A "Black Weekend"

The day after Thanksgiving is known as “Black Friday” for all of the people who plan out their day and shop til they drop, but for high school seniors across the country the entire weekend has been called a “Black Weekend.”  NOT because of shopping, but because the push to finish applications is down to the wire so parents often force their senior students to spend all weekend working on college applications in an effort to try to get them completed. I keep wondering how many of you are really spending the weekend locked away in your rooms stressed out about trying to finish your college applications. Hopefully, with December 1st being Sunday, many of you were ahead of the game and didn't end up procrastinating to try to get everything done over the holiday weekend. If a significant part of your holiday weekend has been "black" due to non-stop college application work, I hope you finish soon so you can enjoy the rest of the break.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you and your family are enjoying a wonderful holiday eating turkey, watching the parade, watching football, and taking a nap (or whatever your traditions include).  I am fortunate to be spending the holiday with my family and am cherishing the opportunity to be with the people who mean the most to me.  I have so much to be thankful for today and every day.  I hope you know that you are part of what I am grateful for and that I am thankful that you are in my life!  As I pause to give thanks I wanted to share a few of my Thanksgiving thankful thoughts with all of you.

I am thankful for:
- My Family!  We are so lucky to be gathered together this holiday weekend.  I am grateful for the joy they bring to my life.   Of course, in particular I am so grateful for my 3 favorite turkeys - my niece Carly and my nephews Colton and Brady.  They always make me smile and I love being able to spend time with them.
- My mom's cooking.  Technically, I suppose this should still be under my family, but I was thinking about all the ways that my mom shows her love for us and her cooking is one example.  We are so spoiled - she takes care of the entire holiday meal each year and I love that we have the same Thanksgiving meal each year.
-  My job.  I am so lucky to have a job that is rewarding, fulfilling, and that never gets boring.  No two days are alike and it is always exciting to see what will happen with each new day.
-  My students.  Let's be honest, the reason I love my job is because I have the best students!  I am so fortunate to be a part of your lives.  The fact that you choose to talk to me during difficult days and include me in your celebration on happy days means far more than you can imagine.  I consider it an honor to work with you and I learn so much from you.
-  The families of my students.  Not only do students welcome me into their lives, but many families do so as well.  The words of encouragement and appreciation you share mean a great deal to me.
- My friends.  I have many friends, but even more importantly are the small group that make up my "true friends" - those people who I can count on no matter what.  They bring such joy to my life.
-  My coworkers.  I am lucky to work with people who I consider friends.  They listen, support, encourage and believe in me.  I trust them without question and I am a better person and a better counselor because of them.
-  My health.  I am aware of just how fortunate I am to be blessed with good health.  This year Kilbourne has, once again, been faced with the difficult reality of a student battling cancer and other students and families are dealing with their own medical difficulties which helps me realize just how lucky I am to be healthy and reminds me that I shouldn’t take it for granted.
-  My former students.  There is no way that I can express how much it means to me when former students keep in touch.  E-mails, calls, text messages, or visits when they are home - each are priceless gifts to my heart.  I am so thankful that these students choose to stay in touch even though there is nothing that I can do for them anymore.
-  Generosity and compassion in action.  It is so inspiring to see acts of kindness, generosity and compassion being demonstrated in big or small ways.  I love seeing it directed toward those most in need and also appreciate the times when it has been shown to me.
-  Stability.  I am incredibly fortunate to live a stable life.  I have a solid foundation of faith, food on my table, a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in each night.  There are so many people in our world who pray for the things I tend to take for granted.
-  Freedom.  I am so blessed to live in this country and am thankful for all the men and women who have sacrificed so much to maintain our freedom.

Thank you for bearing with me through my lengthy list.  Quite honestly, if I gave you more specifics this list would continue on and on because I am so blessed.  I hope that today you will find time to reflect on what you are grateful for this Thanksgiving.  And, if your life is feeling pretty rough and you don't have much to be thankful for, please know that you are in my prayers and that I hope things will improve.

