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.

Student-run Savvy's Bistro re-opens to the public

(L-R) Chef Lisa Amoriello, Chef Brook Moore, Savannah Rice, Tiara Seastrunk,
Ashlyn Stubbs, Chef Adair Smith, Bryce Reed)

Wednesday, September 26, marks the public re-opening for Savvy's Bistro, our culinary program's student-run restaurant, for Mansfield ISD patrons lunchtime during the 2012-13 school year.

Savvy's Bistro is located inside Ben Barber Career Tech Academy/Frontier High School (1120 W. Debbie Ln., Mansfield, TX, 76063). On Tuesday, September 25, Savvy's held an invitation-only soft opening so culinary students could practice the front of house and kitchen work under live conditions with guests. A special guest was among the first patrons in the restaurant yesterday. Savannah Rice (pictured above third from the left), the namesake of Savvy's came with her mom.

At the end of the 2005-2006 school year, culinary arts students at BBCTA were asked to complete a final project to provide options for restaurant designs and names. But, when fellow culinary arts student and senior Konye Rice lost her life in a car accident one week before graduation, the students chose to use her final project's design and name for the bistro as their way honor her memory. The name Savvy originates from the name Savannah, which Rice named after her niece.

"As a teacher, I am fortunate to be in Mansfield ISD so that I can combine my teaching and chef experience to help students learn about the restaurant industry," said Chef Adair Smith about Savvy's. "As a chef, I set very high expectations for my students and every year, they never cease to amaze me with their responsibility, diligence and hard work. Each year I ask my students to tell me what they learned in my class that was new or beneficial.  Most tell me that team work is the skill that they will take away with them and be able to use later in life.  I expect them to work as a team and learn to rely on each other."
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Savvy's focus is on the education not the bottom line, so featured items come delivered to you at a very reasonable price. The bistro is open to the public for lunch from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Additional parking for the Bistro is located in the back of the building. Check out Savvy's Bistro online, on Facebook, and their menu.

Pictures of the Week (Sept 17-21)

Check out some of the photos from recent events in Mansfield ISD last week:

Mr. Bill O'Neal (above at left), the State Historian of Texas, spoke at two assemblies at Lillard Intermediate on Friday, September 21 for Celebrate Freedom Week. He shared artifacts from early America and spoke with the students about the importance of our Constitution. Mr. O'Neal is the father of Lynn Martinez (pictured at right), a teacher at Lillard.

Glenn Harmon Elementary Students received a grant from the MISD Education Foundation in 2012, to provide seven opportunities for service during the 2012-2013 school year, to the Green Oaks Assisted Living Center. The dream of the Campus is to have each grade level prepare and send students to the Assisted Living Center for a 45 minute visit, which would include a small gift made by students and the residents together, and either a musical, audiovisual or dramatic performance. [photo gallery]

Mouser Electronics hosted students from Ben Barber Career Tech Acedmy as part of their recent community partnership celebration for Mouser employees and special guests. Mouser sponsored a couple of student programs at BBCTA last year, the Robotics teams and the Solar Car team. Dr. Bob Morrison (pictured above), Superintendent, took a test-drive of the BBCTA solar car around the Mouser parking lot. The solar car and team, called the "Shine Runners," competed over the summer in the Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. The student-constructed solar car won the William Shih Award for the highest level of technical achievement at the summer competition.

The student robotics teams at BBCTA were also available for technical demonstrations at the Mouser event. The teams, the Vinegar Vikings, Crusading Cucumbers, and Fighting Pickles (pictured below), each brought robots to feature and thank Mouser employees for their continued support.

Legacy HS embraces Pink Glove Dance opportunity

Mansfield ISD coordinated with Methodist Mansfield Medical Center to help spread the word about breast cancer awareness and prevention through The Pink Glove Dance. The MISD community was invited to join us in starring in a Pink Glove Dance video at the Legacy HS vs. Bryan Adams HS football game on September 13 at Vernon Newsom Stadium. Breast cancer survivors were also encouraged to attend and dance on the field at halftime.

