Northern Valley Schools USD 212

The Northern Valley FFA AG mechanics team went to Goodland and competed yesterday. The team included Kenton Thalheim, Maverick Rogers, Gavin Thalheim, and Owen Hammond. The team was judged and scored as an individual and as a whole. As a team they placed 3rd in Construction, 7th in Electrical, and 9th in Welding. Individually they placed overall as follows. Kenton placed 13th, Maverick placed 20th, Owen placed 26th, and Gavin placed 33rd. Congratulations to the AG mechanics team!

On Wednesday, February 14th, the Northern Valley Middle School teams competed at TriPlains/Brewster for the WKLL Scholars Bowl. The 8th grade team dominated with a record of 5-0 in Pool Play and then captured wins for the semi and championship rounds. They took home 1st place for a second year in a row. Top Scorers that day were Griffin McKinney with 270 points for the day and Josie Nech with 80 points. Team Members from L to R: Levi Black, Josie Nech, Rene’ Horacek, Haedyn Cox, Tait Thalheim, and Griffin McKinney. The 7th grade team had a 3-2 record in Pool Play and then earned 2nd place overall. Top scorers for this team were Annika McKinney with 140 points and Rowan Bremer with 100 points. Team Members from L to R: Rowan Bremer, Tayah Seeders, Annika McKinney, Cambrie Sproul, Cash Compton, and Colt Rogers. The students are looking forward to hosting our 3rd annual meet on Thursday, February 22nd in Long Island at 3:00 p.m. Congratulations, Huskies!

Northern Valley senior, Jeremiah Hansen, officially signed to play basketball with Southwestern College yesterday afternoon. Congratulations to Jeremiah!

Northern Valley Schools is accepting applications for Elementary, Middle, and Physical Education teachers. We have several retirees this year and as a result have several openings. We operate on a four-day school week. We have strong community and parental support in academics and extracurricular activities. Our small class size allows for more one-on-one instruction. Base pay is $36,000 and the board pays up to $450 / month toward a board-approved health insurance plan. Please send resumes and/or questions to Ken Tharman (785-669-2445) ktharman@nvhuskies.org.

The Northern Valley Junior High A-team boys placed 2nd in the WKLL tournament.

Northern Valley Junior High B-team Boys Basketball Western Kansas Liberty League Tournament February 8 & 10, 2024 Semi-Finals 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 2 6 0 0 8 Grinnell 12 8 10 12 42 Scoring Aaron Horacek – 4 Cash Compton – 2 Bryson Wilder – 2 Consolation Finals 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Finals Northern Valley 6 2 2 8 18 Triplains/Brewster 2 6 7 5 20 Scoring Colt Rogers – 5 Bryson Wilder – 4 Levi Black – 4 Cash Compton – 2 Max Wilder – 2 Aaron Horacek – 1 Coach Cole’s Comments – The NVJH B-team boys competed in the Western Kansas Liberty League B-team Tournament on Feb. 10 in Brewster. NV received a bye in the first round and then took on the Grinnell Thunderhawks in the semi-finals. The Huskies struggled to make shots, losing 8-42. Aaron Horacek had 4 points in the game to lead the Huskies in scoring. In the Consolation finals the Huskies lost a hard fought game to Triplains/Brewster 18-20. NV shot the ball better, but still struggled with turnovers. Six Huskies scored, led by Colt Rogers with 5 points. The NV B-team boys ended their season with a 4-7 record.

Northern Valley Junior High A-team Boys Basketball Western Kansas Liberty League Tournament February 8 & 10, 2024 First Round 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 18 15 13 10 56 Western Plains/Healy 2 2 0 1 5 Scoring Tait Thalheim – 23 Griffin McKinney – 10 Zane Brown – 8 Lucas Hansen – 7 Malikiah Hitt – 4 Ty Miller – 2 Keelan Dockendorf – 2 Semi-Finals 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 7 16 10 6 39 Logan/Palco 5 15 3 13 36 Scoring Tait Thalheim – 19 Lucas Hansen – 12 Griffin McKinney – 6 Malikiah Hitt – 2 Finals 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 5 5 4 4 18 Cheylin 18 14 22 4 58 Scoring Tait Thalheim – 7 Griffin McKinney – 7 Lucas Hansen – 4 Coach Cole’s Comments – The Northern Valley Junior High A-team Boys competed in the Western Kansas Liberty League tournament on Thursday and Saturday and brought home the second place plaque. In the first round, NV beat Western Plains/Healy 56-5. All seven Huskies suited up scored baskets to contribute to the win. In the semi-finals Northern Valley faced Logan/Palco for the third time this season. It was a close, hard fought game with the Huskies winning 39-36. Tait Thalheim and Lucas Hansen led the team in scoring with 19 and 12 points. In the finals the Huskies faced the Cheylin Cougars. Cheylin was red hot from the field and took down the Huskies 58-18. The NV A-team boys had a season to remember, finishing with a 14-1 record. Congratulations on an outstanding season!!