Have a great day and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Welcome to WKHS

Have you had the opportunity to meet Mrs. McDaniel yet?  She started working in the Counseling Center at WKHS at the end of September and so, obviously, this welcome post is long overdue.  :-)  Mrs. McDaniel is our new Registrar.  She is working with enrolling new students and at some point in time all of you will work with her to pick up your transcripts to send as a part of your college applications.  She has been a wonderful addition to the counseling center staff and we are thrilled to have her as a part of our team.  The next time you stop by my office, I encourage you to swing past Mrs. McDaniel's office too and make sure she feels welcome at Kilbourne.

Travel Safe

I'd imagine many of you were like me and were so happy that the school week is already over.

I hope you have a wonderful 5 days off and that wherever your travels take you that you will have fun and be safe!

Stressed

How are your stress levels?

Stress comes from a range of events and life circumstances. When positive things happen such as getting a new job, dating someone new, or graduating from high school, stress levels increase. And, obviously, stress levels are higher when negative things take place like failing a test, fighting with family or friends, or having a lot to do in a limited amount of time. Quite simply, the reality is that stress is a part of life that you cannot escape.d, but it is important to learn strategies for effectively dealing with stress.

Hopefully the fact that after tomorrow you will have 5 days off school will help decrease your stress levels, but I am also very aware of the fact that holidays can also create stress. Expectations tend to be higher during holidays. Families are often together and sometimes that means lots of questions about your college plans or it could mean that siblings who are off to college are home and the change in routine can cause challenges. Students whose parents are divorced are often juggling multiple holidays and trying to be in several places at once which is never easy. Whatever the circumstances are for your family, try to remember that even though the holiday may not be the picture of perfection which you might see portrayed on movies or TV shows, it can still be enjoyable - even if it is stressful.

Finding the stress relievers that are effective in your own life is important not only during the holidays, but throughout the year. Talking to friends, journaling, drawing, reading, listening to music, running, coloring, playing sports, spending time with your pets, taking a walk, dancing, exercising, watching a funny movie, or helping someone less fortunate are all examples of some simple stress relievers that might be ideas you can consider utilizing. Remember, if you are needing someone to talk to about some additional strategies for learning to manage the stress in your life, I am always around and am willing to listen.

Also, below are some articles related to stress that might interest you:

6 tips to reduce junior year stress

11 ways to make your mind calm and peaceful

10 unconventional ways to reduce stress

17 ways to remove stress from your life

10 habits to reduce the stress in your daily life

How to reduce stress with ASMR

Students at “overachieving” school getting anti-stress lessons

College Applications

You have to apply in order to be accepted.  That is the most simple truth about college applications and yet so many students are paralyzed by fear that the application process ends up causing lots of headaches and stress.  My hope is that you are making progress with your applications and that if you are struggling with any step along the way that you have already stopped to see me, but if you have not, please remember that I am here and willing to help.

Here are some articles related to college applications that might interest you:

Applicants beware: Don’t forget to sign your application

Where does a parent fit in the admissions process?

How many colleges should you apply to?

How to finish your college applications by Thanksgiving

Not the end game: 4 things to know about applying to college

How parents can help with the college application process

What is single choice early action?

How to demonstrate interest when applying to college

How to use the Do-Re-Mi approach to college applications

Questions about early action and early decision

5 things you should know about the new common app

Should you explain a bad grade when applying to college?

Playing the demonstrated interest game

Getting good letters of recommendation

How many teacher recommendations do colleges want?

7 tips for helping your counselor write a better recommendation letter

Delaware Area Career Center

Today was a field trip to the Delaware Area Career Center. As a reminder, don't forget that even if attending the career center, WKHS students are always WKHS students. With most programs you will have the option of attending the career center for full days (where you would take your lab coursework which counts as elective credits and your academic courses all at the career center) or for half days (where you only take the lab coursework at the career center and then return to WKHS for the other half of the day for your academic classes). You will graduate from Worthington Kilbourne and continue to participate on our athletic teams - even if you decide that you want to attend the career center for the full day. I strongly encourage you to check out the programs because the hands on opportunities to learn something new while also gaining your required elective credits can be a very appealing option! If you didn't have the chance to participate in today's field trip there are several second look days coming up. Any students interested in making a visit should stop by the WKHS Counseling & Career Center to pick up a permission slip from the secretaries. Permission slips must be submitted in advance in order to make arrangements for your visit.

