Enjoy Winter Break!

Can you believe it?  You are DONE with the first semester.  Crazy!  I hope your final few exams went well and that you are ready to head into break with the chance to relax and enjoy some time with your family and friends.  Most of all, I hope that you will be safe over break!

For what it is worth, I will also be off and not checking emails and rarely (if at all) updating the blog as I will also be trying to enjoy the time with my family and enjoying some down time.

Congratulations again on successfully completing exams and your first semester!

ACT & SAT

December ACT scores were released starting today and many juniors are busy preparing for the upcoming March ACT that the school will be administering.  I am hopeful that you are using your many resources to help prepare you for the upcoming admissions tests.  Remember, your PSAT and PreACT scores as well as the free online resources are always a great starting spot.  I also want to remind students that you can take the SAT as well as the ACT.  The ACT is what we will be giving to students for free, but you can take either or both the ACT and the SAT if that is what you prefer. 

Test Anxiety

How did the first day of exams go? Were you feeling anxious? Test Anxiety can be common for students - especially with exams since they are new to pretty much all of you and have such a significant influence on your semester grades. The best strategy to prevent test anxiety is being prepared. It is much more likely that you will be anxious and struggle with feeling overwhelmed if you have not adequately studied and prepared for the test. Unfortunately, for some students, you can be well-prepared, but still struggle with anxiety.

There are a wide range of strategies you can use to help deal with anxiety:

- Research has indicated that spending several minutes before a test to write about your feelings will help decrease test anxiety and improve test scores. The University of Chicago researchers “believe worrying competes for computing power in the brain’s ‘working,’ or short-term memory.”  So if you get those worries out of your brain and out onto paper then your brain will have the space to remember your actual class content.

- Practice putting yourself in testing situations when studying. The more you get used to the experience and feelings of testing the less anxious you will feel when in the actual test.

- Just before the test, avoid talking about the test material with your friends. Chances are fixating on the test material and talking about it with your friends right before the test will only make you more anxious.

- Approach the test with a positive attitude. Don’t go into the test expecting the worst to happen. You can remind yourself that you have studied and know the material.

- Avoid distractions so that you can focus on the test and not on what other students are doing. Do not compare yourself with others and how they are doing on the test.

- Take a deep breath, relax, and do the best you can.  Truly, that is all you can ask of yourself!

For exams as well as future testing purposes (like ACT/ SAT), I should also mention that smart testing strategies like getting a good night of sleep, eating breakfast, having all of your required materials (pen, pencil, calculator, scratch paper, etc), getting regular exercise, and giving yourself plenty of time to get to your test on time will also benefit you as a whole and in testing situations.

Good luck in the next two days of exams!

Good Luck on Exams

I just wanted to wish all of you good luck on your exams tomorrow (and the rest of the week.) Good luck with your last minute studying, get a good night's sleep and then tomorrow, relax, eat a good breakfast, take a deep breath and do your best on each exam!  

Remember, you don't have to be THE best, as long as you do YOUR best!

Also, since most of you haven't gone through exams before, remember, you do have to be in class for the whole exam block for each of your classes.  You do NOT have to attend for your lunch period, academic prep, or options periods IF you have a ride that will allow you to come late, leave early, or leave and come back.  Since your exam is worth 10% of your grade it is essential that you do NOT skip your exam... any points are better than no points!  

As always, I will be anxious to hear how things go for you on your exams - so stop in, visit Lexi and say hi.  

Senior Reminders

Every year we have seniors come in asking to drop 2^nd semester classes from their schedules.  And so I need to tell you what I have told seniors in past years... you need to stay in your year-long classes.  If you really feel strongly that you want to make the change then you need to contact all of the colleges where you have applied to see if it will impact their admissions decision.  

Students will frequently roll their eyes at my instruction 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 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.

Also, one last reminder, Wednesday is my last day at school too so if you are still working on your college applications (which is totally fine) you NEED to INVITE me on Common App NOW and be sure that your transcript release form was filled out for all of your intended colleges so that I can upload that information before break begins!  See me if you are confused about this process.

