Voting for Class Officer

Tomorrow we have another 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 2013 - 2014 class officers and seniors will meet in the auditorium for a brief meeting.  Good luck to all of "my" students who are running for a position in student government!

Summer Plans

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

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

Perhaps you are looking for ideas that do not involve more school… Summer vacation is a great time to expand your resume and pursue your passions by volunteering or working a summer job. Many students don’t know where to volunteer and the truth is the sky is the limit – anything that interests you has the potential for being a volunteer service project. Get creative in your approach! There are a lot of requests that are currently being publicized around school. For more ideas about existing needs for volunteers you can visit FirstLink. If you are looking for paid opportunities, nothing beats hitting the pavement and submitting applications.  Speaking of resumes, during summer break, you should really spend an hour or two updating your resume. (And if you don’t have a resume, the summer is a great time to make a resume – you can use the tool in OCIS or create your own.)

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

Hopefully you are taking the time to visit colleges from your potential list and getting an idea of what you think about different schools. (Don’t forget to take a picture of you somewhere on campus for me!) 

Current juniors (Soon to be Seniors) – this summer is going to be busy as you prepare for your senior year. In addition to college visits, you can also begin drafting your college application essays and preparing for the ACT and SAT exams.

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

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

Time is Running Out

Seniors have just 19 days remaining (graduation is exactly 4 weeks from today) and underclassmen have 23 days (including the 3 exam days) before summer break.

Obviously that means every moment counts if you are not doing well in your classes and you are trying to pull off a passing grade for the semester.  It is essential that you spend the remaining weeks taking care of your classes so that you do not jeopardize your future.

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

For seniors, I realize that there is a rampant case of senioritis running through the school, but I must remind you that next year you will be heading to college. You have already received your acceptance letters and decided where you will be attending school next year so it seems like your grades this last semester don't really matter... except they do! You must submit a final transcript to your college. If you go back and read the acceptance letters that the colleges sent to you, you will notice the fine print that points out that they can turn you down if you don't maintain the level of grades that they expect from you and your past performance. Last year schools did turn away hundreds of students and I can't even imagine how hard it was for a student to believe they knew where they would be attending to suddenly find out that they couldn't go there any more because they blew off school during their final semester.  The other comment I hear from seniors often is that school doesn't matter now, but that next year, in college, when it matters they will turn it around and try. Well, while I would love to believe you (and I hope you are right), the reality is that it isn't always that easy. Bad habits are hard to break. Next year there won't be anyone bugging you about turning in homework or reminding you that a paper or project is due next week. They won't accept late papers. Most teachers won't check attendance and they don't care if you want to throw your money away by not attending class. It is your introduction to the real world. At WKHS if you show up late to class and get a tardy or two you end up with a detention. In the real world, if you show up late for work you get fired. At WKHS if you can't manage to turn in a paper or project on time teachers take points off and it might hurt your grade, but in the real world the devastation of not following through and meeting the expectations of your boss are much more serious. I know, you think I am just nagging and I promise that I am not trying to lecture you, but I am worried. The last few weeks of high school need to be a time to practice developing some good habits. For many of you, you have taken a long enough break at the beginning of this quarter. Spend time studying. Work on your organization skills. Practice taking better notes. All of those things will help you in college and in the future.

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

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

Prom

Tonight is prom night for WKHS juniors and seniors. This is an exciting and memorable night for students and I hope you have a great evening. Let's be honest, I also hope that it is a safe evening! You want prom to be memorable because it was a positive experience...

Congratulations and Good Luck to Sarah Adams and Jenna Boue who are on the Prom Court!

Hopefully you have finalized all of your plans and are looking forward to a great night both at prom and at After-Hours. I am looking forward to being a chaperone at prom again this year because I love seeing "my" students dressed up and enjoying themselves. It should be fun.

One last reminder about safety - please remember to talk with your parents before you leave tonight about what you will do if you end up in an unexpected situation and need help. If, for any reason, you need help tonight while at prom - you know that you can find me. Have a good time - be smart and please be safe!

