Summer School

For the last few days since you finished school I have spent hours going through the failure lists and emailing and calling families to talk about the importance of signing up for summer school.

Just as a reminder, if you fail a class in high school, you have to repeat that course before you can move on to the next level.  So, for example, if you fail Math 1 then you have to take Math 1 again before you move on to Math 2.  This is particularly challenging for students who fail English or Math since those courses each require 4 credits to graduate.  If this applies to you, PLEASE be sure to sign up for Worthington Summer School today!  It is free and transportation is available if you need it.

What I have not been contacting students and families about are the reminders of registering for summer school for ADVANCED credit.  Back in February when we were looking at your intended courses for next year many of you reported that you would be taking classes during the summer.  That is completely acceptable - you just need to make sure you are taking your classes through an accredited school and then transferring that credit back to us by bringing in a copy of your transcript.  Many students have found TRECA to be a cost effective alternative, but again, it can be any accredited school.

On the WKHS Counselor website we have links to all of these summer school registration pages or you can, of course, simply Google it.

If something has changed in your plans and you will not be taking a class that you had previously indicated you were going to complete via summer school, please send me an email at school to let me know that so that I can adjust your schedule for next year.  (This goes with advanced classes and for classes that you have failed.)  I will be at school working through Wednesday to try to get as many of these adjustments made as possible.

Summer Break Begins

Congratulations!  You have officially made it to the end of the 2018-19 School Year.  I still feel like we just started the year let alone starting the semester and yet here we are.  I hope that you are proud of how the year went and that you are pleased with how you finished the year academically.  Enjoy the end of the start of your summer and please stay safe!

Planet Fitness Teen Summer Challenge

Planet Fitness is offering an incredible opportunity for teens this summer.  You have the opportunity select a Planet Fitness location and sign up to be able to work out for free between now and September 1st.  This free offer is valid to any teens between the ages of 15-18 years old.  You will need to have your parent or guardian go with you to sign up.  Check out this link for more information.

Managing Test Anxiety

It’s normal to feel a little bit nervous before and during a test. What is important is to learn how to deal with those anxieties so that they do not become overwhelming. Below are a few key strategies for managing test anxiety that might be helpful to you during exams. If this is something that you struggle with, please feel free to stop in and see me so that we can discuss additional ways to help manage your test anxieties now and in the future.

- Study. Being prepared is the single most effective way to help manage test anxiety. If you are confident that you know the material and have put forth your best effort to be prepared for the test, then you can relax and do the best you can.

o Learn from past quizzes and tests

o Ask the teacher for suggestions on how to best prepare for the upcoming test

o Don’t cram – that only adds to the stress and pressure of trying to “squeeze” everything in

o There are lots of study strategies available that can help students and I have a variety of ideas, so if you are interested, stop by and see me and we can talk about different techniques you can try to implement for various classes.  There are also tips featured on the WKHS Counselor website.

- Stay Positive. Being confident and entering the test with a positive attitude will help you to achieve success. There are lots of strategies people use to help maintain a positive outlook –visualization (imaging yourself doing well on the test) and positive self-talk (we all talk to ourselves so instead of thinking that you are going to fail the test replace that self-talk with positive comments such as “I am prepared” or “this test will allow me to show how much I have learned”). Sometimes it is important to stay away from other people who tend to express their negative outlooks and opinions going into a test… those people who will just stress you out more with their panic about the test.

- Take care of yourself. I *know* that you hate hearing things like this (and yes, I acknowledge that at times this can be a hypocritical statement for me to make), but it is important to take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep so that you are well rested and mentally alert for the test. Eat a healthy meal (breakfast/ lunch) because you don’t want to be sitting in class focusing on food or listening to your stomach growl and you also don’t want to be coming down off a sugar or caffeine high and be dragging the rest of the testing period. Allowing yourself time to exercise is also important as it is a physical release of stress and can reinvigorate you for studying as you prepare for the test.

