Teen Sleep

I cannot even begin to explain how often I hear students frustratingly proclaim, "I'm so tired!"  It is a statement that I hear over and over again each day.  Sleep is a tough issue to tackle because it 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 so 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 eventually 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 or checking social media late into the night.  And, although it isn't easy, sleep is important and it is a choice to make it a priority because the reality is that so many of you genuinely are exhausted!

I am the first to admit that I 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 we 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 most of you could benefit from getting more sleep.  

So, here is my encouragement and challenge to each of you.  Consider what 1 small thing you could do in these next few weeks to try to increase the amount of sleep you get each night.  Even if you are just getting an additional 30 minutes to an hour of sleep per night, it can make a difference.  You need to decide what you think would work for you, but a few ideas you could consider would be to stay off your phone after a certain time, start your homework earlier so you aren't up so late working on assignments, or using your time throughout the day wisely so that you can make the choice to go to bed earlier.  If you want to discuss what you are doing to help yourself get more rest or to brainstorm other strategies, please stop by and see me!

A sleep related article:

Teens need more sleep than you think

Academic Honors Night

Congratulations to all of the 332 students who were honored at tonight's Academic Honors ceremony. As a component of the award ceremony, students are presented with gold, silver, and bronze keys in recognition of their achievements in academic excellence.

Gold keys are awarded to students who have earned a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher at the end of 7 full semesters. 21 of "my" students were among tonight's gold key recipients.

Silver keys are awarded to students with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA at the end of 5 full semesters. 29 of "my" students received silver keys tonight.

Bronze Keys are awarded to students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of 3 full semesters. 27 of "my" students were presented with bronze keys.

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

Tuesday's ACT & Schedule

Tomorrow we are on a VERY different bell schedule!

Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors - you will be functioning on a late-start schedule tomorrow.  This means that you get to sleep in and relax a little bit in the morning.  If you ride a bus, your bus will pick you up 3 hours later than normal.  If you walk or drive to school, you can determine what time you want to arrive just be sure to make it to school in enough time to be able to get to your 5th period class at 12:20pm.  As I mentioned, with late start buses running 3 hours later than normal, this means that if you ride a bus that will likely mean you will arrive to school around 10:15am and you'll have that time until the start of classes to study, eat lunch, or participate in recreation time in the commons or Aux Gym.

Juniors - you will ride the bus at the normal time and arrive to school like every other day.  You will then report to your assigned testing location at 7:40am so that you can begin taking the ACT promptly at 7:45am.  The test will conclude around 11:30 and you will then have a break and a chance to grab lunch before the start of classes.

And then everyone (9th through 12th grade) will proceed to afternoon classes with the following bell schedule:
5th Period - 12:20 - 12:57
6th Period - 1:02 - 1:39
7th Period - 1:44 - 2:21
8th Period - 2:26 - 3:05

I also have a few ACT Testing reminders for the juniors:  This test is an official ACT so you are strictly bound to all of the restrictions and requirements set forth by ACT.  Testing will begin promptly at 7:45am so you will need to report to your assigned rooms by 7:40am.  Please be sure to bring your Student ID card, number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils are allowed!), and a calculator.  And I would also suggest that you bring a watch.  Cell phones are NOT allowed to be on in the testing room at all. 

After you complete the ACT you may realize that you want/ need to sign up to repeat the ACT or to take the SAT so let me help you out with a quick reminder about the College Admissions Tests.

There are two main college admissions tests – the SAT and the ACT – these tests enable colleges to compare students from different schools and backgrounds and to predict how successful the students will be in college. Colleges accept scores from either test. One test is not better than another - take the test that is best for both you and the school to which you are applying. And yes, you may take both tests.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) 
When people are talking about the “SAT” they are generally speaking about the SAT I test or the SAT Reasoning Test. No matter what you choose to call it, this is a 3 hour and 15 minute long test. There is an evidenced based reading and writing score, a math score, and an optional essay to the test. Scores for each section range on a scale of 200 – 800.

