Healthy Fundraiser Inspires Two Elementaries

When Jennifer Spiegel was brainstorming fundraiser ideas this fall, she diverged from the norm and developed an idea that would make a meaningful and lasting impact on her students as well as those from a nearby campus in need.

Spiegel, the P.E. coach at Roberta Tipps Elementary, teaches her students the importance of developing active and healthy habits to practice in gym class and during their free time. As she searched for a fundraising opportunity that matched her healthy mission, she came across the Ultimate Fitness Challenge, a timed obstacle course resembling a wonderland of bounce-houses and inflatable activities.

In addition to being a fun and healthy activity, this was also a way for students to collect funds via pledges from family, friends and neighbors. The kids enjoyed the obstacle course, but they were ultimately motivated by the purpose of the event – raising money to purchase sports equipment for low income students at Erma Nash Elementary, a neighboring MISD campus.

“Our students here at Tipps have so much and I wanted them to give to others here in Mansfield who don’t,” said Spiegel. “I’m trying to teach empathy for others and I wanted them to see it in action for themselves.”

70 students participated in the challenge and raised enough money to purchase equipment for 78 students at Nash. On December 7, Spiegel and her students loaded the equipment on school buses and traveled to Nash to present the goods. It was a heartwarming and pure display of generosity and graciousness.

As the Tipps students handed out soccer balls, footballs, basketballs, hula hoops and jump ropes, they were each given a handwritten thank you card in return.

“I’ve never been given something like this from another school,” said Ariana Rosborough, a 4th grader from Nash. “I’m thankful for the equipment and I hope someday we can do something like this for other students too.”   

It was clear that the students from Nash were thankful and inspired by this act of kindness, but it also held a meaningful lesson for the Tipps kids.

“I think they are really happy and it made me feel happy too,” said Diesel Ayres, a 1st grader from Tipps. “It’s good to raise money for others because it’s helpful and it helps other kids get healthy.”
 

Impact Award - Coach Coordinates Breakfast for Heroes

Travel back in your mind to the end of summertime… Volcanic temperatures, long sunny days, and for campus faculty and staff – summer planning retreats! The staff from Asa Low Intermediate held their fourth annual retreat on August 8, 2012.

During the retreat, the team split into groups to tackle various objectives and plans for the upcoming school year. At that time their ideas were just notes on paper, but four months later, plans have sprung into action and expectations have been exceeded.

Coach David Rinearson led a Community Outreach planning group. Upon his recommendation, the team prepared plans for a “Breakfast for Heroes,” event that would benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Wounded Warrior Project is a military-based program that provides programs and services to severely injured service members during the time between active duty and transition to civilian life.

“The goal is to help them get their life back,” said Rinearson. “Sometimes it’s through counseling, sometimes it’s through helping them purchase prosthesis.”

Rinearson worked with the local Applebee’s to coordinate a community pancake breakfast to raise money for the project. He also enlisted Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6111 in Arlington to help publicize the event. 

The students of Asa Low were also instrumental in the success of the event. After gathering donations from family and community members, they raised a grand total of $1,400! Principal Jason Short was impressed with the way the students responded to the event.

“We wanted not just to involve the kids, but to teach them,” Short said. “We teach a lot about character around here, so we wanted them to tie those messages together, and this activity did that.”

On November 11, a group of veterans from Post 6111 came to the campus to accept the check, which was presented by school namesake Asa Low. As a token of their appreciation the veterans presented Rinearson with a special VFW coin. The coin is presented to those who do something beyond the normal scope of duty, and is considered a great honor.

On behalf of the MISD Administration, congratulations to Coach David Rinearson for making a positive impact in his school and community and for being named our latest Impact Award recipient. Job well done!

Watch the Impact Award video on YouTube:

Toys for Tots Community Event a Great Success

That. Was. Awesome.

Thank you so much to everyone in the Mansfield ISD community who donated toys and/or came out last night to The Center for the Toys for Tots drop-off event. We had a huge crowd of parents, students, staff, and people throughout the community who came by to support this effort. The media team from FOX 4 and organizers from DFW Toys for Tots were thrilled and impressed with the magnitude of our toy drive and community event. All of you did that. Well done!

