End of April

I'm not sure if it is just me, but I cannot believe it is the end of April! This whole school year feels like it has gone by so fast, but in particular the last few months have felt insanely fast.

For those students who were still stressing out about what school to choose before tomorrow's May 1st deadline (and there were lots of you), I hope that you are feeling some sense of peace now that you have made your decision. The Washington Post ran a story, Stressed by choosing a college? Read these tips. Perhaps it is a story that might help you.

One of the issues that has come up recently - both with students trying to make their college decision as well as with students who were trying to identify what schools they want to look at for the future - is the topic of drinking on campus and how much of a "party school" atmosphere various schools may include. This blog post does a great job addressing this topic.

I hope you are having a nice weekend. I am in Kentucky this weekend for my niece's first communion and today was gorgeous! Granted, tomorrow it is supposed to rain, but at least we saw the sun shining for one day. I hope it was nice in Ohio too.

Letter of Intent

Congratulations to Sarah Bechtel who signed her national letter of intent to play basketball at Ohio Christian University. Sarah had her "signing" ceremony after school Tuesday representing an accomplishment that had been years in the making. Sarah was surrounded by her family, coaches, teammates, and friends who attended to show their support and to celebrate this great accomplishment with her. Congratulations Sarah! We are proud of you!

May 1st = Decision Day!

May 1st is the national deadline for all students to notify their colleges of where they will or will not be attending. If you have already made your decision, hopefully you have sent in your deposit and confirmation of attendance. Don't forget that you must also notify the schools where you will not be attending so they can potentially make those slots available for other students.

Unfortunately, for some of you, making the final decision has been a struggle and you still do not have a college identified. Remember, there is no right or wrong choice – it is all about what school is the best fit for you and your individual wants and needs in a college. Try to take a deep breath and relax as we head into the final few days. Trust yourself and know that you will be successful in the future – no matter where you end up!

As you think about your different schools and compare and contrast them, it is essential that you determine what you really want in a school and what is most important to you in a college. If you are still struggling with your choice, then chances are pretty good that the schools that you have narrowed your decision down to are probably relatively similar.

Take the time to go back and look at the same factors you considered when picking which schools you wanted to apply to and try to get really picky about the different factors that played into your choice. Perhaps creating a chart can help you clarify how important each factor is to you and how each school compares in that category. For example, think about the location of the school. How important is that issue to you in picking a college? The schools are likely within your comfort zone of a location from home, but when looking at two colleges consider how far or close they are from your family. What does it mean to you if the school is 10 minutes away, 4 hours away, or a flight away? How important is it to you to be able to come home for an evening, a weekend, or a holiday? You can also look at the size of the school. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the different sizes of schools. For example, the larger school might provide additional choices and the smaller school may provide better teacher/ student ratios. What is more important to you? And if both are important to you then you will need to consider what you will do to adapt to make sure that the school will meet your needs. Consider the social life and activities on and around the campus. Is it what you picture for your college years? Most importantly, you need to figure out what categories and issues are critical to you and compare the school on those aspects.

Think back to your visits on campus. What do you remember about the people and your interactions with the students on campus? Were the students friendlier at one school over the other? What about the professors that you talked to? Were they engaging and whose classes are you most interested in attending? How was school safety? What strategies are in place to help keep students safe? Which campus support staff (admissions, financial aid, etc.) is friendlier and more helpful? (While this is not necessarily a key factor it can give you an image of the school and a glimpse at their values as an academic institution.)

Ask yourself if the school will meet your academic needs, if you will have the social life you desire, and if your family can make the investment. As you are progressing through your decision making process, remember not to be shy about asking questions and getting them answered because you are entitled to feel confident in your decision. This is your choice. You are not a victim in this process – you are the primary active participant! Remember that if you want to stop in and talk about your college decision I am always here for you, but know that I can’t make this decision for you – just like your family and friends can’t make this choice for you. The good news – the stress is almost over and you will be relieved to be able to finally answer the question that everyone asks endlessly of “Where are you going to college?”