SAT Subject Tests
The SAT Subject Tests are sometimes also referred to as the SAT II Achievement Tests. They are one-hour tests in specific subjects such as English, history, mathematics, or foreign languages. Some of the more competitive schools require two or three tests for first-year placement. Be sure to check to see if these tests are required (and if so, in what areas) before you sign up to take them!  A tip would be to take these subject tests at the same time that you are taking your AP tests in that subject so that you are able to study once and use it to maximum benefit.

The ACT Tests
The ACT tests assess specific academic abilities in English, math, reading, and science reasoning, and writing. Scores range from 1 (low) to 36 (high) for each of the four tests and for the composite. The composite is the average of the four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Submitting Your Test Scores
When you register to take your test they will ask you which schools you would like to have notified of your scores. You automatically have 4 “free” choices of colleges to be notified of your scores. It is to your benefit to take advantage of this because the colleges will consider your highest score (and disregard your lower scores) and it will cost money to send the scores to the schools after you receive your results. Nearly all schools want the ACT/ SAT directly from the testing provider rather than from WKHS.

When should I take the test?
Students usually take the tests one or more times in the second semester of their junior year, early in their senior year or both.  Tests are also now being offered in the summer which is a new addition from both ACT and SAT.

Do I need to take the writing test?
It depends on what your intended colleges are asking for.  Look at what the colleges you are considering want to see to help you make that decision.  For what it is worth, the ACT you will be taking tomorrow does NOT include the writing test.

How do I register, figure out costs, and find more information?
Visit the SAT and ACT websites. (I also have a link to the websites on the right side of the page.)

What is the high school code that the testing sites request?
The CEEB/ ACT Code number for Worthington Kilbourne High School is 365507.

And, last but certainly not least, do I *HAVE* to take the test again if I did OK the first time I took it?
Unfortunately this isn’t an easy answer. No, you don’t *have* to do anything. If you are confident in your score then relax and be done with the testing. If you are confident in your score, but know that you could do better… well, then I’d say relax (there is no testing pressure because you are confident in your score) and take the test again because statistics show that students typically improve their scores if they repeat the test. Some of you are sitting there wishing you had not read that last line… but the reality is that if you take the test and improve your score it can only help you. You can benefit in the eyes of the college if you ended up on the bubble for their admissions decision and you can benefit financially if you are applying for any scholarships that consider your test scores. If you are not confident in your scores or if you know that you can do better – then the answer is simply, yes, take it again and see if you can improve your score.

Outstanding Musical

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend this year's musical - The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  We have incredibly talented students and it was fun and exciting to see all of their hard work and dedication pay off. I had many students involved in the show.  

Those who were featured on stage included: Jocelyn Blake, Noah Estevez-Curtis and Jacob Fisher.

While those who were showcased on the stage often get all the attention, the show wouldn't have been a success without the help of many behind the scenes.  This included: Dylan Buford, Sami Fink, Harley Davidson, Taysia Curry, Ayman Al-Adhami, and Mikey D'Angelo.

And, of course, a musical wouldn't be possible without music and my students who were a part of the Pit Orchestra included: Maxim Estevez-Curtis, Madeline Allen, Kurt Boker, Katie Coppel, and Brady Cloyd.

Congratulations to all of you on an outstanding musical!

Congratulations and Good Luck

In swimming and diving only the top 24 individuals for each event qualify for the state championships which are being held this weekend. Haley Banner is one of those individuals. Congratulations on making it to States and Good Luck this weekend! 

Academic Assistants

Perhaps I am the only one counting down, but in case you are wondering we have just 11 more school days left in the quarter.  This is critical for those of you who need to be eligible for sports in the spring quarter.  If you are not where you'd like to be, please make sure that you are working with your teachers in any of the subjects you are struggling with and also remember to take advantage of the opportunity to work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching & Learning Center!  

