AP Test Registration Reminder

If you are currently enrolled in an AP course, the deadline to sign up to take the end of course AP exam is next Friday, March 8th.  Taking the AP exam (and doing well) is how students have the opportunity to earn college credit for the classes you completed in high school.  Please remember that the colleges are responsible for establishing their own policies about what scores are required to be able to earn credits at their school.  The fee for each AP exam is $100 and must be submitted online by March 8th.  If you have lost your AP registration information, you can find it on the Worthington website at www.worthington.k12.oh.us and then you will find it in the Gifted Services area.  Your parents will register you for the test in the My Palyments Plus account.

College Visits During Spring Break

With about a week and a half of school left before spring break, many of you have already started focusing on what all you are hoping to do over break.  No matter what grade you are in and what plans you have already established for spring break, I'd like to encourage you to consider adding in at least one (if not more) college visits to your agenda.

For seniors, many colleges are in session during our break and so this is an ideal time to be able to visit the campuses of your top choices.  Being able to compare your college choices and to make sure that you are finding the school which will be your best fit before you the May 1st decision deadline is a helpful choice.  I strongly encourage you to try to sit in on at least one class to get a feel for the academic environment of the college.  You can also consider making an overnight visit at the colleges for a different opportunity that you have probably not had a chance to do thus far.

For freshmen through juniors, making college visits is a beneficial opportunity to start identifying what aspects you like most and least in a college.  You will have the chance to actually walk around on a campus and imagine yourself being there in the future.  People watch, explore opportunities, investigate academics, and engage with the admissions staff to help guide you in your future college application plans.  If you are planning to be in town, there are lots of local colleges that you can visit easily.  If you will be traveling over break, you can still make college visits wherever you find yourself during break.  Chances are good that there are colleges near or along your destination and even if it is not a school that you are considering for the future, it still gives you the chance to get another view of colleges... and this can be incredibly valuable in determining what it is you want or don't want in a school.

Also, as a reminder, students, you should be the ones arranging the visits with the admissions offices - especially if it is a college you are considering for the future.  Even if it isn't one you are thinking about, it is still good practice so once you know your family's plan, call or email the admissions office to arrange for the visit.

Academic Honors Night

Congratulations to all of the 359 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. 30 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. 27 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. 29 of "my" students were presented with bronze keys.

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

Managing College Mail

Yesterday I talked about the principle of Only Handling It Once to help you stay organized.  Would you like another example of where this principle can be helpful?  College Mail!  It is hard to find many high school students who have taken the PSAT, Pre-ACT, ACT or SAT that haven't started receiving mail from colleges. 

At first, when students start receiving letters from colleges there can be a rush of excitement to learn about different colleges. Lots of students will pour over the different brochures, booklets, or information packets sent from various colleges. In time though, most students get frustrated and overwhelmed by just how much mail comes from all of the different colleges. This is a perfect reminder that colleges are a business and so they are marketing themselves to all potential candidates. When you get the mail from the colleges take a few minutes and look it over - remember, they are not saying you will be accepted, but it can help give you an idea about the characteristics and features of that college so that you can compare them with what you are looking for in a college.  Go ahead and keep any mailings that look particularly appealing to you, but don't worry about throwing the rest away... after all, you won't suddenly decide you want to pour through stacks of college brochures later for schools that didn't appeal to you when you received the information the first time.

OHIO

OHIO - of course, it is the name of our great state, but it is also represents a saying - "Only Handle It Once."  This is an organization and time management saying that can be useful to use and adopt into our daily lives. 

The basic concept is that whatever you're dealing with such as a piece of paper or an email message that you should only handle it once.  For most of you, the ways that I see this playing out poorly is when you are working on assignments in class and you have notes, textbook, and a handout such as a lab paper out when the bell rings and instead of placing the notes and handout back where they belong students will grab the papers all mixed together and shove everything into their backpack before rushing off to their next class.  This happens in class after class throught any given day.  And then, as a result, you are forced to spend more time later sorting through all of the materials in order to re-organize and separate the information for each class.  Even though it may feel as if it would take a minute or two longer to put the material from the class into the appropriate folder before heading off to your next class, in the long run, only handling the material once will save you time.

