News and Events

Mystic Valley Students Win Globe Art Awards

Five Mystic Valley Charter School students recently received Boston Globe Art awards. The awards are given as part of an annual competition put on by the Globe.
The winners are: Chelsea Sutherland, Silver Key Award, "Countenance", Siobhan Glynn, Honorable Mention, "Festival of Light", Rico St Paul, Honorable Mention, "Chiaroscuro Self Portrait", Amy Nickerson, Honorable Mention, "Fauve Self Portrait" and Shirley He, Honorable Mention, "Path".
This year's exhibit of Gold and Silver Key Art will hang from Monday, Feb 13 through Friday, April 20 at the State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, Boston.  Hours are Weekdays 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM including holidays and Saturdays & Sundays 12:00 noon - 4:00 PM.
The Awards Ceremonies for this year's winners will be held Sunday, March 11 at the John Hancock Hall in Boston, throughout the day.

Pictured with their work below are Amy Nickerson, Rico St. Paul and Chelsea Sutherland. 

Friday Night Flicks

On Friday, February 3rd the Mystic Valley PTO will be showing the movie "Dolphin Tale" in the MPR in the Laurel Street building. Doors open at 6:15 and the movie will start at 6:30. Admission is free. Parents please note that children must be accompanied at all times.

Please bring 1 box of crayons, small paint set or paper for 1 free bag of popcorn. The crayons, paint sets and paper will be donated to Horizons for Children.  Pizza snacks ans beverages will be on sale. Don't forget to bring a blanket. 

Patriots Day 

Friday, February 3rd, will be Patriots Day at Mystic Valley!!  All children will be allowed to wear clothing that is supportive of the New England Patriots, although it is not mandatory.  Children not wanting to celebrate Patriots Day can wear the normal school uniform. 

Patriot’s clothing (game shirts, clothes with the logo, etc..) will be allowed or children can wear something with red, white or blue in it, as long as it conforms to the school’s dress down day policy.  To be more specific, no jewelry, no hoods, no hats or bandanas, no make-up, no form-fitting pants, or anything else deemed to be in violation of the dress down day policy.  Clothing supportive of other teams, even if they have red, white and blue colors (Giants of the NFL or the Canadians of the NHL for example), will not be allowed.  Parents of students not in compliance will be called to bring clothing to the school immediately.  The children where the non-compliance is not corrected in an immediate manner will lose their dress down privilege on the next early release day, Wednesday, February 22nd.

Students of the Week Honored

Several students were recently honored as Student of the Week.  The students were recognized for having best exemplified the virtue of Magnanimity. The students were treated to breakfast with Mr. Finn and their names were announced to the entire school. Weekly award winners for the the Kindergarten classes for the month of January are pictured below.

Lily Pires, Matson Spirn & Melody Sullivan

Students of the  Month Honored

Several Mystic Valley High School students were recently honored as students of the month. The selected students were treated to breakfast with Mr. Benzie courtesy of the PTO in the school library.  Each subject area selects a student of the month. The criteria for selection is: a student who exemplifies strong character and carries out our school's mission; a student who has gone above and beyond in the subject matter, even if their grade does not yet reflect it; a student who is a helpful; participant in class at all times and a student who goes out of their way to help others in the classroom.

Hockey Plays at Minuteman

Mystic Valley's hockey team will play at Minuteman on Wednesday, January 4th at 8:00. The team is coming off of a win and hopes to keep the streak alive against a Commonwealth Athletic Conference foe.

Swim Team in CAC Championship

The Mystic Valley swim team will compete in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Championship meet on Thursday, February 2nd at 3:00 at Lynn Tech. The meet will run two days with the second day's events also starting at 3:00 at Greater Lawrence. The team is has not lost a league meet in over two years. They are looking forward to keeping the streak going on Thursday and bringing home another championship.