Sleep

"I'm so tired!"  It is a statement that I hear over and over again each day.  Often, I share the exact same feeling and the reality is that sleep is one of the best things we can do for ourselves and yet it is also something we frequently push aside.

The research about the importance of teen's getting sleep has frequently been touted and yet, as I talk to you, it is shocking for me to realize how little sleep many of you are getting.  Lack of sleep is not only exhausting, but it decreases your immune system, makes it more difficult to regulate your emotions, and can mimic the signs of ADHD.  

I wish it was as easy as saying you need to go to bed earlier, but for many of you, your schedules are so packed with homework, studying, jobs, sports, clubs, and other activities that it is hard to make everything fit into the window of time that you have between the end of the school day and a "reasonable" bedtime.  Additionally, many students have talked about the fact that it is hard for them to go to sleep once they go to bed because their mind races, they think of "one more thing" they need to do, or they lose track of time while texting late into the night.  And, although it isn't easy, sleep is important!

I am NOT a morning person and, quite honestly, I don't think I ever have been.  When my sister and I were in high school my mom set 9:00pm as our bedtime.  Every now and then we would argue that we should be allowed to have a later bedtime like all of our other friends and she would agree and say, "No problem, as soon as you can wake up in the morning without me having to say anything to you to wake up, then you can stay up later."  (FYI, my mom is really smart!)  She knew there was no way in the world we could successfully wake up without extra help because we were tired and needed the sleep.  We couldn't argue with her because she wasn't having us go to sleep earlier as a punishment - she was trying to help us get the amount of sleep that we needed.  Later, when I was in college and was getting WAY too little sleep, I would call my mom stressed and upset and she, with all her perfect motherly wisdom, would simply say, "Stop what you are doing and go to sleep."  She knew that I was too tired to think straight and that I wasn't doing a good job with studying or homework or whatever else I might have been working on at the time because I was exhausted.

While I am certainly not your mom and in no way am I saying that 9:00pm is the right bedtime for you, I do think that you could benefit from getting more sleep.  

If you want to know more about the importance of sleep, here are some articles that you can check out.

How to get a better night’s sleep

How to have quality sleep effortlessly

11 sleep habits of successful people

Why sleep matters

How to sleep better: 10 things to remember for a goodnight’s sleep

10 mistakes you’re probably making that makes waking upearly difficult

Sacrificing sleep for studying?  You’re not alone

Ah, the joy of college essays

Lately it seems the seniors are in the midst of college essay madness.  With deadlines looming, I have been
looking at lots of essays and trying to give feedback.  Remember, it ultimately needs to be your essay, but it is valuable to have a range of people read your essays to make sure that you are communicating your intended message and that the tone is what you are hoping to achieve.

There are always tons of articles and information about college and here are some college essay related articles that I think you might find helpful:

The Admissions Essay is about YOU

500 Words or Less


5 Supplemental Essay Mistakes

How do “THEY” evaluate the college essay

Personal Narrative Topics

Common App Essay Option #4 – Describing a meaningful place

Common App Essay Option #5 – A meaningful accomplishment or event

Common App Essay #1 – Share your story

Admission officers from select colleges confirm they want stories

What’s happening with your essay?

Common App Essay Option #3 – Challenging a belief or idea

Jumping to conclusions: How to end your essay

Common App Essay Option #2: Learning from failure

How to write the perfect college essay – grab some attention

12 excellent essay tips from essay readers

9 ways to improve the style of your college admissions essay

Bad essay topics to avoid for college admissions

From blank screen to stand-out college essay

Sample essay for common app essay 2, “Striking Out”

The cardinal rule for writing a perfect college essay

Time to revise: Tips for editing your college essay

How to write the perfect college essay – Tell a good story

How to write the perfect college essay – Paint a picture

Colleges want more creative essays, but why?

