, Jacob Guenther, Joseph Schroeder.
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 is 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”, 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.
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.
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/
PSEO
Sophomores and Juniors:
Mr. Smith is the contact person for PSEO (post secondary enrollment option). Steps for considering PSEO for next fall include:
- Student and parents/guardians are required to contact the School Counselor’s office to talk over the process and discuss any questions or concerns. An in-person meeting must then take place.
- All course work must be pre-approved by the School Counselor and Registrar in order to be considered for high school credit. Unapproved coursework will NOT be considered for high school graduation credits.
- All PSEO course work will be included in the student’s high school records, GPA, credits, and graduation requirements.
- Interested students who qualify for the program are to notify the School Counselor prior to April 1st (deadline for notification).
ACT Test – April and June test dates
Sophomores and Juniors:
The April 15, 2023 ACT has a regular registration deadline of March 10th. Late registration is available until March 24th. I strongly encourage juniors who are college bound to take this ACT to get one score “under their belt”.
The April and June ACT (June 10th; regular registration deadline of May 5th) test dates both offer the opportunity for Test Information Release (TIR) within a six month window after the exam date. Students may order their actual test and the test answers within that window after their exam date at the cost of $40; this could prove to be an invaluable study guide for future exams. If you indicate you want this at the time of registration, the fee for TIR is only $32.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact Mr. Smith with any questions via email at tjsmith@mvlhs.org or via phone at 507.233.8685.
2023 Career Expo
On March 29th, the entire sophomore class will have the opportunity to attend the New Ulm Career Expo over at New Ulm Public High School. The New Ulm Area Career Expo’s goal is to introduce students to career options in our region through hands-on experiences and interactive displays. MVL students will be bused from MVL (leaving at 12:52 p.m.) and will return to MVL by 2:45 p.m. Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Buboltz will be chaperoning. More information will be coming as the event gets closer.
The Booster Club supports all MVL Clubs, Activities, Fine Arts, and Athletics at MVL.
Thank You!
Thank you to the families who helped out in the concession stand and sold tickets for basketball games. It’s a group effort to do this fundraising activity for our students’ benefit.
Pork Chop Dinner
The MVL Pork Chop Dinner Sunday, March 5, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm. You’ll get a pork chop, side dishes, desserts, and beverages. Free-will offerings will be accepted. Come eat a great meal and visit with other MVL supporters, then stay for the concert at 1:30.
Booster Club Auction
One thing you can always count on is the weather. It will always be a part of high school activities whether we know it or not. This year was no exception. Our schedules were affected by snow, cold, and freezing rain and players and coaches just rolled with the punches. Isn’t that one of the many lessons that activities teach our students for their lives after high school, “dealing with adversity?” Just like during their games, meets, or performances when things became difficult and even disastrous, they made adjustments and moved forward. Some adjustments worked and some didn’t, but either way, they tried and tried again. They didn’t quit. Before and after each event I know our students pray with their coaches and advisors. They were reminded that no matter what happens during the event, they’ve given their all that particular night for their Lord, their school, their family, and themselves. In the end what more can we ask? They’ve had fun competing with their friends, representing their school, learning life’s lessons, and praising their God with their abilities. They also learned they can rise and deal with any adversity put before them because their Lord and God will be with them.
Alpine Skiing
Congratulations to Kira Neeb on being named to Big 9 All Conference Alpine Ski Team!
Boys’ Basketball
As our season comes to an end it was fun to see the improvement of the teams. With each practice and game, improvements could be seen by our coaching staff and others. The boys worked hard all year.
Congratulations to our Conference Champions! The varsity guys made it through the Tomahawk Conference with a record of 15-1, good enough for sole possession of first place and a conference championship.
Boys’ Tennis Sign Ups
Sign-ups for boys’ tennis will be on March 6, 6 pm at New Ulm High School. Meet the coaches and hear what’s expected of each athlete. You will pay the $175 participation fee to MVL and make sure you have a Minnesota State High School Eligibility form on file in the MVL office. Any questions contact Mr. Morgan at cmorgan@mvlhs.org.
With Appreciation
When the track season begins at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School this March, a familiar face will be missing. After twenty-six years of coaching and driving the bus, Coach Dennis Jaspersen will not be a part of the team. He has been a great asset to the track program throughout his many years of service. In 2015, Mr. J was recognized by the Minnesota State High School Track Coaches Association as the state’s Volunteer of the Year. When asked about the impact that Dennis had on the MVL track program, Head Coach Rollin Timm shared these thoughts: “He brought coaching expertise, especially in the hurdle events and that was a great blessing to our program.”
Coach J was also instrumental in MVL having a practice track for our athletes. His determination, drive along with help from the Booster Club and Holtmeier Excavating helped us find an area on our property that would accommodate a small practice track. Craig Morgan, MVL Activities Director, added these thoughts: “The practice track has greatly aided our track teams and athletes. It has been a great addition to our property. It has also helped us relocate our practice football field. Dennis has truly been a blessing not only to our track athletes but also to MVL. Thank you, Dennis, for all your time, effort, and gifts. Thank you, Coach Jaspersen for your faithful service!
Bowlathon
The Building on the Rock Campaign is planning it’s first Bowalthon! The students at MVL have been given information regarding this event. Click on the picture below to learn more!