WKHS is incredibly fortunate to have the support of four outstanding academic assistants.  If you have never been into the Teaching and Learning Center for help, it is time to make a visit.  Ms. Elliott is the English academic assistant, Mrs. Lee focuses on Science, Mr. Wood takes care of Social Studies and Mr. Freisner works with Math.  The Teaching and Learning Center is housed in Room 209.  Students can drop by before school, during lunch, prep or options to get extra help on assignments or for assistance in studying for upcoming tests.  

This room provides a more structured environment so you can be certain that you will be able to find a quiet place to study and get your work done.  When you walk into the Teaching and Learning Center you can sit at any of the tables in the room if you want to work independently, but if you need help in a particular subject you can also just go and sit at the table with the academic assistant responsible for that subject area.  

And, as if this wasn't enough, the academic assistant's are also outstanding resources for helping students to get organized, to stay on top of assignments and to assist you in making plans for completing projects in a timely manner.  They are an unbelievable asset to the students at WKHS and you are missing out if you are not taking advantage of their free help!  I consistently see the significant difference in grades for those students who are working with teachers and academic assistants to get caught up vs those who try to manage it on their own.

What grade do you deserve?

How are you doing in your classes?  Are you getting the grades you think you deserve?  Pause for a second and really think about that... when you think about your grades, are they in alignment with what you believe you have earned?

This tends to be a hard question for many students.  Some of you will reflect on that question and say, "No!" And quickly cite examples like the tests are too hard, the teacher demands too much homework be completed, or I work hard and do everything I am asked and it still doesn't result in a good grade. 

Other students will reflect on this question and say, "Yes!"  Their answers may include statements such as I work hard and it pays off or I learn what I need to pull off the grades I am earning. 

And probably the majority of students would answer, "I don't know."  Perhaps you know that you are not fully applying yourself to your school work every day so maybe you could do better if you tried harder, but you feel like you are doing "good enough" and are struggling to decide if putting forth the additional work would result in a marked improvement or not.  Interestingly, I would actually say that my guess is these students who don't know if their grades are what they deserve or not are in the best position to try to make a change.

If you automatically take the victim role line of thinking that it is too hard or believe you are not good enough then you're already in a position where you likely believe that nothing you do can make it better.  (For the record, I do not believe this is true... ever!)  For those of you who are thinking that you're getting the grades you earn then part of me says "Great!  Keep after it" and part of me says I hope you are not just settling for "good enough."  But the rest of you - it's time to try some new things.  Rather than just going through the motions and hoping for the best, you can take control and own your own learning!  Push yourself to understand the material being covered in class.  Try to consider how the concepts being taught apply to the rest of your world.  Use your experiences of studying, time management and work completion as practice for your futures because in college and some day, when you are "old" and working in your selected careers, you will always still be learning new concepts, trying new things, juggling commitments and responsibilities and you have to be able to take responsibility to put forth your best effort.

So, I'd like to clarify, it is a lot less important to me what the exact letter grade you earn ends up being.  What is important to me is that you are giving your best effort and that you are learning and growing!  When you are trying your best and seeking help when you need it then I will always be happy because you don't have to be THE best as long as you are doing YOUR best!

ACT for Juniors

All students in the Class of 2019 (juniors) will be taking the ACT free of charge during the school day on Tuesday, February 27th.  Because of the extended amount of time required for students to successfully complete the ACT, the rest of the students will be on a late-start bell schedule for the day with classes beginning at 12:20pm. (I will give you the complete bell schedule next week...)

During school tomorrow, all juniors will be meeting in the auditorium during 3rd period to complete your pre-ACT registration paperwork.  One of the most important questions that you will be asked to submit while completing your forms is to indicate where you would like to have your scores sent.  All students are able to select 4 colleges where you can send your scores to free of charge.  Since this is a national college admissions test your scores can be used for admission at colleges and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of sending these free scores.

