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Pictured is some artwork of Sheila Johnson found next to her father's barber shop, Refer's Barber Shop |
“First Fifty Fun Day” celebration Saturday, April 3, 2010. We are still planning to have the 3 on 3 Tournament, a demonstration of girl’s 6 player basketball with some who actually played it, and a program with returning students & teachers commemorating the varied activities that have been held in the gym in the first 50 years of existence. It will be a great day to meet with old friends and relive the past, while celebrating the future. Plan to be there! click here to download the 3 on 3 registration form in a pdf format. click here to download the 3 on 3 registration for in a WORD document
Is your class having a reunion in 2010? Please send the reunion information to alumni@villisca.com and we will post the information on this page Go to the 1960s decade page for an announcement of the 50th Reunion for the Class of 1960 in 2010. |
Alumni listed by decade - 1930s, 1940s,1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s
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Have you become a VAFA member yet? VAFA - making a difference for Villisca youth. More information about VAFA below on this page. |
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The Charter Members of the Bluejay Hall of Fame inducted July 3, 2009 during the All-Class Reunion
When you are at VHS, stop and take a look at this great Bluejay Hall of Fame presentation. Laurent Lee
Gourley '62 click
here to read the bios of the Bluejay Hall of Fame Members Sponsored by the Villisca Alumni and Friends Association, these people will be inducted in the first class to the Hall of Fame in a ceremony to be held during the summer’s all-class reunion. Subsequent classes will be inducted every four years in conjunction with the all-class reunion (2009, 2013, 2017 …). VHS family and friends were invited to nominate individuals with a written explanation of the outstanding achievements justifying the candidate's possible induction. To be eligible a nominee must have graduated from VHS or served VHS prior to 1989. The achievements could be in - but not limited to - the field of sports, music, academics, or achievements following graduation. An emphasis was placed on alumni but former teachers, coaches, and supportive citizens of the Villisca School system were also considered. |
You
may now donate to VAFA online - click the appropriate button. Annual
membership is $25. Lifetime membership is $500 single or $750 for
a couple.
PayPal is used
so you have a secure environment in which to make your payment.
You may contribute using  Other places you can find Villisca on the web - villisca.com; www.villisca.typepad.com; Villisca Alumni and Friends group on Facebook Remember VAFA and other Villisca organizations in your will
It is time to begin planning for 2010 Class Reunions. As soon as a date has been set, please send the information to alumni@villisca.com so we can get it up on the Website. This past month we have had two long lost alumni find their decade page and has sent us their contact information.
This page can also be found at villisca.com ALUMNI - Please get your information - name, address, telephone number and e-mail address - to us so we can keep the list of alumni up to date. Send that information to alumni@villisca.com. We will not sell the information and will use the e-mail addresses only to keep alumni up-to-date We also welcome information on marriages and births and milestone birthdays for the Family Album page on this Website.
HELP VILLISCA SCHOOLS Students, parents and school supporters can make a difference in the finances of the Villisca School District: 1) save boxtops4education labels - we can earn up to $20,000 a year; 2) start your online shopping at either igive.com or goodsearch.com and the store you shop at will give a percentage of your order to your designated charity - there are over 700 stores you can shop at including some of your favorites. The "stores" include office supply stores as well as airlines and motels. 3) start your Internet searches at either goodsearch.com or isearchigive.com. They will pay your charity between one and two cents for each search. This is free money. It can make a difference for the Villisca Community Schools. click here for a list of the 700+ stores you can shop at at igive.com click
here for a list of the wide array of products with |
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VAFA
Makes Field Trips Possible for Students at Sylvia Enarson Elementary
The board of the Villisca Alumni and Friends Association (VAFA) enthusiastically voted at their August 9, 2009 meeting to again provide funding in an amount up to $5000 for some of the student field trips which otherwise would not take place. |
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VAFA Makes a Difference as Boys Go to State
As the boys prepared to go to State, the VAFA Executive Committee was in contact with the school to see if there were areas where VAFA could be of assistance. It has been decided that VAFA will provide funds for meals for the players, coaches & student managers. They traveled to Des Moines on Sunday and returned Monday evening. This assistance from VAFA allowed the boys to enjoy their trip without the worry of finances. The following thank you came from Coach Obemeier: I would like to express our gratitude as a team for the generosity of the VAFA. The meals that we were able to enjoy as a team gave the boys on the team a memorable dining experience that they will not soon forget. Sunday night we dined at the Olive Garden Restaurant in West Des Moines, and on Monday we ate at the Cracker Barrel, also in West Des Moines. We did stop and eat at McDonalds or Subway on the way home Monday night, but most all paid for their own. photo by Mike
Freeman |
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Contributing to VAFA Contributions may be made to the general fund to help with the newest projects or to help with remainder to be raised for the whiteboard and scrolling marquee projects and to help toward the costs of the 2009 All-Class Reunion. Annual memberships for VAFA are $25.; lifetime memberships are $500 or $750 for couples. Contributions may be sent to VAFA, P.O. Box 45, Villisca, IA 50864 or online from the Alumni Page on either www.villisca.com or www.villiscareview.com. VAFA's funding comes through memberships, memorials and fundraisers such as the Annual Golf Classic held during Heritage Days. For those whose employer is a part of the network of businesses that will match the contributions of their employees, with the 501c3 designation, VAFA is now eligible to receive those contributions. click here for a list of participating companies
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VAFA facilitates the first white board at VHS
Through a grant from the Montgomery County Endowment Fdn. received through VAFA and with some matching funds from the school, this interactive white board - a Promethean board - was installed in the math classroom as an additional tool for teaching math in Villisca. Teacher Shona Means has indicated the board has excited the students about math. |
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VAFA
Purchases Scrolling Sign for VHS
Pictured with the sign are some of the VAFA Board Members at the time the sign was installed
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Each membership and contribution is very appreciated as it allows the VAFA to help Villisca schools, students and the community.
