A few updates

I have a couple of quick announcements and reminders for you:

First off - Congratulations to Robbie Davidson who won the talent show on Thursday night! I am so impressed by your talent and poise.

For all students (well, actually for all Freshman, Sophomores, and Juniors), don't forget that the online registration system opens tomorrow and remains open through next Monday. Please be sure to get your teacher recommendation sheets completed and if you would like to get more information about different courses, you and your parents should plan to attend the Curriculum Night on Tuesday, February 2nd.

I am starting with my junior meetings on Tuesday, February 2nd and am completely booked all day. So, if you need anything this week, please understand that I won't be available on Tuesday.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Talent Show

Wow - I haven't posted since Monday... guess that shows how crazy this week has been in my world! I don't know about you, but I am exhausted! Thankfully tomorrow is Friday.

Tonight I went to the talent show which was the first time I have ever been to one of Kilbourne's talent show events. I had heard about how wonderful they were in the past, but had just never been able to make it to them in the past. Tonight's show certainly lived up to the expectations! The three "hosts" of the talent show were hysterical. I loved all of their skits between the performance acts. (Including Haley Bogatay's special appearance in one of their skits.) Many of "my" students performed tonight including: Veronica Barker, Robbie Davidson, Sammi Adams, Kara Barford, Grace Barker, Krystin Burgess, Jason Cunningham, Jordan Ellwood, David Busch, Austin Dickey, and Eric Clemens. I am extremely impressed by all of your talents! More students were involved behind the scenes including: Kristin Bond, Andrea Barton, Adith Balaji, Naomi Barker, and Kyle Calcote. You all did a great job putting on a wonderful show.

E-mail Issues

I wanted to let everyone know that we are having e-mail issues at school. As a result, they have notified us that it is uncertain if our e-mails are successfully being sent out of the district and random if we will receive incoming e-mail messages. The district has informed us that they don't know how long this problem will last, but I wanted you to be aware as it definitely impacts one of the main ways that I communicate with parents and families.

I hope that you had a good day and are enjoying your new second semester classes. I saw a ton of students (over 1/5 of my entire student caseload!) in the day and the vast majority were looking to make schedule changes. Most were frustrated that the changes weren't easy to make, but I wanted to remind you that as you start the registration process on Wednesday to keep these frustrations in mind when selecting your classes. I know it is hard to predict what you will be interested in taking a year in advance, but we build the entire schedule around your requests so that we can fit all of the classes that you were interested in taking into your school day without creating conflicts. It isn't a perfect system as there are always some conflicts, but we do the best we can. Please know that it is entirely based upon your requests so think carefully when making your choices.

Get Organized!

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the start of the 2nd semester. I know it is not on the top of your list, but one recommendation is to spend a little time getting organized for the start of the second semester. Go through your materials from first semester. Store information that is interesting and will be potentially useful to you in the future from semester classes that are now over. For year-long classes, keep your first semester materials, but review your papers, notes, and handouts to see if you need to continue carrying it to school or if you could store it at home until closer to final exam time. Clean out your bookbag, take a critical look at what you have and consider what you will need for second semester. Make a list of supplies you need - new folders, binders, papers, pencils/ pens, etc. and try to get them as soon as possible so that you start the semester off on a positive note. If organization is a struggle for you, remember that I am available (as are the academic assistants in Room 209) to help you with new organization strategies that might work out better.

Oh the Places You'll Go

Congratulations - you survived exams! I hope that they went well and that your studying and preparation paid off.

As anyone who has stood outside of my office knows, there is an "Oh, The Places You'll Go..." display that features pictures of "my students" on college campuses during their visits. With another long weekend coming up and no exams to study for during the weekend, it is a great time for a lot of students and families to head out to visit and explore colleges. If this is a part of your plan, please be sure to take a picture somewhere on campus for me to have on the wall! I'd really like to have more pictures! And, for those of you who have told me you have pictures, but still have not brought in a copy, I'd love to have it to add to the wall.

For the record, the picture can be anywhere on campus, but I would like you in the picture! So, pick out a pretty place on campus, find a cool sign announcing the colleges name, or snap a picture in front of the building that houses your major where you anticipate spending most of your time in the future.

For younger students, if you don't have any idea what colleges you would like to consider in the future, you can use this weekend as a time to go and visit some nearby colleges to start figuring out the things that you do or do not like in a school. (And, don't forget to take a picture.) :-)

Sustaining Study Focus

Well, you have had 3 days off to prepare for your exams... did you use it wisely? One of the keys is trying to pace yourself while eliminating distractions so that you can maintain your focus. The reality is that you have been preparing for your exams every day since the start of the semester back in August. Studying to review the content and make sure that you are confident and prepared is important though.

There are lots of strategies that can be effective to help eliminate distractions. Turning off the tv or your cell phone can be good ideas. For many students the stronger attraction and distraction is on the computer with Facebook or even instant messaging. This New York Times article talks about students who are logging off Facebook for periods of time in order to focus on studying or other priorities.