- Be a “smart” test taker. Don’t panic! Read the directions carefully. Take a deep breath to relax. Answer the questions to the best of your ability and if you don’t know an answer, skip the question to return to it later and continue on to other questions that you are more confident in answering. Budget your time, but don’t rush to be the first finished – this is not a race. Stay focused. (Focus on answering the question – don’t allow yourself to get off track and worry about your grade or how others are doing – just continue to refocus on answering the next question.) If you start to become overwhelmed with anxiety during the test, take a few slow deep breaths, relax your muscles and remember that you are in control of dealing with these feelings so just take it one step at a time.

- After you are finished, give yourself a short break from thinking about the test, but also don’t forget to consider what worked well and what could have gone better and then make changes accordingly for the future. If you were able to manage your anxiety effectively then you can continue practicing these skills for future tests. If some of the strategies were not effective, then you can try to adjust and adopt new strategies to help manage the anxiety.

Remember, it is also important to keep the test in perspective. It is actually quite rare that a single test will make or break you. (And yes, this even includes the End of Course Exams/ SAT/ ACT tests because you can always repeat these tests again in the future.) Good luck on your exams!

Don't forget - tomorrow you have 1st, 6th, and 7th period exams.

Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to the Class of 2019!  Today was a great celebration and I am excited for all that is ahead of you in the future.  I tried to get a picture of all of "my" kids, but that wasn't possible... but here are a large number of "my" students from the Class of 2019.

And, for all of the underclassmen who have exams tomorrow, don't forget - you have 2nd, 5th and 8th periods exams tomorrow!  I hope they go well!

Baccalaureate & Graduation Reminders

Baccalaureate service is the kickoff for graduation weekend and I absolutely LOVE it.  The ceremony is sponsored by the Activity Club and is held annually at a local church to celebrate the accomplishments of the WKHS seniors.  I love that this event honors the impact seniors have left on the school and community, and wishes them good luck as they move on in life toward the exciting activities and adventures ahead.

Many of my students were a part of last night's inspirational service.  Gracie Burford served as one of the emcee's, Alanah Spencer and Robbie Fadley both sang beautifully, and Jack Ellis introduced the Keynote speaker.  It was amazing to look at the baby pictures and the pictures of each senior now and think about how far you have come and all you have been through.  Thanks to Alanah who also helped put the slideshow together.  As if all of that was not enough, Kelly Baumgardner, the parent of one of my students, (mom of Jill who also introduced her mom) was the parent speaker and she gave a wonderful and touching talk.  I loved her encouragement for you to take care of your mental health too!  It was an insightful and meaningful message from a passionate, caring and dedicated mom.

The whole evening was made possible because of the Activity Club and their student planning committee which included some of my students: Gracie Burford, Alexa Burke, and Alanah Spencer.

Tomorrow for the Commencement Ceremony we will be at the Battelle Grand in the Greater Columbus Convention Center for commencement.  If you didn't give your parents the information sheet that was distributed at yesterday's practice, please make sure you find it and hand it to them.

One of the most important details that seniors need to remember to pass along to their parents after the rehearsal is which side of the stage you will be on at the commencement ceremony. As a general rule, assuming you are one of my students, you will be on "Stage Right" which means that if you are standing on the stage you are on the right side or, put another way, looking at the stage you will be on the left side. This is the side where you will march into the Battelle Grand and around until you reach your seat on that half of the center aisle as well as the side where you will go up the stairs to receive your diplomas. Trust me, your parents will not be happy if they end up being on the "wrong" side and don't have a good view of your special day.

Don't forget that you need to dress up beneath your cap and gown and that you should be sure that you bring your cap and gown with you to the ceremony.  You need to be there at 3:00 to check in.  Check in and staging will take place the "A pod area" which are rooms across from Ballroom A.

For what it is worth, don't forget to iron your gown - especially if you are just taking it out of the package today.

Perhaps the best recommendation that I can give to you and your families is to pick a place where you will meet up.  I realize that most of you haven't been to the site of the ceremony, but after the ceremony you will want to meet with your family and friends for photos and to celebrate. I can assure you that in years past the most chaotic (worst) place to be as soon as the ceremony is over is anywhere near the bottom of the escalator because everyone who attended the graduation ceremony will be trying to leave and coming off the escalator to try to find and meet up with their families and friends.  

It is going to be a great day and I cannot wait to see all of you enjoying and celebrating your accomplishments of the last 4 years at WKHS.  Congratulations, I am proud of you!