Did you go? Please share some of your photos from last night's Toys for Tots event at The Center and we'll add them to our online photo gallery. Please send event photos to mansfieldisd [at] gmail.com.

Earlier in the day, we started gathering toys from around the district.

Buses are going around MISD picking up over 12,800 toys from schools for tonight's #ToysForTots drop-off event @ The Center w/ @

Updated (December 14): We received a final count from the DFW Toys for Tots warehouse on the total number of toys and donations from the MISD drive - 16,148 toys and $15,550 in donations!

Thank you to all of the student performers, school and local business volunteers who provided activity booths, event organizers, sponsors and partners, and of course FOX 4 and DFW Toys for Tots for letting MISD be a part of something big.

Superintendent Update - December 2012

Watch the Superintendent Update on our YouTube channel or the MISD Video Portal (inside the district network).

Dr. Bob Morrison discusses the latest on the new Student Nutrition online meal payment system, recent grant awards by the MISD Education Foundation and the district-wide Toys For Tots program that will be held at the Center for the Performing Arts.

Toys for Tots Drive and Community Event - Dec 12

Join Mansfield ISD and Toys for Tots for a community-wide FREE event at the MISD Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 from
5:00 - 10:30 p.m.

Live FOX 4 TV coverage between 5:00-6:30 p.m. and 9:00-10:30 p.m. broadcasts

We will have FREE Santa photos to all bringing a (new, unwrapped) toy, a pair of real reindeer to pet, crafts, face-painting, fire truck, inflatable bounce activity, music, high school drumlines, popcorn, hot cocoa, entertainment, and much more.

Toy collection boxes are also available at every Mansfield ISD campus and many local businesses. All are invited to bring collection boxes with toys to the December 12 community drop-off event.

The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October - December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area.

Download and print the Event Flyer (PDF):

Bikes for Angels 2012 Campaign

Automotive Technology Department at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy kicked off their annual Bikes for Angels Fundraiser for Christmas 2012 earlier this fall.
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Update: Fantastic work by the auto tech students at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy for their Bikes for Angels campaign. Over 450 bikes were purchased, built, and are being distributed this week to needy kids in the area. Thank you to everyone who helped in this campaign. Check out the photo gallery from the campus presentation of bikes.

 

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From Rick Curlee, Auto Tech Teacher at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy:
We are dedicating the Bikes for Angels fundraiser to Mr. Jerry Bellows (pictured above) from this point forward. Mr. Bellows is suffering with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and was very instrumental in starting our Bikes for Angels Program.

Our students have purchased 2,017 bikes and raised over $86,250.00 to buy bicycles for Angel tree children at our Intermediate and Elementary schools here in the Mansfield area. We also donated bikes to Common Ground in Mansfield and Bethlehem Baptist Church. We also have donated bikes to the Family Crisis Center which assists battered women and children and Operation Blessing. It means so much for the instructors and students delivering these bikes to see Counselors, Principals, Teachers and some of the recipients with tears of joy in their eyes.

We are starting this new school year with the main goal of trying to buy at least 700 bicycles this year for needy children who would otherwise not get bikes for Christmas. We have had students bringing everything in from Ziploc bags full of change to a student turning over his weekly paycheck to help some of these children in the past. We have also had many students who had actually been on Angel Trees when they were younger themselves.

We would sincerely like to ask you to help us meet the goal this year by making a donation of any kind to our fund. We can use almost any type of donation.
Some examples are listed below.

• Cars, running or not, and in any shape. Cars must have title and will either be resold or scrapped.
• Scrap metal.
• Checks, cash, even your spare change is accepted. It all adds up to bicycles.

Students will be visiting classrooms, businesses, and their immediate communities trying to raise funds. Thank you for considering this year's Bikes for Angels campaign. If you give by check, please make it out to "MISD Auto Tech" and put Bikes for Angels in the memo line.