Merit vs Need Based Aid

Paying for College is expensive! There is no question that higher education costs add up quickly.

There are two broad categories of financial aid – Merit Based aid and Need Based aid.

Merit Based aid is what you think of when you think “Scholarships.” These are usually awarded to students based on academic achievements, leadership, athletics, special talents such as art or music, volunteerism, or other personal qualities that set you apart. These scholarships do not consider financial need. A significant portion of all merit-based aid comes directly from the college/ university. Some schools may require additional scholarship applications, essays, interviews, and many colleges will have earlier deadlines to be considered for their scholarships. It can be helpful to know that a lot of times the smaller, private colleges will have more money available for scholarships in order to help make attending their school competitive with the lower costs of the public colleges. Please also remember that there are scholarship offerings listed on the Counselor Website. It is important to keep an eye out for unique scholarships that might apply to your personal situation. Perhaps one of your grandparents won a purple heart or maybe you have time to write an essay for one of the other scholarship competitions… no matter what the situation, if you find a scholarship that you meet the criteria for go ahead and apply – you might be pleasantly surprised at the result and if you don’t, the answer is definitely a “no.”

Need Based aid is what you will sometimes hear people refer to as “Financial Aid” even though both Merit Based and Need Based aid technically fall under that one category. There are a variety of different Need Based aid programs which will require you to fill out the FAFSA in order to be considered for them. Grants are considered gift assistance – they give you money and you do not have to pay it back. Loans which can come from a wide variety of sources – the federal government, the college, and private banks is money that you are required to pay back. Work Study programs are on campus job opportunities that the government helps fund that allows you to earn money for college through working on campus. The big difference between Merit Based and Need Based aid is that Need Based aid is that the type and amount of Need Based aid you will receive depends upon the amount of financial need you have.

And, yes, just to add to the confusion – there are some scholarships that will consider financial need as a criterion. They are still awarding the scholarship based upon some specific aspect of who you are it is just allowing them to narrow down the potential applicant pool.

One last important reminder - NEVER pay to be considered for a scholarship! That is a scam. Don't waste your money!

Seniors, as you continue working on filling out your FAFSA, don't forget that you need to submit it prior to your first college's priority financial aid deadline.  If you have any questions you can always call the financial aid offices of the schools where you are applying as they are true experts in the field. I am also happy to try to help in any way that I can.

Peace & Joy

During today's Pack Period you had the chance to talk about holidays, winter break, and the pressure for perfection that is woven into subtle messaging all around us.  My hope is that as your class talked about the perfect images, you realized that this is NOT how holidays actually are for people.

Instead, holidays are often times with added stress, too much to do, too many people's opinions and conflicting desires, messes that need to be cleaned, food that needs to be cooked, traffic, forced smiles, and more.

I can remember so many times in my own life when the holidays might have been good, but they still had their share of stress!

- Parents yelling.

- SO MANY dishes to wash by hand.

- Getting a new game that I was so excited about and no one in my family being willing to play it with me.

- Grandparents big dog finding a way onto the counter to eat the pies my mom had made.

- The stern conversations about the fact that we would all smile and cooperate for the photos so that they would be done faster.

- Driving to my grandparents house with luggage filling the space beneath our feet and my sister and I bickering in the back-seat about who was on the other's side of the car or if we were touching one another or not.

- Super late nights spent wrapping gifts before a ridiculously early time to wake up and open the gifts.

I say all of that not to say that my holidays have ever been BAD, but they were never PERFECT.  And so, if I were to go into the holidays expecting or even hoping for this year to be the year it was different and that things would turn out the way I wanted it to go, I would end up disappointed.  Keeping a realistic view on the holidays can help negate some of the stress and disappointment.

So my hope for all of you is that over the 2 weeks when we are off, you will find yourself filled with more moments of peace and joy.  That you can find the peace within yourself to manage the difficult moments that happen around you.  That you will embrace those good moments when they happen and allow that joy to be your focus more than the disappointments or frustrations.  And that you will remember that even when it is all crappy and falling apart (which could happen), that you still have steps you can take to take care of YOU!  So don't hesitate to come up with a plan about what you can do for you to give you something to look forward to, to help manage the difficulties when they arise, and to keep a realistic perspective that nothing is going to be perfect and that is normal and fine too.