Sports (especially at the collegiate level) also demand a great deal of time and so it is important to prioritize your time - not only during exams as taking care of academic responsibilities is essential all year long.

Whatever your strategy, I hope you are prepared for this week's exams. Good luck and if you need anything, feel free to stop in and see me before or after your exams or during your lunch break.

The Best

I have some of the best students! Yes, I realize that I am a bit biased, but really, you are incredible people and I am grateful to have a job that allows me to get to know you. For me, the simple things like stopping by my office for a visit or the random acts of kindness you show are what mean the most. There is no way that I can express how much I appreciated and enjoyed the time at tonight's basketball games against Thomas Worthington. (Speaking of which - Congratulations Wolves on the victory!) A special thank you to Haley, David, Molly, Will, and especially Marissa. You really are the best! :-)

Exam Preparation

What strategies are you using to prepare for your exams? Reading your notes? Teaching someone else the content? Flashcards? Practicing problems? Rewriting (or typing) your notes? Each of these are potentially good strategies. It is important to remember that there are lots of options that can be utilized when studying and that you may need to try different ways until you find one that works effectively for you. (Plus, how you study may be different for the different subjects.) One other very effective study technique is to use your old tests. The past tests cover the content that the teachers believe are the most essential material and so it is only logical to assume that since the teachers feel this was the most important information that it is also likely to be the same basic information that will be covered on your exam.

In addition, it is also important to remember that taking exams can be draining - physically as well as mentally. You don't usually have to take two hour tests... let alone 3 of them in one day. If you start losing focus it is important to mentally check yourself and work to sustain the attention and effort that is required for each exam. When you have the breaks between exams, be sure to make the most of them so that you are refreshed and ready for the next final.

Studying for Exams

I don't know about you, but it feels like this week is taking forever as there is so much to do before the semester ends. I also hope that in addition to taking care of your course responsibilities that you have been spending some time studying for your exams! With the exams counting (in most cases) for 20% of your grade, these are an important part of your grade so it is essential that you prepare wisely for them.

Studying for exams can be daunting - especially because sometimes you don't know *how* to study. And, while, the week before exams start isn't always the ideal time to figure out what study strategies tend to work best for you, it is better late than never. The one lessson that I have learned (from both experience and from other students) is that reading your notes is NOT studying. You have to be doing something in order to really study for exams. (And yes, I am aware that for some of you and for some classes reading through your notes is sufficient, but in general as you sit there reading your notes it is common for your mind to wander and you get through reading your notes and then at the test you realize that all of the information you thought you knew was actually just familiar.)

So, perhaps in addition to just reading through your notes you could try some other ideas such as re-writing or typing your notes, go through and review your old tests - paying particular attention to questions that you answered incorrectly, review old homework assignments and worksheets, work through the study guides your teachers provided (if they gave you one), and enhance your notes by adding supplemental information such as what you have learned in the textbook or on other assignment sheets.

Once you have studied, spend some time questioning yourself to figure out the areas where you are still weak and then focus your studying on those areas. Question yourself again and hopefully you will find that you have mastered all of the information.

You do not need to panic about exams if you are prepared so spend some time studying now - it will pay off!

Birthday Wishes

Today was both my mom's birthday as well as my nephew, Cole's, birthday. Cole turned 4 years old today. I called to wish him a happy birthday tonight before the financial aid meeting and he was busy playing. I asked about his day and he told me he "got presents that are over there..." Cute, but not very helpful in updating me about how he had enjoyed his day.

It is hard to believe that he is already 4 years old. When my niece was born, I had cross-stitched a picture that I framed and had ready to give to her when she made her grand entrance into the world... poor Cole, he is now 4 years old and I still have not completed his picture. I have been focusing on this over the past few weeks putting in countless hours with the hope that I will be able to finish it before he turns 5 years old. :-) I will keep you posted - perhaps acknowledging to all of you that I have been procrastinating on his picture will give me the motivation to get it completed.

GPA Calculator

Many students are trying to guesstimate what they need to do in order to raise their grade point average. This blog post includes a link to a GPA Calculator which will allow you to calculate what grades you would need to earn in order to achieve your desired GPA. (You will need to have your current GPA which is available on PrepHQ.)

Also Don't Forget:

- Tomorrow night at 7:00pm is the Financial Aid night in the auditorium for senior parents. This blog has two recent posts that provided good financial aid information. (FYI, I am having trouble linking to the exact posts so you may have to scroll back to find the posts.)

- For juniors and junior parents, if you are interested in scheduling an individual appointment for us to meet about your senior year courses and to get a jump start on planning for life after high school, please e-mail me with your date/ time preference for February 2nd, February 16th, or February 18th between 7am - 9pm and I will do my best to accomodate your schedule.

Common College Decision Responses

As more and more students begin hearing from colleges I thought it might be helpful to know some of the most common terms you will see in response letters from colleges. Below are some of the more common college related terms/ phrases for admissions decisions. If your son/ daughter receives a letter and you are uncertain what they mean, please feel free to let me know or to contact the college directly.

