Winter Break!

Hooray!  We have made it to winter break.  You have successfully finished your first semester of the school year and are now half-way done.  Lots of big accomplishments for so many students over the course of this first semester and I know many of you have big goals for the new semester ahead.

I hope you and your families have a wonderful and relaxing winter break.  If you will travel - be safe.  If you stay home - enjoy the extra down time.  And above all, remember that you are valued and appreciated and needed.  Have a great break and I will look forward to hearing all about it when we return.

The cracks that make you good enough

I read this and loved it so I wanted to pass it along to you as well.

Once upon a time there was an elderly woman who needed to walk down to the river every morning to fetch water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. She carried two buckets with her, filled them up at the riverbank, and walked back with them to her rural cottage home.

One of the buckets was newer, perfectly sealed, and held its water flawlessly. But the second bucket was older and contained a few thin cracks that would leak water onto the ground as the elderly woman walked. By the time she arrived home, typically about one third of the water in the second bucket had leaked through its cracks.

One day, on the walk down to the river, the cracked bucket – who had always felt like it wasn’t as good as the other bucket – said to the elderly woman, “I want you to know that I’ve been leaking water every morning for the past several years. I’m so sorry for being cracked and making your life more difficult. I understand if you need to replace me with a better bucket.”

The elderly woman smiled. “Do you really think I haven’t known about your cracks this whole time?” she asked. “Look at all the beautiful flowers that grow on the path from my cottage to the river. I planted their seeds, but every morning it’s you who does the watering.”

Feeling good enough in life, in work, in business, and in our relationships has everything to do with how we personally judge the cracks in our own bucket. Because we all have a few cracks!

But are they cracks that wreck us, that taint us, and that ruin our experience and desirability?

Or do our cracks water a trail of flowers we haven’t even stopped to appreciate?

Choose to see the flowers through the cracks in your own bucket – choose to see how it’s exactly those cracks that make you good enough.

College Majors

One challenge for all students is deciding what you want to do someday when you grow up.  For some students that means finding a job for straight out of high school that will feel rewarding and meaningful.  For others it is figuring out what you want to study in college as your major that will lead to the career you hope to pursue.  

Looking at information about different majors can be a helpful way to help inform your decisions.  Now, in saying that, I will point out that there are a lot of articles out there which put the emphasis on how much (or how little) money you will make in particular majors.  I don't think your decision should be based just on how much you will make.  For example, if you look at this article on the 10 majors with the highest starting salaries for college graduates, you will see that they are all VERY heavy in math, science, and engineering fields.  If you are a student who doesn't like those fields, you shouldn't pick those majors just because it will have a higher salary.  You need to find majors and careers that will both meet your financial stability needs in the future as well as be fulfilling and enjoyable to you.

The US News Guide to College Majors also includes a highest/ lowest starting salaries list, but it also features a majors quiz and some other tools and resources for investingating potential college majors that may be interesting for you.

Maybe during break you can spend some time exploring information about majors to see if any sound appealing to you.

Holiday Assembly

Yesterday we had the holiday assembly.  It has been SO LONG since we were able to all be together for an assembly and I have to say that yesterday made my heart happy.  The talent of our students was on display with the choir, orchestra and band performances.  WOW!  You all were amazing!  I know that you have put in such long hours perfecting your musical skills and it definitely showed.  Thanks for gracing us with such uplifting performances.  

I was also impressed and amazed to hear about the incredible generosity of our student body who donated money to the Adopt-A-Child campaign.  It really is such a cool project that will result in so many families having an incredible holiday next week.  Thanks to student council for your leadership in making this project happen.  

All of it is yet another reminder of how fortunate I am to work at WKHS and to be surrounded by all of you each day.  Only 2 more days of school before we break begins.  I know you have LOTS of tests coming up in these last few days so good luck studying this weekend!

Tomorrow's Bell Schedule

Tomorrow we will be on a very different bell schedule because we are once again returning to having the holiday assembly (which had been annual until COVID messed with life).  This will be a great way to celebrate the end of the first semester and a fun experience for so many students who have not yet had an assembly in the auditorium during their high school years.

