A Big Weekend

This is a big weekend... with lots to celebrate.

Seniors are busy this weekend with lots of graduation related events. Last night's baccalaureate kicked off the weekend festivities. This was the first time I have ever been to a baccalaureate ceremony and it was really nice. Many of "my" students participated in the event including Nick Beattie, Megan Denti, Ben Groff, Josiah DePaso, Daron DiSabato, Phil Bunting, Courtney Clark and Carly Coulter. You all did a great job! This weekend has also been filled with lots of graduation parties and, of course, tomorrow's commencement ceremony.

Underclassmen are busy (hopefully) studying for exams. (I know, you are rolling your eyes and wondering why that is a celebration, but it means that you are almost done with school and summer is just a week away - so see, there is reason to celebrate!) :-)

It has also been a busy weekend for Wolves who are still participating in spring sports:

The men's volleyball team won today and will therefore compete tomorrow in the final four for the state title. (In the afternoon they play in the state semi-final game and after winning they will be in the state championship game tomorrow evening.) Good Luck!

The guys lacrosse team also won their regional championship game today launching them into the state final four play as well. Congratulations!

Yesterday the track and field team completed their regional competition and several of "my" students - John Batchelder, Phil Bunting, and Carolyn Cann - qualified for the state meet! Congratulations and good luck next weekend!

Senior Reminders

Congratulations Seniors! You have made it through high school! I am so happy for you. There are a few details that you need to be sure that you take care of before graduation on Sunday...

1. You must request your Final Transcript to be sent to your college. Stop in the Counseling and Career Center and fill out a yellow transcript release form (just like you did earlier this year when applying to college for the first time) and give the completed form with $2.00 to Mrs. Hoyt. After all of your final grades are in the computer, she will send your final transcript to your requested college.

2. Tomorrow morning is graduation rehearsal. This is a mandatory meeting! It is a long morning so be prepared for that, but it is one step closer to graduation.

3. Tomorrow evening is the Baccaulaureate at St. Joan of Arc church. The ceremony begins at 7:30pm with the music starting at 7pm.

4. Just a general reminder that applies to students of every grade - this Saturday the guys lacrosse team will be competing at home in the Regional Championship at 5:00pm! Good luck! The boys volleyball team will also be in competition on Saturday and if they win the good news is that they will be in the state semi-final game, but the bad news is that the game is the same time as graduation so they will have to miss graduation. I hope you play well! And finally good luck to the track and field athletes who will continue in the Regional competition tomorrow night. Run Fast! :-)

Standout Students

Today the seniors who have spent the last month out on senior project came back to present their project and share their experiences. I didn’t have as much time as I had hoped to be able to visit each student’s table and listen to their stories, but everything I saw and those kids that I did have a chance to talk to impressed me greatly with their internships. They definitely seemed to have a lot of positive things to say about senior project and were thankful that they had participated. I had several students participate including Loren Cellentani, Brian Blum, Emily Armstrong (all pictured below L to R with Sue Bobson, a parent and Emily Armstrong’s site supervisor for her internship), Nick Beattie, Elena Colegrove, Dani Bushey, Jenny Coppola, and Nai-Kwan Cheung were among “my” students participating in senior project. (For the record, I very well may have had more students that participated, but it is late and I am tired and can’t remember anyone else off the top of my head – sorry!)

After school today was also “Gap Day.” Current 8th graders (soon to be freshmen at WKHS) from both McCord and Perry Middle Schools were invited to WKHS to participate in a fun afternoon of activities and team building. This project was dreamed up, planned, and carried out by a group of 7 WKHS students who were participating in a leadership training seminar. Four of the 7 planners were “my” students including Brooke Dahn, Becca Alexander, Chandel Charles, and Joe Donovan. They planned a great time for the 8th graders and clearly demonstrated their leadership abilities. Congratulations on a nice event!

A letter to "my" seniors

Today was the last official day of classes for the seniors. The next two days are filled with senior exams marking the end of high school. Below is a note to all of my seniors...

