Enjoy Spring Break!

Woohoo!!!  5 days in a row DONE!  You all did great.  I know it was exhausting for all, but now you get to enjoy your well-deserved spring break.

I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing break. Don't forget, if you end up on a college campus over break, please take a picture for the "Oh the Places You'll Go" display. 

I don't anticipate updating much over break, so I hope you have a great week and please stay safe!

Creating Your College List

With spring break coming up and COVID still being an ongoing issue, you may find yourself with some extra time on your hands.  One suggestion I have for you is to consider using some of your time to begin the process of creating a college list of schools that might appeal to you for the future.  

Seniors, you have already completed this process, but as you are reviewing your acceptances and trying to make your final decision, it might also help you to pause and reflect again on what it is that YOU want in a college and make sure that the schools you are considering are still a good fit.

I know that it will sound cheesy, but the answer for what is going to be the best college for you is something only you will know.  Truly, there isn't just 1 right college for every student.  You will find a college that is the best fit for you and you will be happy and successful there.  So how do you go about finding that college?

Start off by thinking of this as looking for colleges that will be a good fit for you.  Being a good fit will mean that they are a fit for you academically, socially and financially.

We have a bunch of pages on the Counselor Website to help guide you in the college search process.  Below are a few of the pages you could check out to help you as you are working to build your college list.

Self reflection - I'm not kidding when I said that you will know the best colleges for you, but you have to pause and start thinking about what it is that you want and what you imagine in a college.

What do you want in a college - This is thinking more about how the college will fit for you.

If you are struggling to narrow your list by size of the campus you can always take a day during spring break and drive around on some campuses and get a feel for how a bigger school looks vs a smaller campus.  We are lucky that in central Ohio there are a ton of colleges you can drive through and start to get that feel for what you picture for yourself.

Tips on investigating colleges - this is looking more at the ways that a college can fit you.

And, don't forget, even though many colleges are still limiting their campus visit tour experiences, you can find a great deal of information including virtual tours on their websites so have fun exploring and looking at different colleges to see which ones might be among your final list of future colleges for you!

College Admissions Decision Stress

These next few weeks are filled with eager anticipation and quite a bit of stress for seniors who are still awaiting college decisions.  As you know, many colleges - particularly the more competitive schools - hold their admissions decisions and release them all at once late in March or early in April.  

If you have been anxiously awaiting the news from your final colleges, try to take a deep breath and relax.  Remember, you have done everything to put yourself in the best position possible with your applications.  If you are feeling stressed as you await the news, please stop to see me so we can discuss how to manage the stress as well as what the outcome will mean if you get accepted or rejected - because I promise you - no matter what the admissions decision is, you do have a bright future ahead!

It also bears repeating that getting the decision can be hard enough, but often the more difficult aspect is being asked, “Did you get accepted?” by well-meaning friends. Trust me on this one, if they were accepted, the students would be telling everyone – you won’t need to ask. If they don’t offer up the news sharing if they were accepted or not, then be sensitive to the fact that more than likely they did not get accepted and don’t ask about it as it puts them on the spot to share disappointing news.

I also want to remind the seniors that we try to keep track of all of the college admissions decisions as that helps us understand current trends in admissions. I would really appreciate it if you'd stop by and update me as you receive your college admission decisions.

Good luck!  I hope you get the acceptances you are anxiously awaiting.

Grief Group Opportunity

After we return to school following spring break the counselors will be offering grief groups for interested students.

The death of someone significant in your life impacts everything.  Students will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their loved ones and do engaging activities as a way to help move forward in their grief.  This is not just a sit around and be sad experience - the goal is to provide a healing opportunity and understand the wide range of feelings present when grieving.  We will be partnering with a bereavement counselor from OhioHealth Hospice to provide the grief groups.

There will be limited space for each of the groups so if you are interested in participating, PLEASE let me know this week!  I would love to have you be a part of it.  Or, if you have more questions or want more information about the group, don't hesitate to stop by and see me so that we can discuss it.

