Roadrunner Revue

JDA Families,

Thank you to the 148 families who completed our 1st nine weeks survey and to everyone who joined our focus groups. Your feedback was honest and helpful, and it shaped every change in this newsletter.

Here’s what you told us:

• What’s working:
  • 93% of you understand our expectations.
  • 87% say your child feels safe at JDA.
• What needs work:
• 26% don’t feel they get helpful follow-up when they reach out. That is our #1 fix.
• You also asked for easier access to tutoring and clearer attendance and behavior procedures.

⚡ TL;DR: The 2nd Nine Weeks in 30 Seconds (full explanations below)

• Fall Picture Day. October 23rd
• 📱 Check Rooms this week. Every teacher will message every class by Friday, Oct. 23. If you don’t get one from each of your child’s teachers, tell us so we can fix your account.
• ⏱️ 48-hour replies. Teachers will respond within 48 hours, not counting weekends or breaks. No reply? Use the Family Feedback Form or contact Ms. Diaz at Cheri.Diaz@killeenisd.org.
• 📅 Book a time, don’t wait for a callback. When you call, our secretaries will schedule your appointment before you hang up.
• 📚 New after-school system. There are no tutorials Oct. 20–23. When they return, there will be invite-only closed tutoring, open homework centers, and a testing center by grade level.
• 🚪 3:37 vs. 3:45. Students leaving campus go at 3:37. Students staying after school stay in class until 3:45.
• 📝 Grades now match STAAR levels. STAAR-style tests are scaled so grades show real mastery.
• 🗓️ Some schedules are changing. We will call you the same day if your child’s schedule changes.
• 🥪 Lunches: cafeteria or a lunchbox from home only. No DoorDash or other food deliveries.
• 🌎 Multicultural Night: Thursday, Oct. 22, 5:30–7:00 PM.

We grew from about 600 to over 900 students this year, and some of our systems need to grow with us. Some changes may take a week to settle in. If something isn’t working, tell us and we will adjust.

— Mrs. Jimenez

***No after-school tutorials this week***

• Student Holiday/Staff District PD

*Start of the 2nd Nine Weeks

• JDA Football Game vs Manor MS - 7th gr @ JDA and 8th Gr @ Manor

• Volleyball Practice 7th gr @ 6:25am and 8th gr @ 3:45pm
• Dance Practice 3:45-5:15pm
• Varsity French Horn Practice 4-5pm

• JDA Volleyball Game vs Manor MS - 7th gr @JDA and 8th Gr @ Manor
• Cheer Practice 3:45pm
• Varsity Trumpet Practice 4-5pm
• 8th Grade Football Practice 4-6pm

• Multicultural Night @ JDA 5:30 pm
• 7th Grade Football Practice @ 6am
• 8th Grade Football Practice 4-6pm
• Pep Squad Practice 4-5:30pm
• Volleyball Practice 7th gr @ 6:25am and 8th gr @ 3:45pm
• Dance Practice 3:45 - 5:15pm

• 8th Grade Night @ CHS 5pm
• Fall Picture Day
• Cross Country Celebration 4pm
• Pep Squad Practice 4-5:00pm
• 7th Grade Football Practice @ 6am
• 8th Grade Football Practice 4-6pm
• Volleyball Practice 7th gr @ 6:25am and 8th gr @ 3:45pm

• Saturday Detention/ Attendance Recovery 8-12pm
• Choir Region Camp 9-4pm @ Patterson MS
• 8th Grade Football Practice 8-10am
• Volleyball Practice: 7th Gr - @8-10am , 8th Gr - @10-12pm

• Volleyball Game vs Smith - 7th gr @SMS and 8th gr @ JDA
• After School Tutoring
• 8th Grade Football Practice 4-6pm
• 7th Grade Football Practice 6:15 am
• Yearbook Meeting 3:50-4:30 pm

• JDA Football Game vs Smith - 7th gr @ SMS and 8th Gr @ JDA
• After School Tutoring

• Volleyball Practice 7th gr @ 6:25am and 8th gr @ 3:45pm
• Dance Practice 3:45-5:15pm
• Varsity French Horn Practice 4-5pm

• After School Tutoring 4:00-4:30pm
• Cheer Practice 3:45pm
• Volleyball Practice 7th gr @ 6:25am and 8th gr @ 3:45pm
• Varsity Trumpet Practice 4-5pm

• Volleyball A-Team End of Season Tournament
• 7th gr Football Practice @ 6:15am
• 8th gr Football Practice @ 4-6pm
• Pep Squad Practice 4-5:30pm
• Dance Practice 3:45 - 5:15pm

• Pep Rally
• 8th Grade Football Practice @ 4-6pm
• 7th Grade Football Practice @ 6:15am
• Volleyball Practice 7th gr @ 6:25am and 8th gr @ 3:45pm

• Saturday Detention/ Attendance Recovery 8-12pm
• Volleyball A-Team End of Season Tournament
• Pep Squad Practice 10-1pm
• 8th Grade Football Practice 8-10am

Fall Picture Day is coming to JDA! Families can conveniently place their picture orders ONLINE ONLY.

