Universal Pre-K classes hold ice cream social
Children’s eyes lit up as their parents entered the classroom to share ice cream with them. All Universal Pre-Kindergarten students in the Mount Vernon City School District were treated to an ice cream social on Monday, September 11, 2023.
The social gave parents a chance to meet their children’s teachers and friends. It also provided an opportunity for parents to get more involved in the school community.
“I think it’s a good program,” said Lamont Harris, father of Aviana Harris and Tristan Harris, two pre-K students at Traphagen School. “It’s a great way to get parents involved in the school. I think that it’s good for the kids to socialize with everybody else. I think that moving forward my kids will like it here.”
Several parents had ice cream themselves. They all got in tiny chairs to sit next to their children while they ate the ice cream and socialized. Another purpose of events like these is to build social-emotional skills. Following eating the ice cream, the children played with each other for a few minutes before being taken home.
“I think it’s amazing because we usually don’t get a chance to all get together,” said Shannon Shield, Pre-K teacher at Traphagen. “I like everything about pre-K. This is where they get their social emotional skills. I feel like as they get older, they don’t get this much opportunity, it’s more academic. This is the place to do that.”
Four deserving students left school with new pairs of sneakers thanks to a donation from Jude Sainjour, cofounder of Buttafly, a clothing shop in Mount Vernon. Mr. Sainjour traveled to Grimes School to personally give the students their new shoes on Friday, September 22, 2023.
Fathers gathered around the entrance of their child's school and children beamed with happiness as their dads got a chance to visit their school. Lincoln School, Mount Vernon Leadership Academy, Hamilton School, Cecil H. Parker School and Graham School held Dads Bring Your Child to School Day on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
About one hundred students came out to City Hall and gathered outside in anticipation for free sneakers and backpacks donated by Christian “King” Combs and Justin Combs, the sons of Sean “Diddy” Combs. The Mount Vernon City School District, in partnership with the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau, hosted the sneaker giveaway on Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
The Mount Vernon City School District Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department has announced that it will be offering emergency medical technician (EMT) training at Mount Vernon High School. The courses will be available for around 20 12th-grade students at MVHS and Rebecca Turner Academy (RTA).
Two alumni of Mount Vernon High School spoke to a crowd of 11th graders and motivated them to excel in their studies and accomplish great things. Erica Naughton, assistant principal at MVHS, invited Dr. Gloria Pope and Steven “Butch” Thomas to show scholars the success that Mount Vernon graduates and residents can achieve. Mr. Thomas and Dr. Pope visited MVHS on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
Recently, some students in the region came across a concerning post on the popular social media platform TikTok. This post contained a generic threat that mentioned "open fire" on schools without specifying any particular school or district. It is important to note that such posts are not isolated incidents and are unfortunately prevalent on various social media platforms worldwide. Their intent is often to create alarm, annoyance, and disrupt the educational process.
The Mount Vernon City School District welcomes In-House Counsel Royce Russell. Mr. Russell is an attorney specializing in employment (wrongful termination and discrimination), contracts, and civil rights violations. He will work with all aspects of the District, including legal, policies and procedures, and daily operations.