Congratulations to seniors Ed Paris and Brandon Simmons, Timberview High School varsity football defensive backs, for being selected for the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. This prestigious bowl game takes place at the San Antonio Alamodome on January 4 and will be televised on NBC. Only 90 players from across the U.S. are selected each year.
On Thursday, September 26, Paris and Simmons received their jerseys during a special afternoon ceremony at the campus.
In early October, Mansfield ISD parents will once again have an opportunity to meet with their student's teachers during the district wide conference times. Campuses have set aside time to invite parents to the school to discuss how things are going this year in the classroom. Please check with your school(s) for specific conference schedule times.
Thursday, October 10 - Evening conference times available after regular school day.
Friday, October 11 - Student Holiday & Parent/Teacher Conference opportunity times in the morning. (Teachers are off in the afternoon.)
The Why Behind The What This marks the third year in a row we've offered dates at all schools for Parent/Teacher Conferences. It's our hope that parents will carve out time from what we know are busy schedules to meet with teachers. We believe that parent involvement is an important component in our mission to ensure educational and personal success by fostering a community built on mutual support and excellence.
Mansfield High School hosted the 2012 Australian Secondary Principal of the Year, Mrs. Shayne Player, on Wednesday, September 18. Mrs. Player is the Principal of the Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College, Tumbi Umbi Campus. While the school name may sound confusing, in Australia, the schools are called colleges. Mrs. Player’s campus is similar in student level to our middle schools.
As a prize for being named the Australian Secondary Principal of the Year, Mrs. Player was granted time for a trip around the world for a Professional Learning Sabbatical to visit schools in order to study common principles in high-performing schools. By the time she completes her trip, she will have visited schools in Finland, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and many more.
She is particularly interested in seeing AVID schools that integrate technology. (Her campus is an AVID school, and they are exploring computers on a 1:1 basis with their students similar to our iPad program for high schools.) Since she was interested in seeing a school integrate technology with AVID, she toured a few Mansfield High School classes to see instructional integration of the iPads and learn of some of the experiences we have gained in implementing new technology.
While she was at our campus, she observed classes and spoke very highly of the kinds of things offered to our students. Before she left the school, she shared some thoughts on her visit to the campus and what she's learned on her trip to this and other countries.Watch her interview on YouTube:
The following was shared with MISD staff on Friday, August 30, 2013.
Dear Colleagues,
On August 12, I had a surgical procedure to remove a mass located under my ribs. We were fortunate to have caught this growth in its early stages, and my wonderful surgeon was able to remove everything but microscopic traces of the growth.
The mass, called a thymoma, is very rare. Thymomas are very slow growing, tend not to spread and respond very well to treatment, so the long-term prognosis is very good. If you are curious, you can learn more about thymomas at this link.
To give myself the best chance of never having to deal with this again, I am choosing to undergo a six-week course of radiation treatment that should begin sometime during the week of September 10. I may need to miss some work during this time.
We have a wonderful leadership team in MISD, and they have done an exemplary job running the district while I have been out for surgery. Business will continue as usual. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with our outstanding Board of Trustees in service to this district. They have been very supportive during this time and have full confidence in our leadership team.
If you have a problem, a concern, or need assistance, follow our normal procedures. When I am out of the district, Karen Wentworth, Associate Superintendent of Human Resources, will serve as the acting superintendent.
Thank you for what you do for the students of Mansfield ISD.
Three teachers at the Alternative Education Center took it upon themselves to spruce up an area of their campus to provide a more appealing and inviting area. Science teachers Mr. Shannon Helm and Mrs. Sally McClure along vocational electives and economics teacher, Duston Moore thought a spot in the foyer was in need of some beautification. So they literally took matters into their own hands. They bought mulch and plants and then spent a few hours planting and trimming in the area to make sure it was ready for school. The result is a more appealing section of the school.
"They did this on their own time and with their personal money," said Raymond Cook, social studies department head. "As you can see, it is a great improvement and we were ready to greet our students with pride."
Before
After
Thanks and kudos to these teachers for going above and beyond their duties for students.
On Wednesday, August 21, the entire Mansfield ISD staff gathered for the annual Convocation event to kick off the school year. Convocation is our pre-back-to-school event when we get a chance to bring all the employees together in what we hope is a fun, festive and motivating experience. This year, we tried something a little different and asked one of our assistant principals, Josh Roberts, to be our host. (In addition to serving as a veteran educator, Josh is also no stranger to the stage as one of the members of Four Day Weekend improv comedy troupe in Ft. Worth.)
Our keynote speaker was Mr. Flip Flippen from The Flippen Group and he gave an inspirational message of encouragement and support through stories. Flip is Chairman of the Flippen Group, a respected leadership development and talent assessment company and the largest educator training company in North America. (Mr. Flippen also laid the groundwork for the Teen Leadership teacher certification program and classes that are offered at all MISD high schools.)
A special thank you to the cadets from Legacy High School Junior ROTC for the presentation of colors and to our MISD staff singers who performed the National Anthem:
Adam Zrust, Legacy, Director of Choirs
Keli Ferrier, Summit, Director of Choirs
Reginal Wright, Mansfield, Director of Choirs
Jane Andrews, Mansfield, Associate Director of Choirs
Josi Alexander, Timberview, Director of Choirs
Philip Glenn, Lake Ridge, Director of Choirs
On top of the fun atmosphere, funny host, and motivational speaker, staff heard from the new Superintendent, Dr. Jim Vaszauskas, School Board President, Mrs. Beth Light, as well as Education Foundation Board President, Mr. Mike Leasor.
The following videos were also shown during the event:
New Mansfield ISD Superintendent, Dr. Jim Vaszauskas, discusses the latest on district preparations to welcome returning students, new school construction, the new semester exam pilot program at Lake Ridge High School and an update on the budget.
As a reminder, the new Judy K. Miller Elementary is the temporary staging campus for J.L. Boren Elementary starting in the 2013-14 school year. Read more: bit.ly/MISDBigMove