Mystic Valley Athletics Opens New Facility with Grand Slam

The Mystic Valley Athletics program has opened its new facility in fine fashion. The volleyball, swim, boys’ varsity basketball and girls’ varsity basketball teams all posted wins in their first game at their new home.
The volleyball team started the streak with a thrilling win. The team had not won a match in nearly two years but rose to the occasion to beat Northeast three sets to two. After the win the team went on to win the rest of their games finishing the year with a three game win streak.
Next up was the swim team who were opening their season against a very strong team from Nashua New Hampshire that finished second in the state last year. Not to be deterred the team came through with a razor thin 87-83 victory, the 34th straight for the team.
The boys’ basketball team faced a Lynn Tech team that was 87-13 over their last 100 games heading into the opener. Once again the Mystic Valley team brought their “A” game to the new facility and dispatched the visitors by 16 points.
The girls’ varsity basketball team completed the cycle by beating Fellowship Christian by a convincing margin led by freshman Jessica Phinney who had 26 points. She was also the girl who made the first serve on the new court for the volleyball team that started the opening game win streak.

Sixth Grade Science Project

Mystic Valley's sixth graders all took a turn dissecting a pig's heart as part of their science class.  The students broke down into teams that were each resposible for cutting into the heart and uncovering the various parts of the organ.

Mystic Valley Downs Nashua North in First Varsity Swim Meet at New Natatorium

In a thrilling meet, the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School swim team earned its 34th consecutive win, defeating Nashua North, one of New Hampshire’s strongest teams. It was a very big win for Mystic Valley christening its new pool with the biggest win the team has had in its short but successful History.  Both the Boys and Girls Nashua North teams were 2nd in the State of New Hampshire last year. The win was particularly meaningful because this was the first varsity meet held at Mystic Valley’s new natatorium.

With two events remaining in the meet, the Eagles trailed Nashua North by four points, 68-72. In true Mystic Valley fashion, the team finished 1-2-3 in the 100 Breaststroke, outscoring Nashua 13-3 in the event. Wilson Tran finished first, Christian Kinnon second, and Nick Antonucci third.
Ahead by only six points going into the final event of the meet, the 400 Freestyle Relay, the Eagles needed either a first- or a second and third-place finish to secure the win. In an extremely close race, Shane Kinnon, swimming the 100 freestyle in 50.4 seconds, was just out touched by Nashua’s top swimmer. Mystic Valley earned second and third places and the Eagles won the meet, 87-83.
The meet was a testament to the depth of the 2011-2012 Mystic Valley swim team, as the second Mystic Valley 400 Freestyle relay team of Karina Hanson, Michael Leung, Robbie Cummings, and senior captain Fallon Bushee delivered a truly clutch performance in the meet’s final event to secure the win.
The entire meet was close between these two evenly matched teams. Driven by the emotion involved in defending their home pool for the first time, Mystic Valley’s boys’ 200 Medley Relay team (Shane Kinnon, Christian Kinnon, Robby DeSantis, and Zack Kelso) won the meet’s first event, the 200 Medley Relay, earning eight points. Nashua finished second and third, and the meet’s score was 8-6.
The Eagles split points with Nashua’s Titans in the meet’s next two events, the 200 Freestyle and the 200 IM. Junior Robby DeSantis took second place for Mystic Valley, while Fallon Bushee finished third and Ben Lieu finished fifth. Senior captain Shane Kinnon finished second in the IM, while Wilson Tran finished just behind him in third, and Christian Kinnon took fifth.
The Eagles widened the point margin between the two teams by finishing first, third, and fourth (senior captain Zack Kelso, Giuseppe Iacovone, and Robbie Cummings, respectively) in the 50 Freestyle. Then, in the 100 Butterfly, Robby DeSantis, Michael Leung, and Caroline Williams finished second, third, and fourth.
Although the Titans steadily climbed back into the meet during the 100 Freestyle and the 500 Freestyle, there were some strong Mystic Valley performances. Zack Kelso, Giuseppe Iacovone, Nick Antonucci, Fallon Bushee, and Allie Krasco all scored points for the Eagles in these two events.
Despite placing second and third in the meet’s next event, the 200 Freestyle Relay, Nashua still outscored Mystic Valley in the event, 8-6.
Following the relay, Shane Kinnon delivered a strong win in the 100 Backstroke. The Titans, however, placed second, third, and fourth, outscoring the Eagles in the event.
With the win, Mystic Valley moved to 1-0 in the 2011-2012 season. The team travel to Shawsheen on Wednesday, and will host Greater Lawrence Tech on Friday.