College Admissions Tests

Juniors, now that you have received your scores back from the school administration of the ACT it is time to come up with a plan for what comes next.  

Some of you may be perfectly content with your scores and not need to do anything else, but for many of you, I know that you are focused on improving your scores.  Statistically, many students are able to improve their scores when they repeat the tests because you are now familiar with the pace required to complete each section and what to expect from the tests.   As a result, I encourage you to consider signing up to take another college admission test this spring or summer.  You can take either the ACT or the SAT (or both).  Don't forget, while there are some test dates in the fall, it can be tough to get the tests completed before the earliest application deadlines.

Here are the upcoming test dates and the regular registration deadlines:

- April 17 ACT: Late registration through March 26th

- May 8 SAT: Register by April 8th 

- June 5 SAT: Register by May 6th

- June 12 ACT: Register by May 7th

- July 17 ACT: Register by June 18th

- August 28 SAT: Registeration date TBD

To register for the tests, please visit their websites.

ACT: www.act.org

SAT: www.collegeboard.com

And, yes, sorry, there are fees for the rest of the times you take the college admissions tests.  However, if you are a student that is on free or reduced lunch, please stop to see me as I am able to help give you a fee waiver that can cover the cost of a test.

The other point we need to talk about is what you are going to DO between now and when you retake the test to help improve your scores.  There are a wide range of options that students can do to help improve their scores, but generally speaking if you don't do something different you will typically not see a significant change in scores.  This list is in no way fully inclusive of all of your options, but it can help get you started on ideas...

- Look at your test and reflect back on what you remember from the test and review the areas that are weakest for you.

- Take free practice tests online.

- Use question of the day practice opportunities to regularly get adjusted to the types of questions you will see on the ACT/ SAT.

- Work with an individual tutor or sign up for a course.  These options will have a range of costs associated with them and so it is important to know that ACT and SAT will say that the best preparation is a rigorous curriculum.  However, many students have found that having someone that they are meeting with and having an appointment to work on preparing for the tests helps to hold them accountable so that they can master the strategies and truly show what they know when they take the tests.  We have many tutor resources available on the Counselor Website if you are interested and I also have business cards in my office from some of the tutors/ companies.

- Make use of websites such as Khan Academy that have free test prep sections.  The ACT and SAT websites also have resources and materials available for students to help prepare for their tests.

- Get one of the books with practice tests (you might even be able to find them at the library, but many students prefer to buy them so that they can write in the books).  I believe that there is one book that a family donated back to the building because their son/ daughter hadn't actually used it and you can find it in the front of the counseling center if you are interested. 

And that actually brings me to a key point that I hit on a little earlier - I can mention lots of different ideas and strategies, but these tests are so easy to procrastinate on and think "I'll work on that later..." but so often "later" becomes "never."  I know because I have been there.  So try to figure out what you are realistically going to be able to set up for yourself as a plan and then stick with it.  Have someone help hold you accountable and don't stop until you have reached your goals.

Good luck on your test preparation.  Most of all, don't stress about it - that will never help your scores, but do the best you can and it will pay off in the long run!

Here... We... Go!!!

Tomorrow is back to 5 days a week school as "normal."  It has been quite a year to get us to this point.  You have proven your ability to adapt and overcome challenges.  We have all realized how little control we actually have over events and circumstances in our lives even if we prefer to try to plan and think of it all as if we do have that control.  And in the last year most of us have recognized the importance of  being grateful for good health and the value of the simple moments like being with those we love.

Tomorrow starts the chance to be with ALL friends that you love not just those in your half of the alphabet.  With teachers (not to mention counselors and a therapy dog) who love you. And with a step back towards the world and times of normalcy that we all miss and crave.