Now, please let me clarify, that doesn't mean you should only spend one moment working on an assignment.  If it is something that you are working on in class that doesn't mean you don't still handle it and deal with it at home if the work needs to be completed for the next day of school.  It's just the organization side that will hopefully be streamlined.

Also, if you are working on some assignment, look at it and figure out if you have everything you need -for example, do you have the notes, resources such as textbook, posterboard or supplies for projects, if there is help that you need - for example, do you need to get clarification from a teacher or classmate or assistance from your parent on the work you are completing, or anything else that you'll need to successfully complete the assignment.  Gather those items ahead of time so that you don't end up wasting a bunch of time starting and stopping your work.

And while I know that you don't all spend a lot of time on emails, I can assure you that email is a part of your future and the Only Handle It Once strategy is a great approach for managing the "easy" emails.

So, as you go through these final 2 weeks before spring break I hope you will try to work towards establishing the positive organization strategy of OHIO and Only Handling It Once!

Seussical and Swimming

Seussical & Swimming may seem like a strange combination, but they actually have a lot in common.  That is because this weekend the Kilbourne Theater Department and the Kilbourne Girls Swim Team are both demonstrating the excellence of their talents.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend this year's musical - Seussical.  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: Joclyn Blake, Robbie Fadley, Gavin Crozier 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: Kaleigh Brophy, Harley Davidson, Ashley Baker, Shawn Coon, Andrew Chidester, and members of the Stagecraft Class: Davis Bailey, Kinsley Capuano, and Tadrion Chapman.
And, of course, a musical wouldn't be possible without music and my students who were a part of the Pit Orchestra included: Madeline Allen, Audrey Boughton, Kurt Boker, and Brady Cloyd.

Congratulations to all of you on an outstanding musical!  If you didn't have a chance to see the show last night, I encourage you to try to make it to tonight's show - you won't be disappointed!


And then, let's talk about Swimming!  It is incredibly challenging to qualify for States in swimming and diving.  Not only did our girls 4x200 Free Relay team make it to states, but they performed so well yesterday that they qualified for the state finals.  This mighty fast team of athletes have put in countless hours and laps in the pool to reach this moment.

Congratulations to Haley Banner who qualified for the 4x200 relay and also individually in the 50 freestyle event.

Haley was on the 4x200 team with 2 other of "my" students: Nanami Campbell and Evie DeCarlo.  Also joining them was a student not in my alphabet: Lauren Richner.  Congratulations to all 4 of you and please know we are proud of you!

(Just in case anyone is wondering - there is a very specific reason that I only recognize my students on my blog.  That is because I have to work hard to make sure that I do not recognize any students in a public manner like this blog who do not have approval to have their information shared.  I keep close tabs on that for my students, but do not keep track for students outside of my alphabet breakdown.  So, that is why for things such as Seussical above I only talk about "my" kids even though there are so many other talented contributors.  I decided to mention the off-alpha swimmer because there was just 1 student being excluded from a 4x200 team and that didn't seem fair and her name has been publicized a great deal on social media and the paper as being a part of this state qualifying team so I felt confident that her name was an acceptable one to mention.)

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. Georgetown University consistently does research regarding the Economic Value of College Majors. Check out their website for more information.  For example you can explore earnings by state, explore majors, and compare the earnings for various positions. What you choose to do with your life will be influenced by many factors and I do want you to be financially stable in the future so I hope that reading their research will interest you.

College Deferrals

One of the realities of the college admission process is that not every student will be accepted to every college. The waiting game is often one of the more frustrating aspects. With family members and friends consistently asking, "Where are you going to college?" the uncertainty present with each "I don't know" response can be overwhelming.

Sometimes even when you hear back from the college, the answer still leaves you wondering where you stand. That is the case with a deferral. A deferral is not a "yes" and it is not a "no." It is what a college will do when they need more time to make a decision on your application.

So, what should you do if you are deferred?
One of the first steps should be to stop in and see me so that we can talk about the college decision and develop a game-plan for your next steps.  Your first step would be to read carefully the information that they sent to you along with the deferral decision.  What steps do they indicate they want you to follow?  Do exactly what they ask!

