MISD School Mixes It Up to Cross Social Boundaries

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Lunchtime can be a scary moment for students. As they walk into the cafeteria, they have many quick decisions to make. Where do I sit? With whom? Will they like me? Will I fit in?

To help ease the possible anxiety and create a campus atmosphere of togetherness, staff at Danny Jones Middle School decided to break up the usual groups and change things up a bit.

It was part of Mix It Up at Lunch Day, an international campaign that encourages students to identify, question and cross social boundaries. Jones Middle School students walked into the cafeteria on Wednesday and had to sit at table with kids who shared the first letter of their first name.

“They mix up your seat organization so that you sit with people that you don’t normally sit with and make new friends and enjoy your time with other people that you don’t normally spend time with,” said eighth-grader Aaron Newman.

Tonya Willis, the school counselor, said she brought the idea to Jones Middle School because she wanted to spread kindness and connectivity.

New friends captured the moment at a decorated area on the stage.

“We try to talk about this because most times when you read about things that happened in school, the person who committed a crime when asked says, ‘I went to school and no one ever said hi to me. No one spoke to me in the school day,’” Willis explained. “We like to have Mix It Up Day so that all kids get to meet someone else, and they feel they’re a part of something.”

During the mixed up seating arrangement, games are played to help the students feel more comfortable to talk with one another. When students made a new friend, they had the chance to take a picture together at the Mix It Up photo area.

Plenty of students went outside of their usual social bubble on Mix It Up Day. Willis said the effects of the connections will last well beyond lunchtime.

“These kids are going to see the people they met all throughout the school year and built deeper relationships,” she added. “Some even exchanged information so that they can talk even outside of the school day.”

The counselor explained that the day was successful because she saw plenty of smiles and students were able to meet new people.

Teaching Tolerance launched the Mix It Up program in 2001 to promote inclusion. Schools can organize a Mix It Up at Lunch Day any time during the school year. Registration is free, and schools that register are eligible for special contests and giveaways.

This is the second year Danny Jones Middle School has held a Mix It Up at Lunch Day.

MISD Teacher Leads Junior Step Team to Success

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It’s hard to imagine that Christy Heath didn’t even know what stepping was five years ago. The dance form, which uses the body to produce rhythmic sounds through footsteps and handclaps, was a new concept to her.

Heath was introduced to it when she was asked to help with the administrative side of a step team at her previous school district.

“I had no clue what stepping even was, but I was in marching band, so I knew about form, timing and precision,” she explained.

The following year, the math teacher became the main coach for the group, leading her team to back-to-back national titles. She came to Mansfield ISD in 2015 and revitalized the step team at Mary Lillard Intermediate School.

“I simply asked them if they wanted to compete or not, and they were all gung-ho about competing,” she said. “So I signed them up to compete, and that year they did go to nationals.”

The girls practice after school at Lillard Intermediate
during competition season.

The Powerhouse Steppers, which also includes students from Danny Jones Middle School, didn’t win the national title, but they kept pushing themselves to learn harder routines and compete with the best step teams in the area.

As a result, the group was named 2018 league champions of the Texas Dance and Step Association.

The steppers said that performing is fun, but they also value the relationships they develop with team members.

“We’re like a family,” said Camryn Morgan, seventh-grader at Danny Jones Middle School. “We help each other, we motivate each other and we just have each other’s backs.”

The group started working together with neighboring Lake Ridge High School to get the younger team familiar with their future teammates and coaches.

“When we’re at competition, they’re supporting us, we’re supporting them, and it’s just ‘Bring it home to Mansfield. Bring it home to Mansfield’ every time,” said Heath.

The Powerhouse Steppers earned five trophies for the 2017-18 school year, placing in nearly every compeition. Their season will resume in August.

Middle School Coaches Save Life of Student-Athlete

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A day of afternoon recreation at Danny Jones Middle School turned into a terrifying moment last Friday after one of the players passed out on the football field.

“I didn’t think anything of it. I thought he just slipped and fell,” said eighth-grader Nathan Bennett. “But then he wasn’t responding, so we called the coaches over.”

A nearby coach had already noticed Jeffrey Cotton on the ground and knew something was not right.

“I immediately began checking for any vitals,” said Shawn Alsup, a teacher and coach at the school. “I was tapping him on the cheek and said, ‘Hey, Jeffrey. Jeffrey, can you hear me? Jeffrey, can you hear me?' And I wasn’t getting anything.”

