ZAPS ACT Prep Course

At the end of each year we survey the senior students as a way to help evaluate what we are doing and to identify areas that need improvement. Over the last several years we have heard that students would have liked to have more ACT/ SAT preparation options. We have consistently heard from ACT representatives that the best preparation is a rigorous high school curriculum, but we wanted to try to be responsive to the student feedback we have received. As a result, we investigated several test prep course options to try to find one that would work with us on scheduling and would be a cost effective alternative.

We were thrilled to find ZAPS, a test prep company, who has offered to work with our students by providing a course that will span 3 mornings on March 14, 15, and 16 from 7:35 - 9:30am during the late start times during OGT testing.

An informational letter including registration instructions was mailed to the home of all junior students. The cost of this 3-day ACT prep course is $79. If you are interested in participating, please be sure to register as soon as possible to make certain that you don't get closed out of the course.

Columbus State Applications

Are you planning on attending Columbus State Community College next year after you graduate? This is a great option for a lot of students because it allows students to transition from the high school to college expectations in typically smaller classes and for a fraction of the cost. Students attending CSCC have much later deadlines for admission and so it can be easy to procrastinate on completing the application. It is an easy, online application and will not take you long to complete it so I would like to encourage you to apply this week. As a potentially added incentive, students who are interested in applying for one of their academic scholarships must complete the application for admission and the scholarship application by Thursday, March 1st. Additional information about the CSCC academic scholarships can be found on the WKHS Counselors website at http://www.wkhscounselors.com/ in the Scholarship section.

Talent Abounds

Everywhere I look lately I am blown away by the amazing talent of all of my students. In the last week several students have excelled and set themselves apart in impressive ways.


Seussical
Josh Cook was the Cat in the Hat for the musical, Seussical. His ability to transform himself into his part was evident and I was thoroughly entertained by his fun and engaging stage personality. Jordan Birch and Jey Bukkapatnam also excelled in their on-stage performances. Of course, any musical wouldn’t be complete without the musical performers which included Emily Cantrell, Anna Bright, Matthew Cooperman, Arthur Ding, Sayak Das, and Rosalyn Chen. Additionally, behind the scenes, many of my students were working hard to promote and assist with the Seussical production including Robyn Du, Sarah Ahrens, Marino Koyama, Rachel Berg, Ryann Chambers, Jessica Carroll, and Zach Alexander.


Collegiate Volleyball
Today after school Brooke Barney participated in a signing ceremony to indicate her intent to continue her volleyball career at Wittenberg University. Surrounded by her family, friends, teachers and coaches, Brooke expressed her appreciation for the role people have played in supporting her as she reached her athletic goals. Coach Hopkins even read something from Brooke’s future college coach regarding how excited they are to have her joining their team next year. Congratulations Brooke! This is an wonderful moment and a recognition for your years of hard work and dedication to pushing yourself in volleyball and in life.

Athletic Successes
Zach Badowi was one of just 8 Kilbourne athletes to qualify for Districts in wrestling. He has now concluded a very successful high school wrestling career.

Intramural basketball is always a huge hit among WKHS students and this year 3 of “my” students were on the intramural championship team – congratulations to Colin Chancey, Kalen Corcoran, and Yoseph Araya.

Last week I had mentioned that Hunter Atha and Keeler Callahan had both qualified for the state swimming and diving championships. This is a huge accomplishment and both of them did incredibly well. Keeler qualified for finals in both the 100 and 200 freestyle events. Hunter finished 5th in the state and received a medal for his performance.


Mock Trial
The Mock Trial team has had an incredible season and they participated in Regionals on Friday and did so well that they have qualified for States! Manda Cash was awarded with the Best Attorney recognition for the 2nd time and Karam Dhillon was recognized as the Best Witness. Other Mock Trial members vital to the team’s success includes Hannah Vincent and Michelle Ding.


Congratulations to all of you for your accomplishments!

PSEO Program

The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program is an opportunity for high school students to take college courses while still enrolled in high school. There are two alternatives for the PSEO program.

Option A is when students take courses at any college of their choice and pay for the courses on their own (often at a discounted rate) and are able to earn the credit for college credit only.

Option B is available in Central Ohio at Columbus State Community College, the Ohio State University, and Franklin University and is paid for by the school district. Students who participate in this option earn both high school and college credit.

