Congratulations to MVS seventh grader Emma M., who won third place in the Dottie Yeck Good Life Award essay contest sponsored by the Washington-Centerville Public Library! Over 600 area students in grades 7-9 entered the contest. In her essay, Emma describes how her favorite activities (theatre, dance, and choir) and support from parents and friends help her lay a foundation for her life and pursue her goals of becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon. Well done, Emma!

The Miami Valley School has retained its #1 spot in the 2024 Niche Best Schools Rankings, earning honors as the #1 overall high school in the Dayton region as well as the #1 private high school and #1 private K-12 school. MVS is also ranked as the #1 school in the region for STEM and #1 school in the region for college preparation.

Niche, a Pittsburgh-based data company, compiles its Best Schools list based on academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education; teacher salaries and rankings; racial and economic diversity; and surveys from Niche users, among other metrics. Congratulations to the entire MVS community!

Two MVS seniors earned National Recognition Awards from the College Board for their performance on last year’s PSAT/NMSQT:

• Nicholas Noyola ’24earned the National Indigenous Award (NIA) and National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA)
• Kai Ward ’24 earned the National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA).

Both Nicholas and Kai are MVS “lifers,” having attended the school since kindergarten! Congratulations!

Recently, five MVS seniors earned recognition through the National Merit Scholarship Program for their performance on last year’s PSAT/NMSQT:

• Sean Gupta ’24 and Arshaan Kahlon ’24 were named National Merit Semifinalists, an honor earned by less than 1% of high school seniors nationwide.
• Maya Bartek ’24, Aadya Gujja ’24, and Alex Rak ’24 were named National Merit Commended Scholars, representing the top 2-3% of high school seniors nationwide.

For another consecutive year, MVS has the highest percentage of National Merit Semifinalists in the Dayton area, with almost 6% of the senior class earning Semifinalist recognition.

Gather your foursome and hit ’em straight at the 8th Annual MVS Golf Outing in memory of Andrew Z. Arnett ’04! The outing will take place on Thursday, August 31, 2023, at The Golf Club at Yankee Trace. Individual and group sign-ups welcome, or just join us for lunch! Sponsorship opportunities also available. For event information and registration, click here!

On May 24, the MVS community gathered for the 37th annual Academic & Athletic Awards ceremony, honoring outstanding achievements by upper school students. Congratulations to our award recipients!

The Duncan W. Alling Book Awards

English Department Awards

Betsy M. Hughes Creative Writing Award: Mia Florkey ’23

Award for Excellence: Tanisha Pallerla ’23                  

Barbara Cleary Love of Literature Award: Torin Schulte ’23     

Visual & Performing Arts Department Awards

Linda Kretzler Excellence in Art Award: Isidore Peterson ’23

Excellence in Performing Arts Award: Sophia Shaker ’23 

Excellence in Instrumental Performance Award: Hannah Marlowe ’23

Love of the Arts Award: Sean Yen ’23

World Languages Department Awards   

Excellence in Language Award: Lekha Choudary ’23

Peter Camm Love of Language Award: Fortunate Peterson ’23

Mathematics Department Awards

Maria Ferraro Excellence in Mathematics Award: Dhruv Sadhu ’23

Love of Mathematics Award: Andrew Holzinger ’23  

Excellence in Computer Science: Frances Peters ’23                

Science Department Awards

Bryan Czarnota Excellence in Science Award: Kayleigh Cook ’23

Ashwi Birdi Love of Science Award: Lukah Varghese ’23

Social Science Department Awards

Excellence in Social Science Award: Hannah Sabagh ’23

Frances E. Inbody Love of History Award: James Diehl ’23

Upper School Awards of Distinction

Shelley Lazar Community Service Award: Lekha Choudary ’23

Parent Association Making an Impact Award: Aadya Gujja ’24 & Ainsley Rowland ’25

Brereton Family Award of Distinction: Rylee Boyer ’25

Experiential Learning Award: Lya Boeger ’23 & Gabriele Muratori ’23 

Student Leadership Award: Mia Florkey ’23

Sharyn D. Jackson Spirit Award: Hannah Marlowe ’23

Saidel Scholar Award: Caleb Meeker ’27

Head of School Award: Charis Jarvis ’23

Daughters of the American Revolution Youth Citizen Award: Jacob Barnard ’24, Yuvi Gupta ’26, Molly Van Kirk-Butler ’25

Recognition of Military Enlistment: Raef Sanner ’23

Montgomery County Scholarship Award: Fortunate Peterson ’23

National Merit Scholarship Program Awards: Lekha Choudary ’23, Andrew Holzinger ’23, Hannah Marlowe ’23, Dhruv Sadhu ’23, Lukah Varghese ’23

Athletic Awards

MVS Outstanding Athlete Award: Tanisha Pallerla ’23 & Justin Patterson ’23

MVS Scholar Athlete Award: Lekha Choudary ’23 & Dhruv Sadhu ’23 

MVS Courageous Student Award: Ashley Ohlemacher ’23

Billy Glisson Memorial Award: Michael Gifford-Boyer ’23

OHSAA Scholar Athlete Award: Andrew Holzinger ’23, Hannah Marlowe ’23, Gabriele Muratori ’23, Tanisha Pallerla ’23

OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award: Tyler Benedict ’09

Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award: Lukah Varghese ’23 & Lucía Skalicky Luqui ’24

NFHS National Award of Excellence: Charis Jarvis ’23 & Torin Schulte ’23

Congratulations to two MVS student-athletes who have signed letters of intent to pursue their sports at the next level! Ashley Ohlemacher ’23 will attend the University of Minnesota and participate in rowing, while Zayna Usman ’23 will attend Dartmouth College and play squash. Both student-athletes were celebrated at special signing day ceremonies in MVS’ Lofino Atrium attended by MVS faculty, coaches, friends, and family.