How will they dub you?

How to write the perfect college essay – Transition to Adulthood

#YOLO and the 2013-14 essay supplements

Say good-bye to writer’s block: Tips on writing your college essay

How to write the perfect college essay – writing about failure

How to write the perfect college essay – your background story

How to write the perfect college essay – beliefs and ideas

How to write the perfect college essay – place or environment

Should you take the challenge of prompt 3 on Common App?

Hot strategies for all 5 of the Common App essay prompts

No Tuxedo Talk!  Howto find your college app essay voice

Grab your readers with an anecdote

Happy reading - but don't let reading all of these articles keep you from writing your essays.  :-)

The Countdown

The countdown is on... we have just 17 days of school left before semester exams. I *know* some (or maybe all) of you don't want to hear this, but it is REALLY important that you start studying now for exams. 

With exams taking place before winter break, this will be a big adjustment for all of us and it is important that you take a critical look at where you stand in each of your classes and what you need to do to fully prepare for exams.  If your grades are not where they should be at this point in time, please make use of the resources available to you - the academic assistants in room 209 and, most importantly, your teachers. I am also here to help you with studying strategies and tips if needed. For many students, your final grade for the semester will come down to how you finish out this quarter and how well you do on semester exams. Please don't neglect this opportunity to make the most of the remaining time as a chance to start reviewing for exams.

Procrastination

Procrastination is one of the more common problem areas that students battle. Every year I meet some students who are "master procrastinators." The reality is that some people don't mind putting everything off until the last possible second and then working like crazy to get everything accomplished before the deadline, but this can result in a lot of unnecessary stress. Procrastination certainly doesn’t mean that you are lazy or incapable, but it is often a sign that something is getting in your way of completing your tasks and responsibilities. If you are interested in learning strategies for gaining control over your tendencies to procrastinate, it is important to remember that there are no quick fixes. 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 may be 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. :-)

Be Patient

Let me start off by acknowledging that I am *NOT* the most patient person on the planet!

I know that it can be frustrating waiting for something to happen. Waiting to hear news. Waiting for the next phase of your life. Waiting... waiting... and still more waiting.

But the reality is you need to be patient.

Right now the colleges are completely overwhelmed and back-logged with all of the applications that they have been receiving. When colleges are receiving materials it often takes them at least two weeks to get everything processed and updated in the computer. They often send out notices to students that are automatically generated letters that they send just to remind you that you need to send your transcript and test scores and a recommendation letter. People tend to panic when they receive that letter and want to send the materials again. Colleges typically do not want that happening as it will simply back up their system even more. 

Try to be patient. If you get one of these letters (from any college) take a moment and double check - did you send your transcript? Are they missing everything or some particular item? If you followed my recommendation and mailed everything in one large envelope and they have some pieces, but not others, then the reality is that they probably lost some of the pieces.  If they are missing everything, then it is more likely that they just haven't processed your envelope yet.  If your materials were mailed within a 2-3 week timeframe, then take a deep breath and relax knowing that it is likely just because their system is backed up. Continue double checking on the college website (most will give you access to see your application status) and see if they have everything. If you are nearing the end of the 3rd week and they still don't have all of your items you can give them a call to double check. Chances are they just haven't made it there yet, but there are times where things get lost in the mail or filed in the wrong area. If items need to be sent again then we will work on taking care of that, but first make sure that they really are missing it.

As always, swing by my office to see me if you have any questions.

Good Luck Wolves!

It would be impossible for anyone at school today to be unaware of the fact that the football team will be participating in a state playoff game tonight against Zanesville High School.  I have 19 students who are football players and it has been fun to cheer them on this season.  Good luck tonight to the entire team and especially to "my" students.