For questions about the program, please email Mr. Rick Curlee at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy at rickcurlee@misdmail.org or contact by phone at 817-299-1939.

Impact Award: Career Tech Instructors Soar with Solar Power

When Jackie Bishop was researching home solar panels online last spring, he came across a project that would soon make Mansfield ISD history.

The Solar Car Challenge was founded to motivate students in science, engineering, technology and alternative energy – plus, it involves some pretty cool race cars!

After discovering the challenge, Bishop, an Auto Tech teacher at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy, quickly enlisted the help of Rob Goodson, an Engineering teacher on campus. The enthusiastic duo recruited a group of about twenty-five students to form “The Shine Runners,” MISD’s first ever solar car team.

Their mission was to design and construct a solar car to compete in the Solar Car Challenge, which is held at Texas Motor Speedway each summer. Since forming in 1993, the competition has grown from a high school extracurricular activity to a national event drawing over 65 schools from 20 states.

As construction on the car kicked off at the end of the school year, Bishop and Goodson enlisted the help of students from auto tech, engineering, media tech, graphic design, welding and construction; each of whom offered a level of expertise in their area.

In addition to uniting students from across the campus, the solar car project drew interest and support from several community businesses, including Mouser Electronics, The Power Store, ExelTech and Lockheed Martin. These sponsors contributed to the success of the project through donations of funds, equipment and even brain power.

A senior electrical engineer from ExelTech logged about 300 hours working closely with the students.

“It was a huge benefit to work with industry professionals,” said Bishop. “They learned about technology we wouldn’t typically learn in class. The experience they gained from this is something they will never forget.”

The team worked long hours throughout the summer, to ensure the car would be ready for its debut at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Shine Runners emerged victorious from their first race, with the 6th place title and the prestigious William Shih Award, presented to the solar car team with the highest level of technological achievement.

“It was probably the safest one out there,” said Goodson of the solar car. “It may not be the fastest, but it was most structurally sounds and had the best overall features. We are very proud of them for that.”

Following the success of their first race, the Shine Runners are already looking forward to their next challenge. They plan to take part in an eight-day cross-country race from Dallas to Los Angeles in July of 2013.

On behalf of the Mansfield ISD Administration, we wish the Shine Runnners the best of luck in their future challenges and we congratulate their fearless leaders, Jackie Bishop and Rob Goodson, for receiving our latest MISD Impact Award! They have truly earned their place in the sun.

JROTC CyberWarriors Secure Damaged Enterprise Computer

Five Mansfield High School JROTC cadets recently competed in the CyberPatriot V – National High School Cyber Defense Competition. Established by the Air Force Association (AFA), CyberPatriot is the nation's largest high school cyber security challenge. This unique competition was designed to give students a hands-on learning experience in cybersecurity and inspire students to consider science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields in their studies. It also offers support and technical expertise from industry leaders, including CyberPatriot's presenting sponsor the Northrop Grumman Foundation.


During Friday and Saturday, November 2 – 3, competitors were scored on how well they strengthened their assigned simulated computer systems by finding and fixing security issues.

This round of competition pitted over 120 schools from around the world in a grueling online game to teach students how to assess and correct vulnerabilities within a corporate Windows 7 network that had been damaged by users that changed critical processes and files. The six-hour event round was also the inaugural run of the new CyberPatriot Competition System (CCS), a new cyber training model.  For the first time teams could receive real-time feedback of their scores along with a report of the scored problems they correctly solved.

Mansfield High School's JROTC team, known as CyberWarrior pictured above during the competition, consisted of student cadets Jonathon Chen, Tristan Crawley, Chris Meek, Anthony White, and Dakota Kuhn. The cadets were not told what type of computer, which operating system would be tested, which repairs are required, or how to go about making corrections until they installed the image from their secret archive that was delivered just in time to start the game.