I know that there are very mixed emotions related to the return to all-in school.  Some of you are anxious about spending a day in 3 feet proximity with others.  Remember that I am here to listen.  Some of you are excited to have the structure and routine of not having to learn at home on your own.  Remember I am here to support you.  And some of you are dreading trying to wake up to be focused in class at 7:45am five days a week.  Remember that I honor and understand these struggles.

No matter what you are feeling - and even if you aren't feeling much about it - that is ok.  It is normal that we would be in different places and have different feelings about school and the return to all-in.  I still vividly remember last spring when we were all sent home and how sooooo many of you would tell me "I know I'm probably the only one but I really miss school."  You certainly weren't the only one then and you're not the only one who is feeling whatever it is you're experiencing now.  And just like last spring, you still deserve to be supported in whatever you're feeling and that is why I am here for you!

And, finally, I also want to remind you that even though we are all-in and you will be back to a "normal" 5 day a week school week, it is important to go in with the appropriate expectation of knowing that this still won't actually be normal.  Wearing masks, having to clean desks before/ after classes, and assigned seats for lunch spread throughout the commons and hallways are not normal.  They are all completely manageable and things we can do, but it isn't normal.  So I encourage you to temper your expectations that it will suddenly feel great and perfectly back to the way things were before COVID entered our lives.  Having that awareness will help to manage your expectations so that you aren't suddenly disappointed or left feeling frustrated and overwhelmed yet again.

Remember, you have made it through so many difficult challenges and transitions this year.  This shows that you ARE more than capable of making it through another and that I am here as are all of the rest of your teachers and the staff to help support you in this adjustment.  And Lexi and I both hope you will stop and see us tomorrow just to say hi!

Also, for what it is worth, please try to get to sleep at a decent time every night this week!  This is going to be a major adjustment and a lack of sleep will only make it feel more difficult.

Virtual College Fairs

Obviously even though it feels as if much is returning to normal, COVID is still impacting the ability to explore colleges.  Virtual college fairs are a great opportunity for students and parents to explore from the safety of home.

Tomorrow is another National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) college fair from 1-7pm.

You can register for the free event here:  https://virtualcollegefairs.org/events/43/exhibitors

And if you want information to understand how to make the most out of your virtual college fair you can watch the short video and quick start guide here:  https://www.nacacfairs.org/virtual/

The Ohio Association of College Admissions Counselors (OACAC) college fairs are this Thursday and Friday, March 24th and 25th from 5-7:45pm.

The link to register for these free fairs are here: https://oacac.org/student-registration/

I hope you will take advantage of these career fair experiences to learn more about which colleges might be a good fit for you!

Admissions Blog

One of the amazing things related to college admissions is how much you can find out online... it doesn't matter if it is through the admissions office websites, their blogs or their podcasts, everything you could possibly want to know is accessible to you.

I have to tell you that I *LOVE* the Tulane University blog: http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/

Here are two of their posts that apply not just to Tulane, but to all colleges.  I suspect that if you read them both then soon, like me, you will also love Tulane's blog.

How to stay admitted

8 emails better left unsent  

As you work on moving through high school and towards college and all that is ahead of you, don't miss out on these chances to learn more.

"You are NOT the college"

I realize that this will make me seem old, but have you seen the meme's or even clips from the Jerry Springer show where they used to excitedly proclaim, "you are NOT the father..."?  That is always the image that goes through my head when seniors start narrowing down their college list and have eliminated schools from your list of options as they declare "you are NOT my college..."

It is always an exciting time because it means that (1) you are totally in control and (2) you are starting to make progress towards where you plan to attend next year.

Seniors, as you begin narrowing down those colleges that are still in the running, it is really important that you notify the other colleges that you do NOT intend to attend their school next year.

Please wait to tell the schools that you will not be attending until you are absolutely, positively, and completely sure that you are no longer considering them. However, I realize that many of you have narrowed your choice to a smaller group of colleges and you have completely eliminated others from consideration. Those which have been completely eliminated are the colleges I am recommending you notify now. 

