VESTAVIA HILLS HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Photo Credits: Instagram, VHHS Rebel Marching Band at Mud Creek Marching Festival The new year, for many, is a time of self-evaluation and profound hope. The first of January inspires goals and promises of personal refinement (go check out our article on New Year’s Resolutions) and invites an excitement to leave the past year behind. Even so, our most popular anthem for the New Year, originally a Scottish poem, reminds us to step into the future with remembrance and apprecia

By Audrey Kim and Aiden Billano It’s that time of year again: the time we get to decide how we’re all going to spend the next year. With course selection fast approaching, as you look at potential classes in Vestavia’s Next Steps Live Binder , you may notice a few new additions since last year. After listening to student interest, these new courses were proposed by teachers and approved by the Board of Education to be available starting this year. Unfortunately, these course

Photo Credits: dadot.com In early December, our Track and Field team began the official indoor season with the Magic City Invitational. Located at the Crossplex, our athletes spent their afternoons competing and supporting as they broke into the competitive season.  In the 60m ambulatory, Vaughan Rainer ran a 10.03, winning the event. In the 60m, Cance (Derek) Mills ran a personal record of 7.02, placing 7th in the overall meet and putting himself 2nd in the school’s record

Photo Credits: Astha Mehta On December 5th and 6th, the Vestavia Hills Speech and Debate team competed in Montgomery at Montgomery Academy. The Big GUMP Classic -- one of the most anticipated competitions in the region -- has always been a Vestavia Hills favorite. The adored clay trophies feature a variety of extravagant animals, and the competition is a great way for competitors to grow and learn. The team competed in a variety of events, including Public Forum, Congression

Photo Credits: Mrs. Hyde, several Math Team students involved with tournament preparation Each year, the VHHS math team hosts a tournament, garnering nationwide attention and over a thousand students, from 6th graders fresh off their first semester of middle school, to seniors in high school just about ready to leave. This year, on the weekend of December 6th, it was no different. With over half a hundred schools ranging from ASFA to West Point HS, a full alphabetical journe

Celebrate the Season Anyone associated with Vestavia Hills High School knows about one particular day in December reserved for a concert known as Celebrate the Season. This day is full of holiday-themed performances from the school’s arts programs---band, choir, dance, theater, and visual arts---bringing everyone together for an incredible display of holiday cheer. This year’s performance was just as spirited and fun-filled as the rest, adding to the many concerts that have

Written by Bianca Lombo and Analiz Castellanos VHHS Poetry Out Loud What Poetry Out Loud Is, and How It Works Poetry Out Loud is a national competition designed to help high school students connect with poetry through its performance. Started in 2005 by the National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation, which aimed to support schools in having a poetry program. By performing poetry aloud, the performer has a deeper connection to their emotions and the connotation the

Picture of the AHSAA Swim and Dive State Championship in Huntsville, Alabama This past weekend, heading into Thanksgiving break, the VHHS swim and dive team traveled to Huntsville, kicking off the week with their final meet of the 2025 season. The Lady Rebels entered with high expectations for a state title, while the young men’s team also had a strong chance to bring home a map. For the girls, state individual qualifiers included Rilie Reid (Sr.), Angela Zhang (Sr.), Emily

Picture of Emory Bear on the left and Baker Stewart on the right. Have you ever gone through the hallways and seen the familiar faces of people you might have known from middle school, yet you never talk to them? You wonder what’s going on in their lives. how much you have missed, and how much has stayed the same for them. Well, lucky for you, we were able to catch up with two Rebel students right before Thanksgiving break and ask them a few questions about their lives an

Written by Grace Ding, Hannah Chen, and Sophia Chen Photo Credits: Grace Ding The VHHS Robotics team competed at their first signature event: a robotics competition that has direct qualifications to the VEX Robotics World  Championship. With a season so far of local tournaments and getting used to this year’s game, all four of our teams worked hard to prepare for the Smoky Mountain Forge. The tournament began on Friday, November 14th. Since it was a longer drive there, most

