Long Weekend Ahead

Can you believe we made it to our first long weekend of the school year with Monday being Labor Day?  I am looking forward to the extra day to sleep in because the adjustment to getting up and being functioning in the mornings has been tough.

Some of you may elect to make use of the bonus day off of school by going to visit colleges.  If you are going to explore a campus nearby or far away, please be sure to take a picture for the "Oh the Places You'll Go" board.  I am excited to see your pictures and hear about your visits!

Because I Said I Would

I love the concept of the "because I said I would" cards that Mr. Thomas introduced to our school last Friday.  Did you get your cards today?  Have you been thinking of what promises you are making to yourself and who you are going to select to help hold you accountable for them?

Mr. Thomas had shared that concept and video with some of our staff earlier this summer and since then I have hought of that phrase "because I said I would" often.  Sometimes I think it to myself - I need to follow through on whatever because I had said that I was going to and other times I find myself thinking, UGH, I said I was going to do something and still haven't.  At least in my world, I think that sometimes I have good intentions, but following through is harder.  And that is why I like the cards so much.

I just got cards for the first time today too.  I am excited about it.  I believe that being held accountable for following through on the commitments I make is important.  Nothing is more important to me than all of you and so my commitments and my promise cards will likely be focused primarily on interactions and follow up and follow through where you are concerned.  And, if you ever need me to help be the one to hold you accountable by hanging onto your promise card until you have achieved whatever small or large goals you are striving toward, know that I am willing to do that for you.

I can't help but believe that if we are a school that is dedicated on saying what we mean and following through on what we say that we are going to be a powerful force all year!  We are definitely going to develop trust and accountability within our school and that level of honesty and bravery from being vulnerable enough to say here is something I'm aiming for and working to achieve is incredible.  I hope you are excited about it too.  And I hope that we can keep the momentum and promise cards moving forward all year.

Office Worker Volunteer Opportunity

Now that the school year is underway and I feel like we are all getting into the "typical" routine, I want to make sure you all know about a volunteer opportunity that students can take advantage of during the school day within the comfortable walls of WKHS.  We have office workers volunteer their time to help out in the counseling/ administrative offices. Our office workers each year have been amazing!  They helped run passes, update the bulletin board, put together packets or whatever else was needed.  Some days were busier than others and so there were days when they didn't have to do much of anything to help us other than be available.  We do have an application process to be selected as an office worker, but if you are interested, we'd love to have you!  And selfishly, I'd love to have more of "my" students helping as office workers because it is a nice treat to see you each day.  Students with a period of academic prep or options in their schedule would be eligible to apply.  (You would no longer have prep or options if you chose to work in the office.)  You will accumulate community service hours as an office worker.  Applications are available in the front of the counseling center.  No more than 2 students will be selected for each period of the day.  Please apply soon if you are interested so that we don't miss out on the opportunity to have you involved!

Also, don't forget, due to the craziness of the power outage today the homeroom that was previously scheduled will now be tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Schedule

Tomorrow we will have the first homeroom of the year.  One important thing to be aware of is that for most students, your homeroom has CHANGED from what was on your schedule that you received on schedule pick up day.

Please be sure to log into Infinite Campus to check for your new homeroom location.  There will also be signs posted to instruct you about where you will find your new homeroom.  Please be sure to check the signs or IC so that you know where to go at the end of 2nd period tomorrow.

During homeroom all students will be asked to complete a Counselor Connection form.  At first glance they probably look the same, but I promise you the questions are different each year.  I really enjoy reading through them each fall and learning a little more about you so I ask that you please be honest in sharing your insight on these forms.

Also, during homeroom you will get your first "because I said I would cards" as highlighted in last Friday's assembly.

