ROO WAAG - Edition #15 !

Good evening Roo Nation,

As we begin a new week, I want to take a moment to thank each of you for the dedication, care, and professionalism you bring to our school every day. Your commitment to our students’ learning and well-being continues to make a meaningful difference.

This week, I encourage everyone to stay focused on clear expectations, consistent routines, and strong communication with students and families. Your efforts to create supportive, engaging classrooms do not go unnoticed, especially during busy or challenging times.

Thank you again for all that you do. I am grateful to work alongside such a committed and talented staff. Let’s have a productive and successful week. Go Roooos’!

ROOS, Happy New Year! January marks a fresh start to the year and a time for reflection, refocus, and renewal. It gives us the opportunity to reset our intentions, support our students with renewed energy, and continue building a positive, engaging learning environment. As we enter a new semester, it’s a great time to revisit goals, strengthen relationships, and encourage students to see each day as a new opportunity for growth and success.🦘 “Roo Pride Runs Deep — KHS Strong, Always Justified!"🤟

Celebrate student success by having the whole class join in with a quick high-five, elbow bump, or air high-five to build morale and recognize every learner.

Be mindful that some students may prefer not to participate, and offer a quieter way to celebrate their success.

January's CKH Trait is RESPECT. For ROO Faculty and Staff, RESPECT means valuing every student by treating them with kindness, listening to their voices, and honoring their feelings, space, and perspectives.

We all love a fresh start, and lucky for educators, school is about new beginnings!

Each new school year, every return from spring break and every January 1 marks an excellent opportunity for a reset.

That’s why it’s smart to take this opportunity halfway through the school year to pause and catch your breath, consider how things are going for you, and make a plan to charge ahead with an optimized approach and renewed energy!

Whether you’re a general education teacher, special education teacher, travel teacher or sub, these pointers from our team can help you refresh, reflect and revamp for the new year.

1. Refresh Your Passion for Teaching

Teaching can be draining. Many teachers, especially new ones, hit the ground running and burn out quickly. It’s important to pace yourself in order to be successful and maintain the energy it takes to stay in the career and succeed at it! It’s also critical to rest when you can.

Use your time off to relax and do what restores you. Make a list of activities that calm you down, feed your soul and restore your energy.

• Do you like to spend time with family, friends or pets?
• Do you prefer to travel or stay home?
• Are you a hiker, reader, runner, painter, birder, dancer or musician?
• Do you like the ocean, mountains, rivers or lakes?
• Are you into yoga, massage, mani-pedis or spa days?

2. Reflect on How Your Teaching Has Been Going

An important part of growing as a professional is honestly evaluating your performance. As an educator, you may be able to get more clues about how well you’re doing as reflected from your kids and the classroom.

Journal about what’s been going well and what hasn’t. In a private journal, write down answers to the following questions:

• Are you happy in your career?
• Is your classroom organized?
• Do your students listen to you?
• Do you feel your strategies are helping your students perform to the best of their ability?
• How are your connections with parents, colleagues and administrators?
• Are you able to keep up with grading, data, IEPs, etc.?

3. Revamp Your Teaching for the New Year

Don’t stay in self-critique for too long though. After making an honest appraisal, move on by taking your list and generating solutions for any challenges you’ve encountered. This will help you quickly determine how to proceed. Plus, you’ll be surprised at the positive energy and motivation that naturally follows!

Turn each of your challenges into actionable solutions. Next to each item, write what you’ll do differently for the rest of the year. Don’t be afraid to get creative! Here are questions to help you strategize:

• Can any tasks be delegated to staff such as para pros, assistants, etc.?
• Can you involve your students in generating solutions?
• Do you need to ask administration for help?
• If you’re taking on too much, would it help to say “no” more often?
• Would setting boundaries help?
• Is this issue related to classroom organization?
• Could you find resources to help online or from more experienced teachers?

Here’s a chart with some examples of how to reflect on past challenges and revamp to develop future solutions:

Reflect on the Past Revamp for the Future My students don’t listen when I ask them to settle down. I have to raise my voice, which only makes them get louder and stresses me out.

I am going to try directly teaching listening skills, using hand signals and paraphrasing (Edutopia). I’m also going to try to bring mindfulness activities into the classroom.

I am totally overwhelmed with keeping up with paperwork like assignments, grades, IEPs, data collection, etc.

I am going to reach out to my mentor and also to a few experienced teachers I trust. I am also going to find some resources on getting paperwork organized (WGU).

We hope this resource on how to refresh, reflect and revamp your teaching for the new year is a helpful addition to your teaching toolkit! Sometimes, a fresh start is all we need!

By: Cross Country

Posted: January 16, 2023

Read Time: 4 minutes

Hey ROOS,

The Tour of Knowledge instructional strategy, from the Rehearsal and Practice Lead4ward Playlist, is designed to check students’ comprehension through collaborative work and self-correction. In this strategy, students rotate through groups to analyze key concepts, assessment questions, visuals, or text passages that are aligned to important learning objectives.🤟

Tour of Knowledge

• Materials

  • Tour of Knowledge stations (7-8 different posters)
  • Markers (same color for each group member)

  
  

  Instructions

  1. Organize students into groups of 3-4.
  2. Assign each group a specific color and give each group member a marker in their assigned color (to help groups keep track of which station they’ve already visited).
  3. Put 7-8 posters around the room representing various concepts, assessment questions, stimuli/visuals, or text passages.
  4. Give groups 3-4 minutes at each station to discuss the prompt and record what they know. Each student should add at least one idea, word, fact/detail, visual, connection, etc.
  5. At the signal, groups rotate to the next Tour of Knowledge poster, analyzing the information presented and adding new ideas.
     • Have students add a check mark beside the information they agree with.
     • Have students write a question mark beside any ideas they think may be incorrect.
     • Have students add new ideas, sketches, facts, words, or connections.
  6. Observe students’ thinking and clarify/verify as appropriate.