Pictured Left to Right: Michael Calvert, Grant Chesser, Dom Brown, Griffin Dahn, Chandler Bridges, Ryan Albright, Joe Davis, Ryan Clay, Connor Alley, Alex Coddington, Sam Beerman, Benton Carter, Ty Davis, JC Bartok, Josh Aylor, and Gavin Elifritz.  Also, not pictured: Grayson Biglin, Danny Darby and Bobby Austria.

The game is at Gahanna Lincoln HS at 7:30 and I hope to see you all there.  Go Wolves!

Demonstrating Interest

It is interesting to stop and think about all of the different factors that play into a college admission decision. When colleges are evaluating all of their applications, one of the aspects that may help set one student apart from another is the level of interest that they have demonstrated. The reason that demonstrating interest is important to a college is that they have a limited number of spots that they can offer for admission. They are trying to find a way to maximize the number of students who they accept that will actually attend their college in the future and they still want to find a way to get the most competitive, involved group of students that they can find.

So what are some of the ways that you can demonstrate your interest in a college?

Meeting with the college admissions reps when they come to WKHS is a great first step. I'll be honest, for this year, admissions officers visiting Kilbourne are coming to an end, but for the younger students, this is something you should keep in mind for next fall. The reason that this is such a significant way to demonstrate your interest is because a lot of kids don’t take advantage of this opportunity so when you do take the time to come and meet with them, you will stand out.

Attend their community nights – many colleges will offer presentations at area hotels or community centers that students and parents can attend. We have been listing these upcoming nights on the WKHS Counselors website. These events tend to be more common in the fall and spring months so you can always check our website and also the college's website for opportunities to meet with them.

Visit their campus! Visiting their school is probably the best way to demonstrate your interest in their college. Because the college visit is such a strong indicator of your interest and because there are many things to consider when you are making a campus visit, I am including a few articles below - many of which deal with the college visits. (Hopefully I will be able to get the links to work better this time. I am very sorry that they haven't worked recently!)

I know it isn't always feasible to visit every single school that you are interested in applying to so find other ways to familiarize yourself if you can't make it to their campus. Visit their website. Read the admissions blogs. Don’t be a pest, but if you have questions, seek the answers by contacting admissions representatives. (And, for the record, you should make those contacts rather than having one of your parents call on your behalf!)

Some schools will offer alumni interviews in the area and if the school you are considering is among them, it would be wise to take advantage of this opportunity as it, again, demonstrates the sincerity of your interest in their college.

College Application Checklist

So, it seems that lately a lot of seniors have been worried that they are missing steps related to their college applications. The most accurate and most important response that I can give to you is to look at exactly what the college is asking for and make sure that they have each item requested by the deadline date. (And remember, that means that they actually have the materials in their office - not the date that you bring it to WKHS or even mail it by the postmark deadline - it is the date that they need to have your entire completed application packet.)

1. Complete your application online.

2. Write your essay. I have mixed emotions if I should list this as #2 because you can't actually complete your application without your essay if one is required, but you probably don't know what the essay questions are unless you have started the application. Some schools will not require an essay while others will require multiple essays. Please plan accordingly because they take a long time to perfect.

3. Complete the Transcript Release card for each school where you are applying. You will get this card in my office. There is a $1.00 transcript fee for transcripts that will be submitted by hard copy. (Common App and a handful of other schools are able to be completed electronically so you do not have the fee for those schools.)

Sometimes people ask what are the other papers that might need to be mailed along with the transcript. This is one of those pieces that goes back to what the colleges require. Many will have some kind of a college prep/ counselor form that I will need to complete. Although less common, some colleges will have other requests such as a resume, an extra essay, teacher recommendation letters, a picture, etc. If it is to be mailed to the college, then you should include it all in the same packet that is mailed with your transcript and school profile.

Because colleges receive so many different items in the mail, I strongly encourage you to put together 1 large envelope of all of the supplementary materials that the college is requiring and mail it together! So, if you need your transcript, a teacher recommendation letter and a counselor recommendation letter you will be mailing 3 individual envelopes together to the college in the larger envelope.