If there isn't information about what they want you to do then you still have options of next steps.  You can consider calling the admissions office and talk directly with the admissions officer who is in charge of our region. Talk to him/ her about where you stand and what they would like for you to do to be a more "ideal" candidate.

Draft a letter with any updates and information that you can share with the admissions staff. In particular, let them know that of any new experiences that you have had or recent accomplishments that they weren't previously aware of when you first applied. Updating them on your new activities and accomplishments is important because it is your effort to help give the college a reason to select you and add your application to the "accepted" pile.

Send them an updated copy of your transcript. (If you applied through Common App I have already done this for you, but if your school is not one that used common app then you would need to come in and see Mrs. McDaniel to request an updated transcript be mailed.)

If you re-took your ACT or SAT exams and haven't forwarded your most recent scores to the college, request for the scores to be sent directly to the college of your choice.

Consider other outreach efforts to communicate your strengths with the admissions office such as an additional teacher recommendation letter if it will showcase some aspect of you that wasn't already highlighted for the college.

Although no one likes to be deferred, remember that this is not the end of the world and there is still plenty of time to communicate your strengths to the admissions committee so that you will be accepted to their school.

Here are some more articles that may help you related to deferrals:

What to do if you're deferred - Part 1


What to do if you're deferred - Part 2

ACT

Did you enjoy your snow day?  For many of the students I know that today was a welcomed day off, but for many juniors, this was NOT the day that you wanted to have a snow day.  As you know, the ACT was scheduled for today for all junior students.  Unfortunately, even though many of you had attended tutoring sessions and prep classes to prepare yourself for the test, the weather had other plans in mind.  Because it is determined by ACT when the paper test can be administered all juniors will now take the test on April 2nd.  (There is a date in March that ACT would allow us to give the test, but it happens to fall during our spring break so that won't work.)  I realize that this messes with many of you and your plans for when you were going to test, but my general suggestion is that if you had planned to take the test again for the 2nd time in April to still register for the April 13th test date.  The good news is that any prep you do heading towards the April ACT will now help you for both of the test dates.

Also, for those of you who took the February ACT earlier this month, your scores should be available online for you today.

If you have any questions about the tests and the timing of them, please feel free to stop by and see me and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Tomorrow's Bell Schedule & ACT Reminders

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. 

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

Parent/ Teacher conferences are coming up soon.  Conferences will be held on Thursday, February 28^th from 5:00pm - 9:00pm and Monday, March 4^th from 3:30pm – 7:30pm.  Each conference will be scheduled in 15 minute time blocks.  Conferences allow parents the chance to learn about your student’s classroom performance from the teachers, it allows the opportunity for you to ask questions and they provide an opportunity to build a dialogue with the teachers regarding any thoughts and concerns you might have.

Parents, if you are interested in arranging to meet with one of your son or daughter’s teachers during conferences, you should be able to sign up starting today or tomorrow at the latest.  Conferences will be scheduled as people sign up for them, so if you want to make sure you have times that work well for you, I strongly encourage you to register right away.

Please follow the steps below to register for a parent/ teacher conference:

•      Go to http://ptcfast.com/schools/Worthington_Kilbourne_High_School.  This will take you to the conference scheduler.
•       Click on the teacher you would like to meet with for a conference.
•       Sign up by entering your child’s last name, first name, your name and your e-mail address and then click Submit.
•     The next screen will direct you to check your e-mail inbox for a message with the subject “Select Date/ Team for Teacher Conference Now.”
•     Open the e-mail and click on the link to select a conference time.  If you do not receive an e-mail, please check your junk/ spam folder.  Please note, you MUST follow the link in the email in order to complete the sign-up process.
•      The link will take you to a Time Picker.  Available time slots will appear on this page.  If there are no available appointments that suit your schedule, please e-mail the teacher directly to set up an alternate meeting time.
•      After submitting your time slot, you will be prompted to finish, schedule another appointment for the same student or register another student.  Once you have completed your reservations, you will receive an e-mail confirming the date and time of your conferences and a link by which you can make changes to your date or time if you need to do so.

Incredible Students

My students never cease to amaze me and that has never been more on display than this past few weeks.  I have not had the chance to recognize all of the students who have had extraordinary moments recently so I have quite a few to recognize tonight.