One hint - for those of you who are are planning on participating in College Credit Plus next year (if you haven't already been taking classes with that same college this year) then I would strongly suggest that you send your scores to your intended CC+ schools (CSCC, COTC or whichever campus you were planning to go to such as OSU).

Please spend a few minutes tonight thinking about where you'd like your scores sent so that you are prepared tomorrow.

Columbus State Community College

Are you planning on attending Columbus State Community College next year after you graduate? This is a great option for a lot of students because it allows students to transition from the high school to college expectations in typically smaller classes and for a fraction of the cost. Students attending CSCC have much later deadlines for admission and so it can be easy to procrastinate on completing the application. It is an easy, online application and will not take you long to complete it so I would like to encourage you to apply sometime in this coming week.  Hop online and give the application a try and then if you have any questions, stop by to see me and I will help answer them for you.

College Visits

Are you excited about the fact that we have a long weekend coming up?  For many students this is the perfect opportunity to make a college visit.  Many colleges will host special visit days on Monday because they know that high school students are off and so they often plan days that will allow students to learn more about the different programs and opportunities that are available on campus.  Perhaps you are trying to decide what colleges you might want to apply to in the future and this can allow you to get started.  Or, for seniors, making additional visits can help you when trying to decide which of the many schools you applied to will be your future home.  I hope you will try to take advantage of the long weekend and make a college visit.

Don't forget, students should be the ones contacting the college to set up the college visit.  Also, if you are going to make a visit on a college campus, please make sure to take a picture somewhere on campus for me! For the record, the picture can be anywhere on campus, but I would like you in the picture!  So, pick out a pretty place on campus, find a cool sign announcing the college's name, or snap a picture in front of the building that houses your major where you anticipate spending most of your time in the future.

If you have no idea what colleges you might be interested in for the future, you can still make use of the long weekend to start exploring colleges.  You can, of course, begin your search online and try to find colleges that fit your interests, but more often than not, students tell me that they don't even know what they want in a college.  If that is you, then perhaps starting your college search by exploring some nearby campuses would be a valuable use of your time.  As you walk around the campus, people watch and listen to the presentations by the college admissions representatives you will begin to see various aspects of college life.  From these impressions you will be able to start forming an impression of what you like and what you don't like.  These views will be extremely valuable to you as you start narrowing your college search.

No matter how you spend your long weekend, I hope you enjoy the extra day off!  And again, if you are visiting a college, please be sure to bring back a picture!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! When I was growing up my mom always had this tradition of giving us a small heart shaped box filled with m&m's. It would be sitting at "our spot" at the kitchen table on Valentine's Day morning. That heart-shaped box of m&m's is what I associate with valentine's day. It is a small tradition, but it means so much. I hope that you have traditions in your family whether related to valentine's day or some other day that remind you of the love that is shared between you. 

Valentine's Day is often a holiday that is dominated by commercials encouraging people to buy special cards, jewelry, flowers or candy, but really those items are not what love is all about.  Love is about caring for the people in your life and putting their needs above your own.  Love is also about respecting one another!  February is Teen Dating Violence awareness month.  I hope that you all know and realize that you deserve to be in healthy and respectful relationships.  It is important to speak up and set healthy boundaries in your relationships and to seek help if that is not happening in your life or the lives of those you care about.  Want to learn more about teen dating violence?  Check out this website - http://www.loveisrespect.org/ - they have tons of great resources and information.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day and that you will be reminded by your family members and friends that you are important and that you matter so that today your heart is filled with love and joy!

Earning Credit

Over the last few weeks a large part of my time has been spent trying to explain to students about how you earn credits in high school.  It is a valuable reminder for everyone.

High school is different than elementary and middle school.  In middle school, you take classes and each year you move on to the next grade and take all the classes for that grade.  In high school, you must earn credits for specified classes and the way you earn credit is by passing each semester of the class. 