School Notes

Tomorrow we are on an 8-minute homeroom bell schedule. (below)

1st period - 7:45 - 8:34
2nd period - 8:39 - 9:28
Homeroom - 9:33 - 9:41
3rd period - 9:46 - 10:35
4th period - 10:40 - 11:29
5th period - 11:34 - 12:23
6th period - 12:28 - 1:17
7th period - 1:22 - 2:11
8th period - 2:16 - 3:05

During the homeroom time freshmen, sophomores and juniors will vote for the 2011 - 2012 Student Body Class President and Class Vice President. 3 of "my" students are among those running for election. Good luck to (alphabetically): Hunter Atha, Grace Barker, and Josh Cook! I'm proud of you for the courage it took for you to run for these class officer positions! Seniors will have a class meeting during the homeroom time.

Seniors, as one other reminder, tomorrow afternoon is also Senior Tea. This is a time when Worthington elementary schools invite their former students back to visit with the teachers and staff. Students and staff both look forward to this event so be sure to bring your parent permission slip signed so that you can be excused to attend.

English 191: Writing About Literature

Yesterday I wrote about the new Credit Flexibility program. Once the state adopted this flexibility for students to be able to earn credit outside of the traditional seat time classes in the high school setting other groups and organizations, including colleges, began discussing opportunities they can make available for high school students. Otterbein University has developed a course for this summer called English 191: Writing About Literature and subtitled Identities of Obedience and Resistance. The course will provide students with intensive experiences of reading literature and writing academic papers like those you will go on to write in college.

This course is open to current juniors who have completed AP Language and Composition or who seek and are granted permission from the professor. The course will meet on Otterbein's campus in the morning from June 13th through July 1st. Tuition for the course is $400 with books costing an estimated additional $75 to 100. Students who successfully complete the course will also earn 5 quarter hours of credit.

The majority of this credit flexibility application has been completed in advance for you and I have copies available in my office if you are interested.

Credit Flexibility

I want to start off with a disclaimer… this post is going to give you a broad overview of Credit Flexibility, but it will, in no way, provide all of the information or details about the Worthington Schools Credit Flexibility program. The entire plan is 27 pages long and can be found here. The development of this plan has taken over a year and there are a lot of different aspects so if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know. If I don’t know the answer I will certainly work to find out for you.

As you know, you must earn credits in order to graduate from high school. Typically, you sit through a semester of classwork taught by a teacher and earn ½ a credit when you pass the class. This traditional format can be called “seat time” credit. The simplest way that I can explain credit flexibility is that it is any other way a student earns high school credit other than the traditional seat time credit option. So, for example, a student can develop an independent study project for credit, a student can demonstrate proficiency of a course material by completing an end of course test, project, or combination of test and project, or a student can elect to complete a course through some other program such as online or through a correspondence course.

Educational Options is the first category for credit flexibility. This would be any student designed project or program to earn credit in some area of interest. The most common way that I see this option being used is with independent study programs. One of the neat aspects of this category is that it does not have to be for a course that is already in existence. So, if a student has a passion for underwater basket-weaving and can demonstrate how he/ she will study and develop this area of learning and how it will meet various learning targets then it could be possible for the student to earn high school credit for this area of study.

Demonstration of Proficiency is the second category for credit flexibility. This is basically a way for students to declare that they already have proficiency or understanding of the course content and objectives and that they will demonstrate that proficiency. Each department was required to go through all of the courses offered and determine if it could be assessed through a one time test, through a test plus some type of performance or if it must be through performance alone. For example, a math course likely falls in the test only category. So, a student who wants to demonstrate that they are proficient in Algebra 2, for example, would complete a credit flex application indicating that he/ she would be demonstrating proficiency in Algebra 2. The tests will then be administered on designated dates during the weeks of August 8th, January 2nd, or June 4th and the student would complete the test on the date he/ she had selected. Whatever grade he/ she earned would be reflected on the student’s transcript. A course that is test plus performance might be a Chemistry class where the student would complete the test for the course, but also have to demonstrate that he/ she had knowledge of how to complete some lab elements fundamental to the course curriculum. A performance only option might be a theater course where the student would perform in various plays and programs and earn his/ her credit in that manner.