Mystic Valley Apparel for Sale 

Just in time for the holiday season, The Mystic Valley Booster Club has significantly increased the amount of Mystic Valley merchandise that is available for purchase. You may now order Mystic Valley apparel online. Forty-two different items are now available for purchase. To view the selection click here: https://qnet.e-quantum2k.com/~americandiversity/Custom/01265R/RETAIL/cgi-bin/nph-your-catalog.cgi
All proceeds received by the school will be delivered to the Mystic Valley Booster Club for use in support of Mystic Valley sports and other extracurricular activities. Please allow two weeks for delivery.

Mystic Valley Gardening Club Tends Fay Community Garden

Six students from the Mystic Valley High School Gardening Club spent the afternoon of the first day of December cleaning up the Councillor Eileen Fay Community Garden. The garden is located on the corner of Salem Street and Broadway in Malden. The garden was planted by City Councillor Eileen Fay who spent many days caring for the plants in the garden. The garden was dedicated to her memory after she died suddenly while in office.
In addition to having a beautiful shade tree, pretty bushes and lovely summer flowers, this garden has a bench for people from the community to relax on. The students were busy all afternoon and worked into the darkness. They filled six bags with leaves and debris as well as cleaned out the trash that had accumulated there. The garden is getting into good shape for the winter, and the students are looking forward to completing the fall clean up and planting colourful flowers in the spring.

Mystic Valley Cuts Ribbon at New Facility

Officials from the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School proudly cut the ribbon on the school’s new facility on Route 60 in Malden on Wednesday, November 23rd.  A sizable group of Mystic Valley supporters braved the heavy rains to come to the event. 
Included among the attendees were:  Mystic Valley Board of Trustees Chairman Neil Kinnon;  Mystic Valley Board Members: Fran Brown; Tom Brennan and Janice Bissex; Malden’s Mayor-Elect Gary Christenson; State Representatives Chris Fallon and Paul Donato; Mystic Valley Assistant Directors George Benzie and Chris Finn; Mystic Valley Business Manager Rick Veilleux; Project Manager Ken Antonucci;  Malden City Councillors Neal Anderson, Barbara Murphy and Jim Nestor; Melrose Alderman Peter Mortimer; Joe Leary from Salem Five; Ted Coates, Director of the Malden Chamber of Commerce; Mystic Valley Professional Development Coordinator,  Gina McKinnon; Mystic Valley PTO Representatives Andrew Schaad, Doreen Bibilos and Nicole Manseau and Mystic Valley Parent Advisory Council member Ann Carroll.
The Chairman of Mystic Valley’s Board of Trustees, Neil Kinnon, said that:  “The Ribbon cutting signifies another large success in Mystic Valley’s story providing a long needed home for its winter athletic programs and a first rate home for its Kindergarten students where the Mission begins.   The fact that all of this was done without receipt of any State School Building Assistance Funds should in the long term provide a model for how taxpayer money can be effectively and efficiently used to provide a first rate education in the Commonwealth.“ 

Mystic Valley Announces Honor Roll

The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School proudly announces that the following students have been named to the Honor Roll for the first quarter:

HIGH HONORS:  (no grade lower than A-)

Grade Seven:  Elena Bibilos, Kevin Chau, Sarah DeSantis, Veronica Drahos, Gaelle Gourdet, Andrew Hogan, Ryan Kinnon, Emily Nguyen, Nancy Nguyen, Christopher Poulos, Alexandru Teodorescu and Kelsey Vu

Grade Eight:  Elizabeth Callahan, Bailey Chiccuarelli, Sarah Di, Sean Flanagan, Karina Hanson, Kimberly Huynh, Asha Kurian, Jessica Lieu, Victoria Mail, Colleen McGlynn, Neissa Mondesir, Amy Nguyen, Gaetano Panza, Haley Pezzarossi, Louis Piper Carson, Taylor Sa, Bailey Saponaro, Nicole Tran, Visnavy Vickneswaran, Louise Wilensky, Emmaline Willis and Aya Zeabi
 