Also, as was addressed today in the Pack Period, if you or anyone you love is struggling this holiday break, don't forget that there is ALWAYS help available - you can call or text 988 any time to be connected with a crisis counselor.

Studying

 

Studying for exams can be daunting - especially because sometimes you don't know *how* to study. I frequently ask students the question – “Do you know how to study?”and, quite honestly, the most common response is "no." It really isn't a surprise though. The reality is that until high school gets hard enough that you hit the wall and it no longer comes easy to you, studying isn't something you typically have to worry about and spend a lot of time focusing on.

The challenging part of studying is that what works best for one person may not be what works best for someone else. And, even if you figure out what works best for you in one particular subject area, that still doesn't mean that this particular strategy will be most effective for a different subject.

The one lesson I have learned (from both experience and from other students) is that just reading your notes is NOT studying. You really need to be doing something in order to effectively study for exams. And yes, I am aware that for some of you and for some classes reading through your notes is sufficient, but in general as you sit there reading your notes it is common for your mind to wander. Then, as you are taking the test, you realize that all of the information you thought you knew was actually just familiar.  (So you sit there taking the test thinking, "Um, I know this, it was on the left page of my notes..." but then are left blank.)

The best news is that there are lots of different ideas and strategies that you can use to develop a study strategy that works best for you!  So, perhaps in addition to reading through your notes you could try some other ideas. If you are struggling to find strategies to try out, I encourage you to visit the WKHS Counselor website as there are lots of examples listed on the site.  I am listing a few examples below, but again, it is about finding a strategy that will work for you.

Re-write or type your notes instead of just reading them.

Try to recall as much information from memory as possible. So, think back on the class and try to remember all of the key points and pieces of information that you think you are going to have to know for the test and write them all down. Then compare that list to what you actually are responsible for knowing. What information did you forget about completely? What areas were you unable to recall enough information details? Briefly review that information and then move on to studying for another subject and then later come back and try to recall everything that you will need to know again. Were you able to do better this time? This strategy is effective because it forces you to figure out what you can recall from just your brain at a certain time - just as you will have to do on your exams.

Make flashcards and review the content.

Have someone else question you from your notes, study guide, or text book.

Another great strategy is to go through and review your old tests - paying particular attention to questions that you answered incorrectly.

Make your own practice tests. You can use homework questions, sample problems from your classroom notes, or questions from your book or tests and put them together into one test just like your teacher would do. Give yourself a day or two away from looking at it (or at least a few hours of working on a different subject) and then go back and put yourself into a similar test environment and take the test. Practice going straight through the whole test without a break, without distractions, and without stopping to look at your notes or book just as you will have to do in the actual exam. When you have completed the test, check your answers and see how you did. You can then identify areas where you need more practice and review. It may also help you identify concepts that you need to seek help from your teachers or academic assistants on to help make sure you better understand the material.

Spending time reviewing old learning targets, homework assignments and worksheets and working through the study guides your teachers provided (if they gave you one) is also a highly effective strategy.


Another helpful strategy is to teach someone else. Sometimes this involves teaching a fellow student who is struggling to grasp the concepts, but it can just as easily be your parents, siblings, or a grandparent. By having to explain the information you know, you are reinforcing the concepts in your own mind and seeking useful ways to help someone else to understand the information and why it matters.

Take advantage of the opportunity to seek extra help from your teachers. Some teachers offer review sessions, others will meet with students individually or in small groups to answer questions. And other teachers are willing to respond to e-mails to help clarify questions you might have. Remember, they know what is on the test (they created it!) and so they are your best resources for help, yet the work must be done by you to make certain that you truly know the concepts being covered in class.

You can also work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching and Learning Center (Room 209) as they have a wealth of knowledge and helpful tips for study strategies that can help you in their particular subject areas as well as studying overall.  And, last, but not least, you can also stop in and see me and I can help brainstorm ideas that you could try.