There are a lot of details involved in participating in the PSEO program and it is not meant to replace or substitute for coursework available at the high school, but rather to enhance the educational opportunities available. Students must complete the paperwork by March 30th to indicate their intent to participate in the PSEO program in the following school year.

In order to explain all of the details of the program and to provide you with the forms necessary, all students and parents interested in participating in this program should attend the PSEO Information night on Thursday, March 1st at 7:30pm in the WKHS auditorium.

Interim Reports

Third quarter interims are available today. You may access your interim grades by logging into eSembler. Should you have questions regarding your interim grades, please talk to your teacher.
Also, a reminder, Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Monday, February 27th from 5:00-8:40 and Thursday, March 1st from 5:00-8:40. There is no school Friday, March 2nd! :-) If your parents would like to schedule a parent/ teacher conference appointment, they will also be able to do this directly from the portal. (I wrote additional details about conferences a few days ago.)

Junior College Prep Night

On Wednesday, March 14th the WKHS Counseling department will be hosting a Junior Student and Parent College Information Night. Over the last few years, this program has received the best feedback out of all of the information nights we host. The students and parents who attended this meeting in the past have expressed how much this helped them get started and move forward with the college search process and developed a better understanding of what to expect along the way. The meeting is at 7:00pm in the auditorium. I hope you will plan to attend! And yes, I want you to bring your parents to this meeting and no, I don't want you to just send your parents instead... this is YOUR future and you are responsible for deciding what direction you will take.

Please note, this date was changed after some of you received your junior meeting handout due to conflicts with other school events.

Also, I wanted to let you know that tomorrow we will be on a modified bell schedule with the student/ staff basketball game at the end of the day. Check the WKHS website for details regarding tomorrow's bell schedule.

Good Luck at States!

The State Swimming and Diving Championships are being held tomorrow through Saturday in Canton, Ohio and two WKHS students, Hunter Atha and Keeler Callahan qualified!

During this past weekend's District meet, Keeler qualified in both the 100 and 200 freestyle events! Hunter was the Central District Champion and will be competing in diving. Congratulations Keeler and Hunter on qualifying for states! This is both Keeler and Hunter's 3rd trip to States. I am so proud of you both and wish you the best of luck at states!

Course Adjustment Deadline

This week is the last chance for students to change a class from conventional grading (A, B, C, etc.) to Pass/ Fail grading! The forms are on the bookshelf in the counseling center and require a parent signature. If you plan to switch a class to pass/ fail, please be sure to pick up a form and return it before the end of the day on February 28th.

February 28th is also the last day that students can drop a class without receiving an F on their transcript. And yes, it is too late to add a class. Sorry.

Trip to Michigan

Recently, as I was meeting with my junior students and parents I mentioned that I would try to balance out the blog posts with different updates about information related to school and would, at times, share information about me in an effort to allow my students the chance to get to know me better just as I ask you to allow me to do with each of you. As a result I wanted to share about the trip I took last weekend with my family to Michigan. This weekend getaway was a Christmas present from my parents and we had a great time together. When I was packing, I asked my mom if they had any snow in Michigan. She said no and she was right - there was no snow on the ground when we arrived. It started snowing a little bit about the time that we arrived in town. The next morning when we woke up and looked outside, this is what we saw!Obviously the weather predictions were wrong! We had declined the option of putting my car in a garage since they were calling for just an inch or two of snow... big mistake since my car was buried! :-) The snow came up to my knees and it was the most snow that my niece, nephew, and brother-in-law had ever seen at one time. We were all really excited and I felt like such a kid again with the desire to go sledding. Unfortunately, there was so much snow and it was so fluffy that it made sledding difficult - plus it was frigid outside!

The whole reason we had gone to Michigan for this weekend was to enjoy the ice sculpture festival that they hold and we did brave walking around very briefly (again it was beyond freezing!!) to see some of the ice sculptures. They were incredible! The pictures don't do the sculptures justice but it was too cold to worry about trying to get a good picture. You can see how massive the sculptures were by looking at my niece in front of the helicopter in the picture below.

My mom said that she had been hoping it would be a memorable trip and that we would all have a good time and that was definitely the case.

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

Parent/ Teacher conferences will be held on the evenings of Monday, February 27 and Thursday, March 1. Once again, parents will be able to sign up for conference appointments usng the online system.

