Schools
32 Mount Vernon Students In "On My Mind 2018"
The literacy project, coordinated and sponsored by the Northeast Westchester Rotary Club, began 13 years ago with four schools in Somers.
From The Mt. Vernon City School District: The Mount Vernon City School District was well-represented in the regionally oriented “On My Mind 2018” program this year. Thirty-two students from Mount Vernon High School, Thornton High School and Nelson Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School participated alongside students from 12 other high schools, submitting their written works for an annual publication entitled On My Mind.
The literacy project, coordinated and sponsored by the Northeast Westchester Rotary Club, began 13 years ago with four schools in Somers and Brooklyn and has now grown to 13 schools and 189 students. Students – from freshmen to seniors – each year write about any topic that is on their minds. They are provided sentence starters, such as “grief and mourning,” “loneliness” and “race relations,” or they can choose a topic on their own. All 32 students’ works have been bound into the book, which is then sold. The students, however, receive free copies through a generous donation made by the Rotary Club.
They meet near the end of the year for a book launch celebration and one student from each school presents their work. This year’s culminating event was canceled due to weather. Before the event was canceled, the three students who were slated to read their works were Alisia Reyes (11th grade, Thornton), Sameillia McFarlane (11th grade, Mount Vernon High School) and Kiara Manning (12th grade, Mandela/Zollicoffer).
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However, the students will present their works at a future Board of Education Trustees meeting.
Last year, 23 students from Mount Vernon wrote pieces and attended the book launch. This year, there were 32 who wrote submissions for the literacy project – 14 from Thornton, 13 from Mount Vernon High School, and five from Mandela/Zollicoffer. It’s the third year that the Mount Vernon City School District has participated in the program.
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“On My Mind gives our students an opportunity to creatively share what is on their minds,” said Frank Gallo, Standards Administrator, ELA, Literacy/Reading – Secondary. “Whether they are in love, in trouble, or facing a societal issue, our students get to tell the world what they think or how they feel.”
Submissions for the 2018 edition of On My Mind, the student author, the student’s high school:
Joseph, by Alisia Reyes, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Untitled, by Mecca Daley, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Your Words, by MiKayla Boyd, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Petting Zoo, by Cierra Jones, Mount Vernon High School
Dark, by Déziré Amaker, Mount Vernon High School
America, by Jahee Davenport, Mount Vernon High School
Time Goes On, by Maya Hauer, Mount Vernon High School
The Hospital for Broken & Tortured Souls, Taevon Allen, Mount Vernon High School
Beyond the Sea, by Aurora Foster-Whyte, Mount Vernon High School
Save File 1, by Brianna Campbell, Mount Vernon High School
Fake Friends, by Tasheem Brown, Mount Vernon High School
Thank You Life Lessons, by Sameillia McFarlane, Mount Vernon High School
GIVE UP, by Thomas Brooks, Mount Vernon High School
Trapped, by Kayla Riley, Mount Vernon High School
Note to Self, by Krishna Persaud, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Untitled, by Kiara Manning, Nelson R. Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School
Power, by Deandrick Washington, Nelson R. Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School
Life is Like a Pair of Bad Jeans, by Patrick Monroe, Nelson R. Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School
Hidden Self, by Jah’Shana Chang-Philibert, Nelson R. Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School
Right My Wrongs, by Adrian Damian, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Tell Me Why? by Shynik McMillian, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Eschew, by Chelsea Thompson, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Mirror, by Maia Terry, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Wordsmith, by Janiah Ford, Nellie A. Thornton High School
Losing Myself, by Sandra Lemus, Nellie Thornton High School
Dolphin or Fish, by Eunice Zelaya, Nellie Thornton High School
Psychology, by Ashanti Palmer, Nellie Thornton High School
The Brightest Star In My Universe, by Liliana Vega, Nellie Thornton High School
Because…, by Edwina Belizaire, Nellie Thornton High School
The Reasons Why I Try-Prologue: The Attempt, by Cheyenne Vanderberg, Mount Vernon High School
Black and White, by Baffour Amponsah-Antwi, Mount Vernon High School
Production, by Nala Parks, Nelson R. Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer High School
Image Via Mt. Vernon Schools
