Three MVS students have been selected to speak at this year’s TEDxYouth@Dayton Conference on March 16, an honor only afforded to 10 young people across Southwest and Central Ohio. Rayna Annamraju ’26, Ainsley Rowland ’25, and Ilhaan Sheikh ’23 went through an application and audition process last November, and since then they have been honing their talks with their adult mentors. In addition to these three MVS students, multiple MVS faculty members are assisting with TEDxYouth this year, serving as mentors, committee members, and other volunteers.
The TEDxYouth@Dayton conference is March 16, 2023, at the Dayton Art Institute, at 7:00 p.m. More info on the TEDxYouth@Dayton webpage.
MVS Writers Bring Home Power of the Pen Awards
On Saturday, March 4, seven MVS writers competed at the Power of the Pen Western Regional Tournament at Wittenberg University, bringing home multiple awards:
Second place for the MVS eighth grade team
Second place individual award for Harpreet K. ’27
Ninth place individual award for Aleks J. ’27
As individual award winners, Harpreet and Aleks automatically qualify for the Power of the Pen State Tournament, which will be held on May 18-19 at Ashland University (Ashland, OH). Congratulations to these young writers and their coach, English teacher Debbie Voetberg!
MVS Senior Wins State Championship for Debate
MVS senior Dhruv Sadhu won the State Championship for Congressional Debate (Senate) at the OSDA State Finals, held March 2-4, 2023. Founded in 1927, The Ohio Speech & Debate Association (OSDA) is the governing organization for high school and middle school Speech & Debate throughout Ohio. Congratulations, Dhruv!
MVS Swimmers Compete at State Championships
Congratulations to MVS’ two state-qualifying swimmers, Katelyn Smittle ’25 and Ciara Dwyer ’26, who represented MVS at the OHSAA Division II State Tournament! The OHSAA state meet is one of the toughest high school meets in the country in terms of both qualification standards and competition times.
Katelyn qualified for finals in both of her events and ultimately notched two state Top 10s, finishing 9th in the 200 IM and 10th in the 500 free.
Ciara, qualifying for two state events in her ninth-grade season, finished 30th in both the 100 fly and 200 IM.
The pair also helped MVS capture the 2022-2023 Metro Buckeye Conference Championship for girls’ swimming.
Congratulations to these athletes and their coach, Sean Dwyer!
MVS Mathcounts Team Qualifies for State
The MVS middle school MATHCOUNTS team is state-bound after finishing second out of 20 teams at the Dayton Chapter Competition at Wright State University. The Mathcounts State Competition will take place on March 11 at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, OH. Good luck to Mathcounts and their coach, Mrs. Conn!
MVS Black Experience Affinity Group Hosts BHM Celebration
On Tuesday, February 28, The Black Experience, MVS’ affinity group for Black students and families, hosted this year’s Black History Month Celebration for lower, middle, and upper school students!
Serving as a culminating event during Black History Month, this year’s celebration was themed around Black Excellence in Education, with a gallery walk devoted to Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), presentations about Black pioneers in science, business, government, and the arts who graduated from HBCUs, and a special dance presentation by two Sinclair Community College students from Côte d’Ivoire. The presentation finished off with a sweet potato pie tasting in honor of Mary McLeod Bethune, who sold sweet potato pies to fund the opening of a school for Black students. Today, that school has grown into Bethune-Cookman University, a notable HBCU in Daytona Beach, Florida.
MVS Senior Earns Presidential Scholar Distinction
MVS senior Andrew Holzinger ‘23 has been selected as a candidate to become a U.S. Presidential Scholar. This prestigious program identifies candidates who are among the top scorers on the SAT or ACT nationally and who demonstrate high academic achievement. The 5,000 students who advance to candidate status represent approximately the top 0.2% of test-takers nationwide. Candidates are allocated proportionally by state; this year only 143 seniors in Ohio were recognized.
Outside the classroom, Andrew leads an active life, serving as co-president of upper school Student Government; participating in a wide variety of clubs, including Model UN and Quiz Bowl; and playing on the varsity cross country, swimming, and track teams at MVS. He plans to matriculate to Northwestern University next year. Congratulations, Andrew, and good luck in the next phase of the PSP!
MVS Students Recognized As National Merit Finalists
100% of MVS’ National Merit Semifinalists have attained Finalist status, representing 7% of the senior class. Congratulations Lekha, Andrew, and Dhruv!
The National Merit Finalists, which are chosen from all seniors based on junior-year PSAT/NMSQT results, represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state. To become a Finalists, students recognized as Semifinalists must complete a detailed scholarship application, including an activities resume, academic record, endorsement by a high school official, and personal essay. With 7% of the senior class recognized, MVS has the highest percentage of Finalists in the Dayton area for 2023.
MVS Robotics Qualifies for State Competition
The MVS robotics team is on its way to the state championship after winning three team awards at the FIRST Tech Challenge Wapakoneta State Qualifier on February 4. Twenty-four teams competed at the event.
The MVS “Rambotics” squad earned the following distinctions:
Innovate Award – First Place
Design Award – Second Place
Inspire Award – Second Place
The FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship will take place on March 9-11 at Hobart Arena in Troy, OH. Good luck to Rambotics and their coaches, Mrs. Roth and Mr. Walker!
Ars Nova Wins Midwest Quarterfinal
MVS’ pop a cappella group Ars Nova brought home first place at the February 19 ICHSA Midwest Quarterfinal at Harrison High School (Harrison, OH). Nine groups from three states competed at the event.
Ars Nova also swept the competition’s individual awards, with senior Sean Yen being recognized as the competition’s Outstanding Soloist and junior Skye Brown winning Outstanding Vocal Percussion.
The win qualifies Ars Nova for the ICHSA Midwest Semifinal on March 18, also at Harrison High School. The top finishing group at the Midwest Semifinal will advance to the ICHSA Finals in New York City.
Congratulations to Ars Nova and their director, Kat Smith!
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Due to inclement weather, The Miami Valley School is CLOSED on Wednesday, January 25. No in-person or online classes will meet. All after-school activities are also cancelled.