- Accepted: Congratulations - they are inviting you to join and be a part of their college/ university

- Declined/ Rejected/ Not Accepted: For whatever reason the college did not feel that you would be a good fit. While it is understandably disappointing, please remember that there are lots of colleges and universities out there so don’t give up on finding a good match.

- Decision Deferred: The college is not sure yet… usually they will tell you what additional data/ information they are interested in receiving to help them make their decision. The most common piece of data they will look for are senior year grades at the semester time.

- Wait List: The wait list is not a denial, but it is not an acceptance either. Colleges use wait lists as insurance to make sure that their freshman class will be the appropriate size. If enough students decide to attend, the college will not accept anyone off of their wait-list.

Please remember that we track admissions decisions, but for most colleges the only way we know of the decision is if you come in and inform us, so please, be sure to stop in and let me know as you hear back from each school.

Snow Day!

Hooray! I just got the news that we have a snow day! Enjoy the 3 day weekend and please stay warm and safe. :-)

Schedule Changes

As I pretty much expected, today was a crazy day with tons of students dropping by to try to request changes to their schedules for next semester. I'm not sure how long the line was at different times, but I was moving through the requests as quickly as I could manage. If you want to change a course for next semester, stop in and see me - I can't guarantee anything, but I am willing to see what I can do to help you. (If I am not available, you can leave a note with what exactly you were hoping to change and I will try to make the switch if possible.) I know that it tends to create a few moments of panic as you realize that your lunch periods are changing or that you don't think you know anyone in any of your 2nd semester classes, but please try to relax and keep an open mind. As I said, I will do what I can, but most classes are at capacity so it may take patience to see if other people end up dropping courses.

For any seniors, if you have realized that you will not pass a 1st semester class required for graduation, it is essential that you come and talk to me right away so that we can figure out a plan.

For the rest of you, just to give you a quick heads up - at the end of this month we will start with course registrations for NEXT year. My how time flies!

On a totally different, unrelated note- I'm curious, are any of you hoping for a snow day or at least a delay? Maybe it's just me, but I doubt it. :-)

Exams

You don't need to panic about exams, but you do need to prepare for them! As you are aware, we have just 9 days of classes before exams begin. Exams play a significant role in your final grade for the semester of each course (and remember, because we grant credits based on the semester this is really important to you!) Most of your classes will follow the structure that your 1st quarter grades are worth 40% of your final semester grade, the 2nd quarter grade that you are currently wrapping up now will make up another 40% and then your exam grade is worth 20% of your final semester grade.

20% is a really big deal...
Think about it, if you had a 57% the first quarter and end up with a 60% this quarter then you can still pass the class as long as you earn a 66% or higher on the exam. On the other side, if you are trying to make sure that you earn an A in a course and you had a 95% first quarter and an 88% this quarter than you need to earn an 85% or higher on the exam to reach your goal.

Clearly, exams are an important part of your grade, but more importantly, they provide you the opportunity to practice a more realistic glimpse of what testing will be like in college and helps you to showcase your semester's worth of knowledge.

Below is the schedule for the semester exams:

Day One - Tuesday, January 19th:
7:45 - 9:45: 3rd period exam
10:00 - 12:00: 4th period exam
12:00 - 1:00: Lunch
1:00 - 3:00: 7th period exam

Day Two - Wednesday, January 20th:
7:45 - 9:45: 2nd period exam

10:00 - 12:00: 5th period exam

12:00 - 1:00: Lunch

1:00 - 3:00: 8th period exam

Day Three - Thursday, January 21st:
7:45 - 9:45: 1st period exam

10:00 - 12:00: 6th period exam

12:00 - 1:00: NO Lunch Provided!

1:00 - 3:00: Make-Up Exams

A couple of questions that tend to come up at exam time...

Yes, you are REQUIRED and EXPECTED to be in all of your classes during an exam. (Even if you don't have an actual exam, the teachers are going to be working with you on projects, papers, or other learning related to their course.)

No, you do NOT need to be in school during your scheduled lunch period or during your Options or Prep periods. (Which means, for example, that if you have 1st period options and 6th period lunch that you do not have to come to school at all on the 21st.)

Hope that helps clarify and happy studying! :-)

Just Wondering

How many of your thoughts were along these same lines today? :-) See you Tomorrow!

Don't Shoot The Messenger...

Don't shoot the messenger, but... tomorrow is our last day of winter break. :-) I hope that you have enjoyed your time off and used it as a chance to refresh, relax, and feel rejuvinated as we head into the second half of the school year.

I also hope that you have used the time off to catch up on sleep. Today's Columbus Dispatch included an article about the importance of adolescent sleep. If teens do not get enough sleep, then they are at an increased risk for suffering from depression and also at an increased risk of attempting suicide. As always, I would like to remind you that if you are ever having thoughts of suicide, please TALK to me or another trusted and caring adult. In the meantime, get some sleep.

Enjoy your last day of break. I am looking forward to seeing you all on Monday and hearing about your vacations!