Report Cards and Go CATS!

I wanted to make sure that you were aware that report cards for the 3rd grading period are available e-Sembler for students and parents to access and print. Remember, you have 9 weeks left plus exams. Most classes function on a 40/40/20 principle which means that 40% of your grade is now finished, but you still have 60% remaining. Every point matters - so do your best to finish the school year strong.

Switching topics completely... As you are probably aware, today are the NCAA Final Four basketball games. Some students know that I attended the University of Kentucky for my undergraduate degree. UK's in-state rival is the University of Louisville which is who UK will take on in today's game. Needless to say, I am definitely going to be watching the game and cheering for a UK victory. Go Cats!

Spring Break

We are officially on Spring Break! I hope that you have a wonderful and relaxing break.

Good luck to the Wind Ensemble students who will be performing at Carnegie Hall! That will be an incredible treat and is quite an honor.

Good luck also to all of the athletic teams who will be competing over the break.

My plan is to continue updating my blog a few times over break, but I hope you have a great break and I will look forward to seeing you on the 9th! Please be safe during spring break!

"Say Cheese!"

With spring break nearly here, I wanted to remind everyone that if you are going to be out on college campuses - for formal tours, to visit friends or simply on vacation - please Take A Picture! The picture can be of you anywhere on campus... a pretty area, a building where you might spend a lot of time in the future, or (as most of the pictures on my "Oh the Places You'll Go" wall show) in front of a college sign. Enjoy your visit, make a few notes about what you think of each school, and when we are back in school I will look forward to seeing your picture and hearing about your visits!

Admissions Decisions

This is a big week for college admissions decisions. Most of the schools that have yet to announce their decisions will be releasing them over the next few days. The stress and agony of waiting for the final release of college decisions can feel brutal. Many of my students are breathing a sigh of relief and others are more nervous than ever as each decision is released. Try to take a deep breath and relax – remember, you have worked hard to put yourself in the best situation possible with your applications. If you are stressing out awaiting the news, feel free to stop in and see me so we can talk about it.

I also wanted to give you a heads up that I will be out of the building tomorrow morning for a meeting at central office, but will be back in the afternoon.

Take a Moment

Tomorrow morning you have a late start (1st period starts at 9:10) which is a nice way to ease into the final 5 days before spring break. I hope that you will consider to use some of that time to take a moment and reflect personally and academically on where you are, where you want to be and what you need to do to achieve your goals. Tomorrow begins the 4th quarter. (Hard to believe how quickly the year is flying past!) We have already been fortunate enough to enjoy beautiful weather and some students have found it hard to focus on school when they simply want to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. I understand that, but if this is an issue for you it is important to remember that as we run full speed into spring the beautiful weather will only continue. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't want you to enjoy each day, but I do hope that you are keeping in mind how your actions today will influence you tomorrow and in the future.

Enjoy sleeping in tomorrow!

Upcoming Deadlines

This coming week there are a few key deadlines that I wanted to make sure all students and parents are aware of:

- Wednesday, March 28th is the deadline for students to register to take an Advanced Placement (AP) exam. The cost to take the AP test this year is $95. Please note that all registration materials (forms and payment) must be received at the Worthington Education Center by March 28th.

- Friday, March 30th is the deadline for students to submit their paperwork to indicate their intent to apply for and participate in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program. You will turn these forms in to me.

If you have any questions about these upcoming deadlines, please stop by and see me.

Did you get accepted?

The approach to April 1st tends to bring increased anxiety for seniors who are still awaiting their college admissions decisions. Getting the decision can be hard enough, but often the more difficult aspect is being asked, “Did you get accepted?” by well-meaning friends. Trust me on this one, if they were accepted, the students would be telling everyone – you won’t need to ask. If they don’t offer up the news sharing if they were accepted or not, then be sensitive to the fact that more than likely they did not get accepted and don’t ask about it as it puts them on the spot to share disappointing news.

