News and Events

Mystic Valley Students Perform Well on SAT Exam

Results recently released by the Massachusetts Department of Education and published by the Boston Globe on December 14th show that students at the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School performed quite well on the annual exam when compared to the state median scores and the average scores of Mystic Valley and the six cities that make up its sending district.  Mystic Valley scored higher than both the state median (Reading 496, Writing 490, Math 502, Combined 1484) and the average of Mystic Valley and its six sending districts (Reading 486, Writing 483, Math 491, Combined 1461). Mystic Valley’s scores were: Reading 515; Writing 518; Math 496 and Combined 1511.

Wakefield High’s scores were the highest in the District. Wakefield High was ranked 96th in the state.  Mystic Valley came in second in the district (tied with Melrose) with a 125th ranking followed by Stoneham 141, Medford 221 Malden 250 and Everett 256.  Mystic Valley, tied for the highest grade in the district in Reading with Wakefield, was first in the district in Writing and 4th in Math. 

PAC Meeting January, 26th

The next meeting of the Parent Advisory Council is scheduled for Monday, January 26th. Please note that the SEPAC meeting will be from 6:30 to 7:00. You do not have to have a child in Special Education to come to SEPAC meetings. All are welcome. This month's meeting will be an open forum meeting to discuss ongoing concerns or questions. Please plan on attending in order to assist Mystic Valley on matters that pertain to education and to assist with planning and development. For more information,  contact Susan Kreis at snkreis@msn.com   
 

Mystic Valley Students Spread Holiday Cheer To Residents at 630 Salem St.

A number of Mystic Valley Regional Charter School’s clubs and organizations collaborated to produce the second annual holiday dinner celebration for the residents of 630 Salem St.  Participating groups included the Student Action Service Club, the Key Club, and the choir.

Members of the Key Club’s executive board (Chrissy Caso, Angela Stigliano, Tim Synan, and Amy Zimmerman) began the afternoon by helping to prepare a meal of sausage, peppers, and potatoes, with salad.  Then, joined by Student Action Service Club members and more Key Club members, the students collectively decorated the dining hall, and served food and beverages to the appreciative residents.

The evening’s entertainment began shortly thereafter, as Mystic Valley’s choir performed to rave reviews.  Amy Zimmerman then performed her tap-dancing routine, and, after dessert, the residents joined all of the Mystic Valley students and faculty advisors in a group caroling session.

The festivities were extremely well attended by students and residents alike.  More than 35 students, many of whom had already completed Mystic Valley’s mandatory community service requirement, volunteered to serve the 75 residents.

Mystic Valley Students Donate Food

 Students from the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School took part in a food drive throughout the month of November. Students in each classroom brought in cans of food which were then collected and delivered to Housing Families, Inc. on Monday. Ms Ashley Lynch’s 2nd Grade class brought in the most food with nearly one hundred cans donated.
 Jim Goebelbecker, Chief Operating Officer of Housing Families, Inc. was very pleased to accept the donation. “Thank you very much for all of your time and effort. The food donated will feed a lot of happy families” Mr Goebelbecker said to Brittany Cockell, a second grader at Mystic Valley who represented Ms. Lynch’s class as the food was being delivered to the Housing Families headquarters on Cross Street in Malden.
 Everyone is encouraged to help Housing Families in any way they can as this year’s economic crisis has increased the demand for their services substantially.  For more information on how to help out you may visit www.housingfamilies.org or call 781 322-9119.

January 7th Swim Team Hosts Northeast

The 2008-9 Mystic Valley Swim Team will host Northeast on January 7th at 3:30.  The meet will be  held at the pool at Malden High School 77 Salem Street, Malden. The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Swimming and Diving team is the reigning Commonwealth Athletic Conference champion.  The swimmers started off strong with a win against Greater Lowell in the season's first meet. Although the Eagles won the CAC dual meet and league meet championships last season and swam to an undefeated conference record, they are approaching the current season with a humble confidence. The 2008-2009 Mystic Valley swimming and diving team is stacked with veteran swimmers, ready to undertake the challenges they will undoubtedly encounter. 