So, for example, all students must earn 4 credits of English to graduate.  When you pass both semesters of English 1 during your freshman year, you move on to English 2 during your sophomore year.  If, unfortunately, you failed one of the semesters of English 1 then you are going to have to make that up before you can progress on to English 2.  Students who failed a semester will be able to make up the course either by repeating the class in summer school, repeating the class through credit recovery or repeating the class by retaking it during your sophomore year.  The bottom line is that you must REPEAT the class in some format.

Some classes (like English and Math) have pre-requisites that students must meet in order to move on to the next level.  Other classes, like Science and Social Studies, do not have pre-requisites to move on to the next level so in order to help make sure all students are exposed to the content you will need to know before the state mandated tests, we will allow you to move from Physical Science to Biology or from World History to US History without first repeating the freshman year class.  Don’t misunderstand though, you will have to repeat the class at some point, but if you are not making it up during summer school, then you will likely be taking a freshman year class during your junior year.

In order to earn sophomore status, students must have earned at least 5 credits.  To become a junior you will need 10 credits.  To be classified as a senior, you must have earned at least 15 credits.

I know that we have talked about your credits and progress and what you need to make up (if applicable), but if you still have any questions about where you stand with the credits you have earned or what still remains, please don’t hesitate to stop by and see me.

School Counseling & Pass/ Fail Changes

I love my job!  Of course, like with every other adult you have ever met, there are parts of my job and random days that are not as ideal as others, but as a whole… I am SO LUCKY!  I truly love what I get to do every day.  To walk into WKHS and to work with my students is the best job anyone could ever hope to have in their life.  Last week was National School Counselor Week.  It is actually a week when school counselors are supposed to be advocating for our profession and helping tell people what it is we really do because most people cannot even imagine what the job involves.  But with registration craziness and the non-stop meetings with my students, even having a moment to pause to share what the profession means to me just didn’t seem realistic.  But instead, the administrators, teachers and students decided to surprise all of the Kilbourne counselors with wonderful words of affirmation and appreciation.  Our halls are currently lined with the most generous and meaningful notes from students who have shared their thoughts on how their school counselor has helped them.  I don’t know if any of them were specifically for me (although I did spot at least 1 note that highlighted Lexi which made me smile), but what I can tell you is that I hope you know how much I appreciate the kind words.  They made me smile and touched my heart and yet I don’t do this job for the pay or even those incredibly meaningful notes – I do this job with the hope that in the smallest of ways I can try to be a positive presence and to try to help make your life even a little easier.  So it doesn’t matter to me if we are focused on your academic success, your college and career plans, or the issues connected to your personal/ social emotional development, all of it is a joy for me to be able to work with you!  YOU are the reason I love coming to work every day!  To get to know you, to walk alongside you in your journey throughout high school, to hope that you will know that you are cared about and believed in is so important to me.  And so I want you to know that every day, each time you drop by to say hi, to share a part of your life with me – that is the greatest gift and helps give me the focus to always try to bring my best effort to the day.  I know that I am far from perfect and there are always times and people who wish I could be in more places or do more things, but I promise you that I will always try to help you in whatever way I can.   Thank you for giving so much back to me – through your actions of allowing me to be a part of your life and also with the sweet messages for National School Counselor Week.

Switching gears – I also wanted to make sure that all of you are aware that tomorrow is the last day to drop a class without it appearing on your transcript!  Tomorrow is also the deadline for students to be able to switch their schedules from traditional grading to pass/ fail grading.  So, if this was something you were considering, please be sure to download the forms from the Counselor website and submit them by the end of the day tomorrow!

ACT/ SAT Prep

Last week I talked about the opportunity we have arranged for students to take an online ACT/ SAT prep course – and yes, you can still sign up for the ZAPS course, but the deadline to register is tomorrow, Monday, February 12^th.  (Don’t forget to register online if you are interested!)  But today I wanted to highlight two other key (free) steps you can do to help prepare for the tests.