Grade Nine: Ava Asai-Sarris, Emily Kelly, Brian Lai, Tony Le, Visakha Le-Nguyen, Brittany Lin, Thomas Lin, Emily Luu, Adam Moran and Sarah Terrazano

Grade Ten: Tania Fabo, Shirley He, Congtin Nguyen and Sophia Small

Grade Eleven:  Sophie Carroll, Robert DeSantis and Kyle Hanson

Grade Twelve: Shannon Bushee, Diandra Franks, Leandra Furtado, Ariana Mirzakashani and Benjamin Soper

HONORS:  (no grade lower than B-)

Grade Seven: Isabella Addison, Vikram Alagappan, Nadeline Alexandre, Bianca Augeri,
Kiara Awunti, Elissa Bacon, Ashley Buggy, Jose Cefalo, Justin Chenh Tu, Alex Ciampa, Talia Cutulle, Danielle Dailey, Haley David, Alexandra de Heer, Christian Falzone, Dante Goss, Matthew Hogan, Ashleigh Inman, Kassandra Julce, Madeline Law, Joseph Lorusso, Ashley Martorana, Amanda McKenzie, Nevan O’Brien, Randall O’Rourke, Jesse Orton, Julia Passanisi, Julia Powers, Brooke Proto, Daniel Riley, Courtney Ryan, Jack Ryan, Stephen Smail, Abigail Sullivan, Amanda Sutherland, Julia Thistle and Kim-yen Vo

Grade Eight: Sara Calautti, John Callanan, Helen Chan, Carman Chen, Bryanna Cimetti, Rita Cook, Eliana Destin, Emmaline Dillon, Steffirah Eliscar, Fabiola Falaise, Jamie Ferrari, Jordan Ferrari, Rebecca Fisk, Kerri Foley, Meghan Foley, Mary Gallagher, Felicia Garbarino, Nikko Gateas, Dino Goranovic, Sydney Guerrier, Raylen Liang, Brandon Loesch, Amanda McInerney, Aliza Merchant, Ngosu Ndiwane, Scott Nguyen, Timothy O’Donnell, Diana Pierre, Kerriann Pontbriand, Ethan Rong, Andrew Schofield, Makayla Selden, James Sickler III, Jessica Soper, Cameron Sullivan and Luxman Surenthra, Jacob Swaim, Vincent Tham, Bridget Tully, Emily Verrill, Olivia Weber, Robert Wentzell, Caroline Williams and Trevor Witham.

Grade Nine: Robert Cummings, Charif Elmoussaoui, Joseph Finn, Erika Furtado, Nathan Gerard, Christopher Le, Vanessa LoChirco, Jesse Loesch, Cameron McKenna, Patrick McPherson, Sarah Mercurio, Nina Mirzakashani, Mar Missbah el Idrissi, Amy Nickerson, Jessica Phinney, Samantha Rizzo, Shannon Roseen, Erica Sacramone, Isha Sharma, Camila Silva, Rico St. Paul, Chloe Statho, Chelsea Sutherland, Melinda Taylor, Jordan Tirrell, Hildy Wen, Miles Wentzell and Wolfgang Wentzell.

Grade Ten: Maaya Alagappan, Saja Alani, Anthony Bockley, Katherine Brown, Soraya Caballero, Sydney Carlino, Nicolette Cerundolo, David Chiccuarelli, Joseph Dailey, Krystiana DiMaro, Ryan Foley, Rodney Fontile, Megan Grossi, Jonessa Guarino, Samantha Halloran, Connor Higgins, Michael Hooley, Connie Lam, Jessica Lee, Brian Liang, Benjamin Lieu, Savah Moreno-Areniello, Emily Mui, Virginia Ng, Jack Nguyen, Marina Novaes, Feliciana Panza, Jonathan Powers, Selma Sinanovic, Raphael Stigliano, Martisha Timothee, Isabel Waller and Emily Williams
 
Grade Eleven: Francine Alexandre, Nicole Anderson, Tyler Burnett, Domenic Ciampa, Jordan Cram, Daniel DiFusco, Gabriella Elmoussaoui, Erik Feeley, Siobhan Glynn, Marco Hanna, Ryan Hazel, Erin Kinnon, Jacqueline Lane, Victor Liang, Rachel McGovern, Kathryn McPherson, Kayla Mei, Marvin Morisset, Stephen O’Brien, Nicholas Russo, Violet Sullivan and Marc Toomajian