To access the system, visit the portal at http://www.worthington-portal.org/ and log in using the same parent e-mail address and password that is used to access grades through e-Sembler. Click on menu, go up to “My Account” and then “Child Records Access.” Select the high school student you wish to schedule and under applications, choose student options and press the “Launch” button. You will then click on “Schedule Teacher Conference.”Select the day you wish to schedule the conference. (Active tab is white.) The day you are scheduling is listed about the course names. All available times have a button in the time slot which will allow you to select it. Select the time by course and teacher that you wish to schedule and click the “Schedule Teacher Conference” tab.

Your scheduled conferences will appear in a list below. You will also have the option of deleting or printing your conferences. I strongly recommend printing off the list so that you will know what room and which teachers you will be going to meet with at which particular times.

I realize that the directions sound confusing, but having seen the system, I promise you that it is not nearly as confusing as it sounds. Conference times are available on a first-come, first-serve basis so I strongly encourage you to log in and schedule your appointments as soon as possible.

If you do not have a valid e-mail address, please call the school at 450-6400 for assistance. If you cannot recall your password to access the system, please go to the portal and click the “Request Password” option in the bottom left of the log in screen. Your password will be emailed to you from Computer Services within the hour if the e-mail you submit matches the email in the student’s profile.

Honors Diploma

For some students, earning an Honors Diploma is an important goal. I have to be honest, this isn't a factor for the colleges because the honors diploma recognition isn't granted until you graduate so colleges are not considering it when making their admissions decisions. The requirements for the honors diploma listed below are established by the state department of education.

To receive an honors diploma you need to fulfill 7 of the following 8 criteria:
- English: 4 units
- Math: 4 units (including Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 or equivalent and another higher level course or a four-year sequence of courses that contain equivalent content)
- Science: 4 units (including Physics and Chemistry)
- Social Studies: 4 units
- Foreign Language: 3 units (including at least 2 units in each language studied)
- Fine Arts: 1 unit
- Grade Point Average: 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
- ACT/ SAT Score (excluding scores from the writing sections): 27 ACT/ 1210 SAT

One of the areas that I have noticed some students falling short in is the science area. This is because some students have decided to take a different AP Science course instead of taking physics. The other area where students frequently don't meet the designated standard is with the 4 credits of Social Studies since only 3 credits are required. Don't forget, it would still be possible to earn an honors diploma if you were missing one of these, but you will need to make sure you fulfill all of the remaining criterion.

Academic Assistants

As you are aware, in Room 209, the Teaching and Learning Center, there are Academic Assistants who are available to work with students free of charge. There are 4 academic assistants who work in each of the core content areas - English, Math, Science, and Social Studies - that are available all day long to help students.

I wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that the new Social Studies Academic Assistant has started and she is enjoying the opportunity to get to know the students. Mrs. Carrier, a graduate of the Ohio State University, is the new Academic Assistant. If you haven't had the opportunity to meet her yet, please stop by and help welcome her to Kilbourne!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had a great day today - a day dedicated to celebrating love and those who mean the most to you. My day was busy with non-stop Junior meetings, but I appreciate all of the students and parents who spent time meeting with me today.

I love the traditions at WKHS which includes the King and Queen of Hearts. As you are aware, at Saturday night's Valentine's Dance, the King and Queen of Hearts were announced. In order to be crowned the King and Queen of Hearts, the nominated students spent the last few weeks raising money for the winter charity (Susan Komen Breast Cancer Fund). 4 of "my" students were among the group working to raise money as King and Queen of Heart candidates - congratulations to (alphabetically): Hunter Atha, Grace Barker, Nick Bortolani, and Carly Cameron! The male and female students who ultimately raised the most money were Hunter Atha and Grace Barker and they were crowned as the King and Queen of Hearts, but even more importantly is the fact that the community charity was the biggest winner of all! Thanks to all of the students who helped to donate money for this cause.

