Elementary Students Give Back Through Soup-er Bowl Drive

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Although second-grade teacher Cheryl Wisch won’t be watching the Super Bowl, she has some other traditions that make this time of year special to her. For about 20 years, she has led a Super Bowl-themed canned food drive at her campus.

During the Soup-er Bowl Soup Drive, teachers and students of J.L. Boren Elementary School collect cans to give to those in need. The drive is part of a service project for Bears Care, the school’s student council.

“I knew that food pantries after Christmas start running low because they’re depleted during Christmas,” said Wisch. “I’m trying to connect what’s happening in the world with ways to help others, so I came up with soup and Super Bowl because I know most of the kids do watch the Super Bowl.”

The Soup-er Bowl Soup Drive occurs annually the week before and after the Super Bowl. Boren Elementary usually donates about 15 boxes of canned goods to the Mansfield Mission Center.

Students also wear their favorite jersey to keep with the theme. 

“When we receive donations to our Mission Market, it gives families in our community another way to put food on the table if they're having financial difficulties,” said Carmin MacMillian, executive director of Mansfield Mission Center. “It's a way to show them love and let them know their community cares about them. We couldn't do what we do without the generosity of MISD.”

Wisch said she enjoys doing the canned food drive because the students get to experience giving to others with no reward.

“We try very hard to teach our kids service for others, and I think the parents appreciate we are trying to teach our students that,” she said.

Students who participated said they feel they are making a difference by bringing the cans.

“I think it’s important to help others because some people don’t have food, and then they can have food to stay alive and be healthy,” said Landry Slinkard, second-grader at Boren Elementary.

Their team may not win the big game on Sunday, but Soup-er Bowl Soup Drive organizers said the drive is still a touchdown for the community. The Mansfield Mission Center is open to donations from anyone. Its hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mansfield ISD Offers Free Parenting Classes

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With a silent room awaiting the start of class, former Mansfield ISD counselor Vicki Evans Williams starts by asking the parents in attendance three questions:

1. Would it be worth your time today to learn how to have fewer power struggles with your kids?
2. Would it be worth your time to have it so that your kids do more of the thinking, and you do less of the worrying?  
3. And would it be worth your time to raise the odds that your kids learn from your mistakes? 

Williams, who now works as a volunteer with The Parenting Center, worked as an MISD counselor for about 16 years in the 1980s and 1990s.

She decided to teach Love and Logic classes because she is passionate about training educators and parents to raise and teach children in reassuring ways. The technique uses humor, hope and empathy to teach consequences and healthy decision-making.

“The results are such amazing results,” said Williams. “You see kids do things that you don’t see them do without it.”

Williams wants parents to get their children to see how to make choices so that they can become responsible, prosperous adults.

“Parenting is a tough job,” she continued. “I would recommend this class to parents because it makes that job a lot easier and a whole lot more fun.”

Using Love and Logic techniques has made Williams change the outlook she has on her own life.

“It gives me chances to make better choices myself,” said Williams. “It causes me to stop and think about the different kinds of things that I could do and choose the one that works best for me.”

Parents that attended the class were very appreciative for what they learned.

“I decided to attend the class to get different techniques with different types of children,” said Yazmin Ponce, a parent of two students at Alice Ponder Elementary School. “I hope that they continue to grow the program.”

MISD offers Love and Logic classes at different elementary campuses at least once a month. The sessions are free of charge to parents.

“It’s a great resource I’m able to provide to parents,” said Nicole Brody, counselor at Ponder Elementary. “It gives parents some skills to put in their toolbox.”

Williams’ upcoming class on dealing with day-to-day parenting issues using Love and Logic will be held at Annette Perry Elementary School on Feb. 8 at 8:30 a.m. For more information, visit the district calendar.

Therapy Dogs Help Students Build Reading Skills

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Some Mansfield ISD students who need a little extra help with reading are visited by some four-legged friends every week to provide additional support.

Glenn Harmon Elementary School launched its Rover Reader program this school year. It’s designed to encourage struggling readers to build confidence in reading aloud and building reading fluency.

Trenell Scott, assistant principal at Harmon Elementary School, started the initiative at her campus because she has seen the program work in other schools to address a student’s academic and emotional needs.

Each child reads aloud to a dog for approximately 15 minutes.

“The benefits for the children is to build self-confidence,” said Scott. “Because the trainers are retired teachers and retired school counselors, there’s a mentoring component to it as well.”