4. Send your test scores - You need to make sure that you have submitted your ACT or SAT test results directly from the testing agency to each college where you are applying. You complete this step directly with the testing companies. If you are not sure if your test was sent, please log on to their site and double check.

5. If your college requires a teacher or counselor recommendation I really hope you have already arranged for someone to write them. Again, you should be giving your recommender at least 30 days notice to write a letter.

6. Double check your entire application, pay your application fee and submit the application.

It truly is not meant to be overly difficult, but it does require a great deal of organization and follow through on your part. With over 300 seniors in this year's graduating class it is important to remember that you have to stay on top of things because deadlines are real and you do not want to lose the opportunity to apply to a school or to earn a scholarship just because you had not taken care of all of the details required.

If you have questions, stop by and see me and I will try to help make sure that we are all on the same page regarding what you need to do before your deadlines to complete all of your college applications.

Common Data Set

There are some people who love to get wrapped up in data... and others (like me) who are thankful that someone else can get lost in the data and then tell me what I want/ need to know. However, there are some places that even I appreciate and treasure basic data facts and college admissions data is one of those areas. There are lots of options for reviewing data and finding useful information about college admissions data. To help make it easier to understand the information nearly all college websites have a feature called "Common Data Set" that will allow you to review their data on admissions, financial aid, and a million other things that might interest you. The easiest way to find this information is to search for common data set on each school's website.  Have fun exploring and comparing colleges!

Veteran's Day

I don't normally post twice in one day.  I had decided that I have posted too many "fun" posts and needed to provide some more helpful information so initially I wasn't going to post anything regarding Veteran's Day.  Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I decided I needed to post something in honor of America's Veterans.

I have always felt gratitude for the men and women who sacrificed so much for our freedom.  My grandfather was a WWII veteran as were his closest friends.  I also have many former students who have made the decision to serve in our nation's military.  Today, I was lucky enough to catch up with one of those students who is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army - a definite treat!

Words fail me as I try to express how much I appreciate all of the men and women who generously dedicate their lives to protect the freedom's we enjoy every day.

I saw this video clip online today and loved it (in spite of the fact that it made me cry... a lot).

Thank you Veteran's!

College Essays

Many seniors are in the middle of working on writing their college application essays. As each student who has gone before you can attest, it is not an easy process. Most of the times high school students are used to writing essays about someone or something else. Focusing on you and what makes you unique can be daunting. I have to be honest, I also find it fascinating. I love seeing what you come up with and how you introduce yourself to the admissions committee through your essay. As I have mentioned before, you need to be sure that you are answering the question, that you are showing (and not just telling), and above everything else, that the reader will learn something about you!

For those of you who might be struggling to come up with essay ideas, the first step is definitely self reflection. You want to tell the college what makes you special and stand out from all the rest of the applicants. The more specific you can get in your essay the better off you will be. Generalized claims are simply not as effective. A stronger essay would focus on introducing who you are – what you think, believe, feel, and how you act – through a specific detailed experience. As you work to brainstorm potential topic ideas while also narrowing your topic to something detailed and specific, perhaps these questions will help give you ideas to get you thinking…

- How has this experience changed you?
- Why was this experience meaningful to you?
- How have your experiences shaped your character?
- What is significant to you about being involved in the activities or receiving the honors or awards?
- How have your activities or experiences impacted you personally?
- List 5 key personality traits and how they have helped you in various situations
- What is your personal motto in life? How did you come to this?
- Traits/ Stories/ Examples of “That is so you” moments
- Has any experience changed your perspective or challenged your beliefs?

Once again, remember, it is important to get specific as it is often the small things or experiences in our lives that have a big impact on how we feel, think or act.

Proud to be a Wolf

I am proud to be a wolf!  When I first started working at Worthington Kilbourne High School, I remember walking in and getting chills because I was so excited.  Even now, 8 years later, that feeling remains.  I am so blessed to be able to come to work each day in an amazing school.