I also want to remind the seniors that we try to keep track of all of the college admissions decisions as that helps us understand current trends in admissions. I would really appreciate it if you'd stop by and update me as you receive your college admission decisions.

Scholarships

In addition to the local scholarships that I wrote about earlier this month, there are scholarships that are available at the community, state, or even national level. You can always start with a general search, but there are also many scholarship search engines that you can use as a resource. With so many different scholarships, it can feel a bit daunting, but remember, if you are able to earn one of the scholarships, your time would certainly be worth the effort.

Here are a few of the scholarship search sites that might help you:

http://www.fastweb.com/
http://www.collegeboard.com/
http://www.collegenet.com/
http://www.scholarships.com/
http://www.scholarshipmonkey.com/


Yesterday I mentioned that you should never pay for a scholarship and that is advice worth repeating again. Remember, scholarships should be giving YOU money, not the other way around.

Financial Aid

Paying for College is expensive! There is no question that higher education costs add up quickly and it can be confusing to try to figure out what all of the different terms related to financial aid really mean - especially when the economy is struggling. Because many of you are starting to receive your formal financial aid offers from colleges I thought a brief overview might help give you an idea of what you might see/ hear when you are looking at your options.

There are two broad categories of financial aid – Merit Based aid and Need Based aid.

Merit Based aid is what you think of when you think “Scholarships.” These are usually awarded to students based on academic achievements, leadership, athletics, special talents such as art or music, volunteerism, or other personal qualities that set you apart. These scholarships do not consider financial need. A significant portion of all merit-based aid comes directly from the college/ university. Some schools may require additional scholarship applications, essays, interviews, and many colleges will have earlier deadlines to be considered for their scholarships. It can be helpful to know that a lot of times the smaller, private colleges will have more money available for scholarships in order to help make attending their school competitive with the lower costs of the public colleges. Please also remember that we have some scholarship offerings available on the WKHS Counselors website. It is important to keep an eye out for unique scholarships that might apply to your personal situation. In the past I had a student who was able to qualify for an Italian heritage scholarship. Perhaps one of your grandparents won a purple heart or maybe you have time to write an essay for one of the other scholarship competitions… no matter what the situation, if you find a scholarship that you meet the criteria for go ahead and apply – you might be pleasantly surprised at the result and if you don’t, the answer is definitely a “no.”

Need Based aid is what you will sometimes hear people refer to as “Financial Aid” even though both Merit Based and Need Based aid technically fall under that one category. There are a variety of different Need Based aid programs. Grants are considered gift assistance – they give you money and you do not have to pay it back. Loans which can come from a wide variety of sources – the federal government, the college, and private banks is money that you are required to pay back. Work Study programs are on campus job opportunities that the government helps find that allows you to earn money for college through working on campus. The big difference between Merit Based and Need Based aid is that Need Based aid is that the type and amount of Need Based aid you will receive depends upon the amount of financial need you have.

And, yes, just to add to the confusion – there are some scholarships that will consider financial need as a criterion. They are still awarding the scholarship based upon some specific aspect of who you are it is just allowing them to narrow down the potential applicant pool.

One last important reminder - NEVER pay to be considered for a scholarship! That is a scam. Don't waste your money!

If you have any questions you can always call the financial aid offices of the schools where you are applying as they are true experts in the field. I am also happy to try to help in any way that I can.

Picking a College

For seniors, the countdown to final decision time for picking the college of your dreams is rapidly approaching. For juniors, you are beginning your search and trying to determine which schools you can imagine in your future.

There are so many resources available to review and consider to aid you in making your decision. Campus visits, reviewing the college websites and meetings with admissions representatives when they visit Kilbourne are all great strategies for learning more about the college and finding the school that is the best match for you. I want to remind you that there are also a wealth of information and resources available in my office that you are welcome to come in and read to help you in making your choice. There are books that give perspectives of different colleges based upon the responses current college students have provided in surveys about school, others that rank selectivity of schools based upon majors, and others that provide insight about the schools from expert researchers. I know that this process can be stressful and overwhelming, but hopefully you are also finding it fun and exciting. As always, let me know how I can help you sort out your options.