As part of the Pink Glove Dance 2012 competition, Methodist Mansfield’s video will be posted on www.pinkglovedance.com on October 12 along with the videos of the other participants to be viewed by the public. Viewers can vote on their favorite video (voting requires a Facebook® account). The top three winners receive a donation in their name to the breast cancer charity of their choice, such as the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The winners will be announced November 2 on pinkglovedance.com.

Special thanks to the Legacy HS teen leadership and student council students, cheerleaders, drill team, band, staff and game attendees who all put on pink gloves to join in on the fun. Many of the students wore the LHS Pink Fest t-shirts as a sign of solidarity and spirit for the breast cancer survivors and halftime video event. (Each year, LHS students in Teen Leadership classes and Student Council rally the school and community to raise money for breast cancer research and share awareness through Pink Fest programming and events. Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised during activities for the cause.)

Superintendent Update - September 2012

Dr. Bob Morrison discusses the latest on the district's new high school iPad initiative, new construction and the MISD transition from Infinite Campus to the Skyward Family Access system.

Watch Dr. Morrison's update on YouTube or on the District's Video Portal (inside the district network).

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Note: The video references a status on the iPad deployment schedule. The High School iPad program for teachers and students is currently in the deployment phase. Devices have been distributed to students at Frontier HS, Lake Ridge HS, Mansfield HS, and Legacy HS. This week, students at Timberview HS will start the process followed by Summit HS during the week of September 24. (As a reminder, Frontier was first to receive the devices because it is a smaller number of students and technicians used it to test the process. A random drawing by the high school principals determined the order of deployment for the other schools.)

Patriot Day: Remembering September 11

September 11 is a day forever changed in the history of the United States of America.

"On September 11, 2001, a bright autumn day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. Thousands of innocent men, women, and children perished when mighty towers collapsed in the heart of New York City and wreckage burned in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. They were family and friends, service members and first responders -- and the tragedy of their loss left pain that will never fade and scars our country will never forget.

More than a decade later, the world we live in is forever changed. But as we mark the anniversary of September 11, we remember what remains the same: our character as a Nation, our faith in one another, and our legacy as a country strengthened by service and selflessness." - Presidential Proclamation -- Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, 2012

Several Mansfield ISD campuses held Patriot Day events to mark the anniversary of September 11.

Willie Brown Elementary prepared a morning tribute to those who lost their lives and the heroes of 9/11. Students prepared patriotic songs to sing and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from the school helped with the flag-raising ceremony. Parents and family members who served or are serving in the military, as well as firefighters, police officers and paramedics were all invited to attend and participate in the tribute.
[Brown Elementary Patriot Day 2012 Photo Gallery]

Other campuses encouraged students and staff to wear red, white, and blue and held patroit music, flag-raising ceremonies, or had classroom activities as well as moments of silence and reflection.

D.P. Morris Elementary Pre-K students cerebrate Patriot Day

Video Tribute

Frontier HS senior Savannah Vasquez shot and produced a documentary project in her Video Production class last year as a junior. The project was completed earlier in 2012 during student preparations for SkillsUSA conference. Savannah conducted a phone interview with the widow of a police officer who perished in the World Trade Center collapse during has rescue efforts. She also interviewed Mansfield Police officers for this production. Savannah wanted to do something special for that project and obviously went above and beyond the class 'prompt'.

From the video decription by Savannah Vasquez: "America was moved by the events that took place on September 11, 2001. We all know the story, but many don't know this story. "Chances" is a documentary about a miraculous event that took place among the tragedy."


"Chances": A 9/11 Story from Savannah Vasquez on Vimeo.
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Update: Photos from the Willie Brown Elementary Patriot Day morning event were used in the WFAA news' feature, Remembering 911: A Photojournal