ACT and SAT Dates & Deadlines

Many students plan on taking the ACT or the SAT this fall.  If you are planning on taking one of these college admissions tests, it is important to register online prior to the designated deadlines.  For your convenience, here are the upcoming test dates and deadlines for each test:

ACT:
- September 10th - Register by August 5th
- October 22nd - Register by September 16th
- December 10th - Register by November 4th

SAT:
- October 1st - Register by September 1st
- November 5th - Register by October 7th
- December 3rd - Register by November 3rd

Don't forget, you will need to register for the tests online at the individual testing company websites.

ACT - www.actstudent.org

SAT - www.collegeboard.org

2 months later

Graduation day for the Class of 2016 was 2 months ago today.  I cannot believe it has been 2 months since you walked across the stage, received your diploma and officially became WKHS alumni.  Some of you have already headed off to college, full time employment or the military and others are preparing for that next step in the coming weeks.  I wanted to take a moment to congratulate all of you one last time and thank you for allowing me to join you on your journey through high school.  I know that there are great things ahead of you and I cannot wait to see the impact you have on our world.  And while you are probably moving on in your mind and not interested in looking back at "old" pictures - below are some pictures of my students on graduation day.

My favorite tradition at WKHS takes place during the graduation ceremony when students are able to receive their diplomas from a staff member (teacher, coach, counselor, etc.) who has been a significant part of their lives between their Kindergarten through 12th grade years.  I can assure you that this is an honor to the staff members that are selected and I believe it makes graduation more memorable because you have someone special to share in your graduation ceremony.

This year I was touched and humbled by the fact that I was selected to present diplomas to 5 of my students (pictured L to R): Bailey Andrews, Macala Dietz, Michael Bell, Amy Du, and Loryn Dave.

Bailey, Macala, Mike, Amy and Loryn~ Thank you so much for allowing me to have the honor of presenting you with your diplomas, but more importantly, thank you for giving me the chance to share in your lives.  It didn't matter if I knew you for 1 year or for 4 years, each of you stands out for your commitment and your ability to overcome obstacles.  I am proud of you for what you have accomplished, but this is only the start.  Each of you have the talent to achieve anything you set your minds to, but more importantly you have the heart and courage that will carry you far.  Always trust in yourselves and know that you were destined to make an impact and you are already doing just that - I know because you have impacted my life in more ways than you can even imagine.  I already miss you, but I am genuinely excited for the wonderful opportunities ahead of you.  Thank you again for allowing me to share in your graduation ceremony.  It means more to me than you know and I will never forget that moment, but more importantly I will never forget YOU!  Good luck in college.  Love, Miss Abbott

And, as promised, here are some pictures of all of "my" graduates.  I am proud of you all and I hope you will keep in touch in the future!

Senior Summer Productivity

Personally, I find that I need to structure my summer time or else I can waste a day away and not have any idea where the time went. I am particularly anxious to hear (and see) how productive all of the seniors have been this summer. Earlier this year, when we met for your individual meetings as well as in the large junior student & parent meeting we talked about some of the things you could (and ideally should) be working on this summer to prepare yourself for the college application process.

We talked about researching colleges, making college visits, asking teachers for recommendation letters, organizing your list of high school activities and awards (into resume format or at least a list), narrowing down your college list so that you have a solid final list about where you plan to apply when we start school next month, organizing all of your intended colleges so that you know their deadline dates and what materials you will need for applying, reading, doing any prep-work for the ACT/ SAT that you still wanted/ needed to do, working on your essay questions, volunteering, looking for scholarships, and, if applicable, completing all of your summer coursework for AP, IB or Honors classes. 

It is a pretty demanding list and a lot of times students think they'll have "more time" to work on it "later" when it isn't summer and they are back in a school mindset. Please remember, that once you start your classes you will have teachers demanding homework, over 7 hours of your day spent in school, plus athletics and other activities occupying your time.  Quite simply, there is no better time!