How to Order:

Visit: https://inter-state.com/order

Or scan the QR code on the flyer!

Order Code: 0748EK

IMPORTANT: All picture orders must be placed online. No physical cash will be accepted.

Rooms Check (by Friday, Oct. 23)

• Every teacher will send a 2nd nine weeks welcome message in Rooms to every class.
• If you do not receive a message from each of your child’s teachers, let us know. We’ll then send a follow-up asking families who didn’t receive one.
• ✅ Why: Some families’ Rooms accounts aren’t working, and they don’t know it. A single typo in an email address can block every message. This test catches it.

48-Hour Response

• Teachers are expected to respond to parents within 48 hours, not counting weekends or breaks. A message sent Friday afternoon gets a reply by Tuesday.
• No response after 48 hours? You can go straight to us:
  • Family Feedback Form: https://forms.office.com/r/9TiHjsrAbB. Every form is tracked until it’s resolved.
  • Ms. Cheri Diaz, our Parent Liaison: Cheri.Diaz@killeenisd.org
  • JDA@killeenisd.org. This shared inbox is checked by our secretaries, who route your message to the right person.
• ✅ Why: Shared inboxes and tracked forms keep messages from getting lost.

Phones, Voicemail & Booking a Time

• Our phone tree is being rebuilt, and every staff voicemail is being checked so your messages reach a real person.
• When you call, tell the secretary what you need. They’ll route you to the right person and schedule your appointment before you hang up, then send a reminder and a follow-up email.
• Microsoft Bookings is coming soon. You’ll be able to book some meetings yourself, like conferences and volunteer opportunities, the way you book a doctor’s appointment.
• ✅ Why: You shouldn’t have to wait for a callback or take off work just to get on someone’s calendar.

There are no tutorials Oct. 20–23. Teachers are reviewing data so they can invite the right students to the right groups.

🎯 Closed Tutoring (invite only, teacher-led)

• Teachers invite students based on assessment data, by 3-week “sprint.” Sprints line up with progress reports and report cards.
• Invited students attend on the same day for all 3 weeks, for 30 minutes or 1 hour.
• Your child may be invited by a teacher who isn’t their own. That teacher is the strongest in that skill.
• Groups aren’t only for students who are struggling. They also help students move up a level.
• ✅ Why: Grouping students with the same need makes every minute count. You no longer have to chase a sign-up.

✏️ Homework Centers (open, student-led)

• Math and RLA: Monday–Thursday, 30 minutes, with a certified teacher.
• Science and Social Studies: on alternating days.
• Students bring their own homework, redo or question. Sign up in Minga.
• ✅ Why: Quick questions get quick help, without taking seats from students who need a full lesson.

📝 Testing Center (1 hour, by grade level)

• Tuesday: 6th grade | Wednesday: 7th grade | Thursday: 8th grade
• For makeup tests and retests. It’s run by a teacher from that grade who knows the tests and the accommodations.
• Students must register before the deadline so their test is ready.
• ✅ Why: A quiet, proctored space for testing, separate from tutoring with enough time to finish assessments.

🚪 Staying After School: 3:37 vs. 3:45

• 3:37 PM = leaving campus for the day.
• Students staying for tutoring, homework center, testing, practices, games or clubs stay in class until 3:45 PM. During that time their 9th period teacher checks that they’re registered in Minga.
• Students who leave at 3:37 cannot return to stay after school.
• Students not in an approved activity after 4:00 go to Boys & Girls Club, so make sure your child is signed up.
• ✅ Why: We always need to know exactly where every student is. Minga won’t let students double-book.

STAAR doesn’t use the raw percent a student gets right. It converts scores into performance levels. For example, a student can reach “Masters” on some tests with about half the questions correct.

On STAAR-style assessments, like benchmarks and progress checks, most teachers now use this formula:
Grade = (Raw Score + 100) ÷ 2

• A = Masters
• B = Meets
• C = Approaches. High 70s is closer to Meets; low 70s needs more support.
• Below 70 = Did Not Meet

Example: a raw 60% becomes an 80.

You may see a “scaled” comment in the gradebook. Scaling doesn’t change what your child showed. It changes the scale so the grade matches the state’s levels. Grades are based on mastery, not completion, so an A means your child has mastered the material.

• ✅ Why: A grade should tell you exactly where your child stands, and next year’s teacher should be able to trust it.

We gained about 400 new students this year and needed time to learn their needs. We’re now making targeted schedule changes to:

• Even out class sizes and support needs
• Make our 8th grade Resource classes smaller
• Place inclusion and English learner support where it’s needed most

What to expect:

• Most changes are the same course in a different section, so grades carry over.
• If your child’s schedule changes, you’ll get a call that day explaining why.
• Moves to Honors or from Algebra I to Math 8 happen only after a conversation with you.
• ✅ Why: Every child deserves a balanced class and the right support. Making changes at the start of a grading period protects grades.