To “My” Seniors ~

Wow, what a year it has been… I cannot believe you have already reached the end of your high school career and it is time for me to say good-bye and wish you luck as you head off to the wonderful days ahead in college and life after high school. This year absolutely flew by for me. This may sound strange to you since for the last two years you were *stuck* with me as your counselor simply based upon your last name, but I want to thank you for allowing me to have the honor of joining you on this journey! I am so inspired, amazed, impressed, and proud of the men and women you are and all that you have accomplished. There is so much I will miss about you next year. For example, I will miss the students who drop by my office to visit pretty much every day even if just for a moment to say hi. I will miss walking through the halls and getting the small acknowledgements of a head nod or a quick wave and a hello. Teasing you about “cheating” on the Rubik’s cube or other puzzles in my office and watching as the Jolly Rancher candies disappeared by the handful will also be moments I remember fondly. I will miss how easily some of you were able to make me laugh and also the thoughtful random acts of kindness that you have shared over the last two years. I will miss coming to your tables in the commons to check in – although not so much on missing the chasing to complete applications or the editing of essays … :-) Sitting in the stands, I will miss how quick many of you were to say hello (even if you were with all of your friends) and, of course, I will also miss those moments when I would catch your eye on the field, court, or pool deck and see your smile. But most of all I will miss you – hearing about your day and what is going on in your life. For me, these moments meant the most - they capture the essence of who you are and have forever placed you in my heart. Always remember that I am behind you and that I believe in you!

With love and gratitude,
Miss Abbott

PS - I hope that you will stay in touch periodically in the future to let me know about your new adventures in life.

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope that you had a wonderful Memorial Day spending time with your family and friends. I also hope that you had the chance to pause and reflect on the meaning behind this holiday. My grandfather is a WWII veteran as are many of his close friends. Earlier this month his friends were able to fly for a one-day trip to Washington DC in order to visit the WWII memorial. They were invited to participate in this special trip as part of a program to try to allow as many WWII veterans to have the opportunity to visit the memorial as possible. Unfortunately my grandfather was too ill to join them, but they have brought back pictures and shared stories of their visit. It was definitely a good reminder for me of how proud they are of their service and how much their time in the military meant to each of them. So today, as I spent time with my grandfather, I honored the service and sacrifice of all of the veterans from past wars. I also thought of those who are currently serving in the military. (Including several WKHS grads like one of “my” students from last year, Joda Dotson, who is currently in Iraq. FYI - Joda called me from Iraq three weeks ago and we talked for a while and he is doing great.)

I have heard before that America is only the land of the free if it is the home of the brave. So this year, on Memorial Day, I hope you will join me in thinking not only of those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and for the families they left behind, but also for all who have proudly served to make us the home of the brave. God Bless America and all who have made the choice to serve!

What Should I Do This Summer?

Summer is a great time to relax and unwind from the hectic schedule of homework, studying and the general day to day expectations of school. But your summer shouldn’t just be wasted away into day after day of doing “nothing.” The summer is a perfect time to explore your passions, investigate your interests and indulge in fun activities that you might not have time for during the regular school year. As we reach the last two weeks of school, I wanted to encourage you to start thinking about what you will do this summer to make sure that you have a productive summer and don’t spend the entire break being bored.

So, what are some ideas of how you can spend your summer? Consider taking a class (or two) in summer school. This is especially important if you are behind in credits and not doing well in school. Success rates of summer school completion are very high – in part because you are able to focus on just one subject at a time and you generally have smaller class sizes so the teacher can focus more one-on-one time with each student. If you are planning on taking a class in summer school it is important to sign up as soon as possible to make sure that you will not be closed out of the class of your choice.

Perhaps you are looking for ideas that do not involve more school… Summer vacation is a great time to expand your resume and pursue your passions by volunteering or working a summer job. Many students don’t know where to volunteer and the truth is the sky is the limit – anything that interests you has the potential for being a volunteer service project. Get creative in your approach! For ideas about existing needs for volunteers you can visit FirstLink. Speaking of resumes, during summer break, you should really spend an hour or two updating your resume. (And if you don’t have a resume, the summer is a great time to make a resume – you can use the tool in PrepHQ or create your own.)

If you are starting to consider different careers, perhaps you have a family member or friends that would allow you to shadow them for a day or two on the job to see what their particular career is really like as this will help you determine if that career is truly of interest to you.

Current juniors (Soon to be Seniors) – this summer is going to be busy as you prepare for your senior year. Hopefully you are taking the time to visit colleges from your list and getting an idea of what you think about different schools. (Don’t forget to take a picture of you somewhere on campus for me!) You can also begin drafting your college application essays and preparing for the ACT and SAT exams.