"Senior Survivors"

Last night was the Junior Student and Parent College Information Night. The focus of the evening was a panel presentation by senior students who have survived their senior year and are nearing the end of their high school career. The students shared about their experiences in college applications and successfully navigating the adventures of senior year. I was impressed with the information and insight shared by the student panelists. The participants did an outstanding job giving honest viewpoints about the upcoming year for the juniors and their parents.
A very special thank you to (left to right) Kenzie Haines, Meredith Ulle, Riley Brehm, Brad Friedman, Michelle Endsley, and Ally Good for their participation on the "Senior Survivor" panel. These students represented a variety of different college choices - different sizes of schools in different areas of the country. More importantly, though, they represented WKHS in a poised and helpful manner.

I was also excited to see so many of "my" juniors in the audience along with your parents. Hopefully you were able to gain helpful insight from those who have walked this path and you now feel ready and excited to take on your senior year. Remember, I am always here to help you in any way that I can because I care a great deal about you and your experience along the “senior year journey.”

One last final thanks to Riley for helping with the presentation. I appreciate your help more than you know!

Helping a Grieving Friend

It has been a tough time for the students at WKHS. As the school has tried to come to terms with the death of Nick Trebonik, there were so many kids struggling to figure out not only how to deal with their own sadness and grief, but also trying to figure out how they could help support their friends. The reality is that the people around us have to deal with the death of family members, friends or acquantances all year long and not just this week as we focus on Nick's death so I thought it might be appropriate to provide some general ideas about how you can help a grieving friend.

When faced with the news that someone you know has died there are a range of emotions and experiences. If it is a person very close to you, it can be a struggle just putting one foot in front of the next. If you are a friend of the person grieving it can be a time when you feel helpless because the reality is that you cannot take away the hurt and sadness for your friend, but you can help!

- Listen! I know it may not feel like much, but that is often what your friend will need the most.
- Say the name of the person who died – don’t be afraid to use their name. Some people worry that if they bring up their name that it would bring up their pain. The reality is that the pain and sadness are always there, but by using the name of the person who died you give your friend permission to talk about him/ her. If you knew the person who died, share some stories or memories you had of him/ her.

- Remember that everyone grieves differently. There is no right or wrong way and no timeline for when they will be “over” their loved ones death. Actually, I don’t think you ever get “over” a death, but you do develop a new sense of “normal” which is far different than the old “normal” (that they would really like to have back.) Remember that it is OK to cry and show emotion.

- Try to remain focused on your friend and their needs. Avoid statements like “I know how you feel” or making comparisons between your past experiences and their present grief. This can be a slippery slope as you may soon be talking all about your past experiences rather than focusing on your friend and how he/ she is doing.

- Be normal. Your friend is still your friend. While in some ways everything in their live feels like it has turned upside down, he/ she is still the same person they were before and will still look for opportunities to be and enjoy their normal activities of the past. Your friend might want to try to return as many things to normal as quickly as possible and that is certainly OK. You do not have to sit around and just be sad. Look to your friend for cues.

- Be realistic with yourself. You know what you can and cannot handle. If it simply too challenging/ emotional for you, particularly because of your past experiences, accept that and do not blame yourself.

- Be there for your friend over time. It is easy to forget that life has changed for your friend forever. Continue to provide him/ her with support over time. This can be by listening and talking, writing a card or note, or other helpful positive outreach days, weeks, or even months from now.

These ideas are in no way a complete list of ideas that you can do to try to help your grieving friend. It is also important that you allow yourself to grieve if this is someone that was important to you! Remember, if you or your friend are struggling with your grief it is important to make sure to communicate with a trusted adult. I hope that you also know that I am here to help now and in the future.

Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT's)

This week the Sophomores will be taking the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT's). Each day will feature a different test -Monday is Reading, Tuesday is Math, Wednesday is Writing, Thursday is Science, and Friday is Social Studies.