Below is the bell schedule for your reference:

Period 1 - 7:45 - 8:29

Period 2 - 8:34 - 9:18

Period 3 - 9:23 - 10:58  (Students will be divided to spend 1/2 of the time in class and 1/2 in the assembly and then you will flip so that everyone gets 3rd period class time and to attend the assembly.)

Period 4 - 11:03 - 11:47

Period 5 - 11:52 - 12:36

Period 6 - 12:41 - 1:25

Period 7 - 1:30 - 2:15

Period 8 - 2:20 - 3:05

I am looking forward to seeing all of my students who are participating as a part of the assembly tomorrow and I hear they have some funny challenges planned for the assembly as well.  (Don't forget that if you have late arrival that you need to adjust your arrival time so that you aren't late to class.)

Senior Schedule Changes

Every year we have seniors come in asking to drop 2^nd semester classes from their schedules.  And every year when a senior approaches me with that request I tend to encourage the student to stay in the class.  If they really feel strongly that they want to make the change that they need to contact all of the colleges where they have applied to see if it will impact their admissions decision.  Students will frequently roll their eyes and think I am crazy for making that suggestion, but we consistently hear that message from colleges because it is so important.  This is from a college where many of our students apply and I am copying it for you just so you will realize that I'm not making this up:

"Because strength of curriculum is an important factor in our decision, we require students to notify us if they plan to change their senior year course schedule.  Please ask them to include the following information in the email: their current spring schedule as it appears on their original application, the change they would like to make, and the reason(s) for the change.  We will review and respond to all requests as promptly as possible.  If the student has already been offered admission, the Admissions Committee may choose to reconsider that offer based on the change of schedule.  If a student has been notified that his or her decision is being deferred, any course changes will be considered when the final admission decision is made."

So, as you can see, making changes at the semester – especially if you are looking to drop a class – is NOT a decision you should take lightly.

If you are struggling with your academic load and NEED to make a change, please come see me so we can talk about the options, but again, I strongly encourage you to maintain a rigorous schedule throughout your entire senior year.

Military

I spend a lot of time talking on my blog about college related topics because so many of the WKHS seniors will head to college after graduation, but tonight I wanted to pause for a moment and talk about the option of joining the military.

I have always had a great deal of respect for those individuals who decide to serve our country through the military.  If you have every been in my office you have likely seen the framed photos I have displayed from when I went to Parris Island, SC to visit where the US Marine Corps recruits go through boot camp. I know that the military isn't for everyone (I am definitely someone who doesn't have the strength or bravery to be successful in the military), and I think that is also why I have such a high level of respect and appreciation for those who do.  But for those students who feel as if the military is a part of their future career path, I want to remind you that I am also here to support you on that journey.

Just this past week I was talking with a sophomore who said that he wants to join the military after high school and I asked if he knew what job within the military he would want to pursue.  And he was stumped - and he definitely isn't alone in that!  Each branch of the military has their own job codes - for example in the Army and Marines they are called MOS's - Military Occupational Specialty - and in the Air Force they are called AFSC's - Air Force Specialty Codes - but essentially these are a military service members "major" and what their job will involve.  There are hundreds of these codes for the different jobs people can pursue.  I think that is one tihng so many people forget - that joining the military gives you lots of different possibilities of types of jobs that you can be trained to complete while serving in the military and beyond.

If you are interested in joining the military, it is really helpful to talk to the recruiters.  They are the experts whose jobs are to educate you about the options of joining the military.  Now, I will also remind you that they are just one source of information, so if you are unsure, be sure to ask lots of questions and don't feel pressured to make any decisions before you are completely comfortable and ready.  It is the same as with colleges - you don't want to make any rush decisions that you would later regret - so do your research, ask questions, seek input from a range of sources, and then trust yourself as you decide.  If you need support in getting connected with a recruiter for a particular branch you can always look online, but we also have contact information for the recruiters assigned to WKHS and you can find that information in the front of the counseling center and many recruiters will also visit the Commons during lunches to help answer questions for interested students.

