Olympic Connections and Congratulations

Mansfield ISD is very proud to share some recent outstanding athletic accomplishments with ties to the Olympics:

Congratulations to Aldrich (A.J.) Bailey from Mansfield Timberview High School. A.J. won the Junior Nationals in the Men’s open 400 meters and finished in the top 16 in the Men’s open 400 meters over the weekend at the Olympic Trials in Oregon.


Congratulations to Shelbi Vaughan from Mansfield Legacy High School. Shelbi won the Junior Nationals in the Women’s Discus Throw. She finished 4th in the Women’s Discus Throw at the Olympic Trials in Oregon this past weekend.
(Related photo and article via The Rider Online.)

Congratulations to Tobi Fawehinmi from Mansfield Summit High School. Tobi set two new records in the Long Jump for Para Track and Field. He will compete June 29-30 in the Long Jump for the Paralympic trials in Indiana.

UPDATE: Summit HS athlete earns spot on US Paralympic Team for track and field and will compete in London this August and September
Tobi Fawehinmi competed in the US Trials this past weekend in Indianapolis, IN and won gold in both the Triple Jump and the Long Jump in his classfication. Sunday night, he was named as one of only 54 athletes that will be competing for the United States at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

This is an incredible opportunity for this young man, as he will now travel the world representing the US and Summit High School. He will be leaving on July 11 to travel with the team to Canada for a week of training and a competition. He will then have just a few weeks before he will leave for England.
(via Shannon Utley, Summit HS Head Coach CC & Girls Track)
Related Links:

• Shelbi Vaughan "the future of throwing" - ESPN.com
• Shelbi Vaughan, Aldrich Bailey, Ajee Wilson advance on first day at Olympic Trials - ESPN.com
• Mansfield high school track stars advance to next rounds at Olympic trials - Star-Telegram
  
  Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/06/22/4053176/mansfield-high-school-stars-advance.html#storylink=cpy
• USA Track & Field
• U.S. Olympics Track & Field Trials
• U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Trials

Campus Strives to Make a Community Impact

The faculty members of D.P. Morris Elementary approached the 2011-12 school year with a fresh, new perspective. As a team, they made a purposeful effort to focus on doing good things for others and fostering a strong sense of community. Through various programs, events and fundraising activities, the team at Morris grew closer together through helping others.

A key example of this service-focused strategy is the Holiday Open House event held on campus last December. The goal of this program was to take a simple event and transform it into an opportunity to do something great for students and families in need during the holiday season.

The campus staff identified 25 D.P. Morris families that were in need of assistance and each classroom worked together to make crafts, ornaments, snacks and goodies to sell for $1 or less.  The event had a tremendous turnout and resulted in a collection of over $2,500 to donate to the families in need.

The good will demonstrated through the Holiday Open House helped provide a memorable holiday season for those families as well as the staff and students of D.P. Morris, particularly one family that had never been able to afford a Christmas tree.

“You think that’s a simple thing and that a Christmas tree is just automatic,” said Secretary Linda Moss. “In this case they had never had one, so we were able to fulfill that wish.”

The success of the Holiday Open House event is just one example of the type of positive impact the Morris staff made last school year. The campus also united to raise money for a Morris student battling illness this spring. The campus Principal, Billy Snow, believes these activities benefit students and staff by reinforcing positive values and emphasizing the importance of helping others.

“We’ve focused a lot on student engagement as a team, and all of the things we’ve done together have really bonded us as a campus,” said Snow. “We also talk a lot about how it’s our calling to be teachers, and to make a difference.”

Check out the latest Impact Award video. On behalf of the MISD administration, congratulations to the entire staff of D.P. Morris Elementary for receiving the final Impact Award for the 2011-12 school year for demonstrating phenomenal community service and teamwork!

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The Impact Award was established to recognize individual staff members, departments, campuses or other employee groups that have promoted teamwork and unity by initiating a program or event that made a positive impact within Mansfield ISD and the community. Impact Award winners may be nominated by staff, students or community members.

Winners are selected each month throughout the school year. Staff members who receive The Impact Award are eligible for other district honors.

