Principal’s Message
Uninterrupted Connection
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
By October, the initial novelty of the school year gives way to the full weight of routine. Homework loads increase, fall athletic seasons reach their peak, and rehearsals, jobs, and co- curriculars demand every spare moment. In the rush to manage packed calendars, we can easily fall into the trap of not finding time for the one thing needful.
Yet, this busy season is precisely when an uninterrupted connection to Christ is most essential. In Psalm 1, God describes the believer as a tree planted by streams of water—one who yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. How does that branch stay vibrant? By delighting in and meditating on the Law of the Lord day and night.
For a high school student, “abiding” does not have to mean hours of uninterrupted solitude that their schedule simply won’t allow. Rather, we and our children can start out morning with a brief Scripture passage, praying together on the drive to school, or pausing before an exam to remember that Christ’s love is not tied to performance.
When busyness threatens to pull your teen in a dozen directions, remind them that branch-life isn’t about striving harder; it’s about staying connected to Christ. As parents, your gentle encouragement for your son or daughter to prioritize personal prayer and weekend worship helps
keep their spiritual pipeline open. When our teenagers draw continuous nourishment from the Savior, they find calm in the chaos and strength to flourish through every deadline and midterm.
Vision and Hearing Screening
Our School Nurse, Laura Price, with the assistance of a number of volunteers, will conduct Vision and Hearing Screenings for all our students on Wednesday, October 7th. This valuable screening is provided as a service to assist parents with any concerns there may be with your students’ vision and/or hearing. To volunteer, please click this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4DABAB22A6FBC70-65678303-vision#/
MLC Area Reformation Service
Our MVL A Cappella Choir and Concert Choir will be singing in the Area Reformation service on October 25th at 3:00 p.m. in MLC’s Chapel of the Christ. All are welcome to attend!
Parent/Teacher Conferences
On November 9-10, we have Parent-Teacher Conferences scheduled. Parents can determine which teachers they would like to meet with and make appointments with those teachers. Sign-ups will be open from October 6th to October 23rd. This allows adequate time to prepare the schedules and for the teachers to prepare for the meetings. Keep an eye out for an email with the sign-up link.
The meeting times will be scheduled in 15-minute segments from 3:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m. Be sure to note that on the days of Parent-Teacher Conferences, students will be dismissed from classes at noon. The MVL buses will run right away after school.
Accreditation Team to Visit MVL
MVL is accredited by the Minnesota Nonpublic School Accrediting Association (MNSAA). We are on a seven year cycle of continuous school improvement. For the last twelve months, we have conducted a self study and wrote a detailed report. This month, we will host a visitation team of teachers and administrators on October 20 – 22. During their visit, they will visit classes, interview teachers, staff members, and students. They may also look to talk with parents and board members. If that does happen, please give them a few minutes of your time to help improve this ministry we call MVL. Thank you!!
MVL History Tour 2026 plans underway
The 2027 MVL History Tour will be June 14 – 24 next summer. This MVL tradition has provided such an amazing class bonding opportunity for our new seniors of the class of 2028. The tour will again include great tour stops in South Bend, Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, Washington DC, and Virginia Beach. Around 60 – 65 students will be participating next summer. Mr. Buboltz will be chaperoning the trip this summer.
MVL History Tour 2026 Parent Meeting
A mandatory History Tour meeting will be held Monday, November 16, 2026 at 6:30 pm in the Lunchroom Commons. The participating student and at least one parent should be in attendance in order to guarantee a spot on the trip. The meeting will attempt to answer all possible questions that you might have concerning the trip. Please contact Mr. Buboltz if you have any questions.
Pike Driving School
Pike Driving School of New Ulm will be offering the classroom portion of driver’s training at MVL. The class will be held November 4th – 6th and 9th-13th, from 3:30—6:30 p.m. each day. Payment of $200, made out to “Pike Driving School” will be due the first day of class. There is a sign-up sheet in the office for our students. If you have questions about the class, contact Darren at 507-276-7548.
Fall Play
MVL Drama presents…
WARNING! WARNING! THE SUN IS OUT… AND IT’S LOOKING FOR TROUBLE!