There are full length practice tests available for free online.  Download and take the test.  And yes… I mean the whole test…without distractions… without your cell phone or snacks or the TV on. :-)  Truly focus, set a timer and practice the true testing experience.  Is it hard to focus that intently for that long?  Probably, but that is why you are practicing it.  How did you do on the timing and pace of the test?  Will you need to go faster on the actual test?  Building the testing stamina will be incredibly valuable when you go to take the actual test, but remember the only way to get there is to practice in testing like circumstances.

Use your PSAT/ Pre-ACT results.  Hopefully you took the Pre-ACT or the PSAT and if you did, then put the results to use for you.  Go back and look at what you answered right or wrong.  Figure out where you are weakest and where your strengths are and how can you build on both to improve.  The PSAT allows you to connect your scores with Khan Academy for free tailored practice so take advantage of that too.  And, even if you didn’t take the PSAT you can still use Khan Academy – just sign up (for free) and take the sample test to have it help guide you to the areas where it could create a practice plan.  Of course, you can’t just get onto Khan Academy one time and have that be sufficient, but actually use it to help you develop your skills.

Test prep might not be "fun," but it will feel worth it if you go into the tests with more confidence.

King and Queen of Hearts

I love so many of the traditions at WKHS and the King and Queen of Hearts is yet another meaningful tradition. As you are aware, tonight is the Winter Formal Dance and the King and Queen of Hearts will be announced. In order to be crowned the King and Queen of Hearts, the nominated students have spent the last few weeks raising money for the winter charity (The Jude Kraft Foundation). The male and female students who raised the most money will be the individuals crowned. 3 of "my" students were among the group working to raise money as King and Queen of Heart candidates - good luck and congratulations to: Ava Burson, David Boord, and Chase Brown.

I hope all of you have a great time at Winter Formal.  Please be safe and make good choices!

Olympics

I *LOVE* the Olympics! As you probably know, I enjoy watching sports as a whole, but the Olympics are so special and unique. It is thrilling to watch all of the different sports and witness the passion and excitement as athletes compete not just for themselves or for one particular team, but for their entire country. It is remarkable to think of the dedication, hard work, and perseverance the athletes have displayed as they made sacrifices and overcame obstacles to achieve their goals. We are blessed to live in a great country and I, for one, am proud to cheer on all of the men and women who will be competing.

I even have a picture of a former Olympian and Bronze Medalist hanging in my office.  Do you know which athlete I'm talking about?  If you're not sure, stop by my office and check it out!

My DVR has already started filling up with Olympic events and over the next few weeks, every spare chance I have will be spent watching the Olympics... popular sports, random sports - it doesn't matter to me because each of the athletes has a story - much like each of you has a story worthy of knowing and celebrating.  And, if you are at all like me and you enjoy cheering on the USA during the Olympics too, then stop by and let me know what about your favorite moments!

Talent Show

Tonight, WKHS students showed off their incredible talents in the annual talent show.  It takes so much courage to stand up in front of your peers, family members, friends, teachers and a crowded auditorium and perform!  One of the best things about the talent show is that it is held to raise money for the winter charity - this year it is for the Jude Kraft Foundation in honor of Mrs. Kraft's son, Jude, who died last summer.

Many of my students performed in the talent show including: Dylan Buford, Chidima Anaraodo, Jacob Antolik, and Jorge Arellano plus several individuals who were members of groups in the Jazz Band, Dance Team and Field Hockey team.  In addition to those who performed as a part of the event, Kennedy Dauphin served as one of the Masters of Ceremony and definitely had to work hard when killing time when the music wouldn't work for the Field Hockey team's performance.  You all did a great job.  I love being able to witness your many talents in action.  Thank you for having the courage to share your gifts as a part of this special fundraiser.

Zaps ACT Prep Class

Every year we survey the seniors at the end of the year to reflect back on their high school careers and one of the questions we ask is: What do you wish you had done different during your high school years?  Each year one of the common pieces of feedback we receive is that students wish they would have had more ACT/ SAT preparation options.  We have consistently heard from ACT representatives that the best preparation is a rigorous high school curriculum, but we wanted to try to be responsive to the student feedback we have received. As a result, we investigated several test prep course options to try to find one that would work with us on scheduling, be helpful for students and would be a cost effective alternative.