For what it is worth, think of learning to study like you think of learning to run. You already know some skills that have helped you to know how to study and to be successful - just like you already know how to run, but if you practice and really train at running, you can improve significantly and studying will work just the same. Keep working at your study strategies, practice and continue refining your technique until you find the perfect combination that works for you.

Good luck and happy studying!

What do I say to that?

Since returning from Thanksgiving break, I have talked with several students and heard about the random questions from extended family members or friends which were brought up over the holiday.  Many more of you will likely come into contact with people who could ask lots of questions over winter break.

The types of questions I am referring to include:
- What colleges are you applying to?
- Where are you going to go to college?
- What are you going to study?
- What do you want to do when you grow up?

So what can you say to these questions?  Well, the truth is a great place to start.  But, I acknowledge that for some of you these questions create a great deal of anxiety because you aren't sure about what those answers might be yet.

The good news is that "yet" is a key part of the answer.  There are lots of ways that you can respond if you are not sure or are not comfortable in sharing your answer.  You can say, "I am not sure yet."  Or "I am still trying to decide."  But be aware that sometimes those answers can feel like permission to well-meaning relatives or friends who suggest that you do whatever they want at whichever colleges they feel would be a good fit and I know that sometimes that can become overwhelming or uncomfortable.

As a result, a great idea would be to work on developing truthful answers to the questions.  You have a few weeks to prepare yourself for the visits that would bring up these questions.  So use some of the time to consider your future.  For possible careers and majors, I encourage you to take the YouScience assessments.  (If you haven't already asked for a YouScience code, please stop by the Counseling Center and I can give you your code.)  After you get your results, I can walk you through the different areas to help you understand what they all mean.  And then, for colleges that you are considering, use the links from WKHS counselor website to explore colleges and to figure out what schools might be a good fit for you.

Most of all, I want to remind you that you do not owe answers to anyone, but the people who are asking you these questions care about you and want the best for you.  So when it feels comfortable, please listen to their ideas and input and if it feels awkward or unhelpful, feel free to say, things such as "I am still trying to decide, but I am enjoying taking a few weeks off from the stress of thinking about all of this so let's change the topic for tonight."  (And you might want to have a great other topic in mind as well.)

Good luck in figuring out what you want to say to those who ask you about the future.  Feel free to come and see me if you want to brainstorm more for your specific situation!

Counselor Website

I mention the Kilbourne Counselor website often, but I still feel like it deserves to have a post all of it's own.  When we created the counselor website we wanted to provide students and parents with an easy, one-stop place, to get as many of the resources and information answers that you regularly need.  

Have you visited www.wkhscounselors.com lately?  

We work really hard to keep the website current and so it is updated on a regular basis – often daily.  The site features information about succeeding academically, college/ career pursuits, and personal/ social information resources.  So often people ask me questions and I point them to the website for the answer because it is the easiest place to find the information over waiting until you are back at school and going and finding the paper version of the forms, etc.

Take a moment and check it out and please be sure to bookmark the site so that you can refer back to it often.  And, if there is anything that you think it should include but don’t see on the site, please let me know so that we can add it.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that none of the counselors are very website savvy and so while I have literally read a "Joomla for Dummies" book to try to help create the website, none of what you see would be possible without the expertise, know-how, dedication and countless hours of time that Mr. Estice from Phoenix Middle School has contributed.  I am and will always be so grateful for his never-ending willingness to help answer questions or come up with a solution that takes our website to the next level!

Get It Done

As we head into the final week of the quarter (exams are their own separate issue), a lot of students are struggling to prioritze their work and figure out how they will get it all done.

So, how do you decide what to do and, if absolutely needed, what not to do?

First, can you actually get it all done and just aren't really feeling motivated to do it?  If you CAN do it all, then you need to just harnass the discipline to grind out the work.  I know that you don't always WANT to do it.  I get it.  Look at your parents, talk to them about how much motivation they have at work each day and if they always feel motivated to do everything they have to do.  Chances are they don't.  But they do it anyway and you can too.

