Bowling teams dominate in tournament on Monday, Jan. 30

The bowling teams swept their meets at Park Lanes on Monday, Jan. 30.

 Varsity and junior varsity boys defeated De Soto High School and Atchison High School. Varsity had a team score of 2,412. Individual series scores were: freshman Cole Gray, 657, senior Tyler Moore, 654, junior LJ Hatch, 608, senior Robbie Weber, 499, senior Bret Holloway, 423 and senior Ryan Hannah, 412.

 Varsity and junior varsity girls defeated DHS and Atchison, as well as Blue Valley Southwest High School. Varisty had a team score of 1,811. Individual series scores were: senior Dakotah Widmer, 539, sophomore Cassie Widmer, 477, senior Madison Bohling, 403, senior Olivia Cain, 355, sophomore Lindsey Jackson, 327 and freshman Courtney Ezzell, 302.

 Gray placed first overall in boys varsity and Widmer placed first overall in girls varsity.

 The teams will take on DHS, BVSW and Topeka West High School at West Ridge Lanes in Topeka on Monday, Feb. 6 at 3:30 p.m. On Thursday, Feb. 9, the bowling teams will travel to Crown Lanes in Leavenworth for the Leavenworth Tri, which will begin at 3:30 p.m as well.

New group promotes a respectful and spiritual lifestyle

The lights turned off, glow sticks passed out, and LMFAO’s “Get Crazy” blasted from the speakers. Not the typical setting for a faith-based youth group. Over 30 students piled into the living room of freshman Courtney Ezzell and senior Ashli Ezzell on Wednesday, Oct 12.

“Young Life is lots of fun and has a light message,” sponsor Jimmy Ezzell said. “We do some crazy stuff. It’s the opportunity to have good, clean fun.”

Young Life is a worldwide Christian organization that has been around for 70 years. Introduced at Mill Valley High School this summer, Young Life has attracted a variety of people to the group.

“We really get a mix of different kids here,” sponsor Niki Ezzell said. “I like that.”

The primary purpose of Young Life is to involve students from the same high school in activities and games that help them get to know each other.

“It’s a way to get all of our friends together without getting into trouble,” Ashli said.

Niki views Young Life as a beneficial opportunity for students.

“More than anything it gives the kids an opportunity to learn about who they are,” Niki said. “It really helps them understand.”

At every meeting, the Young Life leaders teach a different lesson. Their last topic of discussion was how to have healthy relationships in high school. Young Life leaders try to choose topics that apply to everyday life.

“I never know what to expect,” sophomore Jordan Collene said. “It’s just something everyone can go out and have a good time.”

While Young Life is a Christian organization, activities are centered on building strong relationships with each other.

“It is faith-based,” Jimmy said. “But we don’t try to cram religion down their throats.”

Young Life meets every other Wednesday from 8-9 p.m at Ashli and Courtney’s house. Any Mill Valley student is welcome to come to the meetings. Aside from meetings, other events such as campouts and roadtrips are organized thoughout the year.

“It’s a fun, upbeat and positive environment,” Niki said. “It’s where the kids can get good bits of practical advice.”

Candidates selected for Homecoming court

As the bell went off on the morning of Friday, Sept. 23, the announcements rang over the intercom announcing the candidates for Homecoming king and queen. The new nomination system where only seniors voted on the candidates was implemented for the first time ever this year. Even though the senior class voted on the nominations, the entire school will be voting on the winners.

Members of MVTV woke the candidates up earlier that morning in order to give them the news before it was announced. Senior and queen candidate Rachel Mills said being woken up at 5 a.m. was not great, but overall the news was worth it.

“[Waking up] was bad because I couldn’t go back to sleep,” Mills said. “But, I wasn’t tired because it was for a good reason.”

Senior Margo Bradley says she is thrilled over being selected.

“I was ecstatic,” Bradley said. “It made me happy, and [the nomination] means the world to me.”

There was a tie among the king candidates, so instead of the traditional five, there is six in both the king and queen categories. Among the nominations for king is senior Devin Rudicel.

