Seventeen MVAOCOU high school students entered artworks, and seven attended the Conference Art Show hosted by Lawton-Bronson on Thursday March 26, 2026. MVAOCOU artists competed with students from other eight conference high schools. Four judges from Morningside University mulled over almost 450 artworks for nearly three hours. Ten of the 58 Ram entries earned awards.
    Those attending from MVAOCOU were National Art Honor Society and "Art Mob" Co-Presidents Gabby Rodriguez and Kylee Allen, Club Reporters Sam Rodriguez and Ainslee Doty, Senior Sunshine Bohlin, and Freshmen Charley Bahrke and Isabella Treusch.
    MVAOCOU Ram Artists brought home one first place medal, five blue ribbons, a Judge's ribbon, six red ribbons and nine white ribbons from the 2026 Western Valley Conference Art Show.
    French Foreign Exchange student and Senior Sascha Escalon received the First Place Medal for his ceramic box which he made in the first Semester. Judges said that it was well designed and proportioned and had the look of a genuine antique which was ironic since it included markings from a current video game. Escalon was unable to attend the Art Show because he had a track meet that day.
    The Special Judge's Award for Ceramics was given to Gabby Rodriguez. She plans on Majoring in Art Education at the University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO) next Fall and is Mr. Mallory's teacher's aid during 8th period, so she recently taught the Intro Art class how to make mugs, too.
    Blue ribbon (first place in their categories) winners were the following: For DrawingMadalyn Gran and Jacob Bottjen; PhotographySamantha Rodriguez; Digital Art and non ceramic SculptureAubrey Allen.
    Red (2nd place) ribbon winners were the following: DrawingJacob Bottjen, Madalyn Gran, and Gabby Rodriguez; Multi/Mixed MediaSunshine Bohlin; PhotographyCharley Bahrke; and CeramicsKylee Allen.
    Congratulations to MVAOCOU's White Ribbon Winners (3rd Place in the "Dutch System" that 4H & FFA participants may recognize): DrawingKylee Allen's skeleton and Madalyn Gran's jellyfish; PaintingSenior Gabby Rodriguez's "Bug Music" and Isabella Treusch's oil pastel face; For Multimedia worksMadalyn Gran's Notan paper-cut and Kylee Allen's crocheted moon; and Jacob Bottjen's 3D printed "Hector" from FNAF mask and Kylee Allen's cardboard Roman Colosseum.
    Congratulations to the artists.
    Photos supplied by Art Coach Ted Mallory. Thank you, Ted!

    Each year when the weather gets a little less snowy and a bit warmer, students are invited to participate in the annual FFA Drive Your Tractor to School Day. The event is just as simple as it sounds, ditching cars and trucks for tractors.
    This year, the upper parking area at the high school was reserved for the giant vehicles on March 26th. The tractors indeed filled the parking area as they have in past years. The students left for school a bit sooner than normal to accommodate the much slower and much larger farm implements.
    These tractors are now preparing for their trips to the field as planting season is ramping up. Tractors are becoming more prevalent on the roads as they lead planters to the field. Soonish, little green plants will be sprouting out of the black dirt.
    Photo by Jane Wonder. Thanks, Jane!