Here is the bell schedule for tomorrow:

1st Period: 7:45 - 8:32
2nd Period: 8:37 - 9:24
Homeroom: 9:29 - 9:53
3rd Period: 9:58 - 10:45
4th Period: 10:50 - 11:37
5th Period: 11:42 - 12:29
6th Period: 12:34 - 1:21
7th Period: 1:26 - 2:13
8th Period: 2:18 - 3:05

Common App - Updated Change

Thanks to all of the senior students and parents who came out to the College Information Night tonight.  I hope you left feeling more confident about your next steps and what all you need to be working on over the next few months as you apply to college.

One component that I mentioned tonight that is a CHANGE from what I had previously mentioned on my blog is that Common App now does have a way for your to indicate that you are taking college classes at a college as a Dual Enrollment student - meaning that you are both a high school and a college student.  If you are taking College Credit Plus (CC+) classes through Columbus State, COTC, OSU, or Sinclair Community college you will need to list all of these colleges on your application as being colleges.  Then in the options you will select that they are Dual Enrollment classes.  My hope is that the college systems are all set up to recognize this information so that they don't ask you for your college transcripts until the end of the year.  (That was a problem a few years ago which is why they had eliminated this component for dual enrolled students, but it is back - probably because so many students across the state are taking CC+ classes.)

Please note that this is a change from what I had said on August 1st.  We just found this out for sure that colleges did want to try to get your CC+ college names at a meeting on Friday.  As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come and see me!

Confidentiality & Reminders

It is very important to me that I work to earn your trust every day. During high school there are times when you may wonder if there is anyone who cares and is willing to listen to what you are going through and I want to remind you that I care and I am here for you. Please remember that what you say to me is confidential between us unless you are a risk to yourself or someone else in which case I am required to report it.

If you want to meet with me - just drop by my office! That is honestly the BEST way to meet with me. You don't need to schedule an appointment in advance. I'm generally around before and after school as well as during your lunch or academic prep/ option periods for you to stop in and chat. You don't need a big reason to come down and say Hi. I am happy to see you even if you just wanted to tell me how well or how poorly you did on a test that day. If I am busy meeting with another student or parent - you can stop back down or leave a pass for me. If I don't know who you are and you have left a pass that leads me to search for you in the commons please try to help me out and let me know that "you" are the student. (I know, not always easy, but if you left a pass and I haven't tracked you down that day or the following day, chances are I can't find 

Don't forget I have candy and toys in my office - so it is always worth just stopping by to say hello. :-) And for the upperclassmen, come check out the ways my office has changed since last year.  (Unlike the other counselors I'm still in the same physical office space, but there are still changes I can't wait for you to see.)

And, on a different topic, seniors, don't forget, tomorrow night is Senior College Information Night for you and your parents.  The meeting starts at 7pm in the WKHS Auditorium!  See you then.

Also, a general reminder that tomorrow all of the CSCC college credit plus classes begin.  Hopefully you completed your online orientation and logged into blackboard.  Your instructors are looking forward to meeting you tomorrow and/ or Tuesday (depending on which classes you are taking).

Class Rank

When completing college applications you will find that most colleges will ask “What is your class rank?” and if they can’t get you to give them an exact rank they might also ask you for a percentile ranking. (Some schools may not ask you and may ask on the counselor form that I am required to complete for you.) The official answer is “We Do Not Rank.”

That is what I write on all of the forms that I complete for you and what you should indicate on your application – UNLESS you are one of the students with a grade point average of a 4.0 or higher for your high school career. If you have greater than a 4.0, then you are automatically ranked #1 in the class. (So yes, that would mean that there are multiple Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores ranked first in their respective class.)

As you already know, WKHS is an academically competitive high school and we would not want a class ranking to hurt you in any way. For example, a GPA at WKHS might rank in the top 20% , but at a less competitive school the same GPA might rank in the top 5 or 10%. So, unless you have a 4.0 or better, do yourself a favor and write “Do Not Rank” when completing your applications.

Senior College Information Night

Seniors, have you started to work on your college applications?  Now is the time for you to start the process of college applications.  Before the school year started, the counselors were so happy to be able to spend some time with some of the seniors who elected to come in and discuss brainstorming effective college essays.  I cannot wait to see what unique topics they come up with to showcase their incredible individuality.  I also want seniors and senior parents to plan ahead for one for one of the most important senior nights.