The final credit flexibility category is “other.” This is basically all of the other aspects of earning credit that do not fall into one of the first two major categories. Courses that are designed, developed and accredited, but provided by a source outside of the traditional Worthington Schools option would be in the other category. This includes courses that are completed through the GOAL’s program, Post-Secondary Enrollment Options, online courses, and correspondence courses.

If you are interested in completing a course through Credit Flexibility, you must complete an application to have it approved before starting your work. The application is available on the district website.

There are a lot of students for whom credit flexibility will be a great option. Please be cautious though because each attempt you take to complete a course through credit flexibility will be reflected on your transcript. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to stop by and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Thinking about Careers

Choosing what you would like to do for the rest of your life can be pretty overwhelming for most students. The idea that, as a high school student, you are expected to decide what career you will enjoy doing every day can seem scary. One of my students recently described his view of the future as endless 40 hour work weeks and while there is certainly some truth to his statement, the goal is that you will find a career that you love. When you enjoy your job and find it fulfilling and rewarding then every day will give you something meaningful.

As you begin considering what your passions are there is certainly no harm in also keeping in mind where the jobs are and which fields are expected to grow in demand for the future.

The New York Times recently ran a list about careers - Top 10 List: Where the Careers Are

And this article talks about the fact that many colleges are allowing students to customize majors that fit perfectly with their future interests.

It is fun to dream about your future and I hope you will ultimately find a job that is as meaningful to you as my job as a high school counselor is to me!

Procrastination

Do you struggle with procrastination? It is one of the more common problem areas that I hear students battle. Procrastination doesn’t mean you are lazy or incapable, but it does often result in increased stress levels. There are no quick fixes and, as with most things in life, what works for one person will not necessarily work for someone else so it is important to find a strategy that will work effectively for you.

I doubt that any of these suggestions will be ideas that you have never heard of before, but it comes down to deciding that you want to try to make a change. So, reward yourself for progress made because it does take time to improve.

Some ideas to help combat procrastination:

Plan ahead.

Break your big projects, assignments, or responsibilities down into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Commit to spending at least 15 minutes working on something that you have been avoiding.

Remind yourself that there is not going to be a better time – not tomorrow, not next weekend, or next month – something else will always come up that continues to contribute to the procrastination.

Ask for help.

Focus on the desired outcome – rather than your fear or inaction.

Be realistic – most tasks take far longer than you expect.

Minimize Distractions… and take care of whatever is distracting you.

Let go of perfectionism. (And, for those of you who are perfectionists, I know that this is a hard one, but the reality is that many things aren’t worth doing perfectly, so just start and do your best – it will still be better than not doing it at all.)

Recruit a friend to help keep you accountable. (If you tell someone else about your goal or plan to battle your typical procrastination blocks, you are more likely to follow through, but please make sure it is a friend who will help you stay accountable not convince you that it is OK to put off starting your paper for a few more days.)

Do the hard part first… or… do the easy part first. (Whichever is more motivating to you is the one you should choose.)

Keep track of your progress so you don't lose sight of how much you've accomplished.

The bottom line is that if you get it done when you need to instead of procrastinating, you’ll feel better about yourself and have less stress… so get to work. :-)

This article gives additional ideas for tips to beat procrastination.

News and Notes

A couple of quick reminders/ updates for you...

- The Columbus Suburban Multicultural College Fair will be held Wednesday, April 20, 2011, from 7 pm-8:30 pm at the Vineyard Community Center, 6000 Cooper Road, Westerville, OH 43081. There will be a breakout session on "Financial Aid 101" from 7:15-7:45 pm and "NCAA Recruitment Information" from 8-8:30 pm. Over 50 colleges and universities will be present to provide valuable information such as scholarship opportunities, academic support, admission processes and program offerings for multicultural students. Admission is free.