Of course, there is always spending quality time reconnecting with your family, going on vacation, reading, and even attending camps or other formal activities which can be a part of the summer for many.

The bottom line is try to be productive this summer – at the very least it will give you great stories to share next fall when people ask you what you did over the summer.

No Real Update

This week has definitely not been a good week for me as far as getting updates onto the blog and I am sorry for the inconsistency. It has been a crazy end to the week as I have been working on schedules and trying to figure out the puzzle to getting everyone into their requested classes. I am no where near finished with is a bit worrisome, but I will get there in time. Last night I was so exhausted after a tough evening at the nursing home that I came home and pretty much fell asleep - completely forgetting that it was Thursday and therefore Grey's Anatomy night. So, I missed watching it and then today it seemed everyone wanted to talk about how great the show was last night... as a result I am skipping out on a "real" update again tonight so that I can go and watch last night's episode. Hope you have a great long weekend!

Senior Recognition Night

Tonight was the Senior Recognition Night - a time when graduating seniors are honored for the contributions and awards received over the last four years of high school. 52 of "my" kids were among those being honored tonight. This included 7 of "my" students who were among those receiving "graduate with highest honors" recognition for having above a 4.0 grade point average. I am proud of all of you and was honored to participate in your evening of well-deserved recognition.

Scheduling Madness

This morning the WKHS administration officially "locked" the master schedule into place. What this means is that they have determined where each class will be held during the school day to meet the most student requests possible. They ran through the computer all of the requests and successfully matched on 84% of the schedules. This is GREAT news and the highest match rate at WKHS in a very long time. Unfortunately, it now becomes a nightmare for the counselors as we go through each of the schedules that didn't match and try to figure out if there is a solution and what possible options we can use to make a schedule fit together. I spent a large part of the day pouring over schedules and successfully fixed three of them. (That is NOT good...) Needless to say I have a lot of work to do and will likely have to be calling down some of you to talk about back up choices based upon the conflicts in your schedule. This is never easy and I know it is disappointing if you don't get the classes that you wanted, so I promise that I am doing the best I can to make everything fall together. I also know that once I start calling down students to talk about their conflicts everyone will want to come and find out where their classes fall during the day and I am BEGGING you to let me get through this week before we start looking at those pieces. And to answer some of the questions that I heard last year at this time, no, I am sorry you can not have a copy of your schedule and no, it is not set in stone so even though it might look perfect to you now, I can't guarantee that it will be the exactly the same next year when we start up again. Thanks for your patience!

Teacher Recommendations

Recommendation letters are a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought and time. As you finalize the list of schools where you will be applying, it is important to determine if you are going to need a recommendation letter from a teacher (or two). Many of the Ohio schools - Ohio State, Ohio University, BGSU, Kent State, etc. do not require teacher recommendations. If you are applying to schools that need teacher recommendation letters, it is very helpful and beneficial to the teachers if you can give them as much time as possible to write your recommendation letters. That means, if you know now that you are going to be applying to a school which needs a teacher rec letter, then I would like for you to ask the teachers this week, allowing them to have the entire summer to write your letter. After you ask the teacher, you will want to provide them with information that can help as they write your letter. We have several handouts in the counseling and career center that you can use for this purpose. (They are in the Senior Information drawer, but if you stop in and see me I can show you where they are located.)

Arts in Action

As you are all aware, today was Arts in Action day. Because there were so many activities taking place throughout the day there were very few visitors to my office. I wanted to stick close to my office just in case someone was looking for me as there wouldn't have been any way of finding me out in the craziness of the school, but since it was also a *bit* boring I decided to venture out and was able to capture some pictures of "my" talented artisits in action. Enjoy...

(Students from L to R): EB Brennan, Austin Clouse, and Sam Craig

Amy Bluem (L) and EB Brennan (R) each participated in the Throwdown Competition

Some of the members of Wind Ensemble (L to R): Bryan Lee, Phil Bunting, David Bock, Catherine Ambrozich and standing is Jack Doran and Chris Rayis

Alyssa Boudinot (L) has her face painted and if you look closely you can see a few of my students working on the Guatemalan Sand Art (Kyle Downie and Maeve Beyer)

I found Matt Baker, Rolando Contreras, and Matt Bear playing cards in the Chess room.

