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While days and months came and went, PV saw some of its biggest moments happen right before the eyes of Spartan students and staff. In addition to bringing in another new freshman class, the first semester produced yet another impressive start for Spartan Nation. Follow along with this article to reexperience some of the ideas, achievements, construction and the unbreakable community created within the walls of Pleasant Valley during 2017.

With a new year, big changes are always presented. In some ways, some of this year’s occurrences were quite literally groundbreaking. Students faced their own hardships this year with parking adjustments and the strict ban of backpacks in classrooms and hallways. Each issue seemed to place a toll on student logistics. However, buzz and excitement continues to grow throughout the Pleasant Valley hallways with the opening date of the new student center inching closer. This student center is just a small part of the long term construction, also including a new three-story tower with three state of the art science labs and a new auxiliary gym. This expensive construction project will enhance the lives of students and staff for years to come.

This year, Pleasant Valley added another impressive list of all-state musicians, record-breaking team and athlete performances and notable academic accomplishments to its resume. Earlier this fall, senior Klaus Storl-Desmond was recognized for the mark he made nationally on science with his mathematical method which tracks projectile motion. With his developments, Storl-Desmond caught the eye of NASA, taking his research to a national level. Other students proved to be very impressive as well, including the five seniors earning spots as National Merit semi-finalists: Laura Brown, Vivek Joshi, Konnor Sommer, Vishwajit Subramanian and Sophia Xiao. Eight additional Pleasant Valley seniors were commended for their scores. Representing the Spartan Shield this fall, seniors Anna Banerjee and Vivek Joshi took third and first place, respectively, in the competitive Iowa High School Press Association on-the-spot article writing contest. This year’s academic achievements were not limited to individual students. As a whole, Pleasant Valley High School was one of the three Iowa high schools included in the AP district honor roll, with a large percentage of AP students scoring a three or higher.

Although there is much to be proud of this fall at Pleasant Valley scholastically, perhaps the most impressive students were the ones who displayed extreme toughness and grit. This fall, one of Spartan Nation’s youngest students, Will Kohn, finally received the new heart he and his family had been anxiously awaiting. While the community has continued to rally around Kohn throughout his journey, the young boy has displayed extreme determination in undergoing countless major surgeries. After several months at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, the Kohns were able to bring Will home and are overjoyed to say they’ll celebrating the holidays and ringing in the new year as a family in their Bettendorf home.

In the halls of the high school, sophomore Parker Kress has been recovering from a battle of his own. After fighting Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare type of cancerous tumor, and undergoing an amputation to his right leg in March, Kress has been quite successful on his road to recovery and normality. Through intense physical therapy, Kress was able to do something he originally thought would never be possible: return to the sport he loved. This winter, Kress tried out for and made the sophomore boys’ basketball team, displaying true Spartan grit and perseverance. Kress played in his first high school basketball game this December, surrounded by his countless supporters and family.

Pleasant Valley students and staff looked to rally around other important causes to reach a common goal of acceptance. Earlier this year, the Pleasant Valley administration publicly addressed students regarding travel ban threats by President Trump and the Charlottesville riots that occured in August. When the new school year started, Principal Mike Zimmer continued to make the Pleasant Valley High School a safe community, emphasizing the need for inclusion, regardless of religion, race, gender, disabilities and other factors. In recognition of the Pleasant Valley Sparkles and Stars as well as the UNITE club, the high school was awarded with the national Varsity Brands’ “Most Inclusive” award.

While PV was being recognized for its outstanding inclusive environment, women around the world and in the Pleasant Valley hallways gathered to unite to combat sexual harassment and assault. Many of the women at Pleasant Valley high school joined the national movement fueled by two words: “Me Too”. Through the promotion of strength and safety for all women, the Girls Learn International student club as well as other students targeted these issues head on in the fight for gender equality in all aspects. In contributing to overall women’s advocacy, leaders and members of GLI attended the local Fearlessly Girl event put on by tennis superstar Madison Keys. There, leaders were able to talk about the club’s mission and received the coveted national Instagram Kindness award.

The district as a whole continued the spirit of kindness through one of the biggest victories of the year: winning the Quad City Student Hunger Drive.  Spartan Assembly students led the community this fall in collecting over 60,000 pounds of food which was given to the River Bend Foodbank. The month of giving included multiple restaurant events, trick-or-treating for cans and the well fought battle of the high school’s teachers to see who would be crowned as Spartan Survivor, a title that English teacher Maureen Dyer eventually claimed.  

With big victories come heartbreaking losses. Perhaps no loss was more heartbreaking than that of Pleasant Valley’s own staff member, guidance secretary Kay Kaiser. After battling ovarian cancer for over six years, Pleasant Valley students participated in one last hat day this September to pay tribute to the beloved faculty member. Students and staff continue to display Kaiser’s positive spirit in her remembrance as students around the school have contributed to aid ovarian cancer research, combatting future fights to come. With the help of Spartan Assembly, students were able to put their handprint in the main hallway, leaving their mark on 2017 and a positive cause.

With all of the positives that occurred this year, the students and staff in the Valley only look forward to the bigger and better things to come in 2018. The Spartan Shield Online staff wishes you the best in the new year!