- Report cards were distributed at school on Friday. If you were not at school on Friday or somehow missed your homeroom and therefore didn't have the chance to pick up your report card, please stop by the Counseling Center and see the secretaries who will be able to give you your 3rd quarter report card.

- On Wednesday we will be using the Assembly Bell Schedule. Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors will hear a debate from the candidates for Student Body President and Vice President. Seniors will be hearing a presentation from the OSU Campus Police regarding staying safe at college.

Making Your College Decision

How are you doing with making your college decision? By now all seniors have received the news about whether or not you have been accepted. Receiving news about the decision from the college(s) of your dreams can be extremely stressful. It is rewarding and a weight off when the news is good and you find that the school you were hoping to be able to attend also wants you as a student at their college. But when the news isn't what you had hoped and you find out that you were rejected, it can be disappointing and frustrating. Unfortunately, the reality is that everyone will not be accepted to every single school. You may have been a great candidate and have so much to offer to the college, but it is all a part of the process.

I acknowledge that it is sad when you are rejected and find out that your "dream school" is no longer an option and I am here to listen. I would also like to remind you that life does go on and there are plenty of other great schools that will be thrilled to have you as a member of their incoming class. This Wall Street Journal article highlights some famous people who all have in common the fact that they were rejected by their "dream" school. After allowing themselves time to process through their disappointment, they refocused on making the most of the opportunities available to them at their other college choices and, as a result, today they are all successful. I don't have any magical answers for why one student gets accepted and another seemingly comparable student does not, but I do know that you can and will be successful in the future. Believe in yourself and know that the college where you complete your undergraduate degree will be lucky to have you as a member of their class.

If you are struggling with making your decision between two seemingly equal schools, consider making a pro/con list. I realize that it may sound simplistic, but if you really work through it and figure out what you want in a college and how important each of the different factors are to you, it can help.

Here are some other articles that might be helpful to you as you are weighing your options regarding where you would like to attend:
What students forget to do when picking a college
The college decision from the professors’ perspective
Admission to college, with catch: year's wait
Six keys to starting at community college

As always, please don’t hesitate to stop by and see me if you need someone to listen while you talk through your options and your decision. May 1st (National Decision Day) is quickly approaching! Also, don’t forget, once you decide, I want to know where you plan to attend so stop by to update me on your decision!

April Students of the Month

Yesterday morning 21 WKHS students were honored as April Students of the Month. Students are nominated as students of the month by Kilbourne faculty and staff for their academic achievement, good citizenship, and/or contributions to the school or community. Students can only earn this recognition once in their high school career. A special congratulations to "my" 6 students who were among those recognized. Pictured (L to R): Yumeno Arikawa, Wyatt Allread, Josh Cook, Grace Barker, Shannan Baker, and Coty Beedy. I am very proud of you!

Thank You

I have recently been reminded of the power that a simple thank you holds. When you think about it, a thank you note is a simple enough idea - let someone else know that you appreciate them. I don't know about you, but a lot of times I am terrible at writing thank you notes. It doesn't mean that my gratitude is any less, but... and that is where everything falls apart for me. If I don't express my gratitude to the person who has been a positive influence in my life or who has done something nice for me or gone out of their way to help me, then how do they know how much I appreciate it? See the problem?

And I am pretty confident that many of you face the same problem. So, I want to remind you of the importance of thank you notes. They do not have to be long or flowery - simply thank the person who has helped you. This is especially important for teachers who have written recommendation letters for you. Many people do not realize the time and effort it takes to write a good recommendation letter. If you didn't thank your teachers at the time they wrote your recommendation letter, perhaps now - as you finish your high school journey - is the perfect time! Thank them for their help and support in your college application process. Let them know where you ended up being offered admission and where you have decided to attend and make sure that they know how much you appreciate their help along the way. It won't take you a long time, but it will certainly mean a lot to them.