Megan Denti singing in the commons (L) and Jenn Butterfield (R) participating in the Poetry Slam in the library - Jenn wrote a limerick about Mr. Meeks.

Mrs. Stamm and Mitch Anglin were "celebrity" judges for the Poetry Slam competition.

The band, Solace, also performed which includes Daron DiSabato and Josiah DePaso

Academic Signing Day

This morning nearly 50 WKHS seniors participated in the academic signing day ceremony. Students are given the opportunity to participate in this ceremony if they have been awarded $4,000 in academic, merit or fine art scholarships. ($4,000 one time or $1,000 renewable for 4 years) Each student came onto the stage and announced the scholarship they had received, where they would be attending college and offered their thanks to people who have helped them during their high school career. This group of students was awarded over 1.5 million dollars! Congratulations on your accomplishments!

Five of "my" students were among today's participants. A special congratulations to (L to R) Ashley Decatur, Rolando Contreras, Ian Cook, Ben Groff, and Daron DiSabato. I am proud of you!

Spring Cleaning

Another school year is winding down (but it is not over so you still need to apply yourself fully - read post from a few days ago about the importance of finishing school strong...) and the spring weather and upcoming exams are two likely reasons that you may decide to do some "spring cleaning" of your school materials. As you go through your bookbags and homework/ study areas there are a few things to keep in mind. Does your system work for you? Are you able to find everything you want and need without having to search? Do you spend more time organizing and looking for the piece of paper that you know has the answer than you do actually completing the project or assignment? Do you know what you want or need to save for the future? And yes, I am talking about more than just digging out of your room just in case your parents decide to convert your room into a guest bedroom after you go to college... :-)

Keeping your notes organized and any study guides, equation summary sheets, as well as old tests and quizzes in a way that will allow you to pull upon that information in the future is very important. I can tell you that from my experience in college, if I had not saved my notes from calculus in high school then there is no way that I would have passed that class in college! Your notes can often be the most useful resource (assuming you take good notes each day) because you are re-writing the main topics in your own words and organizing the information in a manner that makes sense to you. Old study guides, tests and quizzes are all very useful when trying to study for an upcoming exam.

So, take a little time now to prepare for your upcoming final exams and (for the seniors) for college when you might want or need this information by getting organized today. If you need help with talking about some better strategies for organizing your materials, feel free to stop in and we can talk about some different ideas to see if one of them sounds like it could work for you.

So Thankful

Today was one of those days when I was reminded of how much I have to be grateful for in life. I am so fortunate to work with incredible students who are kind, talented and bright. You are a blessing in my life and I am thankful for each day that I am able to work with you. Today started off on a high note... we had a staff appreciation breakfast before our meetings during the late start time. (Thank you Student Council!) I was able to hear one of "my" students play the piano and he performed beautifully! I was so impressed by his talents! Then later in the day I had a special treat when one of my former students (who is already home from college for the summer) stopped in to visit. I was so happy to catch up on life and hear about all the great adventures he has had this year. It makes me excited for all of the seniors for what will soon be in front of you... and a little sad at how fast time flies past.

For all of you heading to Cedar Point tomorrow - have fun! (Also, I wanted to let the rest of you know that I am out of the office tomorrow morning at a meeting, but should be back sometime near the end of 3rd period.)

By the way - I realized this morning that I had completely messed up and accidentally left my sister off of my list of family members that I was sending out Mother's Day wishes to and I am sorry about that! My sister is a wonderful mother to Carly and Cole and she inspires me every day. (And since she reads my blog from time to time - sorry that I am a sister without a brain when acknowledging the moms in our family... I love you!)

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you had a great weekend and were able to find some time to spend with your mom. My mom was in town to see my grandfather this weekend, so I was able to have breakfast with her today. Happy Mother's Day Mom, Mugga (my grandmother), Mary (my step-mother), and Dorothy (my grandmother on my stepdad's side). I love you all! Also, Happy Mother's Day wishes to the mom's that check this blog. :-)

This picture is my mom and my grandma.

This coming week has a crazy schedule. Don't forget that you have a late start day tomorrow so enjoy sleeping in. Tuesday hundreds of Kilbourne kids will be going to Cedar Point. Friday is Arts in Action day. Should be fun.