Congratulations Seniors

Dear Seniors,

Congratulations!  You have officially completed your LAST day of high school!  For the past 13 years you have worked hard to grow as an individual, to learn lessons in the classroom and beyond, and to make an impact in our school and community.  In Worthington they often talk about how we are working with students who will one day change the world.  I have no doubt in my mind that you will accomplish that goal - in large part because I already believe you are changing the world around you!  I know for a fact that my life has been changed by you and I am confident the other students who will still be in classes tomorrow will have similar feelings.  You make a difference often without even realizing the depth of impact that you are having on others.

Over the last four years I have been honored to watch you grow and change from often shy freshmen into often very outspoken seniors.  You have passion, enthusiasm, and a commitment to your goals (even if your commitment to procrastination is equally high).  I am grateful for the chance to celebrate with you as you received college acceptances or shared the news of how much fun you had at a Friday night football game or the Homecoming dance.  I treasure the moments when you let me see the "real you" that so many others don't always get to see - the parts of you when you felt frustrated, hurt, angry or sad.  I know you to be engaging and driven and you never cease to amaze me.  You are also the first graduating class who never experienced life at Kilbourne without having Lexi at school as a therapy dog and oh my how you have loved her!  I appreciate that very much.

It didn't matter if you had grown up in Worthington or you moved here part-way through, each of you has made an impact on Kilbourne.  Thank you again for allowing me to share in your journey.  The best is ahead of you!  Never doubt that you have the ability to achieve any dream and goal you set for yourself.  Please believe in yourself and always know that I am here, behind you, supporting and believing in you too.  I hope you will stay in touch and keep me posted on what is happening in your life.

Love,
Miss Abbott

Senior Project

Senior Project is a unique opportunity for Kilbourne students.  Seniors who elect to participate in senior project spend the 4 weeks of their high school career out shadowing and assisting at various career sites.  15 of the 56 students who took advantage of the chance to learn about careers for the last few weeks were "my" students.  They selected a wide range of range of career fields such as in education, healthcare, marketing, religious organizations, music performance, engineering and working with non-profits. 

Senior project allows students the chance to learn more about what a career involves.  This up-close, in depth look at what a job really entails enabled the students to decide if this specific career is what they'd like to pursue in the future.  I hope that while they were in the Commons during lunches today you took the time to walk around and talk to them about their experiences.  In talking with my students today some felt that this experience solidified their future plans and others felt it was valuable because it helped them realize that this was not the job they wanted to pursue for the rest of their lives - valuable information either way. It sounded as if they all had meaningful and informative experiences during the month as they spent time in a career field of interest.

My students who participated in senior project included: Trixie Abbott, Eleni Alexander, Lexi Bair, Diana Baird, Jill Baumgardner, Sarah Baxter, Amber Beals, Gracie Burford, Alexa Burke, Aidan Cameron, Mollie Catlett, Stephanie Coon, Maxim Estevez-Curtis, Sami Fink and Evan Fisher.

 Congratulations and Great Job on your Senior Projects!

Reach Out

I came across this video recently and wanted to share it with you...  It's a short video - less than 2 minutes.  Will you do me a favor and watch it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIeBxeOxFyE


Reaching out seems like a simple concept when we are in a good place mentally and emotionally, but it can take extraordinary courage to reach out when we are feeling weak, overwhelmed, hopeless, and needing someone to help us when we are in a dark place.

This is especially true when one is having thoughts of suicide, but it is actually true of any moment when we are feeling lost, lonely, vulnerable and hurting.  Reaching out allows us to share our pain and experiences with someone else and gives them a chance to help us.  Sometimes people will do great at responding to our efforts to seek support and help and, I will be honest, sometimes they won't.  But if you are struggling, I encourage you to reach out until you find someone who IS willing and able to help walk with you through the hard times because this feeling won't last and things will get better with help.

I also want to remind each of you how powerful and valuable you are when you assist someone else who is struggling.  The greatest thing that you can do is to help connect them to someone else who is trained to support and help them to make sure that they are able to stay safe.  Keeping thoughts of suicide a secret is NOT help!  You want to help those you love and care about - friends or family members - and you can be incredibly helpful to them.  Listening and caring are wonderful gifts that you can give to them - as is connecting them to more support.  And once you have connected them to additional help from a trusted adult, it doesn't mean your job is over - your family member or friend still needs you - they still need you to be their encourager and listener or to be your normal self who will make them smile when everything else seems stressful.