February Socratic Society

Congratulations to the students who were inducted to the Socratic Society this month. The Socratic Society is intended to recognize students for outstanding commitment to one or more of the Socratic principles - lifelong learning, integrity, compassion, scholarship, and personal effort. It is an honor that can only be received once during a student’s high school career. I was very proud to watch as 16 of "my" students were inducted into the Socratic Society during the ceremony.“My” students honored included (Left to Right): Front- Omar Alzaghameem, David Doss, Sean Baumgardner, Kevin Doerr and Nick Bortolani and Back – Kelly Bartholomew, Lauren Barnhart, Rachel Berg, Natalie Berg, Gabrielle Dendinger and Anna Bright. Not pictured: Trent Angles, Austin Cannon, Elizabeth Cherry, Corey Dailey and Perry Dilley.

Congratulations to every individual recognized and thank you for the impressive way you carry yourselves each day!

Gap Year

Have you heard of Gap Years? Without question, the majority of WKHS students move straight from high school to college, but this is not always the best option for every student. In the past few years I have had several students who elected to take a gap year which is a year off between high school and college. The one point that I would like to make though is that a gap year is not just hanging out at home, living in your parents basement, playing video games for a year. Students pursue lots of different options during gap years and colleges recognize that gap years can be a valuable opportunity for students to gain perspective, personal insight, and re-energize their love of learning before beginning their college careers.

Sometimes students elect to take a gap year if they haven't been accepted to a college where they feel like they will be happy to attend. In these instances students may decide to take a gap year and hope that their experiences during their gap year will enhance their applications for the following year when they apply the following year.

Other times, and perhaps even more frequently for Kilbourne students, is that students will still complete their applications during their senior year and then defer their acceptances for a year. If you are interested in pursuing a gap year opportunity, talk to your college admissions office to confirm if they will defer your enrollment date by a year (or a semester if you are taking a shorter time off between high school and college).

Want to learn more about gap year programs and opportunities? Check out these articles:

The Gap Year: Breaking up the “cradle to college to cubicle to cemetery” cycle

How a gap year can change a life

Gap year quick facts

From the Mail Bag: On Taking a Gap Year

As January 1 Application Deadline Nears, an Argument for a Yearlong Breather

Gap Year Fairs

A Season of Choice: Consider a Gap Year

Building the components of a gap year

Gap year popularity: an international trend reflecting in the US

Scholarships

As you are working on completing your financial aid paperwork it is only natural that your thoughts will turn to the overwhelming costs associated with attending college. Right about now, many seniors are so relieved to finally be done with their college applications that it can be hard to get motivated to complete scholarship applications. Several years ago I remember one student who complained all the way through his scholarship application and he ended up getting it done and submitted within hours of the deadline. As it turned out, he ended up receiving the scholarship and it was a significant scholarship (although, for the record, I believe that any scholarship received is significant as it is money that you do not have to pay on your own). Looking back, this student shared that he couldn't imagine earning that amount of money for just a couple of hours of work to complete the scholarship application.

I tell you this story to try to remind you that while I understand it can be hard to stay motivated to complete scholarship applications when only one or perhaps a handful of students will receive the scholarship award, it will be worth it if you receive a scholarship.

I also need to clarify that most money does end up coming directly from your colleges, but there are so many other places to look for scholarships and you should consider all of the options to try to help make your college experience even a little more affordable. For example, do your parent's employers offer scholarships for dependent children? What about your place of worship? If you volunteer for an organization, do they offer scholarships for their student volunteers? There are also countless scholarship search websites where you can complete personalized searches for other qualities and characteristics that would be ideal for you. If you want to see some of these sites, please check out the WKHS Counselors website at http://www.wkhscounselors.com/.

Here are some other specific scholarships that might interest you:

8 Things you need to Know about Private Scholarships

15 Scholarships with February Deadlines

Check your church for scholarship dollars

Corporate Scholarships and the Benefits of Community Service

College money available for immigrants

Scholarships that help students who have lost a parent

Additionally, here are some scholarship related articles that I think you might find useful and helpful:

Get Organized for College Scholarship Application Season

Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Scholarship Seekers

College Goal Sunday

Don't forget that deadlines are real - especially regarding college applications and scholarship/ financial aid deadlines. Most schools have FAFSA deadlines of February 15 to March 1st. Be sure to check with your college(s) of choice to make sure that you submit your FAFSA before their deadline.