Northern Valley Middle School Girls Basketball Western KS Liberty League Tournament at Colby Event Center February 8, 2024 NV A-Team Girls (5 - 8) 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr Final Score Northern Valley 2 5 5 13 Western Plains/Healy 8 13 18 22 Scoring Haedyn Cox – 7 Andrea Meraz – 2 Rene’ Horacek – 2 Kaylee Miller – 2 NV B-Team Girls (1 - 8) 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr Final Score Northern Valley 3 5 11 11 Triplains/Brewster 2 2 8 12 Scoring Avreigh McCue – 2 Annika McKinney – 9 Coach Lowry’s Comments – The Northern Valley Junior High girls ended their season at the WKLL Tournament on February 8, 2024 in Colby. The A-team girls were seeded sixth and ready to compete but fell short with a 13-22 loss to Western Plains/Healy. Haedyn Cox led the team with 7 points. Their season ended earlier than they wanted with a 5-8 record, not making it to the final day of the tournament, but the girls progressed this season with their passing, their ability to see opportunities to shoot, and most importantly their teamwork. Assistant Coach McKinney’s Comments – The B-team girls ended their season with a close, hard-fought game against the Triplains/Brewster Titans. Both teams were filled with 6th grade girls that were excited to play. Our girls hustled and worked hard until the buzzer. We are so proud of the improvement they have made this season and look forward to next year. Annika McKinney had her best game with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

Northern Valley Junior High celebrated Coach Jim Cole and Brad Cox’s coaching their last home game for the Huskies.

Northern Valley Junior High Boys Basketball vs Heartland Christian in Almena February 5, 2024 NVJH A-team Boys (12 – 0) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 14 19 15 7 55 Heartland Christian 3 2 7 5 17 Scoring Tait Thalheim – 20 Griffin McKinney – 11 Malikiah Hitt – 8 Lucas Hansen – 7 Keelan Dockendorf – 3 Zane Brown – 2 Aaron Horacek – 2 Levi Black – 2 Coach Cole’s Comments – The Northern Valley Jr. High A-team Boys basketball team improved their record to 12-0 with a 55-17 win over Heartland Christian in Almena. Eight Huskies scored baskets to contribute to the victory. Tait Thalheim shot the ball well scoring 20 points and Griffin McKinney added 11 to lead the Huskies. Before the game the Huskies celebrated Coach Jim Cole and Assistant Brad Cox who coached their last home for Northern Valley. The Huskies will play in the Western Kansas Liberty League tournament on Thursday and Saturday in Colby and Brewster.

On Monday, January 29th, the 7th & 8th grade Scholars Bowl teams traveled to Smith Center to compete in their first meet of the season. Our 7th grade team gained some much needed experience and after working through their nerves had some close and competitive rounds. Everyone enjoyed the trip and felt confident that they would make gains in their next contest. 7th grade team members from L to R: top scorers Annika McKinney and Rowan Bremer, Asher VanPatten, Bryson Wilder, Kaylee Miller, and Cash Compton. In the 8th grade competition, our scholars came out with an impressive performance. They won all but one round against Phillipsburg and earned 1st place in the meet. Griffin McKinney led his team with 360 points followed by Haedyn Cox and Josie Nech. The team is looking forward to their League competition on February 14th in Winona. The 8th grade team from L to R: Lucas Hansen, Griffin McKinney, Rene’ Horacek, Haedyn Cox, Josie Nech, and Christina Nichols.

Northern Valley Middle School Girls Basketball Vs. Heartland Christian at Almena February 5, 2024 NV A-Team Girls (5 - 7) 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr Final Score Northern Valley 3 11 17 21 Heartland Christian 2 3 11 17 Scoring Haedyn Cox – 13 Andrea Meraz – 2 Josie Nech – 2 Rene’ Horacek – 4 Coach Lowry’s Comments – The Northern Valley Junior High hosted Heartland Christian to end their regular season. The Lady Huskies struggled to find intensity and rhythm but kept working to earn their fifth win of the season. Haedyn Cox had a good game with 13 points. Abby Samuelson and Rene’ Horacek helped with 7 rebounds each. We will begin tournament play on Thursday with a record of 5-7.

