Vernon ISD

Thursday was a good day on the track for the Vernon Lions and Lady Lions, as 14 athletes finished in the top four in their event at the District 7-3A & 8-3A Area Track & Field Meet to move on to the 3A Region 1 Meet, where they have the opportunity to advance to the 3A State Meet.
Ten Lions qualified for the regional meet in 10 events, while four Lady Lions advanced to regionals in four events. To see all of the Vernon results from the meet, please click on this link: https://www.vernonisd.org/article/2827918

As we head into the final Six Weeks of the 2025-26 school year, we want to let everyone know Vernon ISD will be operating on our original school calendar, which means no school on May 4 & 11. Also please remember we will have an early release on May 13 for the Santa Rosa Rodeo Parade, and on May 21, the last day of school.

Vernon ISD is currently experiencing an outage with our phone system. We are actively working with our carrier to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and restore service. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.

Eight of our VHS tennis players will be competing in the UIL Class 3A Region 1 Singles & Doubles Tournament that starts tomorrow at Rose Park Tennis Center in Abilene. The first two rounds of the tournament will be played Friday, with the semifinals and finals, along with the third-place matches and any playbacks,scheduled for Saturday. The top two finishers in each bracket advance to the state tournament. Good luck!! Punch those tickets to state!!

REMEMBER!! Tomorrow is the deadline for VES students to sign up for our talent show tryouts.

Last weekend, two VHS students who are members of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club -- Katelyn McLaughlin and Ysabella Ampig -- competed at the FCCLA State Conference in Dallas. They presented their service project display "Paws for a Cause," after qualifying to present at State at a district conference held earlier this year. This is the first year for Vernon High to have an FCCLA club and club sponsor Mrs. Audrey Hastings said she was proud to have these students advance to the state level in their first year of competing.

Wednesday was Vernon ISD Farmer's Market day at McCord, as students had the opportunity to sample some fresh fruit and they were all given fruit to take home. Partnering with VISD on the farmer's market was LABATT, which is the produce provider for the district. The variety of fruit included Cosmic Apples, Blood Oranges, Star Fruit, and Fire Dragonfruit.

Selected as the 2026 VHS Prom King & Queen were Jamari Chance and Aaliyah Moralez. The two were crowned Saturday night during a ceremony toward the end of the prom festivities.

On Wednesday, Mr. White had visitors in his classroom who gave a presentation on data centers and the career opportunities they provide. Kurt Hansen, project executive with Quantum Rise Joint Venture, the construction company building the new data center in Oklaunion, explained how the data center would operate and shared information on the career opportunities available with the construction company while the center is being built, and also those career opportunities the data center would bring once it was completed. Joining Hansen was Alyssa Uliberri, an administrative assistant with the project.

Honored as our VES Students of the Week for last week (April 6-10) were: Vincent Madrigales, 2nd Grade; Miguel Cuadra Mendez, 3rd Grade; Olivia Brothers, 4th Grade; and Deklan Sanders, 5th Grade. Way to go everyone!! Congrats!! Keep up the good work!

It was the guys' lucky day when we drew for the VMS Attendance Prize for the 5th Six Weeks of school. Winning the mystery box prizes were: Elias Trejo, 6th Grade; Logan Ware, 7th Grade; and Jay Athwal, 8th Grade. Great job to these three students and all of our students who make attending school a priority and strive for perfect attendance!!

We have 20 Lion and Lady Lion athletes who will be competing in 19 individual events and six relays at the District 7-3A & 8-3A Area Track & Field Meet being held today in Jacksboro. The top four finishers in each event will advance to the Class 3A Region 1 Track & Field Meet. Go get the job done ladies and gentlemen!! GOOD LUCK!!!

Earlier this month VHS competed in the District 7-3A One Act Play Competition. While we did not advance, three students received special recognition -- Logan Werhwein was named to the All-Star Cast, while Logan Luster earned a honorable mention All-Star Cast nod, and Jacklyn Maldonado received an Outstanding Technician Award.
VHS will be presenting our One Act Play "Of Mice and Men" in two public performances this Friday and Saturday. The Friday performance will begin at 6:30 p.m., while the Saturday performance will start at 2 p.m. Both performances will be in the VHS Cafeteria. Admission is $5. Following both performances, there will be a showing of our UIL Film submissions. "HIM IN BLACK: The Investigation" earned a gold medal at the State Film Festival in the Narrative category, while "A Tail of Two Lives" was state runner-up in the Traditional Animation category, and "Garrett's Pumpkins" was a state semi-finalist in the Documentary category.

On Tuesday, sophomores who are taking virtual dual-credit classes through Vernon College in Ms. Hamer's class visited the campus for breakfast in the sub, and were also given a tour of the dorms. VC Dual Credit Advisor Erica Nevarez arranged the field trip for our students to give them the opportunity to experience a short day in the life of a VC student.

Earlier this week McCord PTO truly spoiled their teachers and staff! 💛
A huge thank you to local podiatrist Dr. Gary Cramer with Wilbarger General Hospital for a generous donation, and to The Cork for the beautiful grazing table that helped make this event extra special.
As a school district, we are so thankful for the continued support from our parents and community. It truly makes a difference for our staff and students! ❤️🦁

We have some extra-special teachers and staff here at McCord Elementary, and this year Teacher of the Year and Staff Member of the Year fit into that category. Selected by their peers were Kristin Chavira, Teacher of the Year, and Sandra Edwards, Staff Member of the Year. Congratulations to them both. And, thanks to them both for their work both inside the classroom and out. They're both amazing!!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to our Teacher and Staff Member of the Year for 2025-26!! Receiving the Teacher of the Year honor is Brady Parum, who teaches 7th and 8th grade Science. Our Staff Member of the Year is Quinton Porter, an instructional aide. Thank you to them both for working hard for our students each and every day.

Thursday morning Lady Lion senior Klancy Sherrill signed to run track at Dallas Baptist University. She will be looking to qualify for the regional track meet for the fourth straight year tomorrow when she joins her teammates competing in the District 7-3A & 8-3A Area Track & Field Meet. To read the story on Klancy's signing, please follow this link https://www.vernonisd.org/article/2822807

Lady Lion golfer Claire Mayo will be teeing it up today in the Class 3A Region 1 Golf Tournament. The two-day event is being played on the Shady Oaks Golf Course in Baird, which is just outside Abilene. Claire advanced to her third consecutive regional tourney by being the top medalist at the District 7-3A Golf Tournament who was not a member of a team that qualified to advance. Good luck Claire!!

Receiving our 1st Grade Student of the Week honors for last week (April 6-10) were: Willie Bell, Evalyn Sanchez, Isabella Padilla, Alaizay Cherry, Brantley Riggins, John Crawford Craighead, and Antonio Chavira. Outstanding job!! Keep it up!