Vilas School District RE-5

🎉⚽ CONGRATULATIONS, OSMAN YANES! ⚽🎉

We are incredibly proud to congratulate Osman Yanes on being selected to participate in the CHSCA All-State Boys Soccer Games! 🏆

This is a huge honor and a testament to Osman’s hard work, dedication, and talent on the field. He has been recognized as one of the top senior soccer players in the state of Colorado and will represent our school at the 70th CHSCA All-State Games this summer at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

Way to go, Osman! Your Vilas community is cheering you on every step of the way! 💙⚽ #VilasGrit

🎉 Science Fair Winners Celebration 🎉
👏 A huge thank-you to the staff and families for supporting our students . We are incredibly proud of ALL of our participants—your curiosity and dedication are what science is all about!

Regional Science Fair Winners:
Elementary:
Eli Beecham- Best Filtration Cloth- 1st Elementary Engineering
Landen Pettinger/James Sullivan- Mentos Explosion- Go Getter Award from Dolly Morrow

Junior High:
Adalyn Pettinger- How Much ACTIVATED CHARCOAL is needed to PURIFY Water?- 1st JH Chemistry, State Qualifier
Delainey Thompson- What Fertilizers are YOU Using?-2nd JH Biology
Elizabeth Sullivan- Illuminating the Crime Scene- Forensic Award Bob Morrow, 2nd JH Chemistry
Kaliub Bear- THE BATTLE OF NUTRIENTS! Leaves vs Grass Clippings- 2nd JH Earth/Environmental
Brooklynn Coon-Design and Test Your Own Hydrating Mask- 2nd JH Engineering
Lynley Pettinger- “Mint” al Reaction: Peppermint’s Impact on Speed-3rd JH Behavior/Social
Maddyson Forgey- Trustworthy is YOUR Testimony?-Forensic Award from Bob Morrow

High School:
Nelia Yanes- Fabrics Under Different Conditions- 1st High School Living, State Qualifier
Tyfani Willis- It’s Written All Over Year Face: The Science of Facial Expressions- 3rd High School Living

Izaiah Hebberd- Making Homemade Cologne- 1st High School Non-Living, State Qualifier
Kalob Carter- Build a Circuit to Automatically Water Your Plant- 2nd High School Non-Living

Osman Yanes- Wind Turbines: Does the Blade Matter?- High School Reserve Champion- State Qualifier

Brielle Bond- Conducting Blood Splatter-Forensic Award from Bob Morrow

State Qualifiers:
Adalyn Pettinger, Izaiah Hebberd, Osman Yanes, Nelia Yanes will represent Southeast Colorado at State Science Fair April 9-11th in Fort Collins at Colorado State University

🎉 Vilas 2026 Homecoming – Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 🎉

Homecoming week is almost here, February 23-27th, and we’re ready to celebrate our students, school, and community! 🌟

Feb 27th Homecoming Basketball game vs Kit Carson at 4pm

🚀 FTC Vilas Matrix is Competition-Ready! 🚀 Our FIRST Tech Challenge team, Vilas Matrix, is officially at completion today and taking the field! 🎥 Watch them LIVE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/aZ6UuRVLcXE?feature=shared ⏰ Approximate match times: • 11:15 • 11:32 • 11:49 • 1:15 • 1:44 • 2:12 We are so proud of the grit, teamwork, and problem-solving these students have shown throughout the season. Tune in, cheer loud, and help us support Vilas Matrix! 💙🤖

The Vilas School Sophomore class is hosting a Valentine’s Day fundraiser, and we’d love your support! ❤️

Join us on the SaddleRock Sports Network today for a great match up! Here are the game links for today's games Patriots vs Longhorns in Campo starting at 5:00 PM. Springfield @ South Baca 5:00 - Varsity Ladies - https://youtube.com/live/54giLkuQ5m0 6:30 - Varsity Men - https://youtube.com/live/JsUtJ2ft-fE

📣 Early Release Thursday, Feb. 12 will be an early release day. 🕧 Dismissal at 12:45 PM (after lunch) for staff professional development.