“I was really excited,” Rudicel said. “Homecoming is a big deal and I am glad to be a part of it.”

The winners of the titles will be announced during the Homecoming game on Friday, Oct. 7 at halftime. You can also see the candidates during the Homecoming Parade on Wednesday, Oct. 5 starting at 6:30 p.m.

 The following is a list of the king and queen candidates:

 King candidates:

 Anthony Bator

Connor Bickle

Zach Callahan

Rodney Hodges

Marcus Grant

Devin Rudicel

 Queen Candidates:

 Jill Applegate

Margo Bradley

Ashli Ezzell

Paige Hillebert

Rachel Mills

Brittany Zarda

Expect updates throughout Homecoming week only on www.mvnews.org and follow us on Twitter during the parade

Orientation introduces freshmen to high school

Filing in to the sound of the fight song, over 300 freshmen took their seats in the gymnasium on Monday, Aug. 15 in order to begin their freshman orientation. Freshman orientation is a day planned by StuCo on the first day of the school year in order to familiarize freshmen with their new school.

“[The point of orientation is] to give them one day to kind of get acclimated before the older kids come up,” assistant StuCo sponsor Jessica DeWild said. “The upperclassmen and seniors can be kind of intimidating so it’s the day they can ask questions without feeling intimidated.”

The first event of the day was a pep assembly where the freshmen learned the school fight song led, by communication arts teacher Justin Bogart.

“I just like the chance to be one of the first teachers that gets to talk to them,” Bogart said

During the pep assembly, the students also participated in relays, air guitar and dance battles, watched the cheer and dance teams perform and saw a fashion show by StuCo members demonstrating the dress code. The events were characterized by a theme, “School of Rock,” which was voted on by StuCo.

The dance off included dance styles such as “The Jerk,” “Stanky Leg,” “Move It Like Bernie,” and “The Dougie.” Sophomore StuCo member Jason Biesma was chosen to demonstrate his dance moves for the freshmen before they began their dance off.

“I felt like I was rockin’ the beats and I was layin’ down the steps pretty well,” Biesma said. “I think the freshmen learned who was boss a little.”

Freshman Spencer Adams won the battle, earning a free ticket to Homecoming.

“I was a little bit nervous,” Adams said. “My leg was shaking a little bit when I got up there.”

Also winning a Homecoming ticket was freshman Greyson Jenista, who won the relay. Six pairs of freshmen from each group were asked to run to center court, put on a costume, get through a group of paparazzi (StuCo members with paper cameras), race to the end of the court and piggyback ride back to the starting line.

“The competition of it was fun,” Jenista said. “I’m planning on going to Homecoming.”

After the relays, StuCo members dressed up in clothing to demonstrate what is inappropriate to wear to school. Biesma donned a spaghetti strap tank top, pink skirt and heels for the fashion show.

“I had to practice for hours on end to master those [heels] and try not to fall,” Biesma said.

Freshman cheerleader Courtney Ezzell performed for the first time in front of her peers as a member of the cheer squad.

“It was kind of scary, but I knew everyone so I wasn’t that nervous,” Ezzell said.

Ezzell also won the air guitar battle.

“I got picked to do it,” Ezzell said. “It was really fun, and I got a free homecoming ticket so I was really excited.”

After the pep assembly, freshmen went on a scavenger hunt around the school attempting to find such things as a teacher who can sing a Justin Bieber song and their student body president Rachel Mills. Mills waited in the foyer, signing papers from the students who recognized her from the assembly, and identifying herself to some that looked unsure.

“[My favorite part] is probably meeting all the new freshmen,” Mills said. “I like making them feel welcome before anyone else gets to. It’s an honor.”

Throughout the day, freshmen also went through a rotation of their classes and attended a club fair to see the various clubs.

“It’s a big deal for them and their probably anxious,” Mills said. “I bet they’re pretty nervous, but I’m probably more nervous than all of them combined.”

Freshman Olivia Midiros thinks that freshman orientation will help her prepare for the year.

“I think walking through my classes will be helpful,” Midiros said. “I am terrified for freshman year.”

For more photos of freshman orientation, click here.