Rover Reader gives students the ability to read aloud in an unstressful setting. The children in the program said the canines also help brighten up their day.

“I love this program because it helped me, and it helped me be special,” said third-grader Kemarreon Carter. “It makes me feel happy and better from reading to the dog.”

The therapy dogs, provided by a local chapter of Pet Partners, visit the school every Wednesday morning. Staff members have received a lot of positive feedback from participants and their parents.

“Our first time that we had the dogs come, the kids came to school with bags of treats because they were excited to see their dogs,” Scott continued.

Program organizers said they enjoy seeing the students bond with the animals while achieving their literacy goals. They hope the program will be a staple at the school for years to come.

Elementary Students Becoming Bilingual Learners

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Through immersion and collaboration, Mansfield ISD elementary school students in the Two-Way Dual Language Program are learning a second language.

English and Spanish native speakers are grouped together for classes that are taught 50 percent in English and 50 percent in Spanish. The result is a room full of students who are able to understand another language and learn other cultures.

“The benefit is just them accepting other cultures and being able to look at other people and find value,” said Tiffanie King, principal of Erma Nash Elementary School. “Eventually, they’ll be able to apply for jobs that they may not have been able to apply for and pursue because they have two languages, and they are bilingual and biliterate.”

Two-way dual language began in Mansfield ISD last school year at the kindergarten level at Erma Nash Elementary and D.P. Morris Elementary School.

Students listen intently as their science is taught in Spanish.

In the initial year, students learned the basics of their second language. Students who have entered into the second year are now able to integrate other languages into their everyday conversations.

“When they’re speaking to me, they’ll substitute some of the English words for a Spanish word or two and vice versa,” said Crystal Flores, a two-way dual language teacher at Nash Elementary School. “At this point, a realistic goal may be to communicate a thought to one another.”

Students in the program said the program is fun because they are constantly learning something new--even when they don’t realize it.

Drew Kindred, a second-year student in the program said he likes having a skill that others do not and plans to use his second language of Spanish wherever he can.

“My favorite thing about this class is learning because I like to learn English and Spanish,” the first-grader continued with excitement. “All about about timers...all about everything!”

Principal King said she gets chills to see how the students have progressed within the two-way dual language program. The program will continue to expand to the fourth-grade level with hopes of having a similar program at an intermediate school.

For more information about MISD’s Two-Way Dual Language Program or any other Power of Choice program, visit the district’s webpage.

MISD School in Running to Win $100K for Agriculture Program

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UPDATE: Tarver-Rendon Elementary school won the Farmers Insurance contest. Students and staff were presented with the $100,000 grand prize check on Dec. 5 at a surprise assembly.

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What would you do with $100,000? Staff members at Tarver-Rendon Elementary School hope to expand their agricultural leadership program with it.

They applied for Farmers Insurance's Dream Big Teacher Challenge. As part of the application process, educators nationwide submitted proposals explaining the impact the money would have on their community.

The proposal took four months to write, but staff members said it was all worth it because Tarver-Rendon Elementary School made it to the final round. Out of the 15 remaining finalists, five will win the grand prize.

“We figure we have a one in three chance, and we’re the only school district in Texas to be one of the finalists, so we’re very proud of that,” said Principal Jamie Norwood.

Tarver-Rendon students feed the hens while learning
about the egg-laying process.

Right now, the school provides students the opportunity to learn character skills by raising animals, growing their own food, using the food in their homegrown salad bar for lunch and giving some of the harvest to local food banks.

Winning $100,000 would open up even more doors.

“With the grant, we would be able to have an outdoor classroom with stadium-like seating, more stalls for more animals, raised garden beds, more pathways and more signage,” Norwood added.

Rita Denton, director of student nutrition for Mansfield ISD, said the kids would be exposed to more organic and homegrown foods as well.

“I think with that grant and the opportunity that this administration and teachers have at this school to get more equipment, I think that it would bring more ingredients to our garden bar,” she noted.

The grand prize winners will be chosen through online voting.

Cast your vote for Shaye Anne Atwood, agricultural leadership teacher at Tarver-Rendon Elementary School, here.

Voting is open until Nov. 3, and people are allowed to vote once a day.

Students Explore STEM Topics at Summer Camp

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Hundreds of Mansfield ISD students spent part of their summer experiencing that science can be fun and interactive.

MISD’s Science Camp allowed kids entering grades 1 through 5 to engage in hands-on labs and experiments while studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“The children get an opportunity to really enjoy school in the summer with science,” said camp administrator Daniel Beauford. “It’s very much a camp feel.”