We were thrilled to find ZAPS, a test prep company, who has worked with us for multiple years.  Zaps will be providing their test-prep course in a webinar format.  All students will receive an ACT study guide and practice test questions for each subject area that will be used when participating in the live webinar.  The course will be held online on Sunday and Monday, February 18 and 19th, from 6:30 to 9:00pm.  

An informational letter including registration instructions was e-mailed to parents. The cost of this ACT webinar prep course is $79.99. If you are interested in participating, please be sure to register as soon as possible to make certain that you don't get closed out of the course.  The absolute deadline to register is February 12th.  The test prep materials will be distributed from the Counseling Center on Thursday before the course.  If you plan on participating, you need to register online at http://register.doorwaytocollege.com/webinars.

Summer School

As you are probably aware, Worthington has a summer school program every year.  Online registration for Worthington's summer school will begin soon.  Worthington Summer school will primarily be for credit recovery purposes - meaning that if you had failed a class you can take the class over again in Worthington's summer school.  Credit recovery courses will be free of charge.  There will be a limited number of classes available for getting ahead in credits and those classes will have a fee associated with them.  Summer school will run from June 4th -June 29th and free transportation will be available to students who need it.  Registration is completely online on the district website along with tons more information about summer school - check it out at worthington.k12.oh.us under the "Academics" tab.

Some students and parents have had questions related to taking summer classes through a different school district or through Online schools.  The basic answer is yes, you are allowed to take classes through any accredited school.  Please be sure that they are accredited before you sign up for their classes.  After you have completed your course, they will give you a transcript and you will need to provide that to us at WKHS so that we can transfer your credit.  

As these courses are not coordinated or run by Worthington, I don't have a lot of details about various options, but a Google search for "online summer school" has been successful for students in the past.  (Some students also search for their intended course name to help make sure their search return gives them schools that offer that class.)  You can select any accredited program that works best for you - so look at their costs, learning experiences, expectations, and determine what seems to be the best fit for what you are seeking.

My top tip is to make sure you are signing up for their summer school classes because I do know that in the past students found there was a significant difference in the cost if they were taking a class online during summer school vs. taking a class online during the school year.

Worthington Academy

The Worthington Academy is an application based program available to WKHS students.  The Academy is housed on the west end of Phoenix Middle School and it provides students with the opportunity to blend their learning with a mix of teacher instructed and online courses.

There are open houses for students and parents interested in learning more about the Academy tonight, Monday, February 5th at 7pm and Saturday, February 10th at 10am.

Students who are already attending the Academy and are in good academic standing can register for the Academy as a part of their registration process and then select only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS.  Those students who are applying for the Academy for the first time will register as if you were going to be attending classes at WKHS for the full day.  Once you are accepted to the Academy, I will go in and update your course requests so that you have the Academy and only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS in your schedule.

The priority deadline to apply to the Worthington Academy is April 6th and students will be notified of their admission standing in May.  Please know that there are limited seats available at the Academy, so if you are interested in applying you want to get your application in as soon as possible.

If you have questions about the Worthington Academy, I definitely encourage you to attend one of the open houses!  You can also contact the Academy Principal, Mr. Schirg, via e-mail at aschirg@wscloud.org.

Super Bowl & Busy Week

Are you getting ready to watch the Super Bowl?  There will be a lot of attention on the 53 players on each team.  They are the stars of the game, but there are so many other people who are involved in making sure that each individual and each team is ready to excel at the highest levels.  This is how it works with lots of different career fields.  Even school.  You, as students, are the stars!  Your opportunity to show off all that you know in class every day takes perseverance, dedication, focus, and daily work beyond just showing up hoping to excel on the day of a test or exam.  The athletes who will be on the field have to put in lots of time outside of Sunday game-days just like you need to do every day.  Hopefully you also recognize that there are lots of people who surround you to help support and encourage you to achieve at your highest possible levels.  Your teachers, parents, and coaches are at the fore-front of that list, but remember that there are others, including me, who are here cheering you on and believing in you too.  (And, it's true, you won't get a Super Bowl trophy, but your work will end with a high school diploma and lots of opportunities for the future so that's certainly just as rewarding.)