The February Students of the Month:

Students are nominated by staff in recognition for their academic and/or extracurricular contributions.  This recognition can only be earned once during a student's high school career.  My students who were recognized as students of the month include: (L to R): Will Alban, Ava Cattunar, Nicoly Anicio, Lucy Crisafulli, Jocelyn Elder, Lexi Bair, Macain Eldridge, and not pictured Adam Clay.

The Talent Show:

The courage required to stand up and show off your talents in front of peers and parents is far beyond what I can even imagine and yet so many of my students were among those who pushed past any fears to excel.  I was so impressed by the talents on display, by the humor of the Masters of Ceremony, and the positive encouragement given by attendees to all of the participants.  Congratulations to talent show participants: Jacob Antolik, Chidima Anaraodo, Asa Compton, Sam Cottrill, Alanah Paige Spencer, and members of the Field Hockey and Dance teams.  And to the Masters of Ceremony pictured: Lexi bair, Mya Boggs, and Kaleb Dave.

The King and Queen of Hearts Candidates:

Earning money for the Thirst Foundation was the challenge given to the King and Queen of Hearts candidates.  They combined together to raise over $1,600 for the charity.  This year's candidates featured many of my students including: Mya Boggs, Gracie Burford, Melina Calhoun, Katie Coppel, Alex Ehlers, Sam Barr, and Kaleb Dave.  Melina ended up being crowned Queen of Hearts for collecting the most money!

The College Athletic Commitments:
This past week two of my students had the opportunity to sign their letters of intent to participate in their sport in college.  I loved the heart-felt speeches that they shared and the appreciation that they showed to their family, coaches, teammates, and friends.  But I think what stands out to me the most is what these ceremonies really represent - countless hours of practice, games, strength training, rehab, and going above and beyond to excel.

Gracie Burford will continue her Field Hockey career at Catholic University. 

Jack Ellis will continue his Lacrosse career at Seton Hill University.

Clearly, each of these outstanding individuals have found ways to excel in the classroom and beyond.  I am so proud of you all and thankful that I have the chance to work with you.  Congratulations for your accomplishments and thank you for the positive impact you make at Kilbourne!

Happy Valentine's Day

Lexi has 2 favorite holidays... Halloween and Valentine's Day.

She likes Halloween because she is all about doing tricks for treats.  And she likes Valentine's Day because it's a holiday celebrating love and everything she does is to try to show love to those around her.

I often think I have a lot of lessons that I can learn from my dog.  I wish I showed the same level of excitement and enthusiasm every day when I first saw the people that I love.  I don't.  In fact, if I am truly honest, I rarely show my excitement at first seeing many of the people I love because it is just "so daily."  But, she is right.  Every day is a gift and each day we should tell the people around us how much we love and appreciate them.  And even more than just telling them, we should show them with our actions.

Unlike Lexi, we won't be able to wag our tails or run and get a toy to share with people as they come to see her, but we can pay a little more attention with our eyes and our ears.  We can focus on the details of how those who we care about are feeling and what they are thinking.  We can show with the smile on our face how happy we are to see them.  Perhaps it is a lofty goal, but if we can even do it part of the time, I think it will be a Valentine's day lesson that pays off in a big way.

So, today, I hope that you were made to feel and reminded of the fact that you matter, that you are loved and cared about, and that you make a difference in this world!  Lexi and I both are grateful for you today and every day... and if you weren't sure if that was the case, stop by tomorrow and see us - she will greet you with a wagging tail and I will have a listening ear and a smiling face to see you.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Grade Level Reminders

Seniors: Don't forget to watch your financial aid deadlines. Many of the priority deadlines have already passed and others are rapidly approaching.  Be sure to complete and submit your FAFSA as soon as possible! 

Juniors: Thanks for the time you all spent meeting (and many of your parents) to talk about future plans.  I hope you will come back to visit often! I also wanted to remind you that all juniors will be taking the ACT at school on February 20th (and again, you do NOT have to do anything to register for that test).  