That’s when the coaches sprang into action. David Sawyer rushed to call 9-1-1, Stephen Varcardipone alerted the crisis team, Shawn Alsup started conducting CPR chest compressions and Edward King ran in to get the automated external defibrillator (AED) in hopes of regaining the student’s vital signs.

Coaches routinely visited Cotton in the hospital.

The coaches said everyone seamlessly worked together to revive the 13-year-old.

The school nurse later helped to administer the AED, and the students blocked off traffic and guided the ambulance to the field.

“He was not with us,” said Coach King. “It shocked him, and his chest jumped, and Coach Alsup went back to compressions again. So it was like, ‘Is this machine going to work?’ And it gave him another shock. I think at that point, we started to feel the pulse.”

The ambulance arrived and transported Cotton to a local hospital. Doctors said the quick thinking of everyone involved is what helped save the eighth-grader’s life.

It’s something that Coach Sawyer said is making him more grateful for Mansfield ISD’s annual trainings that all coaches must attend.

“We have to give a shoutout to the district,” Sawyer added. “We are all well trained in AED use, CPR and first aid. We kind of scoff at it, and this is one of those times when you say, “I’ll never scoff at it again.’”

Sawyer said Cotton is recovering well. The student successfully underwent surgery to implant a defibrillator for is enlarged heart. Coaches said they are glad he is getting back to his normal self.

Cowboys Mascot Teaches Kids to Live Drug Free

Rowdy, the official mascot of the Dallas Cowboys, took time away from the gridiron to teach Mansfield ISD youth that you can’t score in life by doing drugs.

The mascot was the special guest at Danny Jones Middle School for Red Ribbon Week, a nationwide effort to visibly take a stand against drugs. He educated the seventh and eighth graders about the dangers of drugs and encouraged them to stay safe and smart.

In true Rowdy fashion, the program was filled with entertainment and dancing, which included dance-offs, crowd chants and giveaways. Event organizers hoped the upbeat pep rally would inspire students to make the right choices in life.

Rowdy pumps up the crowd at Jones Middle School.

“We wanted to get everybody’s juices flowing,” said Jones Middle School PTA President Lisa Huff. “I hope they take away the message that being drug free is valid and good and always something that we want to do as good people in the world, and that we make that commitment all of our lives.”

The 2016 theme for Red Ribbon Week was: YOLO. Be Drug Free. (YOLO stands for You Only Live Once.)

Schools all across Mansfield ISD held events that encouraged kids to say no to drugs. Several campuses wore red ribbons, took part in special activities and held dress-up days to show the importance of living a drug-free lifestyle.

Red Ribbon Week also motivates youth and parents to have open dialogue about the need to live a healthy lifestyle because children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those who don't.

The first Red Ribbon campaign began more than 30 years ago. Today, the Red Ribbon Campaign is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the nation reaching millions of young people. View more information about Red Ribbon Week and sign the pledge.

Student with Special Needs Uses Talent to Illustrate Book

Cooper posing in front of his sketches.

13-year-old Cooper Soesbee was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. He didn’t talk until he was about five years old, but he still found a way to express his emotions long before then—through drawing.

“I like to draw a lot,” said Cooper, a seventh grader at Danny Jones Middle School. “When I grow up, I want to open a comic book store with a coffee shop.”

Not many students can brag about being a published illustrator; but Cooper can, and it all stemmed from his love of pizza.

When Cooper was in kindergarten, he hit a phase where he only wanted to eat a specific type of frozen pizza. Although a pediatrician said it was normal behavior for autistic children, his mother decided to write a book to encourage Cooper to try new things.

“Coco’s Bananas is about a monkey who only wants to eat bananas. After going on an adventure, he discovers other foods that he likes,” said Kim Soesbee, Cooper’s mother.

Because of Cooper’s gift of drawing, Kim hoped he would help bring the story to life through illustration. And nearly eight years later, those illustrations are complete.

“Autism has its own timeline. It took a while for Cooper to stay focused on this one project, but we got it done, and he did a great job,” said Kim.

The book will no longer be just a household staple—it will be available for the public to purchase.

Kim, Cooper, and David Soesbee excited for the book signing.

Coco’s Bananas was published in mid-March. With the help of Cooper’s father, who is also president of Touch Publishing, a book signing is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 at the Barnes & Noble at Northeast Mall in Hurst, Texas.

“Cooper’s very excited about it,” said David Soesbee, Cooper’s father. “We hope that this book can be used as a catapult to encourage parents that their child is going through a stage and understand what autism is about.”

The Soesbees have used this experience to launch Triangle & Square Books, which they said will give parents of special needs children an outlet to publish their own books.