Prepare for an out-of-this-world night of sci-fi thrills, cosmic chills, alien antics, and laughs that are truly astronomical! When a mysterious menace from the sun comes crashing to Earth, it’s up to a brave band of heroes to save the day! Will Earth survive? Will science save us? Will anyone remember to duck?! There’s only one way to find out… COME SEE IT LIVE ON STAGE! Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School Drama presents ATTACK! OF THE KILLER MAN FROM THE SUN!, a sci fi B movie comedy made for the stage! Performances are held at MVL Fine Arts Center on October 30-31 at 7pm, and November 1 at 2pm. Tickets at the door. Bring your friends and family, and prepare to have a solar-powered good time! Space suits optional.
Wreath Sales
Tis the season!… MVL will once again be selling wreaths, swags, crosses, and live garland to help bring the sights and scents of Christmas to your home or business! Wreath orders begin Sunday, October 25th and all orders must be placed by Sunday, November 15th. This year all ordering will be done online. Simply go to the MVL website, click on wreaths, and place your order! We hope to deliver most products to your church by Thanksgiving weekend. This year’s proceeds are yet to be determined. Thank you for your support!
Merry Christmas!
Veteran’s Day
The public is invited to our annual Veterans’ Day Recognition Program on Wednesday, November 4th at 10:00 a.m. in the fieldhouse. A complete breakfast specifically for veterans and their personal guests will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Fine Arts Center. If you or a veteran you know would like to come, please RSVP at mvl.org, hgiefer@mvlhs.org, or 507-354-6851. Online RSVP will open Thursday, October 8th.
Spirit of MVL
You are invited to join MVL in a night of fellowship supporting Christian education as we recognize and celebrate our Spirit of MVL award winners: Alan (posthumously) & Loretta Johnson, Pastor Richard & Marley Kuckhahn, and Craig Morgan.
The gala will be held on November 21st, at 5 p.m. at The Venue in Mankato. The night includes a social hour, dinner, an award program, a live auction, and the Afterglow. Tickets are for sale on the MVL website, mvl.org. You can also contact Sarah Allee with any questions at sallee@mvlhs.org.
RSVPs are due by November 6th.
Open House
Grade Reviews, Red Dots, and Academic Probation
Parents should take time with their students to look through the MVL Student Handbook in the areas of Grade Reviews, Red Dots, and Academic Probation. The Student Handbook can be found on the MVL Website. These three areas of the handbook should enlighten students on the academic expectations of MVL as well as the pieces put in place to assist students in their academic achievement.
Attendance Policy and Missing Work
Parents/families are reminded to communicate with MVL when their student(s) are absent from school for any reason. Proactive planning for extended absences are appreciated by both the office and your child’s teachers. Feel free to read through the attendance policy for questions concerning the number of absences, types of absences, attendance letters sent home, and when will missing work be due upon return. Please feel free to contact Mr. Buboltz with any questions concerning these two policies.
Infinite Campus
Did you know there is a place where you can see your students’ grades, schedule, detailed lunch account information, and more? If you haven’t set up your Parent Portal yet and have questions on how to do that, contact Haley Giefer at hgiefer@mvlhs.org.
Safety Drill Notification
For the safety of our students, during the year, we hold safety drills for fire, tornado, as well as lockdown procedures. While these drills do take away from some class time, we believe the time is well spent, to ensure proper procedures in the case of an event taking place at school.
Bus WiFi Survey
We need your feedback! We’re evaluating whether to continue offering Bus WiFi next year and value your input. Please take a few minutes to complete the 2026 Parent/Guardian Bus WiFi Survey linked below. This short, five-question survey also allows for additional comments to help us make an informed decision.
Survey link: https://forms.gle/cVSNZFWhZYfrWieU7
Tuition and Fees
As a reminder for senior parents, per MVL policy, senior students need to be paid in full prior to graduation. The 11-month payment plan is not an option for seniors who are the only student in the family attending MVL. If the senior has a sibling at MVL, they are able to do the 11-month plan, but at least half the tuition needs to be paid prior to the senior’s graduation. (If the family of a senior, for financial needs, would like to do a 10-month plan, extending tuition out to mid-May, please sign up for a 9-month plan and contact Deb Kuck to extend the payment through May.)