WKHS Choir

Tonight was the last major choir concert at WKHS for the year and it was an incredible night!  I have to be honest, I always love the choir concerts.  They showcase the amazing talents of so many of our students and they also feature one of my favorite Kilbourne traditions - the processional performance of Come to the Water.  If you've never seen this entrance, it is truly magical and you should search for it on YouTube as there are several different performances of it available online.  (Although, I have to say, it isn't nearly as powerful as being there in person.)

Tonight's performance of Come to the Water was, by far, the most special that I have ever seen.  It was not just the top choirs singing this traditional song - the stage was PACKED with every member of the Kilbourne Choirs plus a ton of choir alumni who came to honor and celebrate the impact that Mr. Griffin has had in their lives.  I have to be honest, I cried.(a lot!)  It was powerful and emotional and incredibly moving.

Mr. Griffin has led the choir program since Kilbourne opened and the performance of Come to the Water at every concert was his creation.  Tonight also marked Mr. Griffin's final full choir concert as he plans on retiring at the end of this year.  As the alumni flooded onto the stage tonight I was in awe that so many former students from the last 22 years had found time on a random Thursday night in April to attend the concert.  It speaks volumes of the impact that he has had on so many lives - as did the hugs that his current students gave to him as they left the stage tonight.

It was a very special evening and I am so thankful that I have worked with Mr. Griffin and had the chance to get to know him and I wish him nothing but the best in his retirement.  Congratulations Mr. Griffin and all of the Kilbourne Choir members for an outstanding concert tonight!

Making the Final Decision

This is the final week for seniors who are trying to decide what college they will be attending next year. 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 to the May 1st Decision Deadline. Trust yourself and know that you will be successful in the future – no matter where you end up!

As you are starting to think about your different schools and comparing and contrasting 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.

If your school comparison charts are similar and you still can’t decide – go visit the schools again. Sit in on the classes and, if possible, arrange for an overnight visit (yes, you are running out of time for overnight visits). People watch and consider your interactions with the students on campus. Are the students friendlier at one school over the other? What about the professors that you talk to? Are 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.)  What is the food like?  It will never be as good as your mom's homemade favorite foods, but is there enough variety and appeal to the foods available that you will enjoy the dining hall options?  How do the dorms seem?  How are the career/ job placement services?  How accessible are the things you will need (i.e. laundry facilities)?

Ask yourself if the school will meet your academic needs, if you will have the social life you desire, and if your family can manage the financial 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 key 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?”

Tomorrow's Schedule and Information

- Tomorrow we are on a Special 3A/ 3B Schedule to allow all of the 9th - 11th grade students to hear speeches from their class officer candidates. The schedule is listed below.

7:45 - 8:30: 1st Period

8:35 - 9:20: 2nd Period

9:25 - 9:35: 3rd Period Attendance and move to designated location

9:35 - 10:05: Class Assembly (Freshmen will meet in the Aux Gym, Sophomores to the Main Gym, and Juniors to the Auditorium.) Seniors will report to their homerooms where you will complete a senior survey needs assessment for the counselors.

10:05 - 10:10: Return to class

10:10 - 10:55: 3rd Period Class

11:00 - 11:45: 4th Period Class

11:50 - 12:35: 5th Period Class

12:40 - 1:25: 6th Period Class

1:30 - 2:15: 7th Period Class

2:20 - 3:05: 8th Period Class

- Seniors, I know that the you don't have to go to traditional homeroom very often, but I'd like to stress the importance of attending tomorrow's homeroom.  The senior survey that you will be completing provides us (the counselors and administrators) with vital information about the needs of our students and the community.  Your honest insight is valuable in helping us to determine planning needs and where and how we spend our time and energy.  We do value your input and make efforts to adjust based upon the feedback we receive.  There are a few bigger examples that you are probably aware of that are a direct outcome of the data we found in the senior surveys - for example, the career fair that is held every other year and the ACT prep course that has been offered for the last 2 years were adjustments we made because of the information in the surveys.  Thank you in advance for providing thoughtful feedback!

- Also, this week I will be out of school all day on Friday. If you know that you need something, please plan to stop to see me tomorrow or Thursday.