Spring Slacking

Your teachers turned in interim grades yesterday and I saw the printout today. Let's just say that I was NOT happy. I know that it is hard to pay attention and study as the weather gets warm and you are busy counting down the days left. I know that the underclassmen have less than 1 month of school remaining this year. I know that the seniors are struggling to fight senioritis. I also know that school isn't over yet and it is essential that you spend the remaining weeks taking care of your classes so that you do not jeopardize your future.

The truth is that this last bit of the school year is essential for many WKHS students.

For seniors, I realize that there is a rampant case of senioritis running through the school, but I must remind you that next year you will be heading to college. You have already received your acceptance letters and decided where you will be attending school next year so it seems like your grades this last semester don't really matter... except they do! You must submit a final transcript to your college. (Which, by the way, you need to make sure you come into the counseling center and submit a transcript release form so we can send it.) If you go back and read the acceptance letters that the colleges sent to you, you will notice the fine print that points out that they can turn you down if you don't maintain the level of grades that they expect from you and your past performance. Last year schools did turn away hundreds of students and I can't even imagine how hard it was for a student to believe they knew where they would be attending to suddenly find out that they couldn't go there any more because they blew off school during their final semester. OSU didn't revoke any acceptances last year, but they did make students explain, in writing, why their grades had dropped or why they were no longer taking the same courses that they had indicated when applying. The other comment I hear from seniors often is that school doesn't matter now, but that next year, in college, when it matters they will turn it around and try. Well, while I would love to believe you (and I hope you are right) the reality is that it isn't always that easy. Bad habits are hard to break. Next year there won't be anyone bugging you about turning in homework or reminding you that a paper or project is due next week. They won't accept late papers. Most teachers won't check attendance and they don't care if you want to throw your money away by not attending class. It is your introduction to the real world. At WKHS if you show up late to class and get a tardy or two you end up with a detention. In the real world, if you show up late for work you get fired. At WKHS if you can't manage to turn in a paper or project on time teachers take points off and it might hurt your grade, but in the real world the devestation of not following through and meeting the expectations of your boss are much more serious. I know, you think I am just nagging and I promise that I am not trying to lecture you, but looking at the list of failures today I am very worried. The last few weeks of high school need to be a time to practice developing some good habits. You have taken a long enough break at the beginning of this quarter. Spend time studying. Work on your organization skills. Practice taking better notes. All of those things will help you in college and in the future.

For the underclassmen... it is far too early for you to be claiming senioritis (although I heard that from quite a few students just today). The classes that you are taking now will impact your grades and grade point average. Having a higher grade point average doesn't guarantee you admission to the school of your dreams, but it does provide you with more options. For most of your classes - you need it to meet graduation requirements. (Even your elective classes as you need 6 credits of electives to graduate.) It always surprises me when students give up at this point in the year. I don't understand it. If I was faced with the option of working really hard for the last 4 weeks of school and kicking butt on the exams or taking the class for an entire semester (or year) again over the summer or next year there is no question that I would apply myself now. That is what so many of you need to do. Stop and think about it for a moment. Your 3rd quarter grade was worth 40% of your semester grade. This quarter's grade is worth another 40% of your semester grade and your final exam makes up the remaining 20%. That means that with your exam and this quarter you are dealing with 60% of your total points for the semester. Hopefully you realize that this also means that you can still pass, but you must commit yourself now and not let a single point slip by without trying to earn it. Every point matters! Talk to your teachers, get input from them on what you need to do differently in order to turn things around in your classes. Please, don't wait until it is too late. If you have already realized that there is no way to pass the class and your teacher agrees that there is no hope, please come and see me so that we can talk about what your plan is to make up the class. Are you going to take it during the summer? Are you going to take it next year? If you are taking it next year does that bump out any of your other classes because you are now missing the requirements? There is a great deal to consider. If you aren't going to be able to pass one class, please work hard to make sure that you pass all of the others. As soon as you realize that one class is a lost cause it doesn't mean that all of the others are gone too. Try to use your time wisely and put more effort into the ones that still have hope. Feel free to stop in and talk to me if you need help developing a plan on how to focus your energy and effort to passing your classes.