One of the most popular activities was a lockbox escape room, in which students solved puzzles and received clues to unlock boxes and get a prize.

Students also tinkered with circuits, played with robots, launched catapults and built putt-putt golf courses with recycled materials.

Students enjoyed solving puzzles to open the lockboxes.

“In mini golf, I learned engineering,” said Genesis Hunter, an incoming fourth-grader at Willie E. Brown Elementary School. “It was fun, and we got to build things.”

This year, the district extended the science camp to two one-week sessions to accommodate more students. A total of nearly 600 students attended the camp.

Beauford said although the projects are fun, his goal is to teach students how each activity links back to STEM topics.

“Some of the time, they don’t even know what they just did, and then when you explain the science behind it, they’re like, ‘That’s what that was?’ So that’s pretty awesome,” Beauford continued.

The first camp session ran from June 4 to June 8. The second session began on June 11 and will wrap up on June 15.

On the last day of each session, the students show their parents everything they learned that week.

Organizers said they’re excited to see so many kids being passionate about science. They expect camp attendance to continue to grow.

Cancer Survivor Rallies Behind Diagnosed Staff Member

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At the age of 28, Tracy Johnson received a call that changed the way she views life.

The doctor called her at the school in which she taught to tell her that she had colon cancer. Her principal at the time was Donna Shepard, a Mansfield ISD school namesake who was also battling cancer.

“She grabbed me and hugged me and said, ‘I am here. I will be with you. You’re strong. You will be fine,’” recalled Johnson, who is now principal of J.L. Boren Elementary School. “To this day, that has meant so much to me.”

Johnson said that since she has been principal of Boren Elementary, a few of her staff members have been diagnosed with cancer. She said she feels it is her calling to rally behind them and encourage them along the way.

“I think there was a great plan for me to be here, and I’m able to share my experience to help others,” she continued.

Carney received gifts from her music students
after news of her diagnosis.

Recently, the school’s music teacher, Katie Carney, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The principal said it has been amazing to see how the staff members and community have come together to support her.

Being able to show an outpouring of love to those battling cancer is one of the reasons why Mansfield ISD’s Colors for Caring initiative is near and dear to Johnson's heart. The initiative encourages the community to wear cancer awareness colors on the first Monday of each school month.

“People always want to be helpful in a way, and they don’t know how,” Johnson said. “This is one easy way we can stand for others and be strong. It’s nice to know that we’re all a community working together to stand for each other.”

The Colors for Caring initiative began in 2015 after Superintendent Dr. Jim Vaszauskas was diagnosed with thymoma cancer. He was grateful for the support he received and wanted to continue to spread the love to others.

The last Colors for Caring Day of the 2017-18 school year is on May 7. Johnson said her campus will be wearing a shirt with a pink cancer ribbon made of music notes for Carney.

Schools Introduce Competitive Play for Younger Students

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For younger students who want to play an organized sport, an outside league used to be their only option.

Now, more Mansfield ISD elementary and intermediate schools are starting their own competitive leagues to increase student involvement.

“The district guiding statement is every student will participate in an extracurricular or co-curricular activity,” said Tamara Liddell, principal of Janet Brockett Elementary School. “We, along with several other Mansfield ISD schools, wanted to take that vision to another level.”

Brockett Elementary teamed up with seven MISD elementary schools to create a basketball league for third- and fourth-grade boys. Games are played in front of a packed house on Monday nights, and practices are held throughout the week.

Cheerleading clubs have also been created at schools to
cheer the boys on.

Coach Ron Middleton said it teaches the kids to be successful student-athletes. He said the kids learn discipline and character. In addition, every one of his students gives a grade report to their other teachers to make sure academics remains the focus.

“These kids are students first and athletes second,” explained the Brockett Elementary P.E. teacher. “You have to make sure you’re on top of your game—not only on the court but in the classroom as well.”

The idea is catching on at the intermediate level as well. Although Donna Shepard Intermediate School does not play against other schools, the intramural program introduced this year still receives large participation.

“They get to stay here after school and be with their friends in a safe environment and still be active,” said P.E. teacher Lesley Burke. “It just enhances those competitive skills and helps them to be a good winner and a good sport.”

Shepard Intermediate’s intramural program offers dodgeball, basketball, volleyball and soccer. The fifth- and sixth-graders will also have a chance to compete in video gaming later this school year.