Next, look at your grades.  Are you passing all of your classes?  If so, are there any close to failing?  If so, you probably need to prioritize that class.

If you have multiple classes that are failing, are any close enough to passing that you can get them to passing?  If so, you probably need to priorize that class.

For a lot of my students, when we sit and look at their grades, it will be a missing test that is killing their grade.  If you are avoiding making up a test, please don't!  You need those points.  Even if you fail at a 50% rather than failing with a 0% because you didn't take the test can make a huge difference in how you do in the class overall.

As you look at your list of things that need to be done in this next week, you can prioritize by getting accomplished the easy things first to build that momentum to working towards the more difficult tasks.  Or you can flip it and do the more demanding assignments first so that as you get tired you are left with the easier assignments that you can crank out at the end.  That is in part knowing what approach works best for you.

If, when you look at that list of things that need to be completed, there is no way that you can get it all done, then I will acknowledge that in certain circumstances (and maybe this is one) you need to decide what you can sacrifice for the overall greater good.  For example, you might sacrifice completing an assignment in a class where you have a strong A in order to spend more time in a class where you have a D-.  Or you might have to sacrifice working on assignments for a class where you have a 20% if you have recognized that realistically you won't be able to get that grade up to a 60% by the end of the week so that you can focus on getting the other classes where you are in the 50-60% range up above passing.

Again, I say all of that not because I want you to just ignore work that you can do.  If you have the time and ability to get it all done, then that is what I want for sure!  But if you're at that breaking point where you have found yourself in a hole and you can't figure out how to dig out of it, then priorizing what will give you the biggest bang for your work is going to be important.  Ultimately that can be by looking at those overall grades as well as how many points are possible on the assignments you are completing.

Remember, any tests or quizzes that you have left to complete need to be the first priority during your off periods at school.  And then for your other assignments, use your available time wisely so that you are ending the quarter and semester where you want to be academically.

Also, don't forget, you're just a week away from semester exams and those are worth 10% of your grade which means you can still increase your overall semester grade by a full letter grade so truly, hope is not lost for any of you!  Keep working hard and finish out the last 8 days of school before break strong.  You can do this!

Tomorrow's Schedule

The holiday spirit has definitely been alive and well at Kilbourne lately.  Hearing about the contributions and watching all of you in the gym today wrapping presents and seeing the impact of your generosity was incredible!  To build on that enthusiasm, tomorrow will be the annual holiday assembly.  Because of exams, you will still have another week and a half of school left, but it will be a great way to celebrate the end of the first semester.  

Below is the bell schedule for your reference as it is definitely different than normal.

Here is the breakdown for the day:

Period 1 - 8:40 - 9:20
Period 2 - 9:25 - 10:50 (Students will be divided to spend 1/2 the time in class and 1/2 in the assembly)
Period 3 - 10:55 - 11:35 
Period 4 - 11:40 - 12:20
Period 5 - 12:25 - 1:05
Period 6 - 1:10 - 1:50
Period 7 - 1:55 - 2:35
Period 8 - 2:40 - 3:20

I am looking forward to seeing all of my students who are participating as a part of the assembly tomorrow.  I'm also excited to see the Home for the Holidays concert tomorrow night.  Good luck to all of the Band, Orchestra, and Choir students who will be performing.

Senior Application Deadline

Seniors, I know many of you are still working on your college applications.  I wanted to remind you to please, watch your deadlines!  

If you are looking at an early January deadline, you need to make sure that you have completed your transcript release form and invited me through Common App to submit your transcript. This should be done no later than this Friday, December 9th, 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.  You can have me upload your transcript to Common App without you being ready to submit your application so please, go ahead and invite me on Common App now if you already haven't and log into the Counselor Website to request your transcript today.

Studying and Cocoa & Cram

Do you know how to study? I ask students that question a lot and, quite honestly, the most common response is "no." It really isn't a surprise though. The reality is that until high school gets hard enough that you hit the wall and it no longer comes easy to you, studying isn't something you typically have to worry about and spend a lot of time focusing on.