Grade Twelve:  Klysman Afonso, Karl Afrikian, Jenna Amari, Patrick Appleby, Nohamin Ayele, Julia Bellefontaine, Fallon Bushee, Marisa Cagno, Raquel Cappotto, Neide Celestin, Alyssa DiFilippo, Jacqui Finn, Laurie Fontile, Emma Justice, Ryan Keane, Kristina Kontos, Dimitry Legagneur, Anna Luti, Rosaria Marraccino, Christopher Matthews, Ngobitak Ndiwane, Taylor Newton, Christina O’Brien, Jonathan Paul, Olivia Petrella, Danielle Phinney, Amanda Powell, Gemima Previlus, Zachary Riley, James Rossi, Amber Scarpaci, Zakaria Stour, James Tran, Wilson Tran, Abigail Vincent  and Ricky Yu.

Admissions Lottery Draws Hundreds

Hundreds of parents turned out for Mystic Valley's Admissions Lottery on November 17th. The parents came to see if their children would be able to attend Mystic Valley during the school year beginning in August 2012. 437 applications were received for the incoming Kindergarten class which will number approximately 120 students There were over 700 applications for grades K-5. There are currently over 2,200 students names on Mystic Valley's waiting list. To view a video of the evening click here.

Basketball Teams to Play Northest

The Mystic Valley high school basketball teams will all play Commonwealth Athletic Conference rival Northeast Regional on Friday, January 6th. The games will start at 3:30 when the jv boys team plays at Northeast followed by the varsity at 4:45. The girls will be at home with the jv playing at 4:00 and the varsity at 5:30. 

Builders’ Club Hosts First Dodgeball Tournament Ever Held in New Gym

The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Builders’ Club hosted their second dodgeball tournament of the year on Saturday, November 19, 2011. This was the first dodgeball tournament in the new gym on Eastern Avenue, and the first in which fifth-graders were allowed to participate. There were two divisions: one for fifth and sixth graders, and one for seventh and eighth graders.
Team McCarthy, a fierce group of sixth grade boys headed by Ms. Jacqueline McCarthy, won the tournament in the fifth and sixth grade division. The Blue Dudes, a group of fifth grade boys under the leadership of Mr. Chris Giles, won the Team Spirit Award. The Dudes had the largest cheering section, because they brought their younger brothers to serve as mascots. The Sportsmanship award went to the Mean Green Dodgeball Machine, Mrs. Shawn Trice’s team, who reassembled and returned to play after a disappointing defeat in the first dodgeball tournament on October 24th. Other fifth and sixth grade teams included the Devils, the Bulldogs, the Pascuch Dogs, the Sour Patch Kidz, and the Bloody Bandits.
The Mean Green Dodgeball Machine provided some of the most exciting moments of play. At the end of the game against Team McCarthy, sixth grader Hannah DiGiovanni  was left alone on the court, facing about six members of the opposite team. For several minutes, which seemed like hours, she continued to deflect the other team’s shots, and continued to throw the other players out. “Hannah simply would not give up. I really admire how she just kept going and going and never quit until the end,” said Ms. Emily Kearney. Eventually, Hannah was relieved by sixth grader Sophia Antonucci who showed similar perseverance. Sophia was finally eliminated when a member of Team McCarthy caught one of her throws.
The seventh and eighth grade division provided more excitement. The returning champion team (formerly known as Mothership) returned as MLG KLUTCH, wearing matching shirts with targets printed on the front. MLG KLUTCH, a group of eighth grade boys led by Mr. Goeffrey Krumwiede, were undefeated in the elimination round and were the clear favorites to win the championship. However, Mr. Matthew Stone’s Ball Dodgers, a coed group of seventh graders, were victorious in the end.

Drama Club Performs Oliver! 