College Visits

One common summertime activity for many students and parents is making college visits.  While traveling this summer for family vacations, I hope you stopped by the local colleges and explored their campuses.  Even if it isn't a school that you are considering, it is always beneficial to see a variety of different college environments to get a feel for the options available to you in the future.  And, even if you are not traveling over break, there is still plenty of time left that you can explore nearby colleges on a day when you are feeling bored and wondering what you're going to do with your time.  Remember, even if you are not interested in attending college at one of the central Ohio colleges, the experience of visiting campuses will still help shape your view and knowledge for evaluating other colleges.  It probably goes without saying, but please remember that I would like your picture from somewhere on EACH campus that you visit!

Getting College Insight

Summer is a great time to be able to ask questions of your friends who are home from college about what their experience has been like. Types of questions you might want to consider asking include:

- What did they like best about college? Least?
- What best prepared them for college?
- Did their college search give them an accurate picture of what college would really be like?
- Are there particular things they would recommend that you look at or consider when researching schools?
- How large are the majority of their classes? Biggest class? Smallest?
- What activities did they get involved in on campus?
- Was it easy to make friends at school?
- If they could go back and repeat their high school years over again, would they have done anything different? Would they still have made the same choices about where to apply and attend?

Those are just a few ideas to get you started. It is really important to keep in mind that just because a school was the right college for your friends or your siblings it doesn't necessarily mean that it will be the right fit for you.

In my experience, students are always more than happy to spend some time talking about their first year (or two) of college. Take full advantage of the opportunity - it really might help guide you in your own college search, or, at the very least, hopefully it will motivate you to start exploring colleges for yourself.

Volunteering

Have you been productive this summer? Have you accomplished any of the goals that you had hoped to achieve? I had pretty lofty expectations for some of the things that I had hoped to accomplish this summer and I certainly haven't made it through all of the items on my "to do list," but I continue trying to check items off the list. One of the great goals I know that many of you had this summer was to make a difference in the community by volunteering your time, talents, and skills. Have you enjoyed your volunteer experiences so far? If you haven't thought much about volunteering, there is still time to get involved!

Career Related Earning Potential

Believe it or not, life isn't all about how much money you make. You want to find a career that you will love and find rewarding. But, that being said, many students want to make sure that they are selecting a college major that will lead them to a career field that can provide a secure financial future.  The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce has done in depth research on the Economic Value of College Majors.  Their website has fascinating information that you can sort through including looking at different states as well as different majors.  Check it out if you are interested in exploring more about careers and majors that might be good options for your future.

Creating a Resume

If you are wondering what you should be doing this summer, one of the items that I hope you have on your "To Do" list is to create or update your high school resume.

It is important to compile a detailed list of:
- all of your activities including clubs, community groups, and sports
- awards received - it is helpful to know the award name, who it was from and reason for the recognition
- community service commitments with hours
- employment with hours

You can do this informally (just don't lose it!) on a sheet of paper or you can use a resume template.  The format isn't as essential as having an organized, accurate list.

Adding to and keeping this list updated is an important step for students of every high school grade because when you sit down to start working on your college applications they are going to ask you over and over again to list out these types of items so having a complete list is key. I also hope it goes without saying that not only should the list be complete, but it should also be ACCURATE! Do NOT make up activities, awards, or other involvement that you did not participate in and did not earn!

Email

I realize that many students do not utilize e-mail regularly, however, it is very important to have an e-mail account of your own when it comes to college application time.  And please note, I recognize that you have your own wscloud email address, but that account cannot be used for college applications or any out of district emails. College applications will ask you for your e-mail address. Often times the colleges will use your e-mail as their way to communicate with you including notifying you of your admissions decision. (This also points out that it is important to regularly check your e-mail.) 

Some questions to ask yourself: 
Do you have an account? (If not, you need to create one. There are tons of free choices available - gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.) 
Do you have an appropriate account? (In other words, is the name of your account appropriate as the college admissions officers will be seeing the e-mail address when reviewing your application.) 
Is it YOUR account? (A lot of times students just rely on their parents e-mail addresses which works a lot in high school, but when you are at the college application point it is important to have your own account as many of the colleges will ask for your address and your parents address.)

