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!
MVS to Host Women in Business Panel
On February 21, 2023, at 6:30 p.m., The Miami Valley School in Washington Township will host its inaugural Women in Business and Entrepreneurship Panel, as part of the MVS Speaker Series. The event is free and open to the public.
This panel discussion, moderated by Head of School Elizabeth F. Cleary, will bring together four remarkable women from the Dayton area who have made their mark in various professional fields:
Candace Dalmagne-Rouge is the founder of Ceremony, a company on a mission to help people honor, heal and celebrate the losses, transitions, and achievements of life. They do that by creating opportunities to cultivate sacred, inspired space – either alone through ritual kits, or with others through community gatherings – to bring power, presence, and reverence into life. They are deeply passionate about bringing universal healing to humanity through the art of ceremony.
Danielle Howard Edwards is the owner of Sweet P’s Handcrafted Ice Pops, a Dayton-based popsicle company. She is also the Principal Consultant of New Impact Partners, a collective of strategists and subject matter advisors who partner with clients to solve big challenges and define inclusive and equitable paths forward. Additionally, until July 2022, Danielle served as the Vice President of Talent, Communications, and Operations at Teach For America.
Linty John-Varghese is the owner of Lyons Dental in Centerville, OH, which is Dayton’s first Concierge Dental practice, focusing on Cosmetics, Full Mouth Reconstruction, Laser, Sleep and Holistic Dentistry. She shares her perspective on numerous Continuing Education dental courses through her blogs on “Lintys LEGIT List,” and in 2022 she launched a new speaker program called “Insurance-Free Dentistry 101.”
Jenell Ross is the president of Bob Ross Auto Group, which includes three franchises: Buick, GMC, and Mercedes-Benz. She has experience serving on the boards of numerous local, state, and national foundations and community service organizations, including the Board of Directors for Cars.com, Trustee of the University of Dayton, and the Minority Business Partnership through the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. She is also a former Chairwoman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, becoming the first African-American and the second woman to hold the position in the organization’s 52-year history.
The event will be held in The Miami Valley School’s Stuart and Mimi Rose Theater at 5151 Denise Drive, Dayton, OH, 45429. More information is available at https://www.mvschool.com/about/speaker-series/.
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