Sophomores: You have been through a year and a half of high school.  Before long you will be taking your End of Course (EOC) exams for this year.  It is important to realize that you will, most likely, be taking 4 of the EOC exams this year which is double what you had to do last year.  I know that they take a lot of time and can create stress, but remember, what you are doing in class today and every day is preparing you for these tests.  Please be sure to maximize your learning in class each day.  I promise, you will be glad that you focused so that you will be able to earn the points you need on the tests this year without having to worry about repeating these tests again in future years.

Freshmen: By now you understand the way high school works and what to expect on a day to day basis.  It is time to start figuring out how you can make a positive impact on the school and community.  How can you get involved?  What clubs, activities, or sports are you interested in joining?  Take actions today to explore areas that will help you in the future.

Course Adjustment Deadline

Friday is the last chance for students to change a class from conventional grading (A, B, C, etc.) to Pass/ Fail grading. The forms are in the counseling center and require a parent signature. If you plan to switch a class to pass/ fail, please be sure to pick up a form and return it before the end of the day on Friday. 

Friday, February 15th, is also the last day that students can drop a class without an F on their transcript. I only recommend this as an option if students have above the minimum number of classes recommended (5 for seniors and 6 for sophomores and juniors). And yes, it is too late to add a class. Sorry.

February 20th

February 20th is a key date for different reasons to different groups of people...

- Juniors, you will be taking the ACT (for free) on the 20th.  You will come to school at normal time and go to your assigned testing room to take the test.  Tomorrow, during 3rd period you will be called to the auditorium to fill out some of the pre-testing paperwork bubbles that ACT requires that you complete.  One of the pieces you will have to fill out is which 4 colleges you want to have your scores sent to free of charge.  I strongly encourage all of you to select 4 colleges to send those free scores to because the college application process is already expensive enough.  If you plan to take classes through CSCC next year for College Credit Plus (Comp 1/ 2, Psychology, Sociology, Government, etc.) then please make sure that you select Columbus State as one of your 4 schools to receive your scores!  (If you are taking CC+ classes for math you do NOT have to use one of your 4 free score reports to send them to COTC as they will take them off of your transcript from us.)

- Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors, February 20th is a key date for you too because you have a LATE start day!  You will only have classes from 12:20 - 3:05 that day and busses will run again on a 3-hour delay to make sure that all students have the opportunity to get to school at their necessary times.  All students will have just 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th period classes during the afternoon.  So you have your morning off to sleep in or do something productive before returning to school for your classes in the afternoon.

- Parents, during the evening of February 20th, the district will be hosting a presentation on the Side Effects of Sexting.  This presentation will take place at the Worthington Education Center.  With so many things happening and changing in teen lives as a result of cell phones and social media, this presentation will certainly be important and informational.

Thank You Notes

Did you have a good weekend?  I know many of you were busy with winter formal last night and I hope that was a fun evening for everyone who attended.  

On Friday evening as I was straightening up my office following the end of my junior meetings for the day I realized I still have 3 thank you notes sitting on my desk that are from Christmas time.  Not good!

A thank you note is a simple enough idea - let someone else know that you appreciate them. I don't know about you, but a lot of times I am terrible at writing thank you notes... and clearly at delivering them too. It doesn't mean that my gratitude is any less, but... and that is where everything falls apart. If I don't express my gratitude to the person who has been a positive influence in my life or who has done something nice for me or gone out of their way to help me, then how do they know how much I appreciate it? See the problem?

And I am pretty confident that many of you face the same problem. So I want to remind you of the importance of thank you notes. They do not have to be long or flowery - simply thank the person who has helped you. This is especially important for teachers who have written recommendation letters for you. Many people do not realize the time and effort it takes to write a good recommendation letter. If you didn't thank your teachers at the time they wrote your recommendation letters, perhaps now - as you are starting to hear back from your colleges - is the perfect time! Thank them for their help and support in your college applications. It is important to make sure that they know how much you appreciate their help along the way. It won't take you a long time, but it will certainly mean a lot to them. 

Before I close this post, I want to be very clear - I am NOT talking about writing to me! I do NOT need nor am I in any way hinting, asking for, or needing you to write a thank you note to me! I just figured we could all use a reminder in the importance of writing thank you notes and expressing our gratitude for those around us. 

On a separate note, I continue with junior student/ parent meetings every 30 minutes again tomorrow and Wednesday, but then I will be DONE with meeting with every 9th, 10th, and 11th grade student on my caseload.  Yeah!