In addition to having an e-mail account, it is also important to remember to use proper etiquette when communicating with college representatives via e-mail. For example, when you need to e-mail admissions officers for any reason, as well as any other college representatives (advisor, professor, etc.) that you communicate with, please remember that the way you write your e-mail is a reflection of you. Please do not use text talk, use appropriate capitalization (avoid ALL CAPS, avoid all lower case such as "i", etc), be mature, and write it in an official format “Dear _(insert their name with Mr/ Mrs)_, Text of your message, Sincerely, _(insert your name)__”.

What NOT to do on Campus Tours

I have recently been talking about my trip to LA and the campuses that I had the chance to visit.  While I was sitting in on the admissions session and tour on USC's campus I was struck by how many people are COMPLETELY inappropriate while making college visits.  So, I thought it might be helpful to give you a heads up on a few things NOT to do while visiting campuses.

1.  Do NOT fall asleep during the admissions session.

2.  Do NOT sit there looking at your phone the entire admissions session and campus tour.  (I know that some people prefer to take notes on their phone, but I have to be honest, it just looks like you are texting and not listening so either wait until the end to make notes about what you want to remember or write it down on paper instead of typing it in your phone.)

3.  Do NOT take phone calls in the middle of the admissions session (especially in the room) nor during the campus tour.

4.  Do NOT wear inappropriate clothes.  (Hint - if it wouldn't meet the dress code at WKHS then you shouldn't be wearing it for a campus visit.)

5.  Do NOT dominate the admissions session or campus tour.  It is important to have your questions answered, but the admissions representatives also need to address the needs of all of the participants.  If you have a ton of specific questions it might necessitate an individual conversation following the presentation.

6.  Do NOT sit through the admissions session looking totally disengaged and bored by what is being covered.  (Imagine head propped on hand with mouth gaping open and staring off into space.)

7.  Do NOT leave the volume on your phone/ iPad or other electronic devices on during the visit.  (The inevitable phone call or text message is bad enough, but this also applies to your little brother playing his video game - the volume needs to be off!)

8.  Do NOT show up late and then try to have other people move seats so that you can fit your large group in seats together.

9.  Do NOT wear college shirts featuring the name of rival colleges.

10.  Do NOT roll your eyes, act annoyed and behave rudely during the visit. (You only have one chance to make a first impression so make sure it is a positive impression.)

Remember that all of these things NOT to do apply to you and also to your parents, siblings, grandparents, or any other people who come to visit the college with you.

For what it is worth, yes, I actually saw ALL of these things happen during my visit to USC.  I even started taking pictures of the people to use as examples on my blog, but then I decided that wouldn't be appropriate, but really, please, represent yourself better than this when you are on your campus visit.

Oh The Places *I'll* Go...

I'm don't typically travel a lot, but this past year I have had the chance to take some great, memorable trips and while on these trips I have included college visits whenever I could.  I know that some of you are traveling this summer and I'd like to remind you that I would like a picture of you on EVERY campus that you step foot on - even if it is not a school you are considering for your future.

I already mentioned my trip to LA to visit NYFA.  While I was in Los Angeles I also took the opportunity to visit a few other area colleges including...

Pepperdine University - Pepperdine is frequently cited as one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation and it is certainly a stunning setting.  These pictures don't do it justice, but the top photo shows me with the campus buildings in the back left, the athletic facilities below, and the Pacific Ocean in the back right.

University of Southern California - USC has a great tradition of academic and athletic excellence and I loved the campus.  I took the chance to eat while on campus and, FYI, it is something I suggest that all students do while they are on exploring possible colleges.

University of California Los Angeles - UCLA is yet another outstanding LA college with great traditions and a beautiful campus.  (Can I mention that with the gorgeous LA weather, it makes it hard not to love these college campuses.)  One of my favorite parts of visiting UCLA was a stop at Diddy Riese which had the most incredible ice cream sandwiches... I'd go back to LA just to have another one!  :-)

New York Film Academy - Los Angeles

Last month I had the opportunity to visit the Los Angeles campus of the New York Film Academy (NYFA).  It was a wonderful experience to learn so much about a college that specifically targets fields that I knew very little about and I am so grateful to the staff at NYFA for not only inviting me to see their campus, but also for making sure that I (along with all of the other counselors and teachers attending) had a chance to learn about their college and the experiences available to students.

