Author and former NFL star Tim Green visits Mansfield ISD

Tim Green visited four MISD schools this past week, sharing an inspiring message of hard work and the importance of education and reading. Students at TA Howard Middle, James Coble Middle, Danny Jones Middle, and Donna Shepard Intermediate participated in the author visit organized by MISD Librarians.

A little background on the multi-talented Mr. Green: After studying writing at Syracuse University where he was an All American football player, Tim was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons where he was a top defensive player for eight years.

While Tim played in the NFL, he also studied law and began his writing career. By the time he retired from football in 1994, Tim had already published his first book and became a lawyer. In addition to those two jobs, he began working as a television broadcaster for FOX NFL Sunday and other shows, including Battlebots, Good Morning America, Court TV, A Current Affair, and most recently, Find My Family.

After writing more than a dozen books for adults, Tim Green began writing a series of novels for young readers set in a world of sports taken from his own experiences as an athlete and a coach. In the meantime, Tim has visited over 600 schools and spoken to more than 300,000 students across the United States about the importance of education and character, in addition to the joys and benefits of reading.

In addition to his visit, Mr. Green donated hundreds of copies of his newest young adult novel, Force Out, to MISD Title I schools. His generosity and commitment to Mansfield ISD’s young people are greatly appreciated by teachers and students alike.

Tim Green’s Mansfield ISD visit certainly starts the summer right; with a good book!

Tim Green with TA Howard Middle School students

Tim Green with Librarians (L-R) Suzonne Evans (Shepard), Lorrie Wallace (Jones),
Amy Toombs (Howard), Karen Swanson (Wester), and Amy Herford (Coble)

Tim Green signing books at TA Howard Middle School

Tim Green and TA Howard student Allan Njomo

Guest post by Amy Toombs, MLIS, Library Information Technology Educator at T.A. Howard Middle School

Senior Citizens Take a Closer Look at Mansfield ISD Schools

Remember the excitement that surrounded “show-and-tell” days in elementary school? It was a chance to take the stage and share something really cool with your classmates. In a way, the MISD Senior Tour is like a mega show-and-tell session for Mansfield ISD. It is an opportunity to give senior citizens from our community a closer look at some of the awesome things taking place in our schools.

Thirty-five senior citizens joined the second annual Senior Tour on Wednesday, May 22. The event covered a full school day, with scheduled visits to Ben Barber Career Tech Academy, Mansfield High School, Mary Orr Intermediate and Erma Nash Elementary.

Each stop on the tour featured an action-packed program, organized by MISD staff and students. The campuses rolled out the red carpet (literally) for the guests, and greeted them VIP-style with orchestras, cheerleaders, drum lines and lots of fanfare.

Throughout the day, the seniors had the opportunity to check out dozens of academic and extracurricular programs, including band and choir performances, science labs, math pentathlon games, tech apps, and even a Whiz Quiz “Challenge of the Decades” against the campus champs at Mary Orr.

On behalf of the Mansfield ISD Administration, thank you those who attended and helped coordinate this wonderful district event. The third annual Senior Tour will take place in 2014, featuring visits to several other district campuses. Stay tuned for details next spring!

Battle of the Books District Champion Teams

Congratulations to the Mansfield ISD Battle of the Books Champion Teams representing middle, intermediate, and elementary schools. Battle of the Books is a school-wide competition where teams vie for the title of Best Readers on their campus held each Spring. Each team reads 10 pre-selected books and answers questions in a Whiz Quiz style round; the team with the most correct answers at the end of the round wins. The winners of first round battle on until only one team is standing. The final team competes against the best readers at their grade level in Mansfield ISD. The competition is intense, and preparation takes months.

This year’s teams have made an incredible effort, reading and practicing under the watchful eyes of their coaches. Congratulations to this year’s winning teams:

Middle School: TA Howard Middle School

Congratulations to the Howard Middle School Battle of the Books District Champion Team members Nathan Haslam, Allan Njomo, Brandon Martin, Jake Stacks, Jared Jeffries, and Lilly Ray

Intermediate School: Donna Shepard Intermediate School

The Donna Shepard Intermediate School’s Battle of the Books team pictured above: (From left to right) Priscilla Brothers, Noah Liukonen, Carter Ho (team captain), Nicholas Winston, Khalid Ahmed, and Leah Nguyen. Each student was required to try out for each school’s team. The students were expected to read and become experts on books from the selected list of ten titles. The detailed questions were asked of all 6 teams at the district battle. The team representing Donna Shepard Intermediate earned the most points, thus winning the district trophy. Each of these Shepard students received a gold medal for his/her hard work.

Elementary School: Roberta Tipps Elementary

MISD held the elementary level district competition for Battle of the Books on Friday, May 3rd. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with peers. A typical "Battle" is a full day tournament in which students' teams earn points by answering questions about the books on the book list. They play two rounds and at the end of the morning, points are totaled and teams with the top three scores are awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals. In addition the 1st place team wins the district trophy for their school. This year, Tipps Elementary won 1st place. Team members are pictured above (L-R) Ella Scoresby, Ainsley Jones, Julia Lederman, Brenna Franklin, and Sarah des Bordes with Teachers (L-R) Tina Owens and Heather Hughes. After three tie-breaker rounds to determine 2nd and 3rd place winners, Spencer and Daulton Elementary schools tied for 2nd place. Ponder Elementary made it to the tie-breaker round and came in 4th. Congratulations to all the participating teams.