Over the next few days I will have the chance to meet with every freshman and every sophomore student and junior meetings will continue as well.  They will be insanely busy days and my time with each student will be quick, but in spite of how brief our time together may be, I love the chance to be able to spend some time with you reviewing your plan and hopefully encouraging you to push yourself to achieve at your own highest level!

As a reminder - Freshmen: You meet with me tomorrow (Monday) so bring your signed registration forms with you!  Sophomores: You are up on Tuesday and also need to bring your forms too!

So, while it won’t be as entertaining and fun as the Super Bowl, the week will be busy.  If you’re wanting to stop by for a visit to catch up and talk more than the super quick registration related conversations, then please aim for Wednesday or Friday because while those days are still busy, they are not completely booked as the rest of the week.

February Students of the Month

Congratulations to the 13 students who were honored yesterday morning as Students of the Month. Kilbourne students can only be selected to receive this recognition once in their high school career.

A special congratulations to "my" students who were honored. This includes Left to Right: Joclyn Blake, Maggie Crozier, Deane Elliott, and Josh Bowen.  I'm proud of you all!

Honors Diploma

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

To receive an honors diploma you need to fulfill 7 of the following 8 criteria:

- English: 4 units
- Math: 4 units (CCSS Math 3 and another higher level course)
- Science: 4 units (including two advanced level sciences)
- Social Studies: 4 units
- Foreign Language: 3 units (including at least 2 units in each language studied)
- Fine Arts: 1 unit (during high school)
- Grade Point Average: 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
- ACT/ SAT Score (excluding scores from the writing sections): 27 ACT/ 1280 SAT

One of the areas that I have noticed as a trend of some students falling short of meeting the honors diploma requirements is in Social Studies since only 3 credits are required for graduation so students won't take the full 4th credit needed. The other area where students frequently don't meet the designated standard is with the 1 credit of Fine Art.  This is because many students rely on the fine art courses they took during middle school for their graduation requirements, but those courses do not equal high school credits.  (They count for graduation, but aren't actual credits earned.)  So students who want to have that requirement met for the honors diploma would need to complete the 1 credit of fine art during the high school years. 

Don't forget, it would still be possible to earn an honors diploma if you were missing one of these, but you will need to make sure you fulfill all of the remaining criterion.

Also, I wanted to point out that these are the requirements for the most common honors diploma, but there are also honors diploma available for students participating in the IB diploma program or in a Career Tech program at the Delaware Area Career Center and the state of Ohio also has additional pathways to honors diploma including a new STEM Honors Diploma, an Arts Honors Diploma, and a Social Science & Civic Engagement Honors Diploma.  You can check them all out here.

Registration Related Reminders

A couple of quick reminders for all of you...

1.  Don't forget, tonight is the Academic Options Night at TWHS.  This presentation, beginning at 7pm, highlights the opportunities available through College Credit Plus and Credit Flexibility.  Please note that this presentation is mandatory for students interested in participating in CC+.  (If you cannot attend you need to see me so that I can give you the dates of presentations being offered at local colleges as this is required by the state for students to participate and earn college credit.)

2.  Online registration closes tomorrow, Friday, February 2nd! By now I am confident that most of you have been online and submitted your requests, but if you have been procrastinating, PLEASE, get online now and complete your registration!  This is required for all students!

3.  The Delaware Area Career Center priority application deadline is also tomorrow, Friday, February 2nd.  Please apply now if you are still interested in having DACC as an option for next year!  (And remember, you are not guaranteed a spot nor are you locked into going, but if you are interested in attending, you definitely want to apply now!)