As their college name indicates, the New York Film Academy is focused on film, but this is not just a college for actors!  In fact, part of what amazed me was all of the different aspects that are involved in successfully creating what we see on television and in movies.  Yes, there are definitely actors, but there are also screenwriters, directors, producers, photographers, animators, and game designers.  NYFA is focused on helping students with a passion and drive for these fields to make their mark and get the hands on education that will help them in the future.

One of the hallmarks of their college is the fact that 100% of their faculty and staff are actively involved in the fields that they are helping students pursue.  So, for example, the professor teaching the students about screenwriting is also working in the industry as a screenwriter.  Even the admissions officers and academic advisors work as actors or hosts or producers or directors.  They are individuals who are passionate about what they do and they enjoy having the chance to share their love of film with the world and especially with their students who have shared interests.

Located in beautiful, sunny LA, NYFA has great facilities and incredible opportunities available to their students in part because of their location.  Students film on the Universal Studios Backlot.  Students are able to access this AMAZING (huge) props and costume facility called the Edith Head Building which is also on the Universal Studios lot.  It was fascinating as we walked through the building to see all of the different things that are stored there.  For example, there is an entire aisle full of telephones (old phones, new phones, cell phones, etc.), a complete section of furniture, an aisle that featured different swords (some that all looked the same, but were in a range of weights from real and very heavy to fake and light as a feather) and so when someone is designing their scene they will go through and pull the various items that they need to help bring that scene to life.  NYFA students have the added bonus of being able to rent the props and costumes for 50% off.  Personally, I thought it was cool to walk through the building and see tags on carts for supplies that current popular TV shows were pulling for upcoming tapings.

I have to be honest, I thought the entire experience was fascinating because I really didn't know anything about all of the different jobs that go into a production, but without a doubt my favorite part was seeing what the animation/ game design staff can do.  It absolutely amazed me.


NYFA also has camp opportunities available for high school students so if you are interested in learning more, those might also be a good chance to learn more about the college and the industry.

I took a lot more pictures and have a wealth of information and resources that they provided to me so if you are interested, stop and see me once we are back at school and I'd love to talk to you more about everything I learned at NYFA!

Summer Assignments

Can you believe that we are already halfway through summer break?  I wanted to remind you that many of you are enrolled in classes for next year that require you to complete summer work.  Hopefully you have started making progress on the work that is expected of you.  It is important to remember that you are responsible for completing all summer work and that it will impact your grade in your class.  Sometimes, in the past, students would procrastinate on completing their summer assignments and then decide at the last minute that they would drop out of the advanced course in favor of the non-advanced version (so, for example, dropping AP US History in favor of regular US History).  Remember, per school policy, you only had until June 15th to make that change so now if you decide that you want to change levels, you will still be responsible for completing the summer work because even if you change levels your summer assignment is a part of your academic record and so your grades on the summer assignments will go with you to the new class.

Hopefully you are feeling good about your summer assignments and how you are progressing on your summer work.  If you haven't started, please get moving on it!

Test Scores

I have to be honest, I have been completely overwhelmed about the thought of getting back on my blog and writing a post because it has been SOOOO LONG since I have posted and I have so many updates that I still need to make.  In the 10 years I have been blogging I have never waited this long between posts.  I hope you will forgive me for the lengthy delay as well as for the fact that I will still be posting some long over-due updates through the rest of the summer.

The most timely things for you to know now:

Scores from the spring IB tests are available today.  I hope that you achieved your goals and have the scores you were hoping to achieve!

Additionally, scores from the AP tests taken during May will be available online tomorrow.  Remember, scores are not being mailed home and are only available electronically. 

To access your scores log in using your college board account information.  (If you don’t have a college board account, you will need to create one.)

As you are probably aware, colleges determine the tests and scores needed in order to grant college credit.  Typically a 3 is the minimum score needed for credit.  Additional information is available on the college board’s AP website - http://www.apscore.org/credit.html.

If you have more questions related to AP tests then please visit the AP website: http://www.apscore.org/schedule.html

I hope you are happy with your scores!

And, since this is my first time posting in more than a month, I also need to give a HUGE congratulations to the WKHS Boys Lacrosse Team for being STATE CHAMPIONS!  Well done gentlemen, I am proud of you all!