In Lionel Bart’s “Oliver!”, based on Dickens’ "Oliver Twist", and under the direction of Mr. Quinn, Oliver Twist asks for more food and has to run away from the orphanage run by the heartless Mr. Bumble. Oliver meets the Artful Dodger and is recruited to pick pockets for Fagin. There, Oliver finds a friend in Nancy, but neither she nor the boy are able to escape the rage of Bill Sykes, unless the kindly, elderly Mr. Brownlow can sneak him away.
Over 80 students were involved in bringing to life this wonderful musical featuring great songs such as “Pick a Pocket or Two”, “Food Glorious Food” and “Oom Pah Pah”. The actors, from grades 4-6 (with the occasional 8th grader thrown in) learned to sing and dance while portraying men, women and children from 1850’s London.
The students performed in front of standing room only audiences on Friday and Saturday nights.

Kindergarten Moves to Eastern Avenue 

The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School has opened its new facility on Eastern Avenue at the former site of the Davidson Chevrolet automobile dealership. Kindergarten students reported for class on Monday, November 7th.
Opening the new facility goes a long way to alleviating the school’s need for additional space. Mystic Valley, prior to the opening of the new facility, operated at 79 square feet per student including all buildings (houses used for administration, rental offices, and school buildings). By comparision the Malden Public Schools occupy 191 square feet per student Pre-K through grade 12.For K-8 it is 162 per square foot. The National Median Square foot per student for K-8 is 143 square feet per student. With the addition of the new facility Mystic Valley now operates with 103 square feet per child.  Space needs including new Kindergarten classrooms and building a game size gymnasium to avoid constant rental costs and scheduling nightmares were the priorities.

The pool was built as Mystic Valley has a very successful competitive program at the High School level which was renting its space at a very high price. Mystic Valley also has students conduct inexpensive swim lessons each year as well in the Student Action Service Club.  Because of the savings gained by not renting and the pool rentals to be established, the capital cost of the pool will be paid.  Mystic Valley fully expects that ultimately the pool rentals will pay for all operating costs as well and leave an excess to help run more academic and athletic programs.

The new facility cost approximately $6,500,000 or slightly less than $200 per square foot. This is about a third less than it costs to build a new school in the Commonwealth and it was done without any School Building Assistance money because Charter Schools are not eligible for SBA funding. In comparison the Malden Public Schools are conducting a $77,000,000 renovation to Malden High. Malden High is not a new building. The cost is approximately $170 per square foot 90% paid for by the School Building Assistance Fund with the balance of the money from the coming from the city taking debt. The bottom line is that Mystic Valley like other Charter Schools is showing what can be done with limited resources managed properly and is a model for use of the taxpayers’ money.
Mystic Valley now owns 243,000 square feet of land.  This includes the still vacant second half of the property on Eastern Ave. The land now owned is 165 square feet per student. By comparison the Malden Public Schools with adjacent parks etc occupy 263 square feet per student.

31 Mystic Valley Seniors Awarded Adams Scholarships

31 Mystic Valley seniors have recently been informed that they are receiving the John and Abigail Adams Scholarships this year. The scholarships entitle the students to attend any Massachusetts state college or university for four years free of tuition.
Mystic Valley traditionally has a large percentage of seniors receiving the scholarship and this year is no different as 31 of the 82 members of the class have received the scholarships. Mystic Valley Assistant Director 9-12 George Benzie proudly stated that “It is wonderful to see that our students’ hard work culminates in receiving the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship for their high scores on MCAS. While at Mystic Valley, they have strived for academic excellence and now they witness the results and fruits of their labor”.
The students receiving the scholarship are: Karl Afrikian; Jenna Amari; Nohamin Ayele; Fallon Bushee; Shannon Bushee; Evan Conley; Samalie Eugene; Ashley Foley; Joseph Foley; Leandra Furtado; Kyle Howard; Ryan Keane; Kristina Kontos; Anna Luti; Ariana Mirzakashani; Christopher Mui; Ngobitak Ndiwane; Taylor Newton; Amanda Ng, Brian O’Connor; Amanda Pires; Alexa Romancewicz; James Rossi; Joseph Russo; Amber Scarpaci; Larissa Silva; Benjamin Soper; James Tran; Wilson Tran; Abigail Vincent  and Ricky Yu.

