Reading through time and beyond

VHS held its 41st annual Reader’s Faire between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. on June 1 in the Tuttle Gym and Main Street Gym. The event was organized by English teachers James Locher and Mary Dietz and their English 10 honors classes, though Dietz’s English 10, 11 and 12 intensive class also participated. It was the first Reader’s Faire at VHS since the 2018-19 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the faire, the classes were assigned the Reader’s Faire project, which required them to write a children’s book with their group to be read at the Reader’s Faire. During the event, the groups read their books to children ranging from kindergarten to second grade. Nine Venturan elementary schools visited VHS for the faire, amounting to approximately 1,000 students. These schools included Ventura Missionary, Mound, Lincoln, Pierpont, Sunset, Assumption, Elmhurst, Loma Vista, Will Rogers, Poinsettia, Junipero Serra, E.P. Foster, ATLAS, Lemon Grove, Citrus Glen, Sheridan Way, Portola and Montalvo.

The theme of the faire was “Through Time and Beyond,” and it inspired children to read and strive for personal growth. In total, 40 books were read to the children, and all centered around the faire’s theme. Locher and Dietz recruited the help of upperclassmen to serve as guides, who helped control the visiting classes. The English 10 honors classes set up “habitats” for each

High School dance teams step into the spotlight

Tyree Cruz passes the torch to Josh Spiker for cross country

Josh Spiker has been hired as VHS’ new cross country coach following Tyree Cruz’s resignation. Spiker is the owner of Mile 26, a running goods store in Ventura. He is also a VHS alumni and ran track in high school and in college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Spiker said, “I am really excited and have inherited a great group of kids. I have a lot to learn but look forward to the journey ahead. I am going to learn a lot from the kids

I am pumped. We have the best high school runner in the country on the team and we also have student-athletes who have literally never ran and my job is to help them both reach their max potential and that is really exciting.”

Previous coach Tyree Cruz had been coaching the boys team since 2002 and started as a coach at VHS in 1998. Cruz said, “[Spiker is] a great choice. He’s a VHS alumni, one of the best runners that we’ve ever had here, owns a running store in town and he’s been involved in running forever. I couldn’t ask for a better elementary students had a book that was stamped by each group, which kept track of their attendance.

In addition to the June 1 Reader’s Faire, 55 seniors in Locher’s AP Literature & Composition class visited 11 elementary schools on June 2 to read their books, just as the sophomores had the day prior.

The children arrived at VHS by bus, private car and foot. The classes that visited VHS did not receive seniors, though Elmhurst Elementary School sent two classes to VHS and had two classes be visited.

Rebecca Castro ‘25, a reader, said, “[My book is] ‘The UHS: the unidentified happiness ship.’ [It’s about] an alien who gets lost in space and lands on Earth and is unable to go home unless he finds happiness on Earth. [The children] have loved it so much so far. They love the drawings. They’re also sweet.”

Laird Pidduck ‘24, a guide, said, “My responsibilities are to make sure the kids are all organized and move about to open areas to read books, just so there’s not as much chaos. They are chaotic. They have a bunch of energy. Though it’s great to see these little kids and sort of have them open to high school.”

Though being led by Locher and Dietz in cooperation with the participating elementary schools, this year’s Reader’s Faire was largely student-run. Students formed committees in charge of certain aspects of the faire, such as decoration.

The VHS Reader’s Faire is expected to continue in future years.

Dietz said, “This is a great event, and I’m really excited that we got to have it back here again. We really like having [the elementary school students] visit our campus. [Hosting it] here is more of a community feeling.” and hope they are going to learn from me. I think we can do great things together.”

The VHS cross country team has nine runners competing in the California state championship prelimination round currently. VHS has had continual success in cross country in the past as well.

Spiker said, “Coach [Bill] Tokar, Coach [Preston] Biller and Coach [Tyree] Cruz have built a great program over the years and I want to build upon that. My hope is that both the boys and girls teams will always be podium contenders at state and bring home state titles.”

Spiker said, “[Coaching a team with high level talent makes me] nervous but in a good way. There are a lot of expectations and I have a lot to learn but choice to come in and take the reins. Josh has been a part of running for a long time. He just has to learn how to manage the coaching part. He’s got to figure out all those things [behind coaching], but there’s lots of people here that can help him.”

Henry Hammel ‘24, a cross country runner, said, “I think that Josh taking over will definitely bring an exciting change in culture as Josh is very into the sport and a very inspiring figure in the Ventura running scene. I personally believe that Josh being hired will help nurture the already great team culture that we have created as a very dedicated group of individuals.”

In words of advice to Spiker, Cruz said, “[He should] make it his own.”