I cannot stress the importance of EVERY sophomore student attending school all five days to complete the tests. If you are too sick to make it to school you will have to take the test during the following week which is not as ideal of a testing environment.

Freshman, Juniors, and Seniors are probably looking forward to OGT week because they have the special added treat of a few extra hours of sleep. :-) The busses are running twice next week in order to make sure that the Sophomores are able to arrive at school in time for their tests and also for everyone else to come to school after the extra time sleeping in each morning. Classes for the week will only be 35 minutes long so the week should go past pretty quickly for you.

For your information below is the daily bell schedule for this coming week:
OGT Tests: 7:45 - 9:35
1st Period: 9:50 - 10:25
2nd Period: 10:30 - 11:05
3rd Period: 11:10 - 11:45
4th Period: 11:50 - 12:25
5th Period: 12:30 - 1:05
6th Period: 1:10 - 1:45
7th Period: 1:50 - 2:25
8th Period: 2:30 - 3:05

Also, juniors, don't forget, if you are interested in taking the ZAPS ACT prep class, please make sure you register online at http://www.zaps.com/ as soon as possible.
Good luck on the OGT's!

The Scheduling Process

It has occured to me (through many of your questions) that most students don't really know or understand how the schedule is ultimately created. I thought it might be helpful if I give you a quick overview of the scheduling process. (I am saying quick because it is actually boring and is known to cause massive headaches for those trying to put it all together and make it work for every student.)

After all of you entered your registration requests in the computer system, I started the process of meeting with you and reviewing your course selections. I would like to thank all of the students who came to the meetings prepared with your completed forms. I also want to thank all of the juniors and junior parents who made the time to come in and meet with me. I really enjoyed it and have been thrilled with all the "repeat" visits from the junior students since our meetings. All of the course requests are now finalized and were officially given to the administration as the "final" registration requests.

The administration (principal and assistant principals) will look at the numbers for all of the courses selected to determine what, if any, courses do not have enough students signed up to be able to offer the class. After they figure this out they will provide that information back to the counselors with a list of students impacted and we will then work with those students and their alternates list to find a suitable replacement course.

The administrators will also begin working to determine the total number of sections of each class (for example English 1's) needed to meet the demand. They will then work with computer services to create a schedule that will create the smallest number of conflicts possible. This is a MUCH bigger challenge than most people would imagine. For example, if a class like AP Computer Science is only offered 1 time in the day, then they have to figure out what students want to take that class and try to make sure that the time of day selected to offer the course will not conflict with any other classes - especially any other classes that are only offered once in a day (like Band, Choir, or AP Foreign Languages).

Eventually they will create a schedule and "lock" it in place. When that happens they will then come back to the counselors with a list of all of the kids with conflicts in their schedules. In some cases, we are able to make minor adjustments - move a few classes around and make the schedule work. In other instances, we will have to work with the student to make tough decisions about what classes they do or do not want to take and use the alternates to find other courses that would work and still meet requirements toward graduation.

And that's it - we will ultimately get the schedule set just how we want it and hopefully all of you will pass all of your classes 2nd semester so that we don't have to go back and add anything into your schedule or change classes that you no longer meet the pre-requisites for, but all of those types of changes will happen after the final grades are submitted in June.

I hope that helps you to understand what is going on with the scheduling and registration process. It is a long and tedious process and I appreciate your patience.

Good Luck at States!

Today the Mock Trial Team will participate in the State Tournament competition. 4 of my students are among the team members including Hannah Vincent, Manda Cash, Karam Dhillon, and Michelle Ding. You have been working so hard to memorize and focus on perfecting even the smallest details for your competition. All of your hard work will be worth it and so I wish you all the best of luck as you demonstrate the commitment and dedication that you have been putting in this year! Good luck!