Winter Band and Chorus Concert

Mystic Valley's After School Performing Music Program recently performed in concert in the MPR.  The concert featured the first performance of the Mystic Valley Upper School Band highlighted by a piano solo by ninth grader, Dasean Nardone-White who played a jazz version of "O Christmas Tree". The lower school band wonderfully performed many traditional songs. The Mystic Valley Chorus which is made up of students from both schools sang seasonal songs as well as a traditional Polish carol and a not-so-traditional, extremely exciting version of "Jingle Bells". 

Mystic Valley High School Students Ready Salem St. For Parade

Braving bitter temperatures, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School students cleaned the Malden Parade of Holiday Traditions route on Saturday, November 22.  The group of high school students swept, raked, and gathered its way from Maplewood Square to Malden Center, spending a total of four hours tidying up the 1.5 mile stretch of Salem St. in anticipation of the customary parade.

During the 2008-09 school year, Mystic Valley students have contributed a great deal of time and effort to several community beautification projects, ranging from eliminating graffiti to cleaning parks and streets.

Prior to Saturday’s efforts, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School removed graffiti along the route from visible surfaces such as mailboxes, electrical boxes, dumpsters, and storefronts in an ongoing effort.  On Saturday alone, the students donated almost 150 hours of time.

Alumni Benefit from International Baccalaureate Program

Eleven members of the Mystic Valley Class of 2008 received a significant benefit from their successful completion of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB).  The eleven graduates were able to receive a combined 102 credit hours at their respective universities.  There were also several instances were the IB graduates were able to receive advanced standing due to their performance on the IB examinations while at Mystic Valley. The students are currently enrolled at: SUNY (Albany); University of South Carolina; Suffolk University; Boston University; Rochester Institute of Technology; Bentley College; Boston College; Fordham University; UMass/Lowell and Northeastern. With the cost of a college education what it is today it bears recognizing that these students have saved themselves thousands of dolars in tuition as a result of their successful performance in the IB program.  

Enrollment Lottery November 12th

The enrollment lottery for the 2009-2010 school year was held on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 7:00 pm at the K-8 campus 30 Laurel Street, Malden.   In order to be eligible for the lottery applicants MUST have submitted an application to the school prior to Friday, October 31st at 4:00pm. 

Nineteen Mystic Valley Students Awarded Adams Scholarships

Nineteen members of the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Class of 2009 were awarded John and Abigail Adams Scholarships. The students receiving the scholarship awards are: Katherine Cain, Nicole Cunha, Neil Curtis and Casy Dion of Malden, Gianni Falzone of Saugus, Cassandra Giaimo of Medford, Mimi Hilaire of Malden, Nancy Huynh of Medford, David Irvin, Olivia Keane and Ian Kinnon of Malden, Lissa Levine of Melrose, Amana Mei of Medford and Makeelia Parker, Angela Stigliano, Brittney Swift, Tim Synan, Alan Tran and Amy Zimmerman of Malden.

The scholarships were given to students based upon their high scores on their tenth grade MCAS exams. Students receiving the awards are entitled to attend any Massachusetts state college or university tuition free.  Massachusetts public high school students are eligible for the scholarship when they: score at the Advanced and Proficient levels on Grade 10 MCAS tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.  (A student must earn a score of Advanced on the ELA or Mathematics test and a score of Proficient or higher on the second test.); AND have a combined score that places them in the top 25% of the graduating class in their district.

Mystic Valley students have a history of outstanding success in obtaining the coveted Adams scholarships. This year’s group clearly fits with the tradition as the nineteen scholarship winners represent nearly half of the members of the graduating class.

An obviously pleased, Mystic Valley Director, Dr.  Joseph McCleary said that “Mystic Valley is proud of a continuing tradition of garnering many Adams Scholarships. These academic honors are particularly gratifying because our school’s mission emphasizes the ideals of freedom and responsibility that so characterized the lives of John and Abigail Adams.”

Once Again Mystic Valley High School Aces MCAS Exam

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School students once again posted top notch scores on the MCAS Exam.  The recently released results for the 2008 Exam show that Mystic Valley tenth graders, who make up the Class of 2010, scored exceptionally well, especially for a school that has only been in existence for ten years and has only had three graduating classes.