It was fun to cheer the football team on to victory in their playoff game against Scioto tonight!  Congratulations to all of the members of the football team on your win.  I'm proud of you and it was fun to watch in spite of the cold.

As I stood at the game looking around, all I kept thinking was what a special place and community Worthington Kilbourne is and how lucky I am to be a part of it.  Even more than the outstanding athletics that was on display on the field, it was what I saw everywhere else that touched me most.  It was incredible to see everyone dressed in orange to support a fellow student as he prepares to battle leukemia.  While I wish he never had to go through this, it was inspiring to see how much everyone came together to show that they care and support Drew.  Additionally, this week, I was only in the building with kids on Monday, so it felt like it had been a LONG time since I had seen all of you and I missed you!  As I looked around I spotted many of my students - playing the bass drum, boosting school spirit from the front row of the stands, cheering on the team, or even a quick hi from some of the football players as they left the field and I was genuinely excited to see you.  I want you to know that I appreciate the fact that I can walk alongside you during your journey through high school and that I am thankful that my job allows me to have you in my life.

I am so proud to be a wolf!

Study Strategies

Do you know how to study? I ask students that question a lot and, quite honestly, the most common response is "no." It really isn't a surprise though. The reality is that until high school gets hard enough that you hit the wall and it no longer comes easy to you, studying isn't something you typically have to worry about and spend a lot of time focusing on.

The challenging part of studying is that what works best for one person may not be what works best for someone else. And, even if you figure out what works best for you in one particular subject area, that still doesn't mean that this particular strategy will be most effective for a different subject.

The best news is that there are lots of different ideas and strategies that you can use to develop a study strategy that works best for you! For what it is worth, think of learning to study like you think of learning to run. You already know some skills that have helped you to know how to study and to be successful - just like you already know how to run, but if you practice and really train at running, you can improve significantly and studying will work just the same. Keep working at your study strategies, practice and continue refining your technique until you find the perfect combination that works for you.

If you are struggling to find strategies to try out, I encourage you to visit the WKHS Counselor website as their are lots of examples there.  You can also work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching and Learning Center (Room 209) as they have a wealth of knowledge and helpful tips for study strategies that can help you in their particular subject areas as well as studying overall.  And, last, but not least, you can also stop in and see me and I can help brainstorm ideas that you could try.

4 year colleges... Really?

How long will it take you to make it through college? Most people will quickly think to themselves "4 years" because most WKHS students are looking at 4-year colleges.

Unfortunately, that is not always the reality. While most colleges are, technically, designed to be 4-year schools, for many colleges it is not always realistic that their students will, in fact, graduate in 4-years. You may wonder why this matters now, but it is very important for you to look at the 4-year graduation rates when you are considering colleges for your future because the longer it takes you to graduate, the more costs you will be taking on in college as well as the longer it will take you to graduate and get out into the working world or to move on to grad school.

You can usually find the 4-year graduation rates on college websites, but it isn't always easily accessible. This is a link to a US Department of Education website called College Navigator where you can search for schools and then by looking at the retention/ graduation rate area you will be able to see the statistics for each school in an easily accessible way.

Each school's 4-year graduation rates should not be your sole factor in making a decision, but it is another piece of the puzzle to help you. You should use the information to help you ask more questions about why their graduation rates are so low. Is it because it is too difficult to schedule classes when you need, is it because the costs are too expensive, is it because students change majors too many times so they end up with a lot of classes that do not help them toward their major, etc.

Happy Searching as you look for the school that is the best fit for you and your future.  

And, by the way, thank you to all of the students and parents who attended the Junior College Information Night last evening!  I hope you are getting excited about starting your college search process.  And I'd also like to offer a huge thank you to all of my senior students who were a part of the video - Alex Brothers, Jessica Carroll, Bryn Caswell, Mike Coen, Gabrielle Dendinger, Keegan Flaherty and Lauren Hedges!  I appreciate your willingness to share your insight and experiences with the younger Kilbourne students.