Superintendent Update - June 2012

Dr. Bob Morrison discusses the new 1:1 iPad Initiative, the opening of the Center for the Performing Arts and shares highlights from the graduation ceremonies.

Board Approves High School 1:1 iPad Initiative

A message from Dr. Vaszauskas, MISD Associate Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountability:

At [the May 22] Board meeting our Board of Trustees approved the purchase of iPads for all high school professional staff and students. We are working on a plan to get these devices to teachers and other professional staff members as soon as we can, but we do not know how quickly the order can be processed and shipped. The plan to distribute the iPads to the high school students once school starts in the fall is being developed but is not finalized. Once we have more information, we will get that out to you.

We plan to offer optional opportunities this summer for staff members to come and get their iPads, and staff will receive SDCE credit for their time. However, those dates depend on the shipping schedule from Apple. Check the website often for more information.

We are working on a professional development schedule to ensure that everyone has plenty of training opportunities throughout the 2012-2013 school year and beyond. For teachers who already feel very comfortable with the iPads, you will be able to integrate the iPad into your classroom at your own pace. Some staff members, like me, will need a little more time to develop iPad skills. Therefore, all teachers will continue to have access to physical textbooks and resources that you typically use in your classroom.

More information will follow as we work through this process. The best source for current information regarding this initiative will be the MISD Tech Notes blog. Thank you for your patience as we work to bring this very exciting opportunity to fruition.

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This post originally appeared May 23, 2012 on the MISD Tech Notes blog.
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Related:

• PowerUp! Update
• Look for PowerUp! Posts about MISD High School 1:1 Initiative; Teacher FAQs
• iSchool: District approves iPads for school use (MHS Uproar)
• Board Set to Vote on Digital Textbooks (LHS The Rider Online)
• Proposed Mansfield ISD high school iPad initiative Q&A 

Mansfield HS senior places 2nd in national poetry contest

Congratulations to Aldean Pearson II, a senior at Mansfield HS, for his second place finish in the nation in Poetry at the National Forensics League competition held June 10-15 in Indianapolis, IN.

Out of 384 entries with students representing every state in the country participating, Mr. Pearson placed second and brings home a huge trophy (pictured above) and a $500 scholarship for college.

"We would like to thank Mrs. Cynthia McCallum, principal, and Dr. Russ Sanders, Director of Fine Arts, for their continuous support of our speech program," said Kristy Thomas, team sponsor.

Record-Breaking Attendance at 8th Annual Curriculum Conference

Over 1,500 teachers from across Mansfield ISD attended the 8th Annual MISD Curriculum Conference held at Legacy High School from June 4 - 7, 2012.

This event gives our district educators the opportunity to earn required staff development credit hours each year. The MISD Curriculum and Instruction Department estimates a total of 14,442 credit hours were earned during the event last week.

A total of 218 different sessions were offered including including iPad training courses, “make and take” activities for next year and several courses to assist teachers in implementing Ron Clark Academy-inspired strategies.

A special thank you to the staff at Legacy High School for hosting the event, and to the MISD Curriculum and Instruction Department for working so hard to plan and organize this fantastic annual event.

Jobe Middle School service project is for the birds

The Builders Club at Linda Jobe Middle School is a community service organization that seeks to cultivate young leaders within the school. The group is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Mansfield which provided many of the resources needed for the Builders Club's service and learning projects. 

One of the projects they did this year was recently highlighted during the May school board meeting. The club built bird houses for Watercrest at Mansfield, an area senior adult living community. The students brainstormed this idea with the help of Cheryl Litke, their Kiwanis sponsor, and developed a plan of action. Home Depot donated the materials to construct the bird houses and the students stayed after school to glue and hammer them together. 

"We had tons and laughs and great pizza," said Angela Small, Jobe teacher and club sponsor. "The students then took their bird houses homes and continued to paint and design the bird houses with their family. This project was fun and exciting for all those involved and we foresee many more service learning projects in Jobe’s future!" 

On May 22, 2012, Mrs. Elizabeth Hostin (principal), Ms. Angela Small, Mrs. Cheryl Litke, and several students from the Builders Club (pictured above) attended the School Board meeting to present their finished bird houses to the Watercrest Community. The birdhouses will be on display in their adjoined park.