“The first challenges the team faced were testing the authenticity of the downloaded ISO image by MD5 files checksums and the secret decompression passwords,” said SFC Darrell Watkins, their team coach and Army JROTC Instructor at Mansfield High School JROTC. “For a few minutes, I could see the stress level building as the team worked feverishly to install the VMWare Virtual Machine on their Windows game platform. The team came together and assigned tasks, recorded every error, added and deleted authorized users from their scenario, and developed a trouble ticket methodology to establish their priorities, enjoying their snacks and an occasional joke along their way to securing and protecting the system.”


Effective communication within the CyberPatriot Team on computer vulnerabilities, with their coach for questions of the 400-page rule book, and external communications with CyberPatriot Operations Center (CPOC) that was in the path of Hurricane Sandy last week, would all prove instrumental to their success in this game session.

The goal of this program is to teach young people about myriad security issues that render everything from cell phones to automobile ignition systems very lucrative targets for computer crackers and hackers. SFC Watkins said, “CyberPatriot conducts actual online hacking, since that is exactly what we are learning to prevent with this cyber security program. As the team made security repairs, the game counter noted their progress and assigned them points for each security flaw repaired correctly. With the introduction of over 10,000 iPads devices within Mansfield ISD high schools this school year, we have seen firsthand during the past several weeks the benefits of monitoring what users are doing on computers and correcting vulnerabilities.”

Many users ask their seemingly knowledgeable friends to make system, registry, and network changes that could expose the entire network to damage from others in the interconnected digital world, causing problems that could require hundreds, if not thousands of hours for an organization's IT staff to repair. Mansfield ISD’s network staff deployed many virtual Windows Office platforms in a very short time to our students for use on their Apple devices. This gives students access to applications that many families could not afford in the retail sector. The benefit of the virtual machine on a computer is that if it malfunctions, it can quickly be replaced with the image taken before anything was done to cause it damage.

The team wishes to thank AT&T, Northrup-Grumman, the Air Force Association, and the entire CyberPatriot family for helping each of them to learn to maintain and repair security related computer infrastructure by employing the digital game realm as a learning vehicle.

Superintendent Update - November 2012

Dr. Bob Morrison shares information on the iPad Program and upcoming special events including Veterans Day campus observances, Toys for Tots, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a MISD Education Rally event next February.

Watch the video on YouTube or on the Video Portal from inside the MISD network.)

Town Hall: The Role of Standardized Testing in Education

The HOPE Foundation in partnership with the Mansfield ISD will hold a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 5:45 p.m. The topic of the Town Hall is “What should the role of Standardize Testing be in education?” It will be held at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts, located at 1110 West Debbie Lane, Mansfield TX 76063.

As parents we often only look at our children’s test scores or visit the schools website to see their grades. Some of the questions we need to be asking to ensure our children are graduating as 21st century learners who are college and career ready go well beyond just grades and scores These questions and more will be addressed at the Town Hall meeting.

Moderator: Christopher Swanson - Vice President of Editorial Projects in Education, Education Week

Panelists:

• Lamar Goree – Area Superintendent, Mansfield Independent School District
• Dr. Shelly Butler – Middle School Principal, Mansfield Independent School District
• Kelly Standley – Instructional Specialist, Mansfield Independent School District
• Melanie Castellow – Curriculum Director, LaGrange Independent School District
• Lee Fleming – Director of New School Development, New Tech Network

Mansfield ISD parents are invited to be part of our Town Hall because you play a crucial large role in shaping not only the future your children but of this region, state and beyond.

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The Thursday night Town Hall meeting is in coordination with a HOPE Foundation conference entitled "How Schools Work" being held at The Center on November 8-9 for educators:

The "How Schools Work" Series goes beyond what to do to assure student success and directly into how it is being done in schools throughout North America -- right now. The fact is that schools are succeeding. Importing gurus is misguided because The Answer Is in the Room. Every school has excellent teaching going on, and every district has successful schools. The challenge has been in scaling that success. HOPE's past decade has been spent developing and field-testing a method for scaling success already underway in schools. Now you can see that in action.

Teachers from our District as well as from surrounding school districts will attend this national conference being held here in the Mansfield ISD.