🍽️ Now Hiring: Part-Time Kitchen Assistant Vilas School District is accepting applications for a Part-Time Kitchen Assistant position. If you’re passionate about preparing nutritious meals and making a difference in the lives of students, we’d love to hear from you! Open until filled, equal opportunity employer. Please reach out to the district for an application and questions. 📍 Position open until filled 📞 Contact: Abby Pettinger 📱 719-523-6738 📧 abby@vilask12.org

❄️ Weather Delay Notice – Monday, January 26 ❄️

Due to weather conditions, Vilas School will be on a late start on Monday, 1/26.

🕘 School will begin at 9:40 AM
🥣 No breakfast will be served
🚌 Buses will run as scheduled

Thank you to State School Board of Education members, Kathy Gebhardt and Kathy Plomer, for visiting rural districts in Southeast Colorado! We appreciated the opportunity to share how individualized student education and innovative programming in small rural districts lead to strong, above-average outcomes for students. Thank you for supporting the amazing work happening in our rural schools—we look forward to the next visit!

💙 Thank You, Vilas School Board Members 💙

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our Vilas School Board members for their continued dedication, leadership, and service to our students, staff, and community.
John Wittler, Bill Brooks, Dennis Thompson, Rebecca Schroder, and Vance Alfrey.

Serving on a school board takes time, thoughtful decision-making, and a deep commitment to doing what’s best for kids—often behind the scenes and outside of regular work hours. Our board members help guide the vision of our district, support innovative opportunities for students.

We are grateful for your willingness to serve, your thoughtful questions, and your steady leadership. Thank you for all you do to support Vilas School and the students we serve. 💙🤍

Join us for South Baca vs Walsh In Walsh on Monday, January 19, 2026 for some basketball! Here are the links to watch the games on! SaddleRock Sports Network Lady’s link: https://www.youtube.com/live/M1TSnOnnP1Y?si=joOrEa7bP1N3cxuL Men’s Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/VAYAiRywE0w?si=5sR680vCGIynAhAR

🌱🎉 Exciting News! 🎉🌱
Vilas School District is proud to be a recipient of the Harvest of Innovation Grant! This grant supports a student-led, multi-district Farm-to-School network, where students grow, research, and share local food through school meals, community markets, and inter-district “Harvest Swaps.” We’re excited to expand hands-on learning, student leadership, and access to fresh, local foods for our community.

📊 Celebrating Strong Outcomes at Vilas! 🎓

We’re excited to share that Vilas School District continues to show a positive graduation trend, with a graduation rate consistently above 90%—well above the state average.

This data highlights the impact of our rural district’s commitment to individualized and whole-child education. We are proud of our students’ increased engagement, determination, and success—Vilas Grit in action. 🎓💪

🌱 Food Production has been busy! 🌱
Students have been learning through hydroponics, experimenting with building their own systems, and testing them with strawberries 🍓—and we’d definitely call it a success! They’ve also been hard at work preparing the garden for spring planting. Hands-on learning at its best!

📅 Important Schedule Updates – Please Read 📅

We have a few upcoming schedule updates to share:

🔹 January 30
• Junior High Knowledge Bowl hosted in the morning
• Science Fair Expo | 12:30–1:30 PM
  Parents and community members are invited to visit with students about their projects
• Parent-Teacher Conferences | 1:30–3:30 PM
  If you are unable to attend during this time, please call the school to schedule an alternate meeting with teachers

🔹 February 27
• Parent-Teacher Conferences will NOT be held
• This day will be our Homecoming and Parents Night
• More information about these activities will be shared soon

Thank you for your flexibility and continued support of our students and staff!

🎉 Congratulations to Eliana Gutierrez! 🎉
Eliana has been selected to receive the DAR Good Citizen Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution, recognizing her for embodying dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in her school, home, and community. A well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations to our students on the Principal’s List and Superintendent’s List!
We’re proud of your hard work and dedication—keep it up! 🎉📚