The Senior Student and Parent College Information Night will be held on Monday, August 27th, at 7:00pm at WKHS. This is one of the most important meetings for senior students and parents to attend because there are so many college related questions that we will be able to answer.

We will be reviewing the college application process, the procedures for submitting your items to WKHS and to the colleges, and other information you need to know for college. I really hope you will make every effort to attend… and yes, this is for you and your parents because this is YOUR life, so you need to be there as you are the one responsible for completing all of the work to get accepted into college. It is beneficial for your parents to also attend because they will be a very valuable in helping you through this process. And, trust me, your parents will appreciate having an overview of how this entire process will play out so bring them along with you so that they can get the information all at once with you. 

I know that it is not always possible for every student and family to attend, but I hope you will make every effort to try to attend. Remember, I have about 90 seniors, so it becomes very challenging to try to repeat the same basic information and make sure everyone understands unless we all start with the same foundation of information. This evening will answer a lot of your basic questions and then we’ll figure out the rest together as the year continues. I’m looking forward to talking college with you on August 27th!

Confidentiality

It is very important to me that I work to earn your trust every day. During high school there are times when you may wonder if there is anyone who cares and is willing to listen to what you are going through and I want to remind you that I am here for you. Please remember that what you say to me is confidential between us unless you are a risk to yourself or someone else in which case I am required to report it.

If you want to meet with me - just drop by my office! That is honestly the BEST way to meet with me. You don't need to schedule an appointment in advance. I'm generally around before and after school as well as during your lunch or academic prep/ option periods for you to stop in and chat. You don't need a big reason to come down and say Hi. I am happy to see you even if you just wanted to tell me how well or how poorly you did on a test that day. If I am busy meeting with another student or parent - you can stop back down or leave a pass for me. If I don't know who you are and you have left a pass that leads me to search for you in the commons please try to help me out and let me know that "you" are the student. (I know, not always easy, but if you left a pass and I haven't tracked you down that day or the following day, chances are I can't find you in the commons - so please come back!)

Don't forget I have candy and toys in my office - so it is always worth just stopping by to say hello. :-) 

Meet the Teacher Night

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 22nd, is this year's PTO Meet the Teacher Night. This is a night when your parents can come through school, follow your schedule, and meet all of your teachers. Meet the Teacher part of the evening will be over by 9pm. Each class will be 10 minutes in length and yes, your parents will have the same 5 minute passing time that you have during the day. (Hopefully they won't get lost and be late or else they could end up with lots of tardies!) :-)

Here is the schedule for the evening:

1st period - 7:00 - 7:10
2nd period - 7:15 - 7:25
3rd period - 7:30 - 7:40
4th period - 7:45 - 7:55
5th period - 8:00 - 8:10
6th period - 8:15 - 8:25
7th period - 8:30 - 8:40
8th period - 8:45 - 8:55

Please make sure you give your parents a copy of your schedule or at least write down the room numbers for all of your classes so they know where they are heading for the evening!  Of course, if you have lost your copy of your schedule, your parents can print off your schedule on Infinite Campus.

The administrative team will be providing an overview of the year regarding initiatives, improvement plans and upcoming events during each period of the day in Room 209.

Please make sure your parents know about this evening because I know many of them will want to attend and they usually like putting a face with a name so that if you are talking about a test in Mr. ____'s class or an assignment for Mrs. ____'s class they will be able to keep it straight.

Like a speeding train...

Wow!  It is hard to believe we have already had 4 days of the new school year.  I don't know about you, but it feels like this year is off to a speeding start and I am still trying to catch my breath as the train goes flying past me.

I love the energy and excitement of each new school year.  Lexi is probably the one who really loves it the most - she had so desperately been awaiting the start of the new school year and she loves arriving at school each morning to greet you all.  Having students in the building make such a difference to the whole feel of Kilbourne and it is exciting that the 2018-19 school year is off to a strong start.