While enlisting in the military is the most common avenue of service after high school, there are also other options related to the military such as ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) which is where you go to college, but also participate in the ROTC program so that when you graduate you are also an officer in the military and Service Academies which is where you go to college specifically focused on serving as an officer in your desired branch.  In fact, one recent WKHS graduate, Sean Kim, will be back at Kilbourne tomorrow to share insight and to answer questions from interested students about what it is like for him being at the US Air Force Academy.

The other thing that I think is interesting about the military that I want to make sure you know about is the similarities towards going to college.  Just like when you are applying to college, you have to research the different schools to see what is right for you.  When considering a future in the military, you need to research the different branches and avenues of service to find the best fit.  With college applications you need to take admissions tests.  With the military you have to take the ASVAB which is very similar to the ACT and helps identify various career possibilities depending on your score.  With colleges you have different college specific steps to complete which may also include interviews.  In the military, you will also have additional steps that you need to complete such as passing a physical exam and working with the recruiters to select the job that will be your future path.

Know that the military is a great path for some students and that if you are thinking about this for your future, that I would love to talk to you more about how I can support you as you work to make that goal a reality.

Self Care

There are a lot of questions I find myself asking students frequently... one of those is what do you do to help manage your stress or what do you do for self care.  (Same concept asked in different ways.)  And it is scary to me how much people struggle to answer, so I want to talk about self care for a moment.

Let's start off by addressing what self care is because a lot of time people think of self care and picture going for a massage or taking a bubble bath and then think, "I don't do self care because I don't do those types of things."  And while yes, those are examples of activities that could be self care for some people, there is no limit to the list of things which could be considered good, quality self care.  

In order for something to count as self care it needs to be Good for you and it needs to Recharge your batteries.  Anything that you do which meets both of those requirements would be considered self-care.  But in hitting those requirements that also means that self care is not all leisure/ recreational activities, it is not just everything which isn't school, and it isn't everything that is self-indulgent.  It is also important to realize that there are lots of unhealthy coping strategies such as numbing out by mindlessly watching TV or other activities that might be enjoyable, but wouldn't count as true self care because it isn't good for you.

For self care to be effective, you have to know what your body, mind and spirit need.  For example, a fun night with friends can fill you up if you’re feeling lonely, but it may exhaust you if you’re feeling run down.  So what will be self-care will vary by person and it also changes from moment to moment or day to day.  It is important to recognize and know what you need and respond to it intentionally and without guilt.  Self care is not selfish, wasteful or only for people who deserve it!  It doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive.  Self care is NOT a luxury or something you only do IF you have time.  

The more stressed and overwhelmed you feel, the more self care you need!  But the problem is that people tend not to use coping strategies until their hair is on fire.  It is much more effective to have coping skills as a part of everyday life.  The best are the ones that are so integrated into your life that you don’t even think of them as coping.  

One great strategy for trying to identify what can be self-care for you is to think about what things you are doing in your life when you tend to feel better and what things you notice in your life at times when you’re feeling worse. As you work on writing down the things that help you feel better and the things that make you feel worse, it is a great starting spot to look at how you can do the things that make you feel better more often and do the things that make you feel worse less often or avoid it altogether if possible.  So, for example, getting enough sleep helps me to feel better so I could take a nap or go to bed earlier to help meet that need as a form of self care.  At the same time, running late makes me feel worse so I can plan ahead, set my clothes out the night before, set a timer 5 minutes before I need to leave for practice so I can transition better, etc.  Those are real life, every day self care strategies.  It’s about being intentional and doing activities to meet your needs.

We can only manage so much at one time and our problems keep refusing to get in line so we are stressed... which means we all need to focus on self care.  So pause right now and ask yourself, "what do I need in order to have a better day today?" and then do it.  It might not make it a great day, but if it helps make your day at least a little bit better then it is a step in the right direction towards taking care of you.