Holistic Admissions

During junior meetings we have been talking about various aspects that are contributing into a college's evaluation of the applicant.  This is, essentially, talking about holistic admissions.  

There are some colleges which will basically look at a student's grade and test scores and make an admissions decision, but the vast majority of colleges are using a process to evaluate applicants that is taking in a wide range of factors and not just grades or test scores.  Strength of academic schedule, essays, leadership, community service, activities students are involved with, demonstrated interest, recommendation letters, and interviews are examples of the components colleges may consider when evaluating applicants.

Whenever I am answering questions about what that evaluation process looks like from a college's perspective I think about this old article that showed a behind the scenes look at how colleges were taking an applicant's information to evaluate it.  I believe you might find it interesting as well.

This is a link to the evaluation processing page that one college uses (and a good idea of what many colleges will do) to take your application and convert it over to a one-page form to have a quick snapshot of you.  Be sure to check on the different areas to get a description of what each means.

There were two articles connected to this evaluation page that helped give additional information about how the evaluation of applications is carried out.  Although they were from several years ago, I believe you will still find the content helpful and informative.

How one college evaluates a transcript

Shedding further light on how one college decides

Please Be Aware

It's easy to forget... sometimes we all get so caught up in our own lives that we forget that not everyone is in the same situation or feel the same way we do. How we talk about colleges is just like everything else in life and we need to approach it with sensitivity and kindness.

What do I mean?

Well, since we returned from winter break, as more and more college admissions decisions have been arriving, I have noticed that students will sometimes start announcing where they were accepted and their feelings on different schools, forgetting that other students are around. Being accepted is wonderful news and it is completely understandable that you want to shout it from the roof-tops when you have been accepted to a school, but it is also important to be sensitive to those around you and to remember that some of your friends and classmates are NOT being accepted into those very same colleges. 

Receiving a college rejection letter is hard enough, but it is even more hurtful to hear someone else proclaim, "Oh, I was accepted to ___ (insert name of college) but I would never actually go there." Particularly if the school mentioned was the one where a student was recently rejected and had been their top choice college. 

This also plays out when people are talking about colleges where they intend to apply.  Students or parents saying things such as "I would never apply to _____."  This is hard because that college is most definitely someone else's favorite school.

Please understand, in no way am I trying to dampen your excitement, but please simply try to be respectful and aware in what you say about schools and how you "rate" your own colleges. Remember, no one school is perfect for every student and every student is not right for every college- it is important to find the right fit and I sincerely believe that every student WILL be able to find the college that is right for them!

College Decision Response Terms

As more and more students begin hearing from colleges I thought it might be helpful to know some of the most common terms you will see in response letters from colleges. Below are some of the more common college related terms/ phrases for admissions decisions. If you or your son/ daughter receives a letter and you are uncertain what they mean, please feel free to let me know or to contact the college directly.

- Accepted: Congratulations - they are inviting you to join and be a part of their college/ university

- Declined/ Rejected/ Not Accepted: For whatever reason the college did not feel that you would be a good fit. While it is understandably disappointing, please remember that there are lots of colleges and universities out there who will be lucky to have you on their campus, so don’t give up on finding a good match.

- Decision Deferred: The college is not sure yet… usually they will tell you what additional data/ information they are interested in receiving to help them make their decision. The most common piece of data they will look for are senior year grades at the semester time.  I sent mid-year reports out with your transcript to all schools on Common App, but if you applied to any colleges not on Common App that defer you then I'd suggest you come in and request to have your mid-year report sent to them using the transcript release card in Mrs. McDaniel's office.

- Wait List: The wait list is not a denial, but it is not an acceptance either. Colleges use wait lists as insurance to make sure that their freshman class will be the appropriate size. If enough students decide to attend, the college will not accept anyone off of their wait-list.

Please remember that we track admissions decisions, but for most colleges the only way we know of the decision is if you come in and inform us, so please, be sure to stop in and let me know as you hear back from each school.

