Student Life 

Mystic Valley is a charter school located in Malden Massachusetts. The school serves students in grades K-12 on three campuses in Malden: Kindergarten at 576 Eastern Avenue; the lower school (1-8) at 770 Salem Street and the high school (9-12) at 306 Highland Avenue. The school draws students primarily from the cities of: Everett; Malden;Medford; Melrose; Stoneham; and Wakefield. There are currently approximately 1,400 students at the school with a waiting list of over 2,200. The school has adopted the extended day and extended school year model in which classes go from 8:00 to 3:30 each day of a 200 day school year.

 

  

2011-2012 A Very Good Year at Mystic Valley

2011-2012 was a very good year at Mystic Valley. We experienced many firsts and reached many milestones.
One of the most significant events at Mystic Valley came in November when the ribbon was cut on Mystic Valley’s new facility on Eastern Avenue and Mystic Valley’s Kindergarteners began classes.  There were many other events and accomplishments which bear mentioning.
Mystic Valley was ranked as the 2nd best high school in Massachusetts, the 23rd best charter school in the country and the 122nd best overall public high school in the United States by Newsweek magazine. Mystic Valley was ranked as the 172nd best public high school in the United States, the 31st best charter school in the country and the 8th best public high school of any kind in Massachusetts by U.S. News & World Report magazine.  Mystic Valley’s outstanding performance earned it U.S. News & World Report’s Gold Star. The Washington Post listed Mystic Valley as the fifth best high school in all of Massachusetts and the 447th best in the United States.
Our admissions lottery in November drew several hundred people and was a sure sign that the school’s excellent reputation had firmly taken root in the community.
Mystic Valley held its First Annual Alumni Reunion the night before Thanksgiving. The event drew over 100 grads.

Academic Excellence
Eighty students graduated from Mystic Valley this year. The Commencement Ceremony was the first held at the school’s new facility. The class is Mystic Valley’s largest graduating class to date. Ninety-four percent of the graduates will enroll in a four year college in the fall. They will attend a wide variety of schools including NYU, Columbia and Smith. Thirty-one of the graduates were awarded the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship which entitles them to attend any state college or university tuition free.
Justin Nguyen, a 10th grade student at Mystic Valley, achieved a perfect score on the 2012 National Latin Exam. He also received the highest score in the State of Massachusetts on the National Spanish Exam in the Level 3 exam.
17 new students were inducted into the National Honor Society. Mystic Valley continued to outperform its sending districts on the MCAS Exams.

Athletics
Gym Opening
The Eagles celebrated the opening of their new gym with a Grand Slam. The volleyball, swim, boys varsity basketball and girls varsity basketball teams all won their first games/meets in the new facility. The highlight of the initial group of wins was the performance of the previously winless volleyball team. They broke a two year long losing streak in the very first game in the gym and then proceeded to win their next two games as well.
Most Valuable Players
Mystic Valley had six players named Commonwealth Athletic Conference Most Valuable Players in their respective sports. The Eagle MVP’s were: Jacqueline Lane Girl’s Soccer; Fallon Bushee Girls Cross Country; Fallon Bushee Girl’s Swimming; Shane Kinnon Boys Swimming; Ben Bottrell Boys Basketball and Sara Marraccino Softball.
Conference Championships
Mystic Valley teams won 5 Commonwealth Athletic Conference championships: Girls Soccer; Boys and Girls Swimming (the fifth in a row for each team); Boys Basketball and Softball. The girls’ 5th & 6th grade basketball team won the North Shore Girls Travel Basketball League Tournament Championship.
Tournament Wins
Mystic Valley teams made the MIAA Tournament and won tournament games in girls and boys soccer.  The baseball and softball teams each made it to the semi-final round for the first time in school history. Fallon Bushee won the CAC Championship cross country race for the third straight year.
Mystic Valley basketball honored its first 1,000 point scorer, Greg Statho. Shane Kinnon became Mystic Valley’s first ever Division One college athletic scholarship recipient. For the first time, four members of our track and field team qualified for the All State Meet.
Extracurricular Activities
Mystic Valley students participated in a wide variety of after school activities. The Drama Club performed “Oliver!” and “Our Town”. The band, orchestra and chorus joined together to perform “Swing into Spring” and a “Broadway Revue”. The band also played at graduation to rave reviews.
The Student Action Service Club served their annual Holiday Dinner at the 630 Salem Street Senior Building with the chorus singing Christmas Carols. Lower school students trick or treated in the same building in October.
A large number of lower school students performed in what was a very enjoyable annual Holiday Show.
The Key Club participated in a wide variety of activities including: Kiwanis Family Fun Day; Light the Night Walk; Car Washes, Dodgeball Tournaments; Park Clean-ups; Pastapalooza; Walk for Hunger; Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the City of Malden’s Graffiti Task Force. Faculty Advisor, Dawn Wood won the Leader of Leader Award for her efforts with the club. The club won many awards including the Distinguished Club Award, Local Publications Contest, Governor’s Award, District Projects Fundraising and Yearly Achievement (Platinum Division).
The Gardening Club continued to maintain the community garden in Broadway Square. The Model UN club visited the actual United Nations building in New York City.
Two Mystic Valley sophomores Justin Nguyen and Isabel Waller won the Grand Prize in the American Automobile Association’s animation competition. Their quite entertaining animated film which explores the role of emotional control in driving safety will be shown on the websites of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and the Southern New England AAA.