If you are struggling, I hope you will reach out to me.  Stop by and see me so we can talk about what is going on.  If you are struggling at other times you can always reach out to the other adults in your life or to a hotline such as the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting 4Hope (or any other message) to 741741.

Are you really listening?

When going through the day, how much are you paying attention to all of the different messages you receive?  My guess is not very much and that is normal.  We hear lots of messages from our family members, friends, teachers, bosses, or even random strangers.  But just because we hear it doesn't mean we register it completely.

Bear with me - an example might help...

You woke up and went downstairs, grabbed a granola bar and some juice before heading to the bus for school.  Your mom wished you good luck on your test and said she knew you were going to do great.  At the bus stop you talk with your friend about the other student who has a crush on you that you have been talking to and you can't stop smiling.  As you get to school, one of your friends greets you in the commons and thanks you for helping them with their homework last night.  And as you head into your class, someone remarks rudely that your outfit doesn't match - and all of a sudden your day is on a tail-spin downward.

If you are like most people, you are suddenly completely focused on the negative comment.  Perhaps it wasn't a negative remark about what you were wearing, but a teacher saying that your essay topic wasn't good or a peer bragging that they had done so much better on a test than you knew you had done, or a parent yelling in frustration over the fact that you still haven't washed the dishes in spite of being asked to take care of it three times... whatever the negative circumstance is, we often focus all of our thoughts, energy, and emotions there.  We forget all of the good that has been happening throughout the rest of the day... in large part because we aren't really listening.

We tend to take in the positives and let it go, but we focus intently on the negatives.  Perhaps this is in part to protect ourselves from being hurt again in the future so we want to learn from that experience, but often it is that we simply don't give ourselves the credit that those positive statements or experiences are conveying.  We aren't fully attending to and taking in each of the encouraging, uplifting, and helpful comments and yet we give our undivided attention to the negatives. 

Maybe I am wrong... perhaps that isn't what you do, but I would challenge you to just pause and pay attention.  I am not saying you have to ignore all of the negatives - in fact sometimes that isn't safe or healthy.  But I do want to challenge you to pay attention to the positives as well.  Truly focus on it when something good happens.  Stop and think about that good thing - your mom believing in you for your test, the new person who you are talking to that makes you smile so much, the appreciation from the friend that you were able to help with their homework, how you have an understanding of the class content that allowed you to be able to help someone else - and really reflect on it - in the same way that you would sit and ruminate on the negative statement that is made which upsets you.  By doing that you will be listening to the whole big picture of life that is happening around you and hopefully you will realize that you are more than the mistakes you have made... so much more!

I acknowledge this isn't always easy.  There are so many times when I too will have someone say something positive and 1 negative statement can sit with me far longer, but when you are at least able to recognize it when it is happening, you can reframe it for yourself that yes, I am not perfect, but at least I was able to do good in all of these other ways.  I hope that is something that will help you too!

Next Year's Schedule

I wanted to give you a heads up on something that we are hoping/ anticipating will happen in the next few days...  

The WKHS administration has been working on the master schedule for next year.  They have determined where each class will be held during the school day to meet the most student requests possible. This includes running your requests through the computer to try to match as many of the requests as possible between what you had asked for and what is possible in the computers.  At the end of the week they reported that they are really close and so I anticipate that they will officially "lock" the master schedule into place in the days ahead. 

Unfortunately, once the schedule is locked it will become crazy for the counselors as we go through each of the schedules that didn't match and try to figure out if there is a solution and what possible options we can use to make a schedule fit together. We will spend hours pouring over schedules and will have to call down some of you to talk about back up choices based upon the conflicts in your schedule. This is never easy and I know it is disappointing when you don't get all of the classes that you wanted, so I promise that I am doing the best I can to make everything work together.

So, if in the coming days, you get a pass from me to come see me during your lunch, off period or between periods, I am asking you to please make every effort to come at the day and time I am calling for you so that we can look at your schedule together.  You don't want me to be the one to make those tough choices for you so we really do need to meet and look at the options together.