I am sorry for the lack of blog posts - things have been pretty hectic for me.  I started the year off with a summer cold that had me exhausted and lots of family stuff happening outside of school.  I often say to my students, "Something has to go and it can't be your mental well being!"  Well, in this case, I applied that same logic to myself knowing that I had to care for myself physically and mentally and so the thing that had to be put on hold was my blog.  I will work to get back into a normal posting routine though.

It has been a great start to the year already and I am thankful that today marked the last day for students to change schedules so that everyone - you and your teachers - can also get into a good routine with your courses and your classmates.  For me, it also means that I can finally turn my attention to other areas.  I have had a few seniors stop by to ask college questions and that will spike a great deal in the days ahead.  (Seniors, don't forget - Monday night, August 27th  is college information night!)  For all of you who I haven't had a chance to see yet - I am anxious to see you and hear about your summer!  Please stop by and fill me in on how you're doing!  (And Lexi says please stop by to say hello to her as well.)

College Essay Brainstorming Workshop

For many students, writing your college essay is one of the most stressful aspects of the college application process.  In order to try to help better prepare students the counselors will be hosting a brief workshop about writing your college essay.

The Essay Information and Brainstorming Workshop Session will take place on Thursday, August 9th from 1:00 - 2:30pm.

We tried to schedule the workshop around as many of the fall sports schedules as possible.  This workshop is just for senior students (and not parents) as it is the student's essay and your voice is what admissions officers want to hear!  This session is optional and is ideal for those students who will be applying to a 4-year college.  (Those who will be starting at a 2 year program like Columbus State will not have to write an essay so you will not need the information covered in this session.) 

If you are one of my students and are interested in participating, please RSVP using this link: 
https://goo.gl/forms/5I0mjM0bL9hDDUb43

Believe me, the essays are such a critical part of the application process that this won't be the only time I talk about it on my blog, but it is also a fun and creative opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions officers and so it is worth the time you will put into making it a great essay.  I hope you will take time out of your schedule next week and join me for the workshop!

2 weeks left

2 Weeks!  Can you believe it?!  In just two short weeks we will be back at school for the first day of the 2018-19 school year.  With so many sports already back in session perhaps it already feels like we are back at school, but I hope you are also looking forward to adding in the academic aspect of school too.

While many of you... and possibly me too :-) ...are wishing that these final days of summer would drag out and move slow, there is good news for how the first day of school will run.  The first day of school (August 15th) will be just for the freshmen students.  We are dedicated to making sure that the freshmen have a great opportunity to transition into the building and feel as if Kilbourne is their home.  It won't just be normal classes - there will be great opportunities for the freshmen to meet with their Link Leaders, to bond together as a class, to meet their teachers, and to enjoy the fact that they are now officially high school students.  For the rest of you, this means you get one extra day and you will not start school until the 16th.

Also, a few last minute summer academic reminders for you...

-         --  Summer work!  Many of you have signed up for classes that require summer assignments to be completed.  I know that procrastination is king in many of your lives, but please let me remind you that if you don't get moving RIGHT AWAY on your summer assignments then you are going to start the year in a mad scramble and you will already be sick of doing school work before the year has even started.  Believe me, I understand that it is hard to work on something that doesn’t *have* to be done yet, but in the long run, using your time now will be worth it. 

-        --   Summer School!  Quite a few students are taking summer school classes through an online program.  I always worry about the online classes since they require more self-discipline and like summer work are easy to procrastinate on until it is too late.  I have received transcripts already for a few students who have already finished their online summer school classes so I know that some of you are working on the courses, but if you have been putting this off, please get moving on your summer school assignments.

And even though I am reminding you all the stuff I want you to do to be productive in these final two weeks, I do still want for you to find moments to enjoy the relaxation of summer - you do deserve it!  I will see you soon.