Teacher Recommendation Letters

Recommendation letters are a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought and time. Juniors, as you finalize the list of schools where you will be applying next fall, it is important to determine if you are going to need a recommendation letter from a teacher (or two). Many of the Ohio schools - Ohio University, BGSU, Kent State, etc. do not require teacher recommendations.  Because rec letters are a time consuming process, if the colleges where you are applying do not require recommendations, then do not waste your teacher's time by requesting letters that won't be needed or used. 

If you are applying to schools that need teacher recommendation letters, it is very helpful and beneficial to the teachers if you can give them as much time as possible to write your recommendation letters. That means, if you know now that you are going to be applying to a school which needs a teacher rec letter, then I would like for you to ask the teachers this spring allowing them to have the entire summer to write your letter. (These next few weeks are a great time to ask!)  After you ask your teacher(s), you will want to provide them with information that can help them as they write your letter. We have several handouts in the counseling and career center and on the WKHS Counselor website that you can use for this purpose.

Welcome Mrs. Focht!

Have you met Mrs. Focht yet?  She is the new secretary in the counseling center... actually, she has been at WKHS for about 6 weeks and I am just now getting around to formally welcoming her on my blog.  (Better late than never, right?!?)  :-)

Mrs. Focht has worked in the district and has been an incredible addition to the WKHS Counseling and Career Center!  She is excited to have the opportunity to try to get to know the students and parents so the next time you are stopping by to see me, make sure you introduce yourself to Mrs. Focht and let her know how glad we are to have her at Kilbourne.

The best way I can tell you about pronouncing her name is that it is like the word "vote" except with an "F" in place of the "V".

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 realized that I had not mentioned this for everyone to hear... so I want 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.

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.

Senior Reminders

Seniors, this is a busy time of year and you have a lot of pieces to pay attention to so I thought it might be helpful if I gave you a few reminders...



-  Caps and Gowns: You should have picked up your Cap and Gown already.  If you forgot to order your cap and gown, please stop by the counseling center to get the phone number for National Recognition Products and call to place your order right away!  Don't forget, if you had planned on using an older sibling's cap and gown, you will not be able to do that because of a change in style.  There is an exchange option that will allow you to trade in your sibling's gown to be able to order your cap and gown at a discounted rate.

-  Diploma Presenter Form:  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 was (technically) last Wednesday, but you can still turn in your form if you forgot to submit it. 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.

-  Senior Pictures:  I sincerely hope that you have already taken care of submitting your senior picture to Mrs. Mullen so that they can be included in the Yearbook.  If you didn't get your picture taken, please see Mrs. Mullen to make alternate arrangements.

-  Post-Secondary and Final Transcript Release Form:  Included in the senior packet that was mailed to your house was a post-secondary and final transcript release form.  This is a mandatory form that you must return no later than May 2nd.  This form not only outlines your college decisions and scholarships received, but it also allows you to indicate where you would like your final transcript to be mailed after graduation.  The information collected about colleges and scholarships will be used when putting together the information for Senior Recognition Night and when they are creating the graduation program so it is very important that the information is accurate! (For example, in the past a student called one scholarship by the wrong name and the parents were upset that it was listed wrong, so please double check to give the correct details.) If students do not complete the survey the school will not have anything to list in the commencement program, so please take a few minutes and complete the survey!

On a completely different note, tomorrow we will be on a 3A/ 3B bell schedule.

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 you can find on your transcript in the reports area of Infinite Campus.) 

Local Scholarship Reminder

A last minute reminder to seniors... the local Worthington scholarships are due TOMORROW (Friday, April 12th) at 3:00 in the Counseling Center. You will give your completed scholarships directly to the secretaries. Please do not forget to get your forms turned in on time!

Managing Test Anxiety

It’s normal to feel a little bit nervous before and during a test. What is important is to learn how to deal with those anxieties so that they do not become overwhelming. Below are a few key strategies for managing test anxiety. If this is something that you struggle with, please feel free to stop in and see me so that we can discuss additional ways to help manage your test anxieties.