Three Schools want to Stuff the Bus with Food

Three schools in Mansfield ISD are preparing for community food drive during which they hope to fill a school us with nonperishable food items for distribution.

Starting Monday, November 12, Cross Timbers Intermediate School, Carol Holt Elementary School, and T.A. Howard Middle School will join forces for their first ever joint Stuff the Bus Food Drive.

Each campus will collect canned and nonperishable food items the week of November 12 -16.

Items collected will be placed on one of the District's school buses in hopes to fill it by the end of the week. The campuses are inviting all parents, faculty, staff and students to participate. All food drive items will benefit food pantries in the Mansfield Common Ground Network. (The Common Ground Network is a community partner organization for the MISD.)

Drop off locations: 
Cross Timbers Intermediate - 2934 Russell Road, Arlington, TX 76001
Carol Holt Elementary - 7321 Ledbetter Road, Arlington, TX 76001
T.A. Howard Middle School - 7501 Calendar Road, Arlington, TX 76001

Get the flyer (PDF)

Chemistry help from APE MAN at Jones Middle

Danny Jones Middle School 8th grade students were presented with a challenge to design a T-shirt that reflected their learning of the chemistry unit taught during the first six weeks.

Students were introduced to the acronym APE MAN.

The APE MAN acronym is used to help students remember how to calculate information regarding elements on the periodic table.

Atomic number = # of Protons = # of Electrons

  Mass number
- Atomic number
  Neutrons

Then on October 10, 2012 students participated in APE MAN day. Students wore their shirts and attempted to complete a scavenger hunt that consisted of nine challenges such as:
a)    Find five different elements that are metals.
b)    Find three different elements with the same number of valence electrons.
c)    Find two different elements that are metalloids.

APE MAN day was a great success with over 95% participation. Students and teachers enjoyed seeing the creativity and effort that the students put into their shirt design.

Students were asked to reflect on the day. Here are some of the comments from students:
I learned a lot from this project the best part was designing the shirts. Alexis F.
It was fun being able to use my phone at school while learning! Billea H.
I felt as if I was surrounded by paparazzi, it was fun! Everyone participated and whoever didn’t missed out on a fun project. Alex A.
We had fun finding elements similar to ours. Candria C
I love making the shirt. The easiest part was finding the information for my shirt because all I had to do was download a free app about elements. MaKenzie B.

District Energy Champion Recognition

Timberview High School teacher, Tim Maschal, was recently named Mansfield ISD's Energy Champion for his efforts in organizing an efficient and energy-saving campus. Mr. Maschal was commended during the October, 2012 School Board meeting. Due to the buy-in from staff and students during the 2011-12 school year, Timberview High School realized a savings of over 38% in energy costs!

Congratulations, Mr. Tim Maschal.



Read more about the District Wide Utility Management Standards.

iPad Parent Night Oct 29 at The Center

Your high school student has a district-issued iPad. 
Now what?!

Parents of MISD high school students are invited to attend this learning opportunity for next steps for high school parents in the iPad initiative.

The Mansfield ISD technology development team will host an iPad Parent Night on October 29, 2012, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts.

This free event will feature tips for parents about managing your student’s iPad use at home as well as some exploration of outstanding apps for education in a hands-on format.

The Center is located at 1110 W Debbie Lane, Mansfield, Texas 76063 (Map).

Related Information:

• iPad Program Info
• MISD TechNotes Blog
• OnlineTextbooks and Other Resources

Lady Tigers Volleyball Coach Celebrates 500 Career Wins

Congratulations to Lady Tiger volleyball coach Judith McGill for the awesome accomplishment of winning 500 career games! The monumental victory took place when the Lady Tigers defeated the Panthers on Friday, October 12, in Midlothian.

When we asked Coach McGill how she accomplished the tremendous feat of reaching 500 victories, her answer was simple – it’s the kids.

“Behind every win is a hardworking, dedicated team,” said McGill. "The only way you make it to 500 is by having great kids, and I think that is really the key to any successful school program."