Please, let me be very clear - I am NOT talking about writing to me! I do NOT need nor am I in any way hinting, asking for, or needing you to write a thank you note to me! I just figured we could all use a reminder in the importance of writing thank you notes and expressing our gratitude for those around us.

And along those lines I would like to thank the WKHS Student Council members for planning and holding the staff appreciation breakfast on Monday morning. Hopefully Mr. King already passed along my gratitude as I did send him a note of appreciation, but I wanted to make sure it was shared with you directly. I would specifically like to thank those of "my" students who were volunteering at Monday's breakfast which included: Hunter Atha, Grace Barker, Keeler Callahan, Carly Cameron, Josh Cook (who also played the piano beautifully), Michelle Ding, Chad Ellwood, and Meredith Schram. (Hopefully I remembered everyone that I saw Monday morning!)

Cut them free

For a while now I have been reminding students individually that as they start narrowing down their college choices that it is important to cut the other schools free. I also mentioned this during today's senior class meeting, but let's be honest, I'm not sure anyone was really listening... so I wanted to remind all seniors that as you begin identifying which college or the few colleges that are still in the running that it is important for you to notify the other colleges that you do not intend to attend their school beginning next year. Please wait to tell the schools that you will not be attending until you are completely sure that you are no longer considering them. However, I realize that many of you have narrowed your choice to a smaller group of colleges and you have completely eliminated others from consideration. Those which have been completely eliminated are the colleges I am recommending you notify as soon as possible. This is important because it allows the college to plan for their upcoming student body and to know if they have room to accept other students off of their wait-lists. Think about your classmates who might be on the waiting list for a school and they want to hear back from the schools as quickly as possible and there are other students across the country in the same situation. Colleges can't begin opening up additional slots until they know which students will or will not be attending. If you received scholarship offers from one of the colleges that you have eliminated from the running, this can also potentially allow the college to offer that money out to other students which, again, can help people such as your fellow classmates. Believe me, the colleges will not be angry with you for deciding that you will not be attending their school - they understand that this is part of the process, so just go ahead and take a few minutes to let them know of your intent to attend a different college.

Diploma Presenters

A reminder to all seniors - if you plan on asking someone to present you with your diploma at graduation - the deadline for submitting your presenter request form to the co-curricular office is this Friday, April 15th.

I love the fact that you all have this opportunity as a way to make graduation an even more memorable experience. If you do not select someone to give you your diploma, an administrator from WKHS or central office or a school board member will present your diploma to you.

Local Scholarship Deadline Reminder

Do you have a lot of homework after your first day back? For the current seniors, even if you don't have official homework, my recommendation is to spend time finishing up your applications for the local scholarships.

Deadline for the local scholarships is the end of the school day on Wednesday, April 13th. Be sure to review your applications and verify that you have all of the required pieces ready to be turned in by Wednesday. Hopefully if you needed recommendation letters for your applications you have already requested those as it will be difficult (if not impossible) for teachers to write letters in one night for you.

4th Quarter Begins

Well, spring break is officially over and tomorrow starts the 4th quarter. I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing break. I am looking forward to seeing you and hearing about your time off so please stop by and update me!

As you start the 4th and final quarter of the year, I wanted to remind you of the opportunity to use this fresh quarter as the chance to start fresh in your classes.

Some strategies for starting fresh:

- Organize your backpack

- Write down every assignment

- Show up to class every day and be on time

- Do your homework on time and bring it to class with you

- Improve your reading habits

- Establish or recommit yourself to a study plan (this is beyond just doing your homework!)

Enjoy your final day of sleeping in for tomorrow's late start day. (Yes, I am jealous! Getting up early again is the only thing I am not looking forward to with going back to school.)