This is important because it allows the college to plan for their upcoming student body and to know if they have room to accept other students. Think about your classmates who might be deferred or eventually on the waiting list for a school and they want to hear back from the schools as quickly as possible and there are other students across the country in the same situation. Colleges can't begin opening up additional slots until they know which students will or will not be attending. 

Additionally, if you received scholarship offers from one of the colleges that you have eliminated from the running, this can also potentially allow the college to offer that money out to other students which, again, can help people such as your fellow classmates. Believe me, the colleges will not be angry with you for deciding that you will not be attending their school - they understand that this is part of the process, so just go ahead and take a few minutes to let them know of your intent to attend a different college.

How you will notify the colleges that you are not attending will likely vary by the school.  Some colleges send you a notification postcard that you can send back to them.  Many will have a place on their portal that you can log into and report that you will not be attending.  Or, you can always email your admissions counselor at the college to inform them that you have decided to pursue your education at a different college. 

It's an exciting time and I hope you are making progress in narrowing your plans for which colleges for next year.  If you want to talk through anything related to this decision making process, please stop and see me!

Senior Survivors

A huge thank you my 3 "Senior Survivor" panelists Emily Cline, Joseph De La Torre, and Chloe Emberton for volunteering their time to share information and insights with our students and parents today.  They did a great job representing WKHS in a poised manner and with answering all of the questions thrown their way.  I am confident that the attendees learned a lot because of the willingness each of them were to sharing openly and honestly.  

For those of you who are green day students (and parents), don't miss your chance to hear tomorrow's panel presentation at 12:30.

Junior ACT Scores

I have heard from a few students that some of your ACT scores have been released onto the MyACT portal!  I know that this is really exciting when your scores get posted and really frustrating if your scores are still not posted.  A few things to remember... 

- ACT releases scores over a series of weeks so just because your score isn't there yet doesn't mean that there is an issue with your test or your score.

- There will eventually be a paper score report as well, but I don't know when that will be sent out.  It is definitely going to be on your MyACT portal first.

- If you inadvertently made a 2nd ACT account when you already had an account from a previous test, you will need to call ACT to get your two accounts linked together.

- If, in spite of the instructions and reminders, you didn't sign up for a MyACT account prior to or immediately following your test, the way I understand it is that you should still be able to create an account and it will link to your test scores.  If it doesn't get linked to your scores or if you had created an account and now can't access it, you will have to call ACT directly.

- If you somehow forgot to select which colleges you wanted to have your 4 free scores sent, I heard today that the MyACT page may be allowing students to still go back in and put your 4 colleges... this is honestly a surprise and a great opportunity if you had neglected to do so when you signed up for your account so don't miss out on that chance.

We have not seen or received scores yet so I am anxious to hear how you did and I hope you will let me know.  Congratulations to all of you who did well!  I know that is a huge weight off your shoulders if you can now be done with testing.

And then on a separate note, just a final reminder that tomorrow at 12:30 is the panel conversation with some of our "senior survivors" for the College Applications: Chaos or Achievement workshop session.  9-11th grade students and parents are all invited to join in on the zoom conversation and the zoom link is on the Counselor Website - www.wkhscounselors.com - so please join us tomorrow!

Let's Finish Strong!

Tomorrow begins the 4th quarter.  Each year, in the spring, some students find it hard to focus on school when they simply want to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. I anticipate that this spring could be even harder as you adjust to being in the building full time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't want you to enjoy each day, but I do hope that you are keeping in mind how your actions today will influence you tomorrow and in the future.  Take some time now to reflect personally and academically on where you are, where you want to be and what you need to do to achieve your goals.