Mystic Valley Volleyball Opens New Building with Thrilling Win

This is what is great about sports! The Mystic Valley volleyball team had not won a match in nearly two years. During the 2011 season they lost 15 of their 16 matches 3 sets to none. But there was something in the air on Wednesday. The team was playing the first game in the school’s new gym and the girls were bound and determined to play a good game and they certainly did.
The bleachers were packed as a standing room only crowd watched Jessica Phinney serve to start the match and the beginning of a new era in Mystic Valley athletics. The Eagles came out very strong winning the first set 25-15 and announcing to everyone in attendance that they were here to play. Northeast was unwilling to let Mystic Valley control the game. They had beaten the Eagles in three straight sets earlier in the season and were intent on winning again. They quickly got back on their feet winning the next two games 25-9 and 25-17.
The Eagles were on the brink of losing the match but they refused to quit and turned the match around with a 25-16 win tying the match at 2 sets a piece and setting up the decisive 5th set. By this time the crowd had swelled with students and teachers from the high school who had come to check out the new gym along with cheerleaders and swim club students and their parents who had arrived early for their practice. Everyone in the building stopped what they were doing to watch the game and cheer on the girls.
Throughout the final frame Northeast would get a one point lead and Mystic Valley would catch up and tie the set. The back and forth went on throughout the game until the Eagles were able to take the lead. With the score 14-13 the Eagles were just one point away from victory but Northeast held serve. A net violation by Northeast set off a wave of celebration in the gym as the girls jumped up and down on each other with tears of joy streaming down their faces.
Head Coach Marc Arria was very proud of his team. After the game he had high praise for them saying “It was a great effort all around.  All of the girls played well.  They have always had the ability to do it, but it finally all came together and they took care of business.”  The girls played a great team game they were led by freshman, Jessica Phinney who had 19 assists.  Freshman Shannon Roseen had 13 kills.  Joanna Petras played solid defense and made great passes all game.  Jordan Sullivan played well all game. Two freshmen, Nina Mirzakashani and Paulina Petras, came off the bench and made some great serves. 
The team will be back in action on Friday with a match against North Shore/Essex Aggie.

    

 

Mystic Valley Students Ace MCAS Exams

Once again students at the Mystic Valley Regional Charter scored among the top schools in the Commonwealth on the annual MCAS exams.  Mystic Valley’s high school was ranked 32nd of 289 districts in the state in both the ELA and Math exams. No failing grades were given in English or Science to any of the 10th graders taking the exam and only 1% of the students taking the exams did not pass the Math exam. 96% of the 10th grade students taking the ELA scored Advanced or Proficient and 91% of the students who took the 10th grade Math exam scored Advanced or Proficient. Mystic Valley officials were pleased with the results. Seeing that year in and year out Mystic Valley students are performing well on the 10th grade scores show that Mystic Valley’s curriculum from Kindergarten on is working as the tests are cumulative in nature and a good measure of the education the children are receiving by 10th grade.
98% of all Mystic Valley students from grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 received a passing grade on the ELA portions of the exam and 93% of those students received a passing grade in Math. Mystic Valley’s students received the highest grades in school history on the: 3rd grade ELA; 3rd grade Math; 4th grade ELA; 5th grade ELA; 5th grade Math; 7th grade ELA and 10th grade Math exams and 90% of the 7th graders taking the ELA exam scored advanced or proficient. 2011 was the first year in which Mystic Valley’s 3rd grade scores were better than the scores of all six of its sending districts. Comparing each grade’s scores to Mystic Valley’s past classes shows that the scores at the lower grade levels are improving which bodes well for future 10th grade scores to continue to be high. 
 George Benzie, Assistant Director for Grades 9-12, after reviewing the results, stated that:”we continue to be impressed with the work ethic of our students and the dedication of our teachers. Mystic Valley prides itself on providing a world class education. The latest MCAS results solidify our resolve and tell us that we are doing something right”.

Stop & Shop A+ Program

Don’t forget to join the A+ Program and register your card today at any Stop & Shop or online at www.stopandshop.com/aplus using our MVRCS ID of 07408.  Encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.  It is quick and easy.  The PTO will receive points from your purchases which will turn into cash. For more information click here.   