Photo Credits: Savannah Schmidt (Vestavia Voice) The Vestavia Hills Rebels entered the season with high expectations, a veteran core, and a coaching staff intent on building on the momentum of recent years. What followed was a thrilling and resilient campaign—one defined by explosive offense, breakout stars, and a team identity forged in some of the toughest matchups in the state. The Rebels opened the year with impressive confidence, showcasing an offense that could strike

Vestavia Hills High School isn’t a perfect place, but there’s one thing we all can certainly take pride in: our school’s commitment to service . On August 28, it was announced that The Lovelady Center would be our 2025 Fall Charity. Since then, we—the Rebel Family—have been dedicated to raising money for that worthy cause. There’s been fun, competition, dancing, and football—but what has been lighthearted fun for us will have an immense impact on our community. While you wer

The cross country program enjoyed an exceptional season on both the boys’ and girls’ sides. Each varsity squad concluded the year by bringing home a state-level award: the boys captured the State Championship title, while the girls earned the State Runner-Up title. These achievements reflect months of disciplined training and collective dedication. The season opened with strong performances at the Thompson 2-Mile meet, where both the boys’ and girls’ teams secured fourth pla

Credits: Katherine Terino The full history of Vestavia Hills High School’s boys cross country team is long and complex, so for the sake of brevity, our story will start in the fall of 2017. Senior James Sweeny and junior Bryce Hutchinson were poised to lead the team. There was also a phenom freshman aging onto the team, his name was Ethan Strand. The team had a strong season opener at Chickasaw Trails with James Sweeney taking second place in a time of 15:40 narrowly losing

Credits: Jennifer Dalton, Pictured (left to right): Annika Dalton, Anna-Sophia Le, Davidson Smith, Colin Strevy, Autumn Berry, Andy Sheng, Herbert Bryant, Ella Palmer, AJ Rembert Today, the Vestavia Hills High School Jazz Band is playing at the city’s Salute to Veterans Day Celebration. Gigs like these are common for the Jazz Band, which often gets invited to play at community events. Immediately following, the Jazz Band will prepare for their Fall Concert, which is next Mon

Credits: Kathy Forte on Pinterest The Vestavia Hills High Schoolers got their spooky on early at the first annual Trunk or Treat that was hosted at Vestavia Hills High School, led by the VHHS Student Government Association (SGA). Many groups entered the Trunk or Treat, with their themes being diverse and creative, from a circus theme to an under-the-sea theme and even a hippie-themed car.  Trunk or Treat was created to support the Lovelady Center, which is the charity that

Photo Credits: Getty Images What is literacy, and why is it important? According to Britannica, literacy goes beyond recognizing letters and words. It includes being able to read, write, and interpret different types of literature. A person who is literate should be able to understand, evaluate, and use written material to engage with society and achieve their goals (National Center for Education Statistics). When students suffer with reading and comprehending what they read

Credits: David Bartus If you are anything like me, you probably associate certain songs, albums, and artists with certain seasons or periods of your life. Music is an important part of many people's daily lives, so over this week, I decided to find out what fellow Vestavia Hills High School students and faculty are listening to. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the answers I received from interviewing people from multiple grades and classes. Each answer I got was uniqu

Trick-or-treating, dressing up, and eating way too much candy are all traditional activities commonly associated with Halloween: the adored October holiday. No matter what activities you participate in on Halloween, everyone seems to celebrate this holiday in some form. It is a well-known favorite throughout America, but most people only know Halloween in its modern form.  Just like other holidays, Halloween has developed significantly over time, and many fans of this holida

Credits: @vhhsfrenchduslay on Instagram Leah Dupre, affectionately known by her students as “Madame DuSlay,” is one of two French teachers at Vestavia Hills High School. She teaches French level 1 and 2 at the Freshman Campus, as well as level 2 classes at the main campus. Every high school French student at Vestavia will take her class at some point in their study. In French 1 and 2, her students learn the intricacies of the French language, how to read and write in French,