There is no secret to success!  It is hard work, doing what you need to do to push yourself to improve and always giving your personal best even when you don't feel like it. For many of you this might mean that you need to take some time to get organized and prepare for the end of year push.  (HINT: if your bookbag looks like this you DEFINITELY need to work on a new organization strategy!)  For others, it may mean that you need to challenge yourself to maintain your focus as distractions continue to come your way.  For many, it will mean you need to get into a good routine with sleep habits. And yet others may need to find new study strategies that will help you to demonstrate your knowledge.  No matter what strategies you may need to focus on my biggest hope is that you will find a system that works and use it.  Looking at what you have been doing and being willing to try something different to result in a different outcome is the best initial step you can take.  As always, if you need help with getting organized, determining strategies to focus through distractions or for new study strategies, I hope you will come to see me!

End of 3rd Quarter

Hooray!  We made it to the end of the 3rd quarter.  We are now 3/4 of the way through the school year which, at least for me, seems unbelievably hard to believe.  I feel like the year was just getting started and the reality is that you are now in the final stretch.  Enjoy the long weekend - you deserve it as I know these last few weeks have felt very stressful for so many of you.

College Applications: Chaos or Achievement

I am so excited to announce that next week, the last week of hybrid, we will be hosting one final workshop for interested students and parents!

College Applications: Chaos or Achievement

What will it be like to apply to college? What should I be focusing on for picking schools to apply to? Which college admissions tests should I take and when? If you have asked yourself these questions, then this workshop is for you!

During the at-home learning days of March 16th and 17th at 12:30pm, the WKHS counselors will be hosting a zoom workshop for current freshmen, sophomores and juniors as well as any of your interested parents. This workshop will allow you to have the opportunity to gain insight from a panel of some of our "senior survivors." 

Obviously, for the vast majority of "my" students who are Blue day students, you will be joining the presentation on March 16th and that is when a few of my seniors will be sharing their insights.  We will post a zoom link  on the Counselor website and Schoology pages the week of the workshop.

YouScience

During junior meetings I had the chance to remind students about YouScience, but I wanted to be sure that ALL of my students knew about this great assessment tool that lets you learn more about yourself while also highlighting careers that would be a good potential fit.

YouScience is a measure of aptitudes.  Aptitudes are your natural abilities to do things.  It is not about saying you are good at math or science - it is more about the specific strengths that cross over to various subject areas.

When you take the assessment it is all online so you can do it from any computer or chromebook.  The entire process from start to finish is 1 hour and 15 minutes, but you can split it up over however many settings that works best for you.  The assessment consistents of a variety of different small computer challenges.  Each of these challenges is timed and you just do the best you can on each one of them.  When you start any of those timed tests, you have to finish that piece before you could stop and save to return later.

I took the assessment and was fascinated by how many pieces it was able to say about me just from doing these fun tests.  At the end, about 1 day later, you will receive an email with links to your results.  There were 3 main things I liked best about the results.  1, there is a multi-page personal summary that can be downloaded that talked about things that are easier or harder for you based upon your results.  2, there is a discussion summary guide which is a great resource to help you for use in recommendation letters, resumes and college essays.  3, the career specific information is interesting.  I really liked that the career information could be divided out so that you could look at it based upon which careers fit for people with your aptitudes, for careers with your interests, or for careers that overlap well with your aptitudes and interests.

If you are interested in taking the assessment (or if any of your friends want to do so), please stop and see me so that I can give you an access code.  You will then use that to create an account for free.  It is important to note that you will not be able to use your wscloud email account because you won't be able to receive your emails from YouScience with your results.

Scholarships

As you are working on considering and comparing your different financial aid offers it is only natural that your thoughts will turn to the overwhelming costs associated with attending college. Right about now, many seniors are so relieved to finally be done with their college applications and complaining about the transition to being all-in that it can be hard to get motivated to complete scholarship applications. Several years ago I remember one student who complained all the way through his scholarship application and he ended up getting it done and submitted within hours of the deadline. As it turned out, he ended up receiving the scholarship and it was a significant scholarship (although, for the record, I believe that any scholarship received is significant as it is money that you do not have to pay on your own). Looking back, this student shared that he couldn't imagine earning that amount of money for just a couple of hours of work to complete the scholarship application.