Inevitably, when everyone hears that the schedule is locked, students will be curious about the schedule and what their classes will look like for next year.  I am more than happy to talk about this with you, but not until all of the conflicts are resolved.  So, I ask you to please be patient with me and wait until exam week to try to come and get a sneak peek at what your schedule will hopefully be for next year.  (Full disclosure though, all schedules are 100% up for revision and changes based on whatever has to happen with the master schedule as the summer progresses.)

Exams Rapidly Approaching

This coming week (Wednesday and Thursday) the seniors will complete their final exams. Seniors will be on a regular bell schedule along with the rest of the school, so your teachers will likely be splitting lengthy exams over two days.

For underclassmen, you have just 5 days of class remaining before your final exams. As with semester exams, these exams will be done in blocks. The final exam schedule is below for your reference.

I know that the stress of having 20% of your grade in one test combined with the anticipation with finally being done with another school year can seem overwhelming. Remember, the time you spend studying now will determine how well you do on your exam, so please take the time to study!

Monday:

7:45 - 9:45 2nd period exam
10:00 - 12:00 5th period exam
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:05 - 3:05 8th period exam

Tuesday:

7:45 - 9:45 1st period exam
10:00 - 12:00 6th period exam
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:05 - 3:05 7th period exam

Wednesday:

7:45 - 9:45 3rd period exam
10:00 - 12:00 4th period exam
12:00 - 1:00 NO Lunch Provided!
1:05 - 3:05 Exam Make Up Period

Teacher Appreciation Week

Today wraps up Teacher Appreciation Week.

There are a LOT of difficult and demanding professions in the world.  I believe that teaching is one of them.  Sure, they are not cutting people open and performing brain surgery, nor are they working outside in the 90 degree heat constructing a building, or performing detailed math calculations to project the safety of products that will impact hundreds of thousands of people in our nation.  But that doesn't diminish what teachers do each day - or the fact that teachers had to help shape and influence each of those other career examples I just mentioned.

Teachers went into teaching because of a love for kids.  They love to work with you, learn about your lives, help you to grow and thrive, challenge you and celebrate as you reach each new success.

Teachers must try to please a WHOLE lot of people!  Most teachers have over 120 students that they work with each day.  Each student is unique and your teacher is going to try to help meet the varied needs that each of you have.

And while it is a demanding profession, I love the fact that most teachers wouldn't trade their jobs for anything.  If you come into school early in the morning, you will find teachers like Mr. Troutner working away trying to make sure that everything will go off without a flaw in each of his classes.  Come by late at night and you'll often find Mr. Wisard setting up for labs.  Walk through the halls during the day and you will find math teachers like Ms. Kneubel or English teachers like Mrs. Smith meeting 1:1 with students in the halls or in an empty classroom. 

At the high school level, you have teachers who not only love you, their students, but also love their subject matter.  And yes, I know, if you don't love what you are studying in their class it might make it hard to be excited about Romeo and Juliet, but have you watched as your teachers eyes light up when they talk about the material they find so exciting?  Isn't it nice to know that there are so many different interests and passions that our teachers are able to share with us each day?  Or what about the efforts that so many teachers go through to give you unique learning experiences by serving as club advisors (like In The Know with Mrs. Haverkamp or JSA with Mr. Buck), or securing interesting guest speakers (like Mr. Strausbaugh in Poli Rad or Mrs. Kucharek in Law), or providing the option of participating in Senior Project (Mrs. Stubenrauch).

It's easy to take what your teachers do each day for granted, but we really are fortunate to have such dedicated professionals who are striving to open your eyes to new and interesting aspects of the world around you and hopefully instilling a love of learning at the same time.

Teachers have been spoiled this week by the PTO with acts of kindness, but I can assure you that what means the most to them is hearing from YOU, their students.  So, let me challenge you that in the next week, try to thank a teacher (or two) for their efforts.  Thank the teacher who believes in you.  Thank the teacher who pushes you the hardest.  Thank the teacher who loves what they are teaching.  Thank the teacher who has allowed you to learn about something you never would have known about had it not been for that class.  Your effort to appreciate them will linger in their hearts and minds FAR beyond the end of this year and may be the best part of their whole year.

