Mill Valley High School is a high school located in Shawnee, Kansas, and is part of the De Soto School District. As of the 2018-2019 school year, its attendance is roughly 1,371. Mill Valley is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Jaguars". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs.
History
The school began classes in 2000–01. In 2008, the school district proposed and passed two bond issues to expand the school because of ongoing increases in attendance. Construction on Mill Valley began in February 2009. The construction was finished in the summer of 2010. The second expansion of the school building follows a prior extension of the "A" hallway including the construction of a dedicated art wing.
Extracurricular activities
Arts
Choral Music
Mill Valley's choral program offers a two mixed chorusus, two girls groups, and a mixed ensemble. The Jag Chorale, Mill Valley's advanced mixed chorus, has sung with the Kansas City Chorale, and has received straight one ratings in Male, Female, and Mixed group performance at contest in 2013 and 2014.
Band
While no orchestral program is offered, Mill Valley has three standard bands, the Blue, Silver, and Symphonic Bands, as well as a Jazz Band. Both Blue and Silver bands have received high marks at contests in Kansas and Missouri. During the 2015-2016 school year, Mill Valley created the Symphonic Band, an audition-only ensemble for upper-level musicians. Jazz Band received high marks at the Kansas City Jazz Summit festival in 2017.
Theatre
The Mill Valley Theatre Department puts on two productions a year, and the department also offers many stage related classes such as Drama I, Drama II, and Stagecraft. Their 2018 student-led production of She Loves Me was the first Thespian musical produced at the school.
Academics
Debate
The Debate team was created in 2017 where Mill Valley competed against other schools for the first time.
Quiz Bowl
The Quiz Bowl Team has competed at the state level numerous times, including 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, and also participated in the U.S. Department of EnergyNational Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. in 2007 and 2009.
Robotics
The Jaguar Robotics Team, founded during the 2005–06 school year, held the Midwest FIRST Robotics Competition Winner title in 2006 and won the St. Louis Xerox Creativity Award in 2009. In the 10 years it has been a team it has competed using mostly with robots constructed from PVC piping for a lack of funding and shop. The team has gone to the World Championship level to compete twice on the Newton and Curie fields of the FIRST Nationals held in St. Louis, Missouri at the end of April each year. In its latest year of competing in the 2013-2014 school year the team came in 6th amongst 39 teams in Searcy, Arkansas and 8th amongst 59 teams in Kansas City, Missouri with competitions held at a regional level.
Science Olympiad
The Science Olympiad team, also founded during the 2005–06 school year, competed at the state level in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Athletics
The Jaguars are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Mill Valley offers the following sports: Baseball, Boys' Basketball, Boys' Bowling, Boys' Football, Boys' Golf, Boys' Soccer, Boys' Tennis, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Girls' Basketball, Girls' Bowling, Girls' Golf, Girls' Soccer, Girls' Tennis, Silver Stars Dance Team, Softball, Track & Field, Volleyball, Boys' Swimming, Girls' Swimming, and Wrestling. The Mill Valley football team won the school's first state championship in 2015, defeating Bishop Carrol High School 35-14 at Pittsburg on November 28, 2015. They finished their season 12-1. The Jaguars' boys' basketball team followed that up by winning the school's first basketball state title, defeating Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School 87-84 in overtime at Topeka on March 12, 2016. The 2006 varsity boys' soccer team placed 3rd in the 5A State Championship. The softball team placed runner-up in the 4A State Championship in 2001 and the 5A State Championship in 2013. The girls' soccer team placed runner-up in the 5A State Championship in 2012. The girls' basketball team finished runner-up in 2013 and the boys' basketball team placed 3rd.
Publications
In addition to the Jagwire and JAG yearbook, the Mill Valley broadcast department produces a new Mill Valley Television episode each week. The broadcast and video productions department have won multiple awards for visual effects and overall quality. Also they are the clear favorite over print journalism. Both of Mill Valley's other publications, the 2006 JAG yearbook and the JagWire newspaper, won second place at the National High School Journalism convention, for best of show. At the 2009 National High School Journalism Convention in Washington, D.C., the 2009 JAG received the "Best of Show" award, and the JagWire received tenth place in said category for News magazine. The 2009 JAG is also a recipient of the National Pacemaker Award, widely considered to be the "Pulitzer Prize of student journalism." In fall of 2011, the JagWire launched the website and publishes web exclusive content daily. The website placed tenth in "Best of Show" for small schools in 2011. Mill Valley journalism was named the State Champion in the Kansas Scholastic Press Association State Contest in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