Although reaching 500 wins is a crowning achievement for Coach McGill, she has no intention of slowing down.

“I want to keep winning games and support hardworking kids that will go on to be productive citizens and good people,” said McGill. “That goal will never change.”

On behalf of the MISD Administration, congratulations to Coach Judith McGill! We appreciate your commitment to the Lady Tiger Volleyball program, Mansfield High School and the Mansfield ISD community.

Senior Art Shows at The Center

 

The MISD Fine Arts Department has established a new visual arts show opportunity for advanced art students. Senior Art Shows for our Advanced Visual Art Students are schedule at The MISD Center for the Performing Arts. The shows will give these seniors an opportunity to have a larger art show in addition to our Annual Art shows held in the spring. The Senior Art shows are two weeks in duration and feature two to four students from each of our high schools.

Here is the full 2012-13 schedule of Senior Art Shows at The Center (current show):

October 8-19 – Legacy High School (Anai Vargas and Jessilee Shipman; Reception Thurs., Oct. 18)

October 22-November 2 – Mansfield High School (Courtney Bruce, Arsh Dhaliwal, Erin Johnson, and Lynn Nguyen; Reception Sat., Oct. 27)

November 12-30 – Legacy High School (Caitlyn Moore, Patrick Henson, Lily Masuda, Jessica Darmon, and Trent Ritchey; artists reception, Tuesday, November 27)

December 10-January 10 – Legacy High School (Alex, Horan, Brenda Moreno, Abril Lara, Megan Rathbun, Jennifer Brown, Courtney Johns, Amanda Mixon, and Brandon Bohuslav)

January 14-25 – Summit High School (Charleston Angton and Shaheed Johnson)

January 28-February 8 – Mansfield High School (Alex Williams, Kulraj Chatha, Tara Hohman and Autumn Aguilar)

February 11-22 – Summit High School (Vi Nguyen and Tina Nguyen)

February 25-March 8 – Lake Ridge High School (MaLeeka Curry, Calvin Rowe, Zach Caton, Taylor Lee, Brandon Glathe-Mona, Anisa Avalos, Karla Hernandez, Ashley Gray, Kaitlyn Northrup, Korbie Frazier, Jacob Kang, Ronald Santos, Alexis Wilson, Jazmin Cortez, Lissandra Alvarado, Hannah Woodlee) Please note: Since LRHS is a new campus, we didn't limit this show to seniors.

March 18-29 – Mansfield High School (Josh DuMond, Melanie Mohler, and Austin Sutton)

April 8-12 – District Secondary Art Show (Grades 5-12)

April 22-May 3 – Timberview High School (Trenten Abano, Melody Wong, Markel Briggs, and Kendall Storm

May 6-10 – District Elementary Art Show (Grades K-4)

May 13-24 – Timberview High School

The Center is located at 1110 W Debbie Lane, Mansfield, Texas 76063.
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Fine Arts Senior Art Shows update: 

Frontier Students Display Digital Skills at State Convention

Four Frontier High School students participated in a display of digital learning prowess at last month's TASA/TASB Convention. The Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) partner each year to bring Texas school board members and school administrators a premier education-related convention. This year's convention was held September 28-30 in Austin. Among the convention speakers and exhibits was a Digital Learning Pavilion (DLP).

Secondary students from across the state were invited to the convention's DLP to display their ingenuity and collaboration skills in a project-based learning environment. Using technology and social media to accelerate their problem-solving skills, students teamed up to create innovative solutions to real-world problems.

The Frontier High School students at the TASA/TASB Convention DLP were provided questions and then they were to use technology to answer and create a presentation. This was not a competition, rather a display of students' technological learning skills in action.

Students completed two different tasks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The kids were given a SMART board, two iPads, a Macbook, and a Dell laptop and that was it. The morning question was, Childhood obesity rates are climbing. Is our appetite for sugar killing us? and the afternoon question was, Electronic resources drive learning, even textbooks are available online. How does this change affect you?

