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One Mount Vernon Digital Newsletter - October 3, 2024

One Mount Vernon Digital Newsletter - October 3, 2024

Students wearing costumes.

Creative costumes filled Mount Vernon City School District hallways on Thursday, October 31, 2024, as students celebrated Halloween. Among the celebrations, high school students at Rebecca Turner Academy handed out candy and painted faces of pre-K children, building community through collaboration. At Benjamin Turner Academy, parents, staff and students in the upper grades handed out candy to younger students in the library. At Graham School, the hallways were decorated with tables, and students walked around collecting treats. Hamilton School also held its annual trunk or treat.

Sheba Serna

Sheba Serna, a Mount Vernon High School Class of 1992 graduate, was recently awarded as Rebecca Turner Academy’s Teacher of the Year for the 2023-2024 school year by the Mount Vernon City School District. Ms. Serna worked in the Sundown Alternative Program prior to the founding of RTA, and she values her work deeply because she feels that she would have been an RTA student herself. The support she received at MVHS helped to propel her towards a teaching career within the District.

View the Q+A with Ms. Serna here!

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Dr. K. Veronica Smith, Acting Superintendent of Schools: 

This morning, we held a meeting with Mount Vernon STEAM Academy, Mount Vernon High School, Rebecca Turner Academy and Denzel Washington School of the Arts stakeholders regarding student searches at arrival and are working towards a resolution of this matter. These searches were implemented to keep all students in the building safe, and we are looking for an equitable solution that maintains our safety standards while providing a positive school culture and ensuring students are respected. We will continue to work with stakeholders to create a safe environment at all Mount Vernon City School District schools.

Students holding up orange cards.

Students in the Mount Vernon City School District learned more about their peers and met new friends during Mix it Up at Lunch Day on Monday, October 28, 2024. This was the final initiative of Bullying Prevention Month, which was recognized in multiple ways District-wide. Students wore blue on World Day of Bullying Prevention (October 7) and orange on Unity Day (October 16) to take a united stand against hate of all forms.

Student cooking with his mom

Ingredients for muffins and quesadillas lined the culinary arts kitchen at Mount Vernon High School, as the MVCSD pre-K students were invited to Kids in the Kitchen on Thursday, October 24, 2024, a collaboration with Feeding Westchester. Kids in the Kitchen is an ongoing series of workshops where pre-K families are invited to learn about healthy eating habits and practice cooking skills.