I also wanted to be sure that all of my seniors (and your parents) were aware of an event called College Goal Sunday. This is a free workshop where you will have expert help from Ohio college financial aid representatives to complete and submit your FAFSA forms. Ohio College Goal Sunday is held across the nation this coming Sunday, February 12th. Sign in starts at 1:30 and the workshop begins at 2:00. There are three locations in Franklin County - DeVry University, OSU, and Ohio Dominican University. It is also being held in Delaware County at the Columbus State Delaware Campus. You will be working on the computers and completing the actual online FAFSA forms during these workshops.

It is necessary to register in advance!

The list of materials you should bring with you include: Your IRS 1040 tax return and W-2’s, your parent’s IRS 1040 tax return and W-2’s, your social security card and driver’s license, and any other benefit and income information.

A Busy Time of Year

In some ways it is funny, but I tend to find myself saying, "Oh, this is just a busy time of year" frequently throughout the year. College application season = busy time of year, beginning and end of a semester = busy time of year, and right now with the registration process is without a doubt another busy time of year. :-) I appreciate all of your patience as I know that it can be difficult when I am not available when you stop by my office.

I wanted to give you all a heads up about my availability over the next few weeks because it will be limited due to all of the registration related meetings.

This week, I am around tomorrow to meet with you, but the will be unavailable for the rest of the week. Next week I will have a few random class periods of availability on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but the majority of the week will be filled with junior meetings.

If you have an urgent need, please leave me a note and I will try to find you between all of the registration appointments.

Online Registration

Have you registered online?

Remember, all students currently in grades 9, 10, or 11 need to use the online registration system to select the classes you would like to take next year by the end of the day tomorrow!

Hopefully by now you have discussed your course selections with your teachers and received their recommendations and have talked about your course options with your parents. For those of you who have lost your online registration directions, here is a quick reminder. You will register on the portal at http://www.worthington-portal.org/ and it will prompt you for your username and password which you should know from school. You will find the area to indicate your course selection under "My Requests." If you have any problems, using the online registration system, please stop in and let me or one of the counseling center secretaries know so that we can try to fix it.

Remember, your math teachers have already indicated the math course that they are recommending for you to take next year online, so you will not be adding a math class. Also, as you are completing your online registration, don't forget that you can leave me a note in the request comments section. If you have changed your mind about a class that you already selected when completing your registration, simply log back in before the end fo the day tomorrow and make your changes. After tomorrow your course requests will be locked and you will not be able to log back in to change your classes on your own.

Don't forget to save your signed course recommendation forms! You *MUST* turn those in during your meeting with me! Freshmen will meet with me during English classes on Wednesday, February 8th, Sophomores will meet with me during US History classes on Thursday, February 9th, and Juniors will meet with me during your individually scheduled appointments. (You will receive your appointment slips later this week so please don't lose your appointment slips since they are your only reminder and your pass if you need to leave class.)

New Classes

Have submitted your online registrations for next year yet? Don't forget, you must have your course selection entered into the system by Monday!

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the new courses that will be offered next year:

- The IB program will feature the most new courses since it is an entirely new program. If you are interested in participating in the IB program - either for just a few courses or for the entire formal program, please be sure that you stop by and see Mr. Jordan or send him an e-mail to indicate your interest.


- Economics and Financial Literacy: This course will meet the Social Studies elective requirement and will provide a solid introduction into economic principles and managing your personal finances.

- CADD: This is a semester long technology course that stands for Computer Aided Drafting and Design and it is a class where students will learn design principles and skills on the computer.

- Flex and Tone: This is a new course from the Wellness/ PE department and is another option for the junior level PE requirement.

- Introduction to Business was formerly called College Prep Business and provides a great overview of the business principles and is ideal for any students considering a future business major.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Finding Balance

When you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be realistic about your expectations of yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle. So while it may be an honor to have every teacher recommend you for AP classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with all AP classes. If you are struggling to find that balance, please talk to your parents about the classes you are considering and stop down to see me so that we can discuss it.

Co-Curricular Eligibility

As you select your courses online, please be sure that you double check and make sure you are taking enough classes to be eligible to participate in athletics and other co-curricular activities. (Remember, any school sponsored activity that involves competition requires you to be eligible. So this includes band, choir groups, Mock Trial, In the Know, Dance Team, etc.)

In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter. If you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life (formerly Phys Ed) course, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.

If you have co-curricular eligibility questions, please stop by the Co-Curricular office or drop by to see me.