These are exciting days to be living in Villisca and part of that excitement has come with the formation of the Villisca Alumni and Friends Association. The board met for the first time as a Board August 26, 2006. Special thanks to Jim Robinson for coordinating the Steering Committee and pulling people together. And special kudos to Bob Mullen for all his work on the legal work for formalizing the Association. VAFA Mission Statement: The Association is a non-profit corporation committed to enhancing and supporting the educational (both academic and extra-curricular) facilities, programs and opportunities in the Villisca community. An effective public school system and ancillary educational opportunities are vital to small-town life. VAFA
Vision Statement: The Association envisions that it will,
through the efforts of its volunteers: 1.
Renew and facilitate regular communications and establish relationships
with and among current and former students, faculty, administrators
and staff of the Villisca schools; We
hope that the results of these efforts will: VAFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive
Committee Decade Representatives Members
at large Ex Officio
Members
As the Association continues to grow, there will be specific actions or events addressed that people may want to participate in. The passion which brought people together to organize the All-Class Reunion and now to organize the alumni in a formal organization is what will drive its success. Those with that passion will have the opportunity to become involved in a variety of ways - it may be sports, it may be the arts, it may be academics, it may be the trades, it may be other extra-curricular events or field trips.
The following note was received from Gwen L. Alexander '68 Girls State Basketball, with her membership: "I have such wonderful memories of Villisca and the education I received, band & marching, basketball, pep-band, Y-teens, Teenhaven - all Great. Thanks for this effort and your diligence. ~~Gwen L. Alexander, PhD, MPH When Douglas Darnold '69 sent an address update, he wrote: Leanna and I have been here sense August of 2006. I am the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Glenwood, Springs, CO ... [I] feel most fortunate that I was able to grow up in a town like Villisca. I keep up on much of what goes on in town through my aunts Nadine Stein and Martha Lynn and friend Helen Sutphen.
Lists of alumni by classes are listed on this Website. Click below on the decade you graduated in to see the list from your class. 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. If you did not graduate but would like to receive information on alumni information, send us your contact information and we will get you on the list.
If you did not receive a copy of the VAFA letter sent to alumni in February 2008 it is probably because we do not have a correct address for you - please send us name, class, address and e-mail address to alumni@villisca.com and we will get you on the list. If you are a friend of the Villisca School District and would like to receive communications in the future, please sent your name, address and e-mail address to alumni@villisca.com Dear Villisca Alumnus, An exciting new era of everyone connected with the Villisca schools has begun. After more than a year of planning, a large group of alumni and former teachers organized the Villisca Alumni and Friends Association (VAFA) in 2006. The idea grew out of the 2005 all-school reunion, when many people offered to help with alumni and school-related activities. A steering committee was formed to create a formal organization to tap into this energy and enthusiasm. The steering committee developed a mission statement and vision statement for the organization that is focused on helping the Villisca schools and indirectly the Villisca community. The process included a public forum for discussion of what VAFA should seek to accomplish. These efforts culminated in the formation of VAFA as an Iowa non-profit corporation. The Board of Directors has held two meetings so far. The Board presently consists of 27 members, including two from each decade of graduates and the remainder at-large. In addition, a six-person Executtive Committee functions between Board meetings. The Board has already examined numerous ideas for school-related projects. Since it was established VAFA has funded the construction of the sign with the scrolling marquee at the Middle/High School. It is in the midst of a project of preserving the class composite photos. These will be saved on DVDs by the decade and will be available to alumni by the 2009 All-Class Reunion. It also sought and received a grant providing partial funding for a whiteboard for the math department for the high school to provide our Villisca students with advanced learning tools in math. There are currently two new projects on the drawing board which are exciting so watch of that news to come. VAFA has also agreed to assume the responsibility for future all-school reunions. Those reunions are another great opportunity to keep in touch with our friends who share this common bond with Villisca. To further facilitate relationships among alumni, there is an alumni list at a new website, www.villisca.com. You can keep current on other alumni and friends by accessing that website. You can also view VAFA's complete mission statement and vision statement there, as well as a list of the directors and officers. We invite all