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.

Students Provide Comfort to Patients Through Music

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Fine Arts students across Mansfield ISD are helping hospital patients recover by simply doing what they love.

A new music therapy program named Recovery Notes allows the young musicians to perform for patients at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.

“The original intent was that these patients needed to have a reason to kind of get up and out of their beds,” said Dr. Chuck Roe, assistant fine arts director. “But even for patients who are confined to the bed, they get a little enjoyment than just watching the T.V.”

Medical center officials said music can be a good resource to manage pain and anxiety, ultimately playing a significant part in a patient’s recovery.

The students are assigned to the cardiac telemetry floor.

Students in musical theatre, choir and band participate in Recovery Notes on Monday evenings. The program is in its infancy, but it has already proven to be a benefit.

“The patients really love it and so do the students,” said Brittany Ross, a fine arts teacher at MISD. “We’ve even gotten some really great reactions from the nurses. It really does bring this feeling of joy throughout the entire hallway.”

Dr. Roe said the students start out not knowing what to expect; but after they perform, he said they are excited to sign up for another session.

“I’d like to believe that maybe their days got better because of this, and I would love to do anything that I can to make their days better,” said senior Jisella Ayala from Legacy High School.

Students who participate in Recovery Notes have an opportunity to win a $500 scholarship to the college of their choice. Dr. Roe said the program will continue in the summer months.

MISD Program Fosters Appreciation for the Arts

Not everyone has the means to see world-renowned performances of music, dance, and theatre and art. That’s why the Mansfield ISD Fine Arts Department brings those special acts into the district, and it’s absolutely free for students.

The Center Arts Program began as a fourth-grade tradition. Each year, the students would dress up and take a field trip to see a symphony perform. The response was so great that Fine Arts administrators knew they had to expand it.

“Students loved the acts we brought in, so now different professional performances are available to second-graders through eighth-graders,” said Dr. Chuck Roe, assistant fine arts director. “We have all kinds of organizations come in like the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Symphony Arlington, Texas Ballet Theatre, and so much more.”

Students visit the MISD Center to watch professional classical acts.

The Center Arts Program has since added more components for the benefit of students and the community. Local artists are featured in various gallery residencies throughout the year, and area high schools are invited to take part in project-based competitions.

The latest addition to the program has been securing Grammy-nominated artists to perform at the MISD Center for the Performing Arts. MISD students are the opening act.

“It exposes students of all ages to many genres of music,” said Jeanne Cassidy, sales and marketing coordinator for the MISD Center for the Performing Arts. “My hope is that this program will continue to grow and these kids will be able to create memories that they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

The next big act coming to the MISD Center for the Performing Arts is Amos Lee. He performs Saturday, Dec. 2. Tickets are on sale now.

“Sciyonce” Teaches Students Biology Through Popular Tunes

With her cordless mic on, classroom lights dimmed and disco lights spinning, biology teacher Arlevia Davis is all set to do her lesson review.

To the tune of a popular hip-hop song, she starts singing one of her latest creations, which teaches about DNA.

“With the expenses of materials, you can’t always get the hands-on labs,” said Davis, who is in her third year of teaching at Legacy High School. “So I decided that I should start writing songs for the large amount of vocabulary that exists in the content area just to keep it fun and exciting and interesting.”

When she performs in front of her class, she said she turns into her alter ego, Sciyonce, to shake away her nerves and become as engaging as possible.

Davis tells her class to recall her song lyrics as they answer science questions.

Davis has biology renditions of songs from various artists and genres. She said she likes to keep it different to appeal to a majority of her class.

“Students love it,” she explained. “They know class is about to get a little more upbeat when I have my Britney Spears mic on. Some of them have even told me that they appreciate the time I take to write the songs, so that was very encouraging to hear.”

Most importantly, the 15-year educator has found that the songs help her students retain the information. To her, the more annoying the song is, the better.

“I tell them, ‘I want this to be irritatingly stuck in your brain whether you like the songs or not,’” Davis continued. “I feel accomplished when they say, ‘Oh no. That song is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.’”

Davis is currently working on a song about genetics. She said she hopes her performances will teach her students to be fearless in life.