I tell you this story to try to remind you that while I understand it can be hard to stay motivated to complete scholarship applications when only one or perhaps a handful of students will receive the scholarship award, it will be worth it if you receive a scholarship.  In fact, when I was talking to junior students and parents and we talked about scholarship applications - I encouraged them to do the math.  If you spend 5 hours working on 10 different scholarship applications and end up getting just 1 scholarship worth $500 that would mean you had earned $100/hour of scholarship work.  That is definitely worth it!

I also need to clarify that most money does end up coming directly from your colleges, but there are so many other places to look for scholarships and you should consider all of the options to try to help make your college experience even a little more affordable. For example, do your parent's employers offer scholarships for dependent children? What about your place of worship? If you volunteer for an organization, do they offer scholarships for their student volunteers? There are also countless scholarship search websites where you can complete personalized searches for other qualities and characteristics that would be ideal for you. If you want to see some of these sites, please check out the financial aid section (under colleges) in the WKHS Counselors website at http://www.wkhscounselors.com/.

Senior Pictures

Oh my procrastinating seniors... senior pictures are due by this Saturday, March 13th.  So, for those of you who were waiting because you wanted winter weather pictures or those of you who were waiting after the winter weather for some sunny days, you were in luck, but now you still have to get your photos submitted for the yearbook!  You will upload your picture on the Buckeye Scholastic website page by going to WKHS and then selecting yearbook.

Also, I love having pictures of my seniors!  I know lots of you don't always print copies of your senior pictures, but if you do, please know that nothing would make me happier than having a copy of your picture!  (Or you can even email it to me and I will print it myself - that is how much I'd love to have them.)  So, if you are a senior student or parent reading this, I hope you will consider giving me one of your pictures. (PLEASE!!)

Student Celebrations

Today was the virtual ceremony for the Socratic Society. Students are selected for the Socratic Society based upon their display of the Socratic Core Virtues - scholarship, lifelong learning, compassion, integrity, and personal effort. Students are only eligible to receive this award once throughout their entire high school career. 10 of "my" students were among those honored. They are (alphabetically): Maya Abou-Chahine, EJ Adams, Avery Burns, Bilal Chaudhry, Ashley Comp, Josefia Coombs, Lucy Crisafulli, Maura Cummings, Trey Davis and Sophia Exline.  Congratulations to each of you! 

And tomorrow Brooke Carter will be 1 of 3 WKHS gymnasts to compete in the State Championship Meet.  Good luck Brooke! 

I am proud of you all!

Local Scholarships

Let's face it, college is expensive and (sadly) money doesn't fall from the sky. Many students are trying to investigate options for financing their college education. One great opportunity to help with some of your college costs are local scholarships. These scholarships are great because you are only competing against other WKHS students (for most of them) and, at most, against other students from the general area. These scholarships are all listed on the WKHS Counselor website and I strongly encourage you to take the time to check out all of the scholarships available and read them carefully to determine which ones you might be a good candidate for and therefore want to apply to try to receive.  There are a range of different due dates for the scholarships, but a large number of them are due around spring break.  Please remember that time flies and most of the scholarships have requirements such as essays or recommendation letters so it is important not to procrastinate and to get your applications completed on time.

I have also been receiving lots of questions from seniors related to scholarships.  The reality is that you need to read the details very carefully for what each scholarship is requesting and then give them EXACTLY what they are asking for in the application!  Does it ask for you to use a series of numbers instead of your name on your application and recommendation?  If so, you need to make sure your recommenders know that we have to change your rec letter accordingly.  Does it ask for you to include a resume or a transcript or a copy of your EFC number?  If so, be sure that you include all of those items.  Those are the types of details that make it really easy for scholarship selection committees to eliminate students from the running.  If you didn't care enough to follow their directions, why should they care to give you their money?