Comparing Financial Aid Offers

Now that all of your college admissions decisions have been received, many families are starting the process of comparing their financial aid letters. I know that it can be a bit confusing and sometimes daunting because of the various terminology. FastWeb has a great resource guide to help students and families evaluate and compare their financial aid letters. The final three pages of the guide are are glossary of terms in case you are struggling to figure out what everything in your financial aid offers mean. If you are interested in learning more about comparing the generosity of various colleges, you might enjoy these two articles: How to Measure a College's Generosity and College Navigator: Checking a college's generosity

SAT Registration Reminder

Just a quick reminder that if you had planned on signing up for the May 7th SAT, the registration deadline is tomorrow (Friday, April 8th). You can sign up to take the test on the SAT website. If testing on May 7th doesn't work for you (it is the morning of prom), you will have another opportunity this spring for the SAT (June 4th) which also happens to be the morning of graduation and the weekend before exams.

Good luck to all of you who will be taking the ACT this weekend! There is also 1 remaining spring ACT test date (June 11th) which is the 1st weekend of your summer break and a few days after you finish exams.

Columbus State/ OSU Partnership

Each year the number of students who graduate from WKHS and proceed to take classes at Columbus State Community College grows. Today the Columbus Dispatch ran an article highlighting a new partnership between OSU and Columbus State which, for students who apply and participate, will guarantee that they can complete their 4-year degree at OSU. Don't misunderstand, students have always had the option of transferring to OSU and the CSCC website lists courses and how they match up, but much of the work was placed on the students to figure out which classes would meet which needs and researching the requirements at both schools. Now, both schools will have advisors to work with the students who are in the program to assist them in making this transfer. If you have considered starting at CSCC and completing your degree at OSU, you will definitely want to read this article.

Massive List of Links

Are you bored? I don't think any of us are very likely to admit to being bored because we are probably all happy to have a little less to do every minute of every day or at least enjoying the opportunity to sleep in each day, but the reality is that about this time in break boredom can start to kick in. In case you are feeling bored, I am updating with a massive list of links to stories that might interest you. I tried to make sure that I found a range of articles so there would be something to apply to students in every grade.

What to do when a college says ‘no’

Secrets to winning a college scholarship

7 tips to get the most out of college tours

Can Facebook hurt my admission chances?

What’s your teenager doing this summer?

Tongue-tied college students (This applies to high school students too!)

Parents too impatient in college search

March ‘College Admissions’ Madness Redux

How to choose a major

The optional interview

10 Tips for Multiple Choice Questions

Study Habit Inventory

Preview and Predict with Subtitles

Are my SAT Scores Good Enough?

If rejected from a college can you appeal?(The short answer to this question is no!)

Think like a college

Why is it important to volunteer?

The Truth about Wait Lists

Online aid for making ‘the decision’ from a college freshman

Advice on ‘the decision’ from the Today show

Multiple Acceptances: How to deal with a win-win situation

Standardized Testing Preparation

50 Best Study Aid Blogs

How Colleges Look at Volunteering

How to write wait-list update letters

What is a gap year and should I consider taking one?

A college’s prestige: Is it worth it?

How to avoid college scholarship and aid scams

Low SAT Scores? What now?

An Insider’s View of the College Admissions Process

Snapshot of One college’s admission process

50 Best Learning Disability Blogs

New Kent State Awards to help defray tuition costs

Should you run for office?

Group Study Ideas

10 Questions to Ask Before Picking a Major

College admissions strategies: Don’t listen to friends and more

Campus visiting season begins at spring break

For seniors, March is most anxious month

How to realistically focus your college search (or don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy and go pre-med)

Seniors to parents: let kids pick their own colleges

Colleges admit freshman for winter term

Deciding on Location and distance from home when applying to college

How to Decide on a College

Accepted, Wait Listed, or Denied – Some helpful articles

Students with Learning Differences: Getting Started with the College Search

The Decision is Here - Now what?

Learning Disabilities and level of services

15 Ways to Boost your confidence at College

Quick Check In

Hello! I hope you are enjoying your spring break. Hard to believe we are nearing the half-way point already. As you might be watching the national championship basketball game tonight, I thought I would pass along this unique way of looking at the two teams (Butler & U. Conn) and their respective schools.