Common App

The Common Application is a centralized application that students can complete for over 800 different colleges and as of today it is now updated and released for the Class of 2019 to begin working on their applications. The colleges that participate in this application commit to treating applications received through the Common App with the same consideration as if students had applied through the institutions individual application or through the Coalition Application. This will generally mean that you have to spend less time filling out all of the basic information about yourself and can mean that you have fewer essays to write (but maybe not).

On the Common App there is 1 essay that typically must be completed for all colleges, but you do have a choice about what essay to pick from a list of 7 prompts.  There are some colleges which will identify the essay as being optional.  We probably need to talk about how "optional" the optional essay really is so before you decide to skip it completely please come see me to discuss it. 

One of the more confusing parts of the Common App for many students is that in addition to the main essay, many of the colleges will also have supplements required which are other questions of their own that they want students to complete. Sometimes it is just simple questions that weren't covered on the Common App, but would have been if you had applied through their individual application, but often times it includes short or long answer essays. Be aware and be prepared for that when completing your application and read those questions in advance so you know what to expect.  You will find this information under the "My Colleges" tab and then select each college down the left side of the page and click on "Questions" under both Application and Writing Supplement for each of the colleges where you will be applying.

Not all schools use the common app, but a lot of them do.  There are 43 Ohio schools which will utilize the common application this year, so as you are getting ready to start applications for the schools you are considering it is worth looking to see if more than one school from your list utilizes the common app.

I have spent the last few hours playing around on the Common App website and the new format will be pretty straight forward for you to use.  A few things I want to make sure you are aware of to help as you are completing your application...

- After you have selected your colleges and added them to your list you will see specific questions (the supplements specific to that school) and some of them are updated now, but others haven't been posted yet so you may have to check back.  You will find the specific questions and additional application pages for individual colleges under the "My Colleges" tab.  The general information that you will complete for all of the colleges is under the "Common App" tab.

-  If you have attended WKHS for all 4 years of high school, then you entered Kilbourne in August 2015.

-  Your graduation date is May 19, 2019.  (Crazy, isn't it!?!)

- It will ask you questions about me and so you will want to be sure that you spell my name and e-mail address right or else I won't receive the e-mail to complete your school forms.  (Ms. Brianna Abbott, Title: School Counselor, E-mail: babbott@wscloud.org, Phone: 614-450-6490)

-  It will ask you about other schools you have attended.  Obviously, if you moved into Worthington you have other schools to list, but I also want to remind you that if you took summer classes through a different school district (such as TRECA or K-12) then you need to include that school on your common app form too.

-  If you are a student who will be taking classes through College Credit Plus, you will NOT need to include that information in the Academic Section under Colleges/ Universities IF you are getting high school credit for the course too.  You will list these classes along with your HS classes instead.  The only way this wouldn't be the case would be if you had taken or are planning to take college courses that are not paid for by the district and you will not be getting both HS and college credit for the classes.

-  I strongly encourage you to make a complete list of your activities and honors BEFORE attempting to fill out the Common App.  For example, you will need to give a total number of your honors before you start naming them.  If you haven't developed that resume list then you'll have a tough time filling it out.

-  In the activities section, you can write about your top 10 activities.  Be sure to put them in the order of importance to you.

-  I realize you have never filled out the Common App before so this is not new to you, but Common App is working with a handful of colleges on a student self-reporting transcript section called "Classes and Grades."  OSU is one of the colleges that will be using this system.  Your transcripts WILL STILL BE SENT to the colleges so you absolutely MUST be sure that you enter the information in the system exactly like it appears on your transcript.  The good news is that you can download and print your transcript off of Infinite Campus to use when completing this section.  It is very straight forward to use, but I have to admit that you will likely find it a bit tedious.  For the record (although I suspect you know this), our grading scale is A-F and we are on semesters.

-  As you are working on each area there is a panel on the right side of the page titled "Help Center" and I found it VERY helpful as I was going through the different areas.  Some of the typical questions kids have asked me in the past as they are completing the Common App are now answered in the help center.

-  You will have to indicate your class size - for the Class of 2019, it is 323.

Let the fun begin!  Good luck as you start working on your applications and don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.