Changes can be made to finalized payment plans. You are able to change the date of a payment by a number of days on your own, but there are some more advanced changes we can help you with too. Please don’t hesitate to contact Deb Kuck if more advanced changes need to be made. Always allow at least two business days when making changes to payments. If, during the course of the year, you need to make adjustments or
changes to your plan, please feel free to call Deb Kuck for these changes as well. Again, allow at least 2 business days for the change.
Sport & Activity Fees
All sports fees, field trip fees, activity fees, and the like, will be billed to your family FACTS account at the start of the activity, and throughout the year. Typically, we ask that these are paid within a month. You have the option to have these charges automatically billed to a checking account or credit card when due. There is a check box for this when you enroll for your payment plan on FACTS. Otherwise, you will need to go onto your family FACTS account and pay them manually online when convenient, or send a check or cash to school with your student. If you have questions on fees, or family annual totals, please contact Deb.
History Tour (Junior Parents)
We will be running History Tour through FACTS again this year. Juniors who will be attending the trip should see the trip invoiced under the “Incidentals” on your FACTS account. The due date will be the end of the school year (May 31, 2027), allowing you to make payments anytime, when it is convenient for you. These payments will not come out of your checking or charge card automatically, so you will have to go to your FACTS account and do this manually. You can also send a check or cash to school with your student if that is easier. Deb Kuck is the contact for financial issues concerning History Tour. Jim Buboltz is the contact for anything else.
Pay on your family FACTS account
When making any payment on your FACTS account (for tuition, sports fees, History Tour, etc.), please log onto your family FACTS account to do so. When done this way, you will see your payment post immediately. If you make the payment through the general form on the MVL website, it will take a few weeks for your payment to post to your account.
If you would like a relative or friend to access your account to make payments through your FACTS account, you will select “add authorized party”. It will send a link to that person and they can set up their own log in to make payment or view the account.
Lunch Payments Online
When making lunch payments, please go to the mvl.org website and click on the “Student Life” drop
down. Here you will see a “Food Program” link. Please click on this, and follow prompts to make a
payment. Please do not use the “Guest payment” link for lunch payments, History Tour payments, or sports fees.
This will greatly delay it being posted to your family FACTS account.
If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Deb Kuck via email or by phone – financial@mvlhs.org (507) 233-8656. Thank you!
National College Fair
The National College Fair is being held at the Minneapolis Convention Center (1301 2nd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403) on Monday, October 5th from 9AM – 12PM and 5:30PM – 7:30PM, and Tuesday, October 6th from 9AM – 12PM. Students and families interested in learning about a wealth of college options (typically over 500 institutions are represented) in one location should consider this opportunity. Families would need to coordinate their attendance themselves. https://www.nacacattend.org/26minnesota. Students should register at the link above prior to attending. Feel free to reach out to Mr. Smith with any questions.
Please review carefully.
All Students and Families: October Testing Day
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 (9th, 10th, & 11th graders): PSAT assessments
PSAT assessments – Wednesday, October 14th
*Seniors are excused from attending school on this date: plan ahead if you are going to utilize this day for a college visit or shadowing experience. *Fall Senior athletes and Fall Play participants; please ensure that you check with your coaches/directors on your practice times prior to scheduling any college visits or job-shadowing experiences.
**Students will want to eat a big breakfast and/or bring easy snacks for their break.
School breakfast will be served. School lunch will NOT be served. DISMISSAL for the day will be 11:15 a.m. Busses will run according to this schedule.
9th Grade = PSAT 8/9; 10th and 11th Grade = PSAT/NMSQT
ALL EXAMS WILL BE COMPLETED DIGITALLY. STUDENTS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THEIR OWN FULLY CHARGED CHROMEBOOK.