• Every Minga entry, positive or negative, will now include a short note explaining what happened.
• Minor violations build on each other: 4 minors = a lunch detention, the next 4 = two lunch detentions, and so on. You’ll hear from us before small issues turn into consequences.
• ✅ Why: A notice that just says “minor violation” doesn’t help you talk with your child.

• Lunch must come from the cafeteria or from home in a lunchbox.
• NO GLASS containers. We are continuously cleaning up broken glass and it endangers students.
• A forgotten lunch dropped off by a parent must be in a lunchbox that meets the clear-bag size requirements.
• No DoorDash, Uber Eats or other third-party food deliveries are accepted for students.

• 🌐 Parent resource page: one place on our website for how-to guides and videos (Minga, Rooms, grading, tutoring)
• 📰 Student news: announcements and a student newsletter written for kids
• 🤝 Parent Ambassadors: volunteer parents who share accurate information in community sopcial media groups and help bring parent concerns to us
• 🎭 More clubs and service opportunities, led by our new staff committees
• ☕ Coffee chats with campus leadership
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Parenting Partners course this semester, with Maude Moore families
• 🔔 Minga check-in alerts: a notification when your child checks into after-school sessions (in progress)

Did you know that students can sign themselves up for after-school tutorials in Minga? Students already have access to Minga using their school account (through Microsoft, NOT Clever).

How Students Sign Up

1. Open Minga

• Go to app.minga.io on any computer, Chromebook, tablet, or phone, OR
• Open the Minga app.

2. Sign in

Use the student's school-issued account to sign in. If prompted, select Sign in with Microsoft.

3. Find FlexTime

From the Minga menu:

My Tools → FlexTime

4. Choose the Tutorial Session

Find the tutorial date you need and click Register.

**All of next week is already loaded and ready for registering. This includes Boys and Girls Club

5. Pick Your Teacher or Subject

Browse the available tutorial sessions. Students can search for a specific teacher or activity and see available seats.

6. Click Register

That's it! The tutorial will now appear as the student's registered FlexTime activity.

⭐ Remember: Space may be limited, so students should register ahead of time. Students may attend one tutorial session per day and should come with a clear plan for what they need help with.

📱 Parents: Put Minga on Your Phone Too!

We encourage parents and guardians to download the Minga app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and sign in using their student's school account.

Having Minga on your phone makes it easy to help your student:

• Check available tutorial sessions
• Register for tutoring together
• Confirm which teacher/session they selected
• Keep Minga easily accessible from home

No phone? No problem! Students can also access Minga from any web browser at app.minga.io.

💡 Family Tip: Take a few minutes each week to ask, “Do you need to sign up for tutorials this week?”

All students are expected to:

• Be in dress code
• Wear their ID
• Represent JDA well (positive behavior, good sportsmanship, etc)
• Sit in the student section (if you are a JDA student)
• Abide by the Student Code of Conduct
• Leave by 15 minutes after the end of the event
• Keep your area tidy

Help us stock the Roadrunner Essentials with everyday essentials for our students! We are currently accepting donations of individually packaged snacks, bottled water, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, and basic school supplies.

Donations can be dropped off at the JDA Middle School Main Office.

**If you are able to donate, sponsor, or support a family—now or in the future—please reach out and let us know. Likewise, if your family is experiencing a need, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are grateful for a community that takes care of one another, and tax-deductible donation receipts can be provided for qualifying assistance.**

October's Character Trait is Self-Direct! This month, we’re challenging students to envision future goals and take intentional steps toward who they want to be. We are partnering with you to grow and develop your child’s ability to self-direct. We can model self-direction by celebrating the positive in each day, seeking the good in others, and emphasizing our responsibility to make positive choices.

Engage: Find the Good! Self-direct your thoughts and share Good Things as a family each day. After school, around the dinner table, or before bed, ask each family member to share something good from the day. We often see what we seek! Let’s focus on finding the good.

Conversation Starter: What is one way you can be more responsible at home or school?

October is National Bully Prevention Month. On Wednesday October 21st, JDA will be participating in Unity Day by wearing Orange! Unity Day is the signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month. This is a day when we can come together to send a visible message of building community through kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. The call to action is simple: wear and share the color orange. This vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, showing support for students who have been bullied and for bullying prevention.

Are you (or your student) passionate about creating a welcoming, supportive campus for all students? Join the JDA Youth Sponsorship Program (YSP), a student-led initiative bridging military and civilian communities through mentorship, service, and belonging. The only requirement to join is to have a kind heart and an open mind!

Youth Sponsorship Program Application

If you are interested, please come see one of the counselors for more information.

CLICK HERE for a video on how to translate Smore

We value your feedback and want to hear from you. If you have a concern, you are always welcome to contact or visit the front office; however, an administrator or counselor may not be immediately available.

To help us honor your time and connect you with the right person, please call or email to request a meeting whenever possible. When calling, please share enough information with our secretaries so they can quickly direct your concern.

If the concern involves a teacher, please begin by contacting the teacher directly. If additional support is needed, we are happy to help.