Holistic Admissions

When we talk about college admissions and how each individual college has their own set of standards and goals for who they will accept you will often hear the phrase "holistic admissions" tossed around.  I am not sure if you know exactly what that means...

Essentially, holistic admissions means that the colleges are looking at you (the applicant) as a whole person rather than just looking at your grades and test scores and making a decision.  There are a lot of factors that can be considered as a part of a holistic admission review and they will vary on the level of importance and weight that they are given depending on the college and their priorities.

On this page of the WKHS Counselor website we highlight some of the various aspects that colleges may take into account as a part of their holistic admissions review.  But the one thing I want to remind you about admissions is that this is NOT a reflection on who YOU are as a person.  If you are not accepted to a college, it simply means that they didn't have enough seats to allow you to join their incoming freshman class - it doesn't mean that there aren't other options out there which could be viable alternatives nor does it even mean you wouldn't have been successful at that school had they had enough room to admit you.  So know that you have done your best and then try to relax and trust that you WILL find the college which is a good fit for you to attend in the future.

College Admissions Decisions

College admissions decisions are already starting to come in for many students (including OSU's first round of early action notifications which were released yesterday afternoon). Every senior looks forward to receiving their college acceptance letters. It is an exciting time and reassures that there is more to look forward to beyond high school. Depending upon the schools where you are applying, it is possible that you will hear back quickly or you may be waiting until sometime in March to find out if and where you have been accepted. 

I do ask that as you begin receiving your acceptance or, sadly, even rejection letters, to please keep me informed about the decisions. For the vast majority of the colleges, the only way I know about your admissions decision is if you share the information with me.

Also, remember, the only way to receive an acceptance letter is to actually APPLY to the college! (Just a friendly little reminder for those of you who are still struggling to get your applications finished and submitted.)

Volunteer - Do Something

Do Something, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering teens to participate in community service.  Volunteering has many benefits - not only to those who are helped by your acts of service, but also for you as well.  In the past the Do Something organization surveyed admissions officers of top colleges and universities in the United States. The purpose of the Community Service and College Admissions Survey was to understand the importance of community service in the college admissions process. As you can probably guess, the reality is that the admissions officers like to see community service. Here is what they wrote about the top five findings found in the survey.

Passion and Consistency Valued Most
When asked, “Which would you value more: four years volunteering at a local community center or one month helping orphans in Somalia?” 100% surveyed chose four years at a community shelter. This response indicates passion and consistency hold much higher value than a smaller, even more intensive program. This theme is reiterated in the entire study.

Time Spent Worth More than Money Raised
When asked, “Which would you value more: raising $100,000 for the homeless or spending a summer working at a homeless shelter?” 68% surveyed valued time spent over money raised. While raising such funds is admirable and impressive, time spent indicates the universality of volunteerism. Anyone can find a homeless shelter where they can volunteer, but not everyone has the ability to ask for money. Admissions officers “get it.” They are looking for evidence of actual service, not the ability to connect with wealthy people.

Community Service Ranks Fourth Amongst Valued Criteria
When asked to rank GPA, SATs, legacy, reference letters, extra curricular activities, and community service, 37.5% surveyed ranked community service fourth. While GPA and SATs are obviously the most valued criteria, community service ranks higher than then legacy and reference letters. Quite simply, hard academic numbers remain the most standard and significant factors of getting into a top college, but community services are noted and valued experiences.

Organizational Affiliations Don’t Matter
When asked, “Does being a member of a service organization like the Boy Scouts have more or less weight than an unaffiliated student volunteering?” 84% surveyed gave no weight to such affiliations. One admissions officer noted, "Service is service, that’s always a good thing."

Tell Your Story Well
When asked to list the three words admissions officers most like to see when students describe their community service, the most recurring words were “commitment,” “passionate,” and “dedication.” When asked to list the three words admissions officers least like to see, most recurring were “required,” “mandatory,” and “tedious.” Therefore, when describing community service, it should include positive and encouraging descriptors, rather than words of obligation.

So, if you are thinking about the volunteering, I would encourage you to get involved and help make a difference!  It will make a difference in the community and it can even benefit your future college applications.