Students also have had many questions related to the transcripts that scholarships will often ask for and, again, pay attention to the details they are requesting.  If they want an OFFICIAL transcript, then you need to go through the same process that you used when requesting your transcript for the college application process.  Many scholarships are OK with an unofficial copy and so in those cases you can download one off of Infinite Campus in the reports section.  I will caution some of you that your unofficial copies are not necessarily ideal if you decided to look crazy in your senior photos because your picture is on your unofficial transcript.  So, if this is the case for you, please come and see me so that we can talk about other options.

Good luck working on your scholarships!

Scheduling Process Update

I am finally finished with all of my registration meetings.  I have met with all of my students over zoom, in person, or on the phone.  I have gone back through all of your course requests and checked to make sure that I didn't see any glaring problems or inconsistencies.  Which means that my phase of the registration process is now officially *DONE* and I am so happy to have it be complete.

But the process is still FAR from over...

Now that all of the course requests are finalized we have officially handed it over to the administration as the "final" registration requests.

The administration (principal and assistant principals) will look at the numbers for all of the courses selected to determine what, if any, courses do not have enough students signed up to be able to offer the class. After they figure this out they will provide that information back to the counselors with a list of students impacted and we will then work with those students and their alternates list to find a suitable replacement course.

The administrators will also begin working to determine the total number of sections of each class (for example how many English 1 courses) are needed to meet the demand. They will then work with computer services to create a schedule that will create the smallest number of conflicts possible. This is a MUCH bigger challenge than most people would imagine. For example, if a class like AP Computer Science is typically only offered 1 time in the day, then they have to figure out what students want to take that class and try to make sure that the time of day selected to offer the course will not conflict with any other classes - especially any other classes that are only offered once in a day (like Band, Choir, or AP Foreign Languages).

Eventually they will create a schedule and "lock" it in place. When that happens (hopefully this spring before school is out) they will then come back to the counselors with a list of all of the kids with conflicts in their schedules. In some cases, we are able to make minor adjustments - move a few classes around and make the schedule work. In other instances, we will have to work with the student to make tough decisions about what classes they do or do not want to take and use the alternates to find other courses that would work and still meet requirements toward graduation.

And that's it - we will ultimately get the schedule set just how we want it and hopefully all of you will pass all of your classes 2nd semester so that we don't have to go back and add anything into your schedule or change classes that you no longer meet the pre-requisites for, but all of those types of changes will happen after the final grades are submitted at the end of May.

I hope that helps you to understand what is going on with the scheduling and registration process. It is a long and tedious process and I appreciate your patience.

A New Day Ahead

Yesterday's question of the day was, "What is your favorite quote or a motto?"  It was fascinating and surprising to me how many students identified some type of a quote or saying reflecting the concept that every day is a new day and to make the most of it.

I will be honest, I love that sentiment.  But I'm not always great at maintaining that mindset.  I'm not sure how many of you are successful at holding onto it or if that is just a challenge for me.

So I will encourage you to take a deep breath after a long, tough day and know that you already made it through the day and tomorrow provides you a fresh start.  Rather than dreading what tomorrow may bring, try to look at it with a fresh energy and a positive attitude and, who knows, it just might be the best day you have had all week.

And, just as a reminder, if you are having trouble keeping that positive forward focused mindset, that is ok too - remember that I am here if you want to talk about what is challenging you and getting in your way of today being a good or even great day.

Academic Honors Night - Virtual Edition

Tonight, through a virtual recognition, WKHS was able to honor Kilbourne's strongest students.  We celebrate your academic successes especially this year when learning has been anything but typical. As a carry over from the award ceremony, this week students will be able to pick up their gold, silver, and bronze keys (recognition pins) from the Counseling Center front office support staff.

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. 32 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. 34 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. 49 of "my" students were presented with bronze keys.

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