Northern Valley 1st-4th graders are participating in the Kids Heart Challenge. Our students will be out in our communities collecting donations or they may create an online page, for you to donate to, that links to our school. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated to help us reach our goal. If you are not contacted by a student or do not have a student link but would still like to donate to the cause you can click on my link below that will go towards our school contribution to Jump for Heart Event through the American Heart Association. We know that with your help we can beat our goal of $4,000! Let me know if you would like to donate to our life saving cause and I will get you connected with a student so that they can earn great prizes while raising money for AHA! The students will be raising money all February and at the end of the month the students will jump rope to celebrate the end of the school fundraiser. Thank you for your continued support! ~Mrs. Gebhard https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=9736&pg=personal&px=22208721

The Northern Valley Huskies Scholars Bowl Team finished their season at Regionals on February 1st at Beloit St. John's High School. The competition featured 11 schools in a round robin style format. The top three teams from each of the four regionals will move on to state at Hutchinson Central Catholic on February 10th. The Huskies went 7-3 on the day leaving the team in 4th place for the second consecutive year just missing the cut to head to state. The Huskies' three losses were to the three teams headed on to state. This was a very successful season again for Northern Valley that just came up a bit short. Seniors Drew Schemper, Kenton Thalheim, Jason Cox, and Gabe Rudd as well as Junior Caden Lowry all represented the Huskies very well, especially in the last three meets of the season with a league championship, and two fourth place finishes against stiff competition.

WKLL junior high basketball tournament bracket.

Northern Valley Middle School Girls Basketball Vs. Cheylin at Almena February 1, 2024 NV A-Team Girls (4 - 7) 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr Final Score Northern Valley 4 5 13 18 Cheylin 4 15 29 40 Scoring Haedyn Cox – 14 Josie Nech – 2 Rene’ Horacek – 2 NV B-Team Girls (1 - 7) 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr Final Score Northern Valley 2 4 6 6 Cheylin 5 14 19 24 Scoring Kaylee Miller – 6 Coach Lowry’s Comments – The Northern Valley Junior High hosted the Cheylin Cougars. The Lady Huskies knew they were up against a tough team and we definitely saw the weak areas we need to work on before the WKLL Tournament next week. The girls had more ball movement this game with better passing. Haedyn Cox had a good game with 14 points. The B-team girls continue to develop their skills as a team. We are passing the ball better, anticipating more than reacting, and looking to score. The B-team girls will go into the tournament with a 1-7 record on Thursday

Northern Valley Junior High Boys Basketball vs Cheylin in Almena February 1, 2024 NVJH A-team Boys (11 – 0) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 15 6 8 7 36 Cheylin 9 8 10 8 35 Scoring Tait Thalheim – 22 Griffin McKinney – 12 Lucas Hansen – 2 NVJH B-team Boys (4 – 5) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Northern Valley 1 2 x x 3 Cheylin 8 8 x x 16 Scoring Aaron Horacek – 2 Colt Rogers – 1 Coach Cole’s Comments – The Northern Valley Junior High A-team boys and the Cheylin boys were both undefeated on the season and had an exciting game in Almena on February 1. 8th grader Tait Thalheim hit a three pointer with six seconds on the clock to give the Huskies a 36-35 win over the Cougars. NV played good defense and rebounded well the whole game. Thalheim led the Huskies with 22 points, followed by Griffin McKinney with 12. The NV A-team boys record is now 11-0. The NV B-team boys lost 3-16 in two quarters of play. The B-team record now stands at 4-5.

FACS Chili Cook-off 1-6. $1 to try them all! There are some traditional recipes and some new ones to try.

Soup Supper will be Tuesday Feb 6th vs Alma!! Those making soup are: Shanna, Angela, Corrine, Emily, Hilary & Joy. If making soup you DO NOT need to provide your student's other item. Seniors: $20.00 for supplies Juniors, Sophomores & Freshman a 9x 12 dessert! Please put the student's name on anything dropped off. We need volunteers for serving (4-5 people each time slot): 5:00-6:00- (B boys) 6:00-7:00 (A girls) 7:00-7:30 cleanup - put away tables & chairs. Contact Joy if you can work a shift!

Nolan Kinderknecht shown here preparing to squat, placed 5th overall in the 163 pound weight class. Gavin Thalheim working working hard. Savannah Area shown here in the hang clean, placed 3rd overall in the 123 pound weight class.