Business Newsletter - October 2021

Welcome families of Valor Business and DECA students!

This is a bi-monthly newsletter for the Valor Christian High School Business Endorsement Program. You are likely receiving this newsletter because your student is enrolled in one of the Business classes or participates in DECA at Valor. I hope you find it a useful resource both for information regarding the business endorsement track and news about our student achievements and activities.

Gratefully,

Mr. David Haar
Business Department Chair and Business Endorsement Leader

Meet your Student Business Leaders

The Valor business program has excellent student leaders and members of our first class of endorsement graduates. Meet Anthony Curcio (left), Taylor Ladwig (center), and Anapaula Floyd (right); all have been in the Business Endorsement Program for three years.

Anthony has taken most of the classes offered. Anthony has found his passion through community involvement and DECA. Anthony heads up the annual “Go Gold” campaign to raise awareness for childhood cancer. He has raised more than $20,000 to date, with more to come this year. Anthony was able to write this up as a DECA written community service project and finished 3rd in the world last year at the competition! Thank you, Anthony, for being a Valor leader!

Taylor has achieved excellent marks in all of her business classes. She is the DECA co-president and is spearheading a club of 140 members this year, not an easy task. Taylor has competed in the DECA state championships for two years and is looking forward to the trip to the Broadmoor again this February. Taylor has skillful leadership traits that motivate others. She is looking to pursue a career in business, possibly on the west coast, after graduation.

Anapaula is enrolled in our new Accounting course and enjoying the expanded opportunities. She has been involved in pursuing guest speakers, and shadowing opportunities for Valor students, especially for our minority students. She enjoys seeing others succeed beyond their perceived level of potential. Anapaula is a 2-time international DECA qualifier and is hoping for great things this spring at the international competition in Atlanta in April.

Valor DECA Students Excelled in Pre-Season Competitions

The pre-season offered two opportunities for students to compete early in the school year. The first was hosted by Legend High School and the second by Smoky Hill High School. Our DECA Squad did a tremendous job of demonstrating knowledge, skills, and poise at both events.

Titan DECA Invitational Results

Valor DECA students earned 2nd place with the following people earning special recognition:
Champion: Taylor Ladwig
Champion and overall top test score: Josh Hanft
2nd place: Julian Crouser, Carson Block, Makenzi Johnson, Sydney Martin   
2nd place team Event: Anapaula Floyd and Anthony Curcio; Luke Beukelman and Jack Beattie 
3rd place: Lexie Lawler 

Smoky Hill DECA Invitational Results

Valor DECA took 30 students to the Smoky Hill DECA Invitational. Those students who reached the podium were:
1st place: Ellie Roadifer, Owen Williams
2nd place: Jack Wetterling, Hojun Do, Garrett Mangas, and Dominic Desiderio
3rd place: Trudeaux Coffey, Alex Den  
5th place: MJ Ladwig, Cameron Connor, Oak Rose, Carter Hutchinson, and Trevor Johns 

Personal Finance Class Highlight

Valor Business and Personal Finance class had a intriguing first day of classes this fall. They had seven boxes, detailing future life situations such as career choice, type of housing, education, and financial status. They were only allowed to 'roll a dice' to find out their future. Needless to say, most students did not like their financial future led by 'chance.'

This allowed business teacher Mark Ladwig to discuss how 70% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck, which is not a wise strategy. This opened the students’ eyes to the concepts of savings, budgeting, debt, giving, credit cards, and investing to name a few topics. These students are now 'invested' in their future by learning these concepts throughout the semester. 

Senior Jack Beattie stated, “I now realize that my financial future starts now and the decisions I make will have some type of impact on my financial future. Better decisions often lead to better results.”  Well said, Jack!

Parent Involvement Welcome!

Valor students have a wide variety of opportunities to grow in their business knowledge and experience. To make the most of the high school years, parental involvement is needed and greatly appreciated! To explore how you can get involved and contribute to student success click here.  We would love to have your support!

Questions?

If you have questions or are interested in learning more about the Business Endorsement Program, please click here.