  
  

  Classroom Management

  • Role-play or model how to advance to the next poster in an organized way using a musical signal.
  • Ensure that every student writes at least one idea or comment on each poster by asking them to write their initials by their idea.

  
  

  Differentiation

  • Promote access by providing a word/idea bank, allowing the use of notes, or providing a summary of each concept.
  • Promote access by allowing a supportive peer to read any associated text.
  • Provide response support by allowing students to dictate responses to a scribe.

  
  

  Think It Up!

  • Have students think more deeply about the concept by responding to a Think It Up prompt as an exit ticket or journal entry:
    • Predict how one test question might have many different stimuli.
    • Evaluate which stimuli or prompt was the most difficult and work with a peer to learn it better.
  • Encourage students to use lead4ward’s Thinking Stems (English/Spanish) to frame their responses, if needed.

Question: Why did the New Year go to school?

🦘To get a little brighter!

Question: What kind of food do math teachers prefer?

🦘 Square meals!

Question: What do you say to comfort an English teacher?

🦘There, thery're, their.

Question: Why was the geometry class always tired?

🦘 Because they were all out of shape!

As we near the Christmas break, I want to take a moment to commend our incredible staff for the outstanding work you’ve done in maintaining a positive and structured environment here at Killeen HS. Your efforts have significantly reduced serious discipline referrals this semester, and that is no small achievement. Every hallway conversation, classroom intervention, and proactive check-in has contributed to this success.

That said, the weeks leading up to the holidays can be challenging. Students often feel the excitement of the season, which can lead to lapses in judgment. Please remain vigilant—consistent routines and clear expectations are key to keeping Killeen High safe and focused. Continue greeting students at the door, reinforcing expectations, and using positive reinforcement whenever possible.

If you notice early signs of disengagement or frustration, address them promptly before they escalate. Collaboration is our strength, so don’t hesitate to reach out to colleagues or administration for support. Also, remember that visible presence in the hallways and cafeteria makes a big difference.

Finally, let’s keep encouraging students to finish strong. A quick word of motivation or recognition can go a long way in helping them stay on track. Thank you for your dedication and teamwork—together, we’re creating an environment where every student can thrive.

---------A Message from Mr. Juan Marshall, AP

Serious referrals are down 62% over this time last year, and fights are down 44%! Great job Roos!!! Let's get the momentum going.

---------A Message from Mr. Juan Marshall, AP

• Active monitor your students throughout the lesson.
• Post the focused skill for the week in a visible location.
• Provide support and guidance when students are struggling with skills.

Continue encouraging students as we work toward mastering two skills each week. Let’s keep pushing forward — we believe in you, and we are KHS STRONG!

January 12th: On January 12, 1773, the first public, American museum opened. The Charleston Museum, located in Charleston, South Carolina, offered visitors the opportunity to learn about the natural history and culture of the region. Why do you think museums are important to our society and societies around the world?

January 12th: This day is known as " The Work Harder Day". Think of a way that you can work harder today. This can either be at school or at home. Write about your plan.

January 13th: Today is “Make Your Dreams Come True Day.” What are your dreams? Write about the dreams you have for your future. Explain how you are going to make them come true.

January 13th: On this day in 1910, the first radio broadcast was heard by a few people in New York city who had radio receivers. Later in 1915, Lee De Forest, the inventor of the vacuum tube, began to broadcast nightly opera concerts. Compare this early technology of listening to music to that which we have today.

January 14th: Today is “National Dress-Up Your Pet Day.” How do you think our pets feel when we dress them up in clothing? Describe what may be going on in a pet’s head while they are being dressed-up.

January 15th: On this day in 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. We honor his birth the third Monday of January. He delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Beginning with those same words, write your own speech about your hopes for our world and its people.

January 15th: On this day in 1967, the first Super Bowl played. Green Bay defeated Kansas City by a score of 35 to 10. To make it to the Super Bowl, football teams must work together. What do you think is the most difficult part of working with other students, or in teams, at school? What are the advantages of working with others?

January 15th: On January 15, 1936, Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, established the Ford Foundation. This organization supports a variety of causes, including artistic and educational programs. If you were able to create your charitable foundation, what type of foundation would it be and who would you help? *

January 16th: Today, Dian Fossey was born. Dian is well known for her work with the mountain gorillas in Africa. If you could choose one endangered animal to research and become an expert on, which animal would you choose and why? Create a “Help Wanted” poster that will encourage others to care about this animal.

January 16th: Today is “National Do Nothing Day.” If you could invent your own day, what would it be called? What would you want people to do on your special day?

Are you doing something amazing in your classroom that you’d like to share with KHS staff and students? Send and email with photos and a brief one- to two-sentence description of the activity to Dr. Brown-Johnson by each Friday at 4:30 p.m., and it could be featured as ROO NEWS in the next WAAG!

👕👖 Dress Code Reminder – Let’s Start Strong! 👟🎒
Hey ROOS! We will be consistently enforcing the district dress code to help maintain a safe and focused learning environment. #KHSStrong #RooPride #DressForSuccess

Roo Strong, Student Strong! Our strength is in how we support one another — teaching with purpose, learning with pride, and growing together all month long. Together we rise, learn, and lead with heart this January. Let’s make every day count!

***January's CKH Monthly Trait: Respect***

" Knowledge will give you power, but character respect."

-----Bruce Lee

" Politeness and Consideration of Others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back. "

-----Thomas Sowell