According to their teacher, Elise Buchhorn from Ben Barber Career Tech Academy/Frontier High School, the students conducted all of the project work and then gave a presentation of their response at the end of the session.

"They researched and gathered data online and used web tools for their first presentation," said Buchhorn. "Their afternoon session, they wanted to survey some of their classmates, so they Skyped them and then screen recorded their conversations and made video clips to insert into their Keynote software presentation. It was very impressive on what they did and how they did it."

Buchhorn made the following video to highlight their day mostly for the parents to see their kids in action, but really, it's too cool and worth sharing.

Enjoy.

Superintendent Update - October 2012

Dr. Bob Morrison shares the latest on the district's high school iPad initiative including preliminary plans for an expanded parent information night on Monday, October 29. He also mentions other items of interest in the month of October: Red Ribbon Week, College and Career Night (October 17), and the upcoming Parent/Teacher Conference Day (October 8). Reminder: No school Monday, October 8.

Pictures of the Week (Sept 24-28)

Wednesday, September 26, marked the public re-opening for Savvy's Bistro, our culinary program's student-run restaurant. Read the post.

Summit HS was the final campus in the high school iPad program deployment. Students and the professional staff at all MISD high schools were issued iPad devices. Over 9,000 iPad 2 devices were issued at high schools. Make-up dates for deployment and an upcoming Parent informational meeting date are pending. Stay current on the high school iPad program.

Dr. Fred Garza's "Reflections" Scientific, Technological, and Literary Observations in Pastel, art exhibit opened on Wednesday, September 26, in the Mansfield HS Library Learning Commons. This exhibit is divided into three distinct parts. Each part of the exhibit is influenced by areas of which Dr. Garza is very passionate. The exhibit will be available Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m., until Thursday, November 15, 2012.

Each month during the school year, students from our elementary schools are selected to receive the Superintendent’s Star Award for outstanding citizenship. The photo above is from the September 2012 School Board Meeting photo gallery.

Timberview HS Basketball Coach, Duane Gregory, took some of his basketball players to Thelma Jones Elementary for the elementary school's Camp Out Reading Day on Thursday, September 27. "I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, the elementary students or my guys," said coach Gregory.

Rachel's Challenge Comes to Worley Middle School on Oct 11

Guest post from Dr. Shelly Butler, Principal of Rogene Worley Middle School

Worley Tigers are excited to bring Rachel's Challenge to Mansfield!

The Rachel's Challenge organization is a non profit, non political, non religious organization based in Littleton, Colorado. The objective of this program is to equip students and adults with strategies to combat bullying and feelings of isolation or despair.

Seventeen year old Rachel Scott was the first student killed at Columbine High School in 1999. Rachel left behind a legacy of positivity and caring for others through her writings and drawings. Rachel's story has been shared with the world through the Rachel's Challenge organization. Her hope was to start a "chain reaction" of kindness and compassion. (www.rachelschallenge.org)

Our number one reason for inviting Rachel's Challenge to Worley is to change the culture of bullying, teasing and harassment in today's society by empowering our students with the social and emotional tools they need to exist in an ever changing global society. According to the Rachel's Challenge website, the assembly conveys the power of deliberately reaching out in word and action to others. It also encourages listeners to examine their own lives, their relationships with the world around them and the impact their behavior has on others by taking on 5 challenges.

We believe that it is vitality important for our families and our community to hear the Rachel's Challenge message, understand what IS and IS NOT BULLYING and join our student body in taking on the 5 challenges.

Our students have raised the funds to bring Rachel's Challenge to our school through a Fund Run. Thanks to our coaches and students, we have raised enough to pay for the program and the prizes for the run.

Rachel's Challenge will be presented at Worley Middle School on Thursday, October 11 for our students at 9:00 a.m. that morning and 7:00 p.m. for parents and the local community. The one hour evening community event will be held at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts in the Professional Development Center.

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Editor's Note: Other MISD campuses have also brought in the Rachel's Challenge program including events at Linda Jobe Middle School, Danny Jones Middle School and Lake Ridge High School within the past year.