Freshmen at MVHS participate in monthly Knights Day

Ninth graders at Mount Vernon High School spent the first hours of the school day learning about programs in the school and engaging in workshops with community-based organizations (CBO). On January 28, 2025, these students touched base with their school counselors, received academic intervention and met with local organizations. The Social Butterfly, Safe Place 4 Our Girls, the Guidance Center of Westchester, Family Services of Westchester, the SNUG Street Outreach program and the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program (SRAEP) visited the school to help students learn valuable life skills.

Knights Day started with a check-in with the school’s school counselors. The MVHS theme for the school year is “accountability”. During the session, ninth graders were taught about tools, such as healthy study habits and school resources, which can be used to ensure their success.

The school counselors reviewed the most important things a freshman must know to achieve greatness during their first year. Students were also taught how to use SchooLinks and access the school’s course catalog. Counselors talked to them about executive functioning skills such as time management, flexible thinking, emotional regulation and organization. 

Counselors chatted with students about “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens” and held a middle-of-year check-in to talk about grades and goals for the rest of the school year. 

After the first hour, students were sent to tutoring lessons or to take part in a session with a CBO. The academic intervention sessions provided support for students in need of improvement in the subjects of math and English language arts. This is an opportunity for them to get ahead and learn principles to help them in their coursework. 

Working with the CBOs, the social and emotional needs of students were addressed. Students grouped with the Social Butterfly got to learn social skills and public speaking by engaging in fun activities, SNUG taught students about bullying and how to prevent bullying in their hallways, and the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau Ready4Life program allowed students to get hands-on and create healthy friendships with their peers by creating figures out of clay.

“Today they are focusing on creating sculptures that represent relationships in their lives,” said Tia William, Program Director for Ready4Life. “We hope the students receive the tools and necessities that guide them into avoiding conflict, stress, and anger with situations presented to them and provide resolutions.” 

Some freshmen got to learn about career exploration and college readiness opportunities provided by the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. These students can choose to take classes in cosmetology, nursing assistance, culinary arts, and cybersecurity, amongst other areas, as a part of the CTE curriculum. 

“Every student in the ninth grade gets the opportunity to have academic intervention in math and ELA and have an opportunity to do career exploration,” said Dr. Pauline Pearce, Principal at MVHS. “They also get to talk about topics that are pertinent to teenagers such as healthy relationships, preventing pregnancy, and learning skills to navigate life and school.” 

Additional Information:

Knights Day is a monthly initiative specifically designed to support the unique needs of grade 9 students. This year, the program focuses on providing essential academic interventions and enrichment activities to help students thrive both academically and personally.

The Knights Day program aims to enhance students' executive function skills, provide academic intervention in math and ELA, address their social-emotional needs, and offer career exploration opportunities.

Each Knights Day begins with a one-hour session with the students' school counselors, providing a foundation of guidance and support. Following this, students will participate in two one-hour sessions that may include workshops with community-based organizations (CBOs) or targeted academic interventions in math or ELA.

Program Highlights:

• Academic Intervention: Focused support in math and ELA to help students improve their skills and achieve academic success.
• Enrichment Activities: Workshops designed to develop executive function skills, such as time management and organization. Social Butterfly often brings in experts in the field to work with students and provide opportunities for them to earn prizes. 
• Social-Emotional Support: Activities and sessions aimed at addressing the social and emotional well-being of students.
• Career Exploration: Opportunities for students to explore various career paths and gain insights into their future aspirations.