● 8:20 – 8:30: devotion in each testing room led by the testing proctor
● 8:30 – 8:45: testing device login and “pre-administration”
● 8:45 – 11:09 a.m.: Testing (includes break in between two modules)
● 11:10 – 11:15 a.m.: Closing tasks.
● 11:15 a.m. Dismissal
AP Exam Fees
Students enrolled in AP courses will soon be bringing home a letter that explains the AP exam fees. AP exam fees are due to the main MVL office by Friday, November 7th. AGAIN THIS YEAR, AP exam fees will automatically be charged to the students FACTs account. This will allow us to collect payment more efficiently and send out automatic reminders. Families will pay through their FACTs portal.
Fees Students on Free/Reduced Lunches Students not on F/R Lunches
Initial cost of AP Exam $99 $99
Reduction for F/R $37 0
MN Dept. of Ed. Reduction $53 $40
Admin. Costs (Proctor) $10 $10
Cost per student per exam $19.00 $69.00
Save the Date
Martin Luther College’s Focus on Ministry trip for interested MVL juniors and seniors will be held in November. More information will be available as the date approaches.
To learn more about your Booster Club please go to: https://mvl.org/support-mvl/booster-club/
Follow us on Facebook (MVL Booster Club) and Instagram (mvlboosterblub)
Meet Your Booster Club
We are excited to welcome new parents to our MVL Booster Club Executive Committee. MVL Booster Club welcomes:
Londa Krueger – Concession Stand Coordinator
Jennifer Lendt- Concession Stand Coordinator
Benjamin Springer- Volunteer Coordinator
Get to know your MVL Booster Club by clicking here: Meet Your Booster Club
Homecoming Pork Chop Meal
Come celebrate Homecoming with a delicious pork chop meal while supporting Booster Club!
Pork Chop Meal Includes:
Grilled Chop (with bun or w/out), Chips, Cookie and Water
Date: Friday, October 2nd
Time: 6:00 p.m. through halftime
Location: Johnson Field
Cost: $10 for meal and $6 for sandwich only.
Bring your family and friends, enjoy a great meal, and take the night off from cooking.
We are in need of 6 volunteers to help set up, serve and take down the Pork Chop meal. Time is from 5:30-8:30. To help, sign up HERE
Our Concession Stand Needs You!!
Our concession stand is one of the largest fundraisers supporting our student-athletes and all extracurricular programs. This would not be possible without the help of countless volunteers who take tickets and run the concession stand sales. Yet each year, each season, we fall short of
volunteers. To help alleviate this problem, the Booster Club has assigned each extracurricular group at MVL to specific concession stand dates. You will find those dates here: 2026 Concession Stand Group Dates
We need your support just as much as each of our academic and athletic groups needs Booster Club! Please sign up and help here.
If you’ve ever grabbed a snack at a game, cheered from the stands, or appreciated what the Booster Club provides—this is a meaningful way to give back. Your time and effort truly make a difference.
Share Your MVL Activity Photos
If you have photos from MVL activities please share them for use on our MVL Booster Club social media platforms. Even in the off season, many of our students are participating in club programs and we’d love to hear about those events and share the training and success of our students with our supporters. Please text photos and information to: Angie Brau: 612-749-2781
Deal of the Day! – Concession Punch Cards
Save the Date – Jeans and Dreams – Saturday, April 3rd
Letter Jackets
The MECA representative will be here at MVL on Friday, October 23rd from 12:00-1:00 PM. At that time students can try on letter jackets and make orders if they wish. There are letter jacket flyers available in the main office.
BOUND
Remember that you can view all of our sports schedules on BOUND. Just go to mvl.org, hover over Activities, and click on BOUND Activity Schedules to get to our home page. You can also get the BOUND app on your cell phone.
Advertise in our Sports Programs
If you are interested in advertising in our sports programs (football, volleyball, and basketball), just contact Haley Giefer hgiefer@mvlhs.org in the main office and let her know. The cost for advertising for the year is $175.
HUDL Game Live Streaming
All of our football, volleyball, and basketball games are being live streamed on HUDL Fan. The address is fan.hudl.com/usa/mn/new-ulm/