More Meetings

I don't know about you, but I am exhausted after our first day back!  Granted, perhaps that is also because I met with ALL of my freshmen students today which made for a VERY busy day.  Tomorrow will be equally as packed with meeting with all of the Sophomore students.  Thursday, Friday and next Monday will be filled with Junior meetings.  But I have time this Wednesday to try to connect with you.  So, I wanted to make sure you all knew that unfortunately this is going to be a really hectic week, but I am looking forward to seeing you so be patient and understand that I will meet up with you as soon as possible.  (And, if possible, plan to stop and see me on Wednesday if you need something.)

Also, to all of the juniors who had meetings set for last Friday - I am working tonight to try to figure out when I can get all of your meetings rescheduled.  I will send out updated passes, but it will be sometime next week.

Summer School

With the frigid temperatures we have been having it is hard to focus on the summer, but summer school registration is now open!  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 3rd -June 28th 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.  The school we have received the most transcripts from each year is TRECA, so that is one option to consider, but it is definitely not the only one out there.

Reminder: You need to submit your online registration requests.  You don't want me to randomly pick your classes - so please, log into Infinite campus and select your courses today!  Also, freshmen, I am still meeting with you tomorrow as planned so bring your signed forms with you to our meeting during your science class!

Self Talk

What are the conversations like that you have with yourself within your own head?  Really, pause for a moment and reflect on what the voice in your head tends to say...

And, for those of you whose response to that is, "what is she talking about, I don't talk to myself" - I counter that this response is exactly that voice in your head that I am talking about.  ;-)

The reality is we all talk to ourselves and it happens so naturally and so frequently that we don't always stop to reflect on what we are saying or where those messages come from.  As I outside shoveling my driveway from our surprise snow day on Friday, I had nothing to distract me from the cold and the snow than my thoughts and the conversations happening with myself. 

So here are a few of my moments of self-disclosure... I am a (most of the time) recovering perfectionist.  I like to do things well.  I tend to go with the motto, if I am going to do it at all then I want to do it well or else why bother.  But as I have learned in this job as well as through extensive reading, perfectionism isn't really about achieving at my highest potential - it is more about pleasing others - hustling to try to convince others that you are worth acceptance and belonging.  (If you have ever read anything by Brene Brown which is an author that I am obsessed with, then this is a concept that you will recognize from her... and if you haven't read any of her books or watched her TED talks, then you really should!  But that is a future blog post in and of itself.)  Yesterday, my perfectionism was in full blown mode while I was out shoveling my driveway.  I would look back up part of the drive way and see a spot that I hadn't gone all the way out to the edge of the drive way and walk back up to get that little area that I had missed.  And the conversations I was having in my own head had nothing to do with trying to impress anyone else because really, who sees or cares about my driveway except for me.  But it had everything to do with what I believed a good and responsible homeowner "should" do. 

Long story about me but my point is that we all get caught up in "should" moments.  We all have times where we don't feel good enough or smart enough or talented enough or insert whatever "__ enough" word you tend to compare yourself to others over.  And in those moments, our self talk often gets really mean.  And anytime you hear the word "should" happening in your mind, I want to encourage you to pause and reflect on it.  Is it actually something that you want to do and is it something that you believe will be good for you and others?  Or is it something that you are doing because it would look good and therefore you would be deemed good enough by others?  Because if that is the reason, chances are the self talk that you have going with the conversation in your head is not particularly positive.

The first step in improving our level of happiness comes from recognizing our self talk.  Once you recognize it then you can decide if you want to do something about it or not.  So that is my challenge for you - try to pay attention to your self talk and the messages you are telling yourself.  And if the things you are saying in your own head are not said with the same level of grace, compassion and understanding that you would extend to your best friend, then you shouldn't be saying it to yourself.  (In other words - we need to start talking to ourselves in the same ways that we would talk to our friends.)

I hope that you are enjoying this 5 day weekend!  It also means that we will have a big adjustment to being back for 5 days of school.  Please be sure to register for your classes for next year on Infinite Campus if you have not already done so.  We left the window open through the weekend in case you forgot to submit your requests.  And, for those of you who might have left your papers at school when you left on Tuesday, don't forget that you can download all of the forms from the counselor website so that you can select the appropriate course numbers that you are looking for in selecting your classes.  Enjoy your last day and I can assure you that both Lexi and I are looking forward to seeing you on Monday!