The last day of school for Mon’s public district came a little earlier this year, given a relatively mild winter that didn’t necessitate very many snow days — which always need programmed into the calendar as make-ups.
The county’s 10,000 students said goodbye to their classrooms on Wednesday.
That term, “relatively mild,” was cold and scarce at the end of 2022, however, meteorologically speaking.
An unprecedented weather pattern known as a “bomb cyclone” unleashed a blast of winter fury right before Christmas that caused to the mercury to plummet – as much as 30 degrees in 30 minutes, in some cases.
More than half of the district’s school buildings were damaged in the icy onslaught, with its vortex of lethal windchills.
The weather pattern caused pipes to burst and cafeteria freezers to clunk out.
HVAC systems couldn’t cut the elements and water damage to the gym floor at Ridgedale Elementary was so pronounced that the entire wooden surface had to be replaced.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mon Schools Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr. said, and he was once principal of high school just below the Arctic Circle in Alaska.
Storms of a different kind were also weathered by the district in 2022-23.
During last weekend’s Commencement exercises at Morgantown High School and University High, parents and guests had to pass through weapons detectors for the first time ever, to see the Class of 2023 collectively walk across the stage to receive that diploma.
The high-tech security devices were purchased some months in response to ever-increasing gun violence in schools nationwide.
Mon Schools also closed out the year under the shadow of criminal complaints over allegations of overly aggressive behavior against special-needs students at the hands of teachers and staff at North Elementary School.
One parent is also suing the Board of Education and a teacher and aide at North.
Charges at the school on Chestnut Ridge Road were brought after an anonymous teacher came forward to report the offenses and incidents, which were also viewed on security video.
Meanwhile, “high-tech,” is also a phrase the district will take into the first day of school for 2023-24 come August 22.
That was after the Board of Education over spring entered negotiations with an architect for the soon-to-be construction of The Renaissance Academy, $72 million stand-alone school devoted exclusively to the STEM pursuits of science, technology, engineering and math.
The BOE hopes to see the school, which will occupy an expanse of land near Cassville, open by 2027.
Just because it’s now officially summer for Mon’s students, don’t look for the learning to stop, Deputy Schools Superintendent Donna Talerico said.
The district is readying for two high-profile learning camps designed to keep students intellectually engaged in fun ways.
“Summer Sizzler” hits June 12-15, she said.
Then, the “Summer Avalanche,” the district’s acclaimed academic event with a diverse offering of courses – everything from arts and crafts to computer coding – rumbles in July 5 through July 27.
“We’re excited,” Talerico said. “That’s the whole month of July and 1,800 students have signed up for it.”
Now out-of-school youngsters looking early summer fun in the outdoors in the meantime, can expect hot, hazy weather with highs around 90 today through Saturday, AccuWeather said.
Sunday will be markedly cooler, the forecaster said, with top temperatures around 79 expected.
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