- Study. Being prepared is the single most effective way to help manage test anxiety. If you are confident that you know the material and have put forth your best effort to be prepared for the test, then you can relax and do the best you can.

o Learn from past quizzes and tests

o Ask the teacher for suggestions on how to best prepare for the upcoming test

o Don’t cram – that only adds to the stress and pressure of trying to “squeeze” everything in

o There are lots of study strategies available that can help students and I have a variety of ideas, so if you are interested, stop by and see me and we can talk about different techniques you can try to implement for various classes.

- Stay Positive. Being confident and entering the test with a positive attitude will help you to achieve success. There are lots of strategies people use to help maintain a positive outlook –visualization (imaging yourself doing well on the test) and positive self-talk (we all talk to ourselves so instead of thinking that you are going to fail the test replace that self-talk with positive comments such as “I am prepared” or “this test will allow me to show how much I have learned”). Sometimes it is important to stay away from other people who tend to express their negative outlooks and opinions going into a test… those people who will just stress you out more with their panic about the test.

- Take care of yourself. I *know* that you hate hearing things like this (and yes, I acknowledge that at times this can be a hypocritical statement for me to make), but it is important to take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep so that you are well rested and mentally alert for the test. Eat a healthy meal (breakfast/ lunch) because you don’t want to be sitting in class focusing on food or listening to your stomach growl and you also don’t want to be coming down off a sugar or caffeine high and be dragging the rest of the testing period. Allowing yourself time to exercise is also important as it is a physical release of stress and can reinvigorate you for studying as you prepare for the test.

- Be a “smart” test taker. Don’t panic! Read the directions carefully. Take a deep breath to relax. Answer the questions to the best of your ability and if you don’t know an answer, skip the question to return to it later and continue on to other questions that you are more confident in answering. Budget your time, but don’t rush to be the first finished – this is not a race. Stay focused. (Focus on answering the question – don’t allow yourself to get off track and worry about your grade or how others are doing – just continue to refocus on answering the next question.) If you start to become overwhelmed with anxiety during the test, take a few slow deep breaths, relax your muscles and remember that you are in control of dealing with these feelings so just take it one step at a time.

- After you are finished, give yourself a short break from thinking about the test, but also don’t forget to consider what worked well and what could have gone better and then make changes accordingly for the future. If you were able to manage your anxiety effectively then you can continue practicing these skills for future tests. If some of the strategies were not effective, then you can try to adjust and adopt new strategies to help manage the anxiety.

Remember, it is also important to keep the test in perspective. It is actually quite rare that a single test will make or break you. (And yes, this even includes the OGT/ SAT/ ACT tests because you can always repeat these tests again in the future.) Good luck on your next test!

April Students of the Month

Last Friday 18 students were recognized as April Students of the Month. As you are probably aware, students can only be nominated for this recognition once throughout their entire high school career.

A special congratulations to "my" four students who were among those recognized as students of the month! I am proud of you! Pictured left to right: Shefa Alnajjar, Elizabeth Borchers, Maggie Barrie and Jessica Carroll.

The Scheduling Process

It has occurred to me (through many of your questions) that most students don't really know or understand how the schedule is 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 today as the "final" registration requests.

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).

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 work with those students and their alternates list to find a suitable replacement course.

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.

Scholarship Searches

There are scholarships available at the community, state, and national levels. There are many scholarship search engines that you can use as a resource to help you identify scholarships that might be a good fit. 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.

Don't forget - most of the local scholarships are due this Friday!

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 receiving 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.

Spring College Admissions Tests

Today (April 5th) is the (regular) deadline to register for the May SAT. If you plan on waiting to take the June ACT (register by May 3rd) or June SAT (register by May 2nd) the deadlines are still a month away, but remember, with the spring tests being the primary testing time for current juniors, the testing sites can fill up quickly so it is beneficial to sign up in advance.

You will sign up directly on the ACT and SAT websites – links to the testing websites are on the WKHS Counselor website in the college/ career testing area and on the right side of my blog in the “links” area.

If you are on the free or reduced lunch program, you can qualify for fee waivers for testing, please stop in and see me and I will get the forms for you.

Life Goes On

Finding out if you have or haven't been accepted to 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. A few years ago the Wall Street Journal featured an article that 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 the class of 2017!