Believe me, I do understand that it is hard to focus right now. And yes, I admit that I don't always want to get up and come to school when there are other things that sound more appealing for the day. But we only have one today and the decisions we make today have a much bigger influence than we can imagine. Make the most of today!

Bits and Pieces

200 Times! I can't believe that I have already posted 200 times. I sincerely hope that this blog has been useful to you this year. I have enjoyed trying to come up with new and useful things to write about each week.

Tomorrow is the deadline for students to submit their information to participate in Academic Signing Day. Any senior who has received an academic, merit or fine art scholarship worth at least $4,000 for one year or $1,000 for four years is invited (and encouraged) to participate in the academic signing day ceremony. The ceremony will be held next week (May 14th). Please complete your form and turn it into the counseling center tomorrow.

Tonight I watched the baseball team win which allowed them to claim the OCC title. Congratulations! To make it even more special - it was also senior night. A special congratulations to Matt Bobson, "my" only baseball senior. I am proud of you!

After baseball I headed inside (thankful for the warmth and dry environment) to watch the band concert. The seniors were also honored during the concert. Congratulations to Hanna Bae, Phil Bunting, Jason Clark and Jenny Coppola.

May Socratic Society

The final Socratic Society induction ceremony for this school year was held last Friday morning. 35 students were honored for displaying the Socratic Core Values of scholarship, integrity, lifelong learning, compassion, and personal effort. I am particularly proud of Stephen Batchelder, Carolyn Cann, Will Cheng and Ken Greim. Students are only able to be honored with this recognition one time during their high school career.

College Admissions Tests

I hope that all of my junior students have registered to take one of the college admissions tests (ACT or SAT) this spring. If you haven't signed up for one of the tests yet, it isn't too late, but the deadlines are here so it is important to register now!

The remaining test dates for this spring are:

SAT - June 7, 2008

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 6th (Tomorrow!)

Late Registration Deadline: May 15th

Register online at http://www.collegeboard.com/

ACT - June 14, 2008

Registration Deadline: Friday, May 9th

Late Registration Deadline: May 23rd

Register online at http://www.act.org/

(Don't forget to sign up for the ACT plus Writing!)

To answer some of the more frequent questions I have had lately about the test dates -

- Yes, I know that June 7th is right after exams and school ends. Sorry, I can't control that for you.

- Yes, I know that some of you are leaving for camp on the same day as a test date. You know what you can and cannot control and if you cannot go to camp (or vacation or whatever else you have planned) late then you will not be able to test on that date. You can consider the option of arriving to your intended location early and taking the test there if that works for your family...

- Yes, there are test dates in the fall so that you can take or repeat a test at that time. No, there are not any dates over the summer.

If you have any other questions about the ACT or SAT visit the "Test Info" page on PrepHQ, the actual ACT and SAT websites, or stop in my office and see me.

Weekend Wrap Up

What a great weekend! I had so much fun watching all of "my" students at prom. Everyone looked beautiful/ handsome. You definitely clean up nice! :-) I hope that you had a great time and made lots of wonderful memories. A special congratulations to "my" two students who were on the prom court - Matt Baker and Ben Groff.

Hopefully all of the students who will be taking AP exams over the next two weeks found some time this weekend to squeeze in some studying. Good luck on your AP tests!

For the underclassmen, don't forget to vote for your class officer positions online. Voting ends tonight so be sure to select the individuals you want representing you next year.

See you tomorrow!

Prom

Tonight is prom night for WKHS juniors and seniors. This is an exciting and memorable night for students and I hope you have a great evening. To be honest, I also hope that it is a safe evening. You want prom to be memorable in a positive way. Hopefully you have finalized all of your plans and are looking forward to a great night. As a chaperone for prom I love seeing "my" students dressed up and enjoying themselves. It should be fun. One last reminder about safety - please remember to talk with your parents before you leave tonight about what you will do if you end up in an unexpected situation and need help. If, for any reason, you need help tonight while at prom - you know that you can find me. Have a good time - be smart and be safe!

PS - Just a little bit of entertainment for you to make you laugh on this rainy day... the picture with today's post is Carly (my niece) playing dress up in my old prom dress. Not exactly what most people (including me!) would imagine that I would pick as a prom dress, but it is definitely fun for Carly to play dress up! :-)