The challenging part of studying is that what works best for one person may not be what works best for someone else. And, even if you figure out what works best for you in one particular subject area, that still doesn't mean that this particular strategy will be most effective for a different subject.

The best news is that there are lots of different ideas and strategies that you can use to develop a study strategy that works best for you! For what it is worth, think of learning to study like you think of learning to run. You already know some skills that have helped you to know how to study and to be successful - just like you already know how to run, but if you practice and really train at running, you can improve significantly and studying will work just the same. Keep working at your study strategies, practice and continue refining your technique until you find the perfect combination that works for you.

Over the next 3 days all students are invited to participate in "Cram and Cocoa" sessions during your lunch periods.  This study strategy session is being provided by the Link Leaders and will be a great opportunity for students to get a jump start on effectively preparing for exams. The feedback I have heard about these "Cram and Cocoa" sessions from past years (pre-COVID) is that they are incredibly helpful.  I sincerely hope you will take advantage of their willingness to help you prepare!

You (now) have just 8 school days of classes left before exams to not only learn and master everything you are currently covering in class, but also to go back and study to refresh the material you have covered since August when we returned to school.  

If you are struggling to find strategies to try out, I encourage you to visit the WKHS Counselor website as there are lots of examples listed.  You can also work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching and Learning Center (Room 209) as they have a wealth of knowledge and helpful tips for study strategies that can help you in their particular subject areas as well as studying overall.  And, last, but not least, you can also stop in and see me and I can help brainstorm proven ideas that you could try.

Happy Studying!

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.

Exam Schedule

You don't need to panic about exams, but you do need to prepare for them!  Exams play a significant role in your final grade for the semester of each course (and remember, because we grant credits based on the semester this is really important to you!) Most of your classes will follow the structure that your 1st quarter grades are worth 45% of your final semester grade, the 2nd quarter grade that you are currently wrapping up now will make up another 45% and then your exam grade is worth 10% of your final semester grade.

10% is a big deal...Think about it, that is a full letter grade.  Also, if you had a 57% the first quarter and end up with a 60% this quarter then you can still pass the class as long as you earn a 73% or higher on the exam. On the other side, if you are trying to make sure that you earn an A in a course and you had a 95% first quarter and an 88% this quarter than you need to earn an 80% or higher on the exam to reach your goal.

Clearly, exams are an important part of your grade, but more importantly, they provide you the opportunity to practice a more realistic glimpse of what testing will be like in college and helps you to showcase your semester's worth of knowledge.

Below is the schedule for the semester exams:

Day One - Monday, December 19th:

8:40 - 10:35: 1st period exam
10:45 - 12:40: 4th period exam
12:40 - 1:20: Lunch
1:25 - 3:20: 7th period exam

Day Two - Tuesday, December 20th:
8:40 - 10:35: 2nd period exam
10:45 - 12:40: 5th period exam
12:40 - 1:20: Lunch
1:25 - 3:20: 8th period exam

Day Three - Wednesday, December 21st:
8:40 - 10:35: 3rd period exam

10:45 - 12:40: 6th period exam

12:40 - 120: NO Lunch Provided!

1:25 - 3:20: Make-Up Exams

A couple of questions that tend to come up at exam time...

Yes, you are REQUIRED and EXPECTED to be in all of your classes during an exam. (Even if you don't have an actual exam, the teachers are going to be working with you on projects, papers, or other learning related to their course.)

No, you do NOT need to be in school during your scheduled lunch period or during your Options or Prep periods. (Which means, for example, that if you have 3rd period prep and 6th period lunch that you do not have to come to school at all on the 21st.)

Hope that helps clarify.

December Students of the Month

Yesterday 17 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 in alphabetical order: Malak Bentamri, Maela Best, Molly Brandt, Maxtan Capehart, Celia DeMary, Audrey Emami, and Lincoln Glaros.

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

Organization System

I love the sentiment that your head is a good place to have ideas, but not the place to hold ideas and I believe that makes sense. I have been talking with a lot of students lately about the fact that I need to write everything down.  It would be impossible to remember everything that I need to keep track of if I didn't write it all down.

What works for me is making lists.  It doesn't