Advanced Courses Summer Assignments

Are you planning to take Honors, AP or IB classes for next year?  If so, I want to remind you that many of those classes will have summer assignments.  AP/ IB teachers along with a few Honors level teachers have been working hard to prepare meaningful learning opportunities to help you get a jump start for their classes during the summer months.  Please pay close attention to the announcements each day because there will be meetings before/ after school for students to meet with the teachers for next year, to learn about the summer requirements and expectations, and to understand what you will need to do if you have questions or need support. 

It is also important that all students are aware that there is a drop deadline of July 15th for all Honors, AP and IB courses.  Prior to July 15th students can drop the classes without penalty.  After July 15th the summer assignments are still required and the grades for the summer work will be transferred into the new class that you will transferring into for next year instead of your intended class.  So, it is important not only that you know what you will need to do, but also to start working on the assignments - at least enough to make sure you feel confident that you are going to enjoy the course - so that you will know by July 15th if you feel you are going to need to change out of that class.

Letter of Intent

Congratulations to Kyler Archual who signed his national letters of intent to play baseball in college.  Kyler will be continuing his athletic career at Tiffin University.  He had his "signing" ceremony after school yesterday which represented his accomplishments that had been years in the making. I know that it meant a lot to Kyler to be surrounded by his family members, coaches, teammates, and friends who attended to show their support and to celebrate this great accomplishment (and for the baseball team before they headed off to their away game). Congratulations Kyler! We are proud of you!

Summer Plans

Summer is a great time to relax and unwind from the hectic schedule of homework, studying and the general day to day expectations of school. But your summer shouldn’t just be wasted away into day after day of doing “nothing.” The summer is a perfect time to explore your passions, investigate your interests and indulge in fun activities that you might not have time for during the regular school year. As we are in these few weeks of school, I wanted to encourage you to start thinking about what you will do this summer to make sure that you have a productive summer and don’t spend the entire break being bored.

So, what are some ideas of how you can spend your summer? Consider taking a class (or two) in summer school. This is especially important if you are behind in credits and not doing well in school. Success rates of summer school completion are very high – in part because you are able to focus on just one subject at a time and you generally have smaller class sizes so the teacher can focus more one-on-one time with each student. If you are planning on taking a class in summer school it is important to sign up as soon as possible to make sure that you will not be closed out of the class of your choice.

Perhaps you are looking for ideas that do not involve more school… Summer vacation is a great time to expand your resume and pursue your passions by volunteering or working a summer job. Many students don’t know where to volunteer and the truth is the sky is the limit – anything that interests you has the potential for being a volunteer service project. Get creative in your approach! For ideas about existing needs for volunteers you can visit HandsOn Central Ohio.  

Also, each year the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio sponsors a week long camp called iCanBike that provides differently abled campers a safe, supportive and fun opportunity to learn to ride a two wheeled bicycle.  The camp will be held at Worthington Kilbourne High School from June 3rd through June 7th.  Volunteers must be at least 15 years old and physically able to walk or run alongside the participant as they master the skill of riding a bike.  Volunteers will be partnered with a single camper and you will work together for the week for 75 minutes each day.  There are sessions spread throughout the day to match everyone's schedule availability.  Students who have volunteered for this camp in the past have shared how fun and rewarding this experience had been for them as well as for the campers who were learning to ride their bikes.  Anyone interested in learning more or registering to be a volunteer should go to http://dsaco.net/icanbike/

If you are starting to consider different careers, perhaps you have a family member or friends that would allow you to shadow them for a day or two on the job to see what their particular career is really like as this will help you determine if that career is truly of interest to you.

Current juniors (Soon to be Seniors) – this summer is going to be busy as you prepare for your senior year. Hopefully you are taking the time to visit colleges from your list and getting an idea of what you think about different schools. (Don’t forget to take a picture of you somewhere on campus for me!) You can also begin drafting your college application essays and preparing for the ACT and SAT exams.

Of course, there is always spending quality time reconnecting with your family and friends, going on vacation, reading, and even attending camps or other formal activities which can be a part of the summer for many.  If you are interested in learning about some of the camp opportunities - many of which are offered on college campuses, please be sure to check out the upcoming events calendar on the WKHS Counselor website as we continue adding summer enrichment experiences to the site as we receive them.