Career tech students pique the curiosity of younger peers

Elementary students from Martha Reid Elementary, Glenn Harmon Elementary, Tarver-Rendon Elementary, Thelma Jones Elementary, and Annette Perry Elementary fast-forward their educational careers by 10 years when they get a glimpse of what Mansfield ISD’s career tech campus has to offer high school students in the district.

Frontier High School seniors will be sharing the experience at Ben Barber Career Tech Academy with almost 500 elementary students during the month of May. The focus of the tours range from a GT enrichment program called “Food Fuels the Mind” to career exploration and discovery program for entire grade levels. The reputation of this experience available within our district travels fast. It all started with Glenn Harmon Elementary 3rd and 4th grade and the Tarver-Rendon GT program.

"We loved the opportunity to tour the fabulous Ben Barber Career Tech Academy, " wrote Shaye Atwood, Gifted and Talented Specialist at Tarver-Rendon Elementary about the tour. "The opportunity was only open to a handful of schools. We were very privileged to be a part of such a unique learning experience. Our students took away an understanding of many concepts and opened their eyes to a variety of different career fields."

The Ben Barber Career Tech Academy campus also provides tours for intermediate and middle school campuses. Recent visitors at this level include James Coble and Worley Middle School. Due to the overwhelming positive response we will be designing a tour program available to all campuses based on availability. For more information contact Melanie Stillings at melaniestillings[at]misdmail.org.

Gazebo Preserves a Kinder Community Spirit

Have you ever wondered about that seemingly random gazebo on the administrative complex property between the parking lot and Student Services? The following write-up shares some details about its history and upkeep: 

Although it may never be mentioned in conversation, the small pristine white Gazebo on North Walnut Creek Dr. is a subliminal reminder that Mansfield was a quiet, country town when the Women’s Division of the Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce donated the Gazebo to MISD some twenty-three years ago. Whether it be the setting for a wedding, the meeting place for teenagers “cramming” for finals, the pretend castle of a group of youngsters or the backdrop for a family Christmas card the structure beckons any and all passersby to share in its splendor.

“The Gazebo belongs to the community,” said Lucretia Mills, who spearheaded efforts to care for the structure since 1990. “It is something that we can all be proud of.”

In the early years of the life of the Gazebo, Mrs. Mills enlisted the help of the Tarrant County Community Correction Facility which provided female inmates who did the painting, seasonal landscaping and decorating it for the holidays. The trainees took pride in their work at the Gazebo. This was their only opportunity to step off of the premises of the Boot Camp. They enjoyed taking ownership of the project and learned some valuable life lessons from their efforts.

In the past few weeks the gazebo has been given a facelift with a fresh coat of paint by Eagle Scout, Ethan T. Hurdsman of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 215. This was his Eagle Scout project for which he did a superb job. Ethan is a senior at Mansfield Legacy High School and excels in graphic design, 3D design and photography. His plans for college are to attend Tarrant County College the first two years. He was on site Saturday to watch the flower bed being spruced up with spring flowers and a new stone border by Store Managers from area Starbucks stores. Not only did these volunteers give of their time to the Gazebo but also helped with another project for one of our elderly citizens. The volunteers along with Ethan are pictured above.

The Gazebo is now under the supervision of the Keep Mansfield Beautiful Commission of which Mrs. Mills has been a long time member and will continue to oversee the Gazebo under the direction of KMBC and MISD.

Pride is an important factor in Mrs. Mills’ message. If Mansfield is to preserve and maintain the reputation that citizens have a certain “quality of life” complimentary to both small-town hospitality and rapid economic development, Mills said everyone must take responsibility for those efforts.

High School Seniors Make Finals at DECA Internationals

Congratulations to Frontier High School senior, Melany Gonzalez and her partner, Timberview High School senior, Andrew Bostic, for making the finals in Financial Analysis Team Decision Making, at the DECA International Career Development Conference. The conference was held in Anaheim CA, April 24-27, with over 15,000 student competitors from all over the world.

Their event included a rigorous financial exam as well as role-plays in front of judges from the finance industry . The team came in 1st place in Texas where they went on to represent  Ben Barber DECA, Frontier High School, Timberview High School, Mansfield ISD, and Texas. If you see Melany or Andrew, please congratulate them on a job well done.

The DECA International Career Development Conference (ICDC) is the highlight of the DECA year. Fourteen thousand high school students, advisors, businesspersons and alumni gather for several days of DECA excitement. Most participants at ICDC compete in one of DECA's competitive events. The top competitors in each event are recognized for their outstanding achievements. In addition to the competitive events, many students and advisors participate in a variety of leadership and career advancing academies.