Holiday & Grief Workshop

Holidays can be stressful in the best of circumstances.  But for those students who have experienced the death of someone important to them, the holidays combined with grief can be incredibly challenging.  In recognition of the difficulties that grief during the holidays can create we will be hosting a workshop next week on December 16th for students to join in to learn more about what to expect when grieving during the holidays and ways to honor the memory of a loved one during the holidays.  If you have been struggling with trying to manage your grief this holiday season, please reach out to me so that I can add you to the holiday & grief workshop list.

PSAT Scores Released

CollegeBoard has released your PSAT scores today.  Your scores are being offered electronically.  This means that you will log into your CollegeBoard account to view and download your scores.  (Which is what you will do in the future when you take your SAT as well.)

If you submitted your email account when completing your answer sheet then you should have received an e-mail from CollegeBoard notifying you that your scores are accessible. Even if you didn't receive an e-mail from CollegeBoard you can still access your scores.

Go to the CollegeBoard website and select the PSAT test you took - you should select "PSAT/ NMSQT" from the choices across the top.  https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/ 

Once you are on the website in the middle of the page it will have an area for getting your scores.  If you already have an account, you can sign in using your username and password.  For many of you, you may not have an account yet so you will need to create one.  Next to the "Sign In" button there is a "Sign Up" spot - select that and then create your account.

After doing that you will be able to access your scores.

One of the best parts about the PSAT is that CollegeBoard has partnered with Khan Academy to use your scores to make a personalized practice plan.  This is a fantastic option and I strongly encourage you to use it.  If you have questions about this FREE option you can visit the Khan Academy website at: https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

Once you have your scores, you may be wondering what they mean.  The score sheets from PSAT provides a wealth of information so it can take some time to digest it all, but if interested, please know that the counselor website can help give you additional information, tips and links to better understand your scores.   http://www.wkhscounselors.com/. 

Don't forget, these are just practice tests so they are giving you an indication of where you might expect to score on your college admissions tests and you can use your results to help guide you in preparing to achieve college readiness.

I hope your scores were what you were expecting (or perhaps even better).  If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out and ask me.

December Students of the Month

On Friday morning 19 students were honored as December's Students of the Month! Students can only earn this recognition once during their high school career.  

A special congratulations to "my" students who were honored as Students of the Month!  They included  Ian Abahazie, Naiima Abdi, Joe Ahmed, Yara Al-Akhras, Libby Alderman, Sean Carlin, Ava Chapman, and Kate Dougherty.

I am proud of you! Thank you for representing the best of Worthington Kilbourne High School.

CSCC CC+ Forms

The state legislature has made changes to some requirements that the colleges must verify in order for high school students to participate in CC+ classes starting in the spring.  As a result, any students who are planning to take English Comp 2, Sociology, Government, or a class on CSCC's campus, need to complete the two required forms IMMEDIATELY!  These forms have been emailed to your wscloud account by Mrs. Mann, they are on the counselor website, and there are hard copies available in the front of the counseling center.  Once you and your parent sign off on the forms, please return the completed forms to the tray in the front of the counseling center.  It is important to realize that these are brand new forms so none of you had done it prior to Mrs. Mann sending out the information.  (In talking to some students they were confused and thought it was the same thing as you had completed last spring and these are new requirements from CSCC.)  

Please take care of this ASAP!  If you have questions or problems with completing your forms, please feel free to stop and see me.

Suicide Prevention Lines

There are times when we can feel overwhelmed, lonely, stressed, sad and hopeless.  All of these emotions are normal to experience, but when they happen to come all at the same time it can be very challenging and leave people feeling lost and desperate.

Perhaps you or someone you know have had times with that type of darkness and possibly even experienced suicidal thoughts.  It is important to know that there is ALWAYS help available!  Reaching out for support is a critical step in helping to give yourself the hope that you will not always feel the way you might be feeling right now.

