Before Vernon ISD students, teachers and staff are released later this week for a much-anticipated early fall break, Central and Shive Elementary students are going to get an early treat – having a “Mock School Day” at the new Vernon Elementary School on Wednesday. And, school is released Wednesday, students will walk out of Central and Shive for the last time, and walk into Vernon Elementary School for the first “official” day of school at the new campus when classes resume Tuesday morning.
“Everyone – administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents – were disappointed when we were unable to start this school year in our new building on our new campus,” said Vernon ISD Assistant Superintendent Blaise Boswell. “But, the wait is over, as we will be in the new building when we return from our early fall break.
“Not starting the year in the new building may actually turn out to be a good thing,” Boswell continued. “If we had started the year in the new building, we wouldn’t have been able to have this ‘Mock Day’ at the new school. We feel this will be great for our students and teachers because they’ll go to the new building Wednesday and have an organized walk-through of a school day.”
Wednesday will start like every school day so far this year, with 2nd and 3rd grade students being dropped off at Central, while 4th and 5th grade students will be dropped off at Shive. At 10:30 a.m., students at both campuses will load onto buses for the trip to their new school.
“Our VES leadership team felt having a ‘Mock Day’ was an important step to help our students make the transition to our new campus as smooth as possible for them,” VES Principal Leslie Powell explained. “Our staff has put in a great deal of effort to make this day as smooth and packed with fun as possible for our students.”
When the students arrive at Vernon Elementary, they will be taken to their homerooms and allowed to drop off their belongings there. Students will leave all of their belongings at the new campus so they will be there when the students return to school on Tuesday.
The students will eat lunch at the new school, with 2nd and 3rd graders eating between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and 4th and 5th graders eating between 11:30 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Between and after lunch periods, homeroom teachers will discuss school procedures with their students and will take students on a tour of the building to make sure they know where their other classrooms are located in the building.
At 1:30 p.m., students will load the buses to return to their respective campuses. Students will report to the cafeterias at Central and Shive, where each school will hold its first six weeks PRIDE Rally honoring students who had perfect attendance, and made the AB and A honor rolls.
Students will then get to enjoy popsicles, a dance party and a short movie to close out the day.
Then – on Tuesday, Oct. 10 – students will be dropped off for school at Vernon Elementary to begin their school adventure at the new campus.
“The much-anticipated day for our new campus is finally here! We cannot wait for the 10th when we get to greet our students at their new campus,” Powell said.