Academic Honors Night

Congratulations to all of the students who were honored at tonight's Academic Honors ceremony. As a component of the award ceremony, students are presented with gold, silver, and bronze keys in recognition of their achievements in academic excellence.

Gold keys are awarded to students who have earned a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher at the end of 7 full semesters. 27 of "my" students were among tonight's gold key recipients.

Silver keys are awarded to students with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA at the end of 5 full semesters. 17 of "my" students received silver keys tonight.

Bronze Keys are awarded to students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of 3 full semesters. 23 of "my" students were presented with bronze keys.

Congratulations to each of you for your academic commitments and achievements!

ACT Registration Deadline

Juniors, as we talked about during your 1:1 meetings, this spring is your ideal time to take the ACT and/or the SAT college admissions tests. The deadline to register for the April 14th test date for the ACT (without having to incur late fees) is this Friday, March 9th.

Also, don't forget, if you were interested in participating in the ZAPS ACT Prep Course, you need to register online at http://www.zaps.com/. I have had several parents mention that the ZAPS ACT Prep class is listed online as being 2 days long instead of being 3 days long and that is because ZAPS worked with us to specifically design a 3-day course that would work during the OGT late start mornings and since this is not a normal set-up for them, their website isn't capable of showing it as a 3-day class. So, when you sign up for the class, there is a note that mentions it is for all 3 days, but it will only confirm you as taking a 2-day class. Don't worry, it is still the right class.

Local Scholarships

All of the parents of seniors should have received an e-mail today highlighting the local scholarship opportunities. If you didn't get the e-mail, please go to the Kilbourne Counselor website at www.wkhscounselors.com and scroll down to click on the link for local scholarships. These scholarships provide a great opportunity for students to earn some additional financial help for college. And, with the scholarships being local, it means that there would be less people applying for the scholarships (compared to national scholarships) which gives you a better chance of receiving one of the scholarships.

Please take the time to carefully read through the criteria for the scholarships to see which ones would be appropriate for you to apply for and then start working. When you go to the WKHS Counselors website and click on the local scholarships area (bottom of the home page) you will be taken to the listing of all of the scholarships and it has the links to each scholarship application.

Most of the deadlines for completed applications is the end of the school day on April 12th and no late applications can be accepted. I cannot stress enough the importance of planning ahead and starting to work on these scholarships now!

Also, please pay attention to see if the applications require a written recommendation letter and ask your teacher(s) for a letter as soon as possible - especially if they have not already written a rec letter that they can use for the scholarships.

Also, don't forget that a complete list of all the other scholarships that we are aware of are featured on the Kilbourne Counselor website in the scholarship area (at the top).

Summer School

Information about summer school was distributed along with the rest of your registration materials. I know that a lot of students have indicated that they intend to take a class in summer school, but as we met to review your courses, many students were uncertain if they had actually signed up yet. I wanted to remind you that it is important to make sure you sign up for soon if you are planning on taking summer school classes. There are limited courses available in summer school and, in particular, each year the classes such as Phys Ed and Speech fill up quickly and kids frequently get closed out.

If you failed a class during the 1st semester, you need to discuss signing up for summer school with your parents. The success rates for students who take summer school is very strong because you are only asked to focus on one subject at a time and it is a more relaxed environment.

This year summer school will be held at Thomas Worthington High School and most courses cost around $200. (Students on the free and reduced lunch program are allowed to attend for $50.)

If you have lost your summer school registration brochure, please stop in the Counseling Center and ask one of the secretaries for a new brochure.

Take a Picture

We made it through another week! Granted, it was a four-day week, but from all of the students that I talked to today, it felt like a much longer week than that. I hope that you have fun adventures planned for your three-day weekend.

For some students, this weekend serves as the perfect opportunity to get a jump start on making college visits to get an idea of what different schools have to offer. For other students, it is time to start narrowing down to help determine which school you will be attending next year and so this may be a second or even third visit to campus. Either way, I would like to remind you that we would really like you to take a picture somewhere on campus to share with us!

Enjoy your long weekend!