If you are having suicidal thoughts while at school, I hope you will come to tell me or share that information with another adult that you trust.  If you are away from school, I hope that you will reach out to your parents or some other adult who your trust.  But I know that sometimes the people closest to us can miss the level of pain we are experiencing and so I'd like to remind you that you can always call a suicide hotline and there will be someone on the other end ready and willing to talk to you who can help brainstorm next steps.  As you can see in the graphic, the national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255.

Additionally, over the last few years, in recognition of how much our society has grown to depend on text messaging as a means of communication, there is also a crisis text line where you can reach out for help and support.  To contact the crisis text line you would send a message to 741741.  You can send them any message to get the conversation started.  And I know that it can be hard to even know where to start so remember, you can always reach out even with just one word such as "4hope" (which helps connect you to someone in Ohio) or even "help or hello" and before you know it you will be communicating via text with someone else who understands what you are experiencing and is ready and able to help you.

The most important reminder I would like to leave you with is that YOU MATTER!  You are not alone - there is always someone who would like to have the opportunity to talk with you and to help you.  If you are having thoughts of suicide, PLEASE, reach out for help today!

Application Deadline Reminders

I know many of you are still working on your college applications.  I wanted to remind you to please, watch your deadlines!  The December 1st deadline was last night.  If you are applying by Common App, I will answer the number one question I have received lately - you can submit up until 11:59pm on the day of your deadline.  But really, you shouldn't push it until the last second!

If you are looking at a January 1st/ 3rd deadline you need to make sure that you have made arrangements with your teachers who will be writing your recommendation letters and provided them with all of the forms so that they can write your letter well before we leave for break. Remember, your teachers will be off enjoying their holiday break too so they won't be around to write a last-minute recommendation letter for you if you just "forgot."  And, in all sincerity, there is no such thing as a last-minute recommendation letter!  Your teachers put in a lot of time, energy and effort to write a strong letter on your behalf.  It is important to give them an adequate amount of time to successfully advocate for you as a student.  (Your goal should be to give them at least 30 days which means get them the forms TOMORROW at the latest!)

Also, don't forget that you need to complete your transcript release form and invite me through Common App to submit your transcript and this should be done no later than next Friday, December 10th, in order to make sure I can get it taken care of before break.  Like you and your teachers, I will not be here during winter break to get a transcript for you so you must plan ahead.  

Probably the biggest challenge I have seen students struggling with over this application season is not inviting me through Common App to complete your school forms which is how I submit your transcript.  We talked about this in depth during the Common App Workshops and at the senior college night presentation, but in the recommendation section, you will need to select me as your counselor and submit my email address.  Please be sure that you spell my name right.  I am 100% current on all of the transcript requests I have received so far so if you log into Common App and you see that I haven't uploaded your transcript yet then you need to invite me to submit your transcript or if you think you have already done that then you need to come see me ASAP because there is a problem with your request!

If you have any questions about your upcoming deadlines or where you stand in your application process, please stop by to see me!  And can I say it again - please, do not procrastinate on your applications!  

Career Related Opportunities

Recently I posted about the Delaware Area Career Center and the wide range of awesome opportunities that they have available for our students to consider.  Just as a reminder, tomorrow night, December 2nd, is the Open House at DACC.  I strongly encourage any students and parents who are interested in DACC to sign up and attend the open house to learn more and get your questions answered directly.

While the DACC is primarily for current sophomores (and some senior only programs are for current juniors), the next opportunity that I want to share with you is just for current seniors.  This program is the Worthington Industries Workforce Experience program.  This program is a great opportunity to get your foot in the door with an outstanding, reputable company with great opportunities for advancement over time.  I have more details about the Worthington Industries partnership in my office (as well as information on the counselor website), so I encourage you to come and see me and we can look at the information and see if it would be something that could work for you and your schedule.  I need to submit a list of students who would like to participate in the December 13th interviews that Worthington Industries will be holding within the next week so please stop and see me soon if you are at all interested in this option.

It's fun to try to think about what you might want to do as a job in the future, but even better through programs such as DACC and WI, students have the chance to learn and earn credit at the same time that you are learning skills that can help you in the future.