Reduced Rate Student MBTA Charlie Cards Available

Students who want to ride the MBTA for half price during the school week may pick up their Charlie Cards from either Ms. Lucey at the high school, Mr. Turner at the lower school or Mr. Gately at the Business Office, 576 Eastern Avenue. There is no charge for the Charlie Card.

Charlie Cards are durable plastic cards with an embedded chip that stores value. They are reusable and students can add value to them at any fare vending machine at stations throughout the MBTA system. Once value has been added to the CharlieCard students simply tap the card on the black target at the farebox on buses or a faregate at subway stations to board. Students will pay one half of the regular fare Monday through Friday from 5:00am to 11:00pm from September 1st to June 30th. 

Update Your Email Address

Parents are reminded to make sure that the email address that they have provided to Mystic Valley is correct. If you have recently changed email addresses or if you are not currently receiving email updates from the school please send your current email address to webmaster@mvrcs.org Please provide your child's name and grade in your email.

Newsweek Magazine Ranks Mystic Valley High School Fourth Best in Massachusetts

Once again Newsweek magazine ranked the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School among the best high schools in the United States. On June 20th Newsweek magazine put out its annual list of the best high schools in America and the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School is once again ranked at the top. Mystic Valley is the 4th best public high school in Massachusetts according to Newsweek. This is the third straight year that Mystic Valley has been recognized for academic excellence by Newsweek.

Mystic Valley’s Executive Director, Dr. Joseph McCleary stated proudly that “Year after year, Newsweek’s ranking of Mystic Valley as one of the nation’s top public schools is welcome recognition of our school’s innovative Mission and proven approach to education. Congratulations to the entire school community.”

Being named to the list for the third year in a row is a tremendous accomplishment. The school’s ranking follows being ranked in the top 8% of high schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report in both 2007 and 2009 and Newsweek’s ranking of Mystic Valley in the top 1% of American  high school’s in 2009 & 2010. This spring the Washington Post ranked Mystic Valley as the 7th best high school in Massachusetts. 

Mystic Valley’s Assistant Director for Grades 9-12, George Benzie, added “We are extremely proud of the dedication and work ethic of our students and their teachers. As a school, we strive to keep expectations high and stress the importance of continuing on into higher education. The Newsweek rating reaffirms the fact that we, as a community, are succeeding”.

Newsweek Magazine Ranks Mystic Valley High School in Top 1% in USA

For the second straight year, Newsweek magazine has ranked the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School among the nation’s best public high schools. The news magazine’s June 14th edition recently published its annual list and at number 278 nationally, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School is ranked in the top 1% of the 27,000 schools surveyed.  Mystic Valley is the 5th best public high school in Massachusetts, according to Newsweek.

In acknowledging the ranking, Mystic Valley’s Superintendent/Director, Dr. Joseph McCleary, spoke of the ongoing efforts of the entire school community:  “Newsweek’s continuing recognition of Mystic Valley’s outstanding high school program is something that we can be proud of throughout the school community. Congratulations to the school’s board, families, teachers and staff who work together to provide an exemplary model of public education for all of our students.”  Being named to the list for the second year in a row is a tremendous accomplishment. Being named once might be considered an anomaly, but it is a true honor and testament to be consistently landing on such lists, particularly for a public school that only graduated its fifth high school class in 2010.  This consistent recognition distinguishes Mystic Valley as a tremendous academic institution. The school’s ranking follows being ranked in the top 8% of high schools nationally by U.S. News & World Report in both 2007 and 2009 and Newsweek’s ranking of Mystic Valley in the top 1% of American  high schools in 2009. 

 “Mystic Valley Regional Charter School is honored and proud to be ranked again this year as one of the nation's and state’s best high schools,” remarked Mr. George Benzie, the school’s Assistant Director for grades 9-12,  “Congratulations to all our students, parents and teachers for their dedication and commitment to excellence.”

Three of the top five schools in Massachusetts are charter public schools (Sturgis Charter in Hyannis, MATCH Charter in Boston, and Mystic Valley). The non-charter public schools in the Massachusetts top five are the Boston Latin exam school and Belmont High.