MSD of Mount Vernon

Over the course of the past month our students have been blessed with many wonderful experiences at school and in our Mt. Vernon Community.

Many of these experiences have specifically honored Family, Community and Country.

During the first week of September our West Elementary School PTO invited Grandparents of our West students in for Breakfast before school.  Hundreds of students and their Grandparents attended the Grandparents Day Breakfast in our West Cafeteria enjoying donuts and pictures!

Also, towards the beginning of September our 4th Grade Students had the opportunity to learn more about local Indiana History during a Field Tript to River Days.  In addition, our West Student Council proudly represented our school in the River Days Parade.  We believe it is important for students to participate in local community traditions such as River Days to develop an understanding and appreciation of their own community.

On September 11th, our entire school - students and staff met at the flagpole to recite the Pledge of Allegiance together and have a moment of silence in honor of 9/11/01.  We were honored to be led by Gunnery Sgt. Benjamin Hartmann of the United States Marines Corps.  Benjamin Hartmann is a former MVHS graduate and father of two current West Elementary students.  We appreciate his sacrifice for our safety and freedom and will keep him in our thoughts as he sets out on a two year call to duty in Japan this next month.

Another meaningful opportunity for our students was the Spirit Week we had at West to coincide with MVHS Homecoming Week.  We believe that encouraging our students to support and participate in community activities such as these add significant value and treasured memories to their K-12 Education in the MSD of Mt. Vernon.

As we rounded out the last month full of Family, Community and Country, our 9th Annual West Elementary School Family Picnic was a Huge Success again this year!  Over 500 West students, family members, and staff members thoroughly enjoyed our tradition of Food and Fun!

We are proud of the experiences our students have had during the first quarter of the school year and cannot wait to see what the rest of the fall semester brings!


Amanda Wilson

West Elementary School Principal

The start of each school year brings new opportunities for students.  Our West Elementary School Students have already benefited from opportunities that encourage participation in something “EXTRA” and also promotes students to LEADERSHIP.

Mt. Vernon High School student athletes from a variety of Fall Sports and Band Members visited our West Elementary School Students in our cafeteria for ALL IN Friday before school on Friday, August 18th. West students were VERY Excited to have the opportunity to get autographs, take pictures, and visit with these Student Leaders from MVHS.  What’s even more impactful for our West Students is being able to hear and see that many of the Athletes and Band Members were former West Warriors themselves.  This absolutely encourages our own West Warriors to strive to participate in extra activities such as sports and music as they continue their student careers in the MSD of Mt. Vernon.  

Last week some of our own West Warriors took on LEADERSHIP positions here at West with the announcement of our new Student Council Members. 

We know our 2023-2024 West Elementary Student Council will do a Fantastic Job of planning Fun and Meaningful Activities for our school and community this year.

These West Elementary School Leaders will do an Excellent Job of representing our school and showing everyone what it means to RESPECT. WORK. and ACHIEVE!

West Family Members:

That is a phrase your child will hear a lot this year at West Elementary. We certainly know it is true. For kids, like adults, the future is made by the present. We know, for instance, that a student’s success in high school can be directly traced to his/her success in elementary school. It is a long-standing economic fact that the more education a child has, the greater his/her lifetime earnings will be. For us at West, we see it as a critical component of our job to help students – even those in the early grades – begin thinking about life after high school.

We are going to prioritize this idea in a variety of ways this year. For our 5th graders, we will likely have a field trip later in the year to the University of Southern Indiana and/or the University of Evansville, giving students the opportunity to see a college campus and envision themselves as a part of it. Further, one of the parent programs we’ll hold this Fall will feature a bank official who will help parents begin planning and saving for their child’s post-secondary education. Stay turned for more details on these and other exciting programs.

We strongly encourage West families to reinforce with your student that their tomorrow begins today. We want all of West’s children to be engrained with the idea that high school will not be the end of their education. As the principal, I want every West student to walk through the halls of this school embracing the idea that “I am going to go to college, trade school, etc…”

I ask all West’s families to partner with us on this important mindset.

• Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures: As in previous years, students may be dropped off at West’s front entrance no earlier than 7:30 a.m. Students can be picked up after school by following the traffic flow in front of the building. For the safety of students, visitors, and staff, we ask that you remain in your vehicle and let one of our staff members escort your child to the vehicle.
• Student Breakfast and Lunch: The cost of a student breakfast is $1.25, while lunch is $1.95. As in previous years, students may deposit money in their cafeteria account.
• While every school year is different from the one before it, you will notice a few new things here at West this year. By the first day of school, our playground will have a new blacktop and play areas for students. We also will continue to explore a partnership with the University of Southern Indiana to bring a foreign language program of some sort to West; a program which has been shown to dramatically raise student achievement in a variety of ways.

You will see any number of new faces on the West staff this year, faces we hope you and your student will get to know over the course of the school year.

On behalf of our staff, I want to welcome you and your student to a new school year here at West. We once again look forward to partnering with you to help make your child’s tomorrow everything it can be.

Sincerely,
Amanda Wilson
West Elementary School