Villisca alumni and friends to participate in this dynamic venture by joining us as founding members of VAFA. The annual membership fee for 2007 is $25. A single lifetime membership is $500 or $750 for both spouses. We anticipate that membership dues will be used to fund ongoing projects and smaller, short-term projects. Our operating and administrative costs are extremely low, consisting primarily of printing and postage expenses. There are no paid employees of VAFA - we rely solely on volunteer time. Perhaps the most pressing problem now facing the Villisca schools is that of "open enrollment out." Under state law, students who live within one school district may enroll in a different school district. The number of students who live the Villisca school district but who enroll in a different school district has grown significantly in recent years. Every lost student means the district loses about $6,000 per year in state funding, so the district's budget suffers greatly. Future efforts of VAFA will focus on keeping those students in the Villisca schools. Future projects would run the gamut from providing educational equipment or programs, to supporting and promoting all types of extracurricular activities as well as athletic activities. The needs are many. Like most smaller schools, Villisca faces difficult budget choices every year. We can help meet those needs and show our appreciation for what the Villisca schools have done for us by participating in VAFA. Meanwhile, you can help VAFA keep you informed on these developments and keep our mailing costs down at the same time if you would please give us your e-mail address on the form at the bottom of this letter. Your e-mail address would be used only by VAFA and would not be sold to any mass-marketer.
What was the first school year that hot lunches was served at Villisca schools and what one food items was in almost every lunch meal?
click on the box for the answer
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Each membership is very appreciated as it allows the VAFA to help Villisca schools, students and the community.
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THE
VHS CLASS OF 2009
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Kassandra Marie
Acosta |
Britni Nichole
Larabee |
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Here's a jigsaw puzzle of the Class of 1948 Float in the 2005 Heritage Days Parade
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This jigsaw puzzle is the Class of 1955 Float in the 2005 Heritage Days Parade |
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The Class of 2005 joined the 2005 Heritage Days Parade with a float of their own |
One
of the outcomes of reduced revenues in the Villisca Community School
District was the cancellation of field trips for Villisca students.
Remembering the fun and recognizing the value of these field trips,
In the 2008-09 school year, VAFA covered the expenses of the 5th grade's
Capital and Science Center field trip, the 4th grade's trip to Living
History Farms; the 4th grade's transportation to the Anderson Conservation
Center; and the 2nd grade's trip to the University of Nebraska State
Museum. At a VAFA board meeting Mary Lynn Poston noted that she had
been taking her students to the UofN State Museum for years but had
it not been for the funding from VAFA, her students last year would
not have been able to make the trip. 
Memories
continue to be made in Villisca - just simple memories - swimming at
the pool, spending time in the city park, participating in school activities,
Heritage Days. The quality of living in Villisca continues but at a
cost. Besides the pool and playground equipment projects, soon another
fundraiser will be in place to raise funds for a quad area at the High
School; a new track is needed; funds continue to be raised for the before-after
school program. Villisca has a wonderful history of raising funds to
meet the needs of the community - the community center, the Christmas
decorations, the wonderful hanging baskets and other garden enhancements
around town, the physician's center, Good Sam. The local churches continue
to need contributions so they can meet the spiritual needs of those
in the community. For those who have enjoyed the benefits of growing
up in Villisca, we invite you to contribute to the projects of your
choice. pictured to the left is the city square at night with the new
lights.
Villisca
has enjoyed beautiful lighted Christmas decorations in the downtown
area and at the north entrance to Villisca. These decorations were
purchased with donated funds. They have grown tired and in need of
replacement. Funds have been raised for replacements for the decorations
on the square. A second-round of fundraising is now ongoing to raise
funds to replace the remaining decorations. Contributions can be sent
to Villisca City Hall, designated for Christmas Decorations.
For
several summers Villisca's downtown area has been wonderfully decorated
with hanging baskets where the Christmas lights are hung at Christmas.
These take a great deal of loving care in the planting in the spring
and then watering all summer long. The costs of maintenance is raised
by the Villisca Garden Club. Harris Harmony Trail is developed and
maintained by volunteers and the costs of maintenance are covered
by contributions which can be sent to Villisca City Hall designated
for Villisca Garden Club. Pictured is one of the sculptures on
the Harris Harmony Trail.