The bottom line is try to be productive this summer – at the very least it will give you great stories to share next fall when people ask you what you did over the summer.

CC+ Testing Reminders

At this point everyone who is participating in College Credit Plus (CC+) classes next year at WKHS (or on a campus) should have applied to the college and submitted your required forms.  If you do not remember doing this, please check your school email or visit www.wkhscounselors.com to see the reminder of the steps you are supposed to complete for each college and which classes are being offered through which college.

The one aspect which is still remaining for many students is submitting your qualifying test scores to place you into a class.

If you are taking classes through COTC you were notified if you needed to achieve scores to take the math classes and will your placement tests in math and writing tomorrow or next week on the 14th.  You should have been assigned a time slot to do this - check your school email.

If you are taking classes through CSCC you must submit qualifying scores.  You can either submit ACT or SAT scores or you need to take the placement tests.  Here is the summary of what you will need to know/ scores you will need to achieve for CSCC:

- If you were already taking CSCC classes last year then you have met the qualifying scores and do not need to do anything else.

- If you took the ACT and earned an 18 on the English section and a 22 on the Reading section then you have met the benchmark standards required.  Hopefully you already listed CSCC as one of the colleges to receive your scores - if so, you are all set.  If you didn't list CSCC, download your student score report and turn it into the Counseling Center before the end of the school year or pay to have your scores sent directly to CSCC.

- If you took the SAT and earned a 490 on the Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing section then you have met the benchmark standards required.  Download your student score report and turn it into the Counseling Center before the end of the school year or pay to have your scores sent directly to CSCC.

- If you have not taken the ACT or SAT yet or do not have the qualifying scores, then you will need to take the Placement Tests. You will have the option of taking these placement tests on Wednesday or Thursday this week at WKHS or you can take them at any of the testing branches at Columbus State.  (Delaware, Dublin, Westerville, or Downtown)

You will need to take the reading and writing placement tests.  This usually takes about 2 hours to complete (approximately 1 hour per test).

You will need to achieve the CSCC designated scores in order to reach the level required to take the CC+ classes.  You will need to earn a Reading Test score of 80 and a Writing Test score of 5.

Please note that you will need to have your Cougar ID number in order to test.  I strongly suggest that you visit the CSCC website (search testing on their site and it will take you to the right page) to review the information about what to expect on the placement tests so that you do as well as possible on your first attempt. It is possible to retake the placement test if needed. 

The deadline to submit scores and/or complete your placement testing is suggested by May 22nd, but students have until July 1st to meet the CSCC requirements and submit scores directly to CSCC.

With so many students taking CC+ classes, I cannot stress enough how critical it is that you take care of these testing requirements so that you are able to take your intended classes next year!  If you have testing questions, please check the college testing pages and if you still aren't sure, feel free to let me know.

AP & IB Exams

Over the next two weeks many WKHS students will be taking Advanced Placement and IB Exams. The AP and IB exams are held on designated days and will be in designated locations throughout WKHS.  

I know that many of you have been spending an extraordinary amount of time studying to prepare for the exams. Good Luck!  You will do great!  Remember, you have spent the whole year learning all of the content that you need to know in order to take the tests to hopefully earn the college credit. Stop by sometime and let me know how you felt after the tests.

Prom

Tonight is prom night for WKHS juniors and seniors. This is an exciting and memorable night for students and I hope you have a great evening. Let's be honest, I also hope that it is a safe evening! You want prom to be memorable because it was a positive experience... 

Hopefully you have finalized all of your plans and are looking forward to a great night both at prom and at After-Hours. I am looking forward to being a chaperone at prom again this year because I love seeing "my" students dressed up and enjoying themselves. It should be fun!  Please be sure to stop by and say hi to me so that I get to see you in your tuxes and dresses.

One last reminder about safety - please remember that just because it is prom night that does NOT give you the excuse to make choices that you know are not wise.  Take the time to talk with your parents before you leave tonight about what you will do if you end up in an unexpected situation and need help. If, for any reason, you need help tonight while at prom - you know that you can find me. Have a good time - and please, be smart and stay safe!