The results show that every single Mystic Valley student received a passing grade on the Math and English/Language Arts sections of the exam.  In each of the last three years over 90% of Mystic Valley students have scored Advanced or Proficient on the English/Language Arts section of the exam.  This year Mystic Valley’s eighth graders proved ready to continue that tradition in a couple of years by posting a 94% Advanced or Proficient score on their English/Language Arts exams. On the Math exam, 79% of the sophomores scored Advanced or Proficient.  Additionally, 72% of Mystic Valley sophomores received Advanced or Proficient grades on the Science (Biology) section. That is an 18% improvement from 2007’s result which was sixth in the state!  Obviously pleased with the results at the High School, Superintendent, Dr. Joseph McCleary said that “ our MCAS results continue to confirm the outstanding effectiveness of our curriculum and educational philosophy as a superior preparation for college and beyond.”

The results come on the heels of what was a banner year at Mystic Valley.  Twenty of the thirty-three members of the Class of 2008 were awarded the John and Abigail Adams Scholarships based on their performance on the exam. That rate of success is believed to be among the highest in the state!  The individual Adams Scholarships will be announced at a later date by the Department of Education.  

The results are particularly good when viewed in light of the fact that at the state level twenty percent of the test takers failed the exam, a number which was up dramatically from last year when 13% failed due in large part to the addition of the science section of the exam.

Mystic Valley Senior, Nancy Huynh, Named A Semifinalist In The 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program

Nancy Huynh, a senior at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School was recently named a semifinalist in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.  The Medford resident is one of only 324 students in all of Massachusetts to receive the honor. Ms. Huynh has compiled quite an impressive academic resume this year having also scored a perfect “800” score on her SAT exam.

The academically talented high school senior has an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than 35 million dollars, that will be offered next spring.  To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the National Merit Program.  Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC’s own funds and approximately 500 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

Steps in the Competition

More than 1.5 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.  The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.  The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.

Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists are expected to advance to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all National Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

Merit Scholarship Awards

Three types of National Merit Scholarship awards will be offered in the spring of 2009.  Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state representational basis. About 1,100 corporate-sponsored scholarships will be provided by some 300 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, approximately 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2009 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.  These scholarship recipients will join more than 259,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

Three Mystic Valley Students Receive Perfect SAT Scores

Perfection in any endeavor is hard to come by and when it occurs it is cause for celebration. Whether it be, a golfer’s hole-in-one, a perfect game thrown by a baseball pitcher or a 300 game by a bowler it is a moment to remember.  In the academic world a perfect score on the SATs is that type of rarely achieved accomplishment that deserves notice. When three students earn a perfect score in the same year it is downright amazing.  It is especially amazing when the three students come from a school like the Mystic Valley Charter School that has only 42 students in the class taking the exam.

The students, who will be entering their senior year in the fall, are: Nancy Huynh of Medford who received an 800 score on the Math section of the exam and Maldonians Angela Stigliano and Olivia Keane who each earned a perfect score on the Critical Reading section. 

The SAT exam is taken each year by approximately 1.5 million high school students. The SAT has long been used as a critical barometer of a student’s academic potential by American colleges and universities and is a key factor used to determine their admissions decisions. The SAT measures the critical thinking skills that are needed for academic success in college.   The exam consists of three major sections: Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing. The Critical Reading section tests sentence level reading while the Writing section tests grammar, usage and word choice and the Mathematics section tests number operations, algebra, functions, geometry, statistics, probability and data analysis. The average scores on the sections are: Writing 497; Mathematics 518 and Critical Reading 503.

The high scores won praise from Mystic Valley School Superintendent, Dr. Joseph McCleary, who offered his “hearty congratulations to our three Mystic Valley students who registered perfect scores on a variety of SAT sections.  Their extraordinary accomplishment speaks loudly of their efforts and is yet another indicator of the opportunity for a world-class education offered by our school”.  Mystic Valley Principal, Roy Dado, said that “it is certainly special for any student to receive a perfect score on any part of the SAT exam.  We are so proud that three of our juniors achieved that distinction”.

The SAT news comes on top of many recent outstanding academic achievements at Mystic Valley.  The school was ranked among the top 8% of high schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report magazine in their latest ranking of American High Schools. Twenty of the thirty-three members of the Class of 2008 received the John and Abigail Adams Scholarships for their outstanding performance on their MCAS exams. The stellar academic performance of these three young women suggests that the school will continue to achieve great success.