Socratic Society & Arts in Action

Today was a fun-filled day of celebrating the success of our students.  

The morning started as we honored and celebrated students who were being inducted into the Socratic Society.  Staff members are given the opportunity to recognize students for excellence in one or more of the core Socratic values of Scholarship, Integrity, Personal Effort, Compassion, or Lifelong Learning. Students are only eligible to be selected for this honor one time during their high school career.

13 of the students who were inducted were "my" students.  A huge congratulations to: Trixie Abbott, Bobby Barklay, Amber Beals, Aidan Beck, Richard Beckley, Sasha Bomser, Ella Brown, Colin Capehart, Zach Colombini, Ryan Connolly, Lauren Corn, Jamison Davis, and Mitchell Fisher.  I am proud of you!

Then, as we hit the lunch periods it was time to celebrate the arts and the varied contributions of our students in the visual and performing arts.  If I had to pick one thing that I loved most about today's Arts in Action day it was that I had the chance to see so many students trying out various art activities and engaging in projects that many normally wouldn't have the opportunity to attempt.  

Here are a few of the photos I was able to take during the day:

Teacher Recommendation Letters

Juniors, remember when we talked in our junior meetings about the fact that I'd remind you when it was time to start asking teachers about possibly writing a recommendation letter on your behalf?  Now is the time.  :-)

Recommendation letters are a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought and time. Juniors, as you finalize the list of schools where you will be applying next fall, it is important to determine if you are going to need a recommendation letter from a teacher (or two). Many of the Ohio schools - Ohio State University, OU, BGSU, Kent State, etc. do not require teacher recommendations.  Because rec letters are a time consuming process, if the colleges where you are applying do not require recommendations, then do not waste your teacher's time by requesting letters that won't be needed or used!

If you are applying to schools that need teacher recommendation letters, it is very helpful and beneficial to the teachers if you can give them as much time as possible to write your recommendation letters. That means, if you know now that you are going to be applying to a school which needs a teacher rec letter, then I would like for you to ask the teachers this spring allowing them to have the entire summer to write your letter. (These next few weeks are a great time to ask!)  After you ask your teacher(s), you will want to provide them with information that can help them as they write your letter. We have several handouts in the counseling and career center and on the WKHS Counselor website that you can use for this purpose. 

And yes juniors, this is also a reminder that you need to be working now toward finalizing a list of where you plan on applying to college because, as the seniors can definitely tell you - it goes by fast!

Bell Schedule for Next 2 Days

Tomorrow we will be on a 16 minute homeroom schedule.  Students in grades 9, 10, and 11 will be watching videos of class officer speeches.  Seniors, you will be meeting in the auditorium for one of your last senior class meetings.  This is an important homeroom meeting time for seniors.  During this time you will be asked to complete a Senior Survey to give feedback to the counselors and administrators.  Your input is important to us because we want to be sure that we are meeting the needs of all of our students and the data from the senior surveys helps us to plan accordingly.  The survey is electronic and you will easily be able to complete it during the homeroom time so please take a few minutes to share your honest feedback with us.

Tomorrow's Bell Schedule:
1st Period: 7:45 - 8:33
2nd Period: 8:38 - 9:26
Homeroom: 9:31 - 9:47
3rd Period: 9:52 - 10:40
4th Period: 10:45 - 11:33
5th Period: 11:38 - 12:26
6th Period: 12:31 - 1:19
7th Period: 1:24 - 2:12
8th Period: 2:17 - 3:05

And then on Friday we have another different bell schedule in order to celebrate Arts in Action day!  This is a fun day where we celebrate the unique contributions of the arts programs at WKHS and beyond.  Students will be given hands on opportunities to try out art projects on their own as well as witness the incredible talents of so many of Kilbourne's student body.  The art activities will all take place during lunch periods, but we have extended your lunch times so that you will have plenty of time to check it all out. 

Friday's Bell Schedule:
1st Period: 7:45 - 8:24
2nd Period: 8:29 - 9:08
3rd Period: 9:13 - 10:00
4th Period: 10:05 - 11:05
5th Period: 11:10 - 12:10
6th Period: 12:15 - 1:15
7th Period: 1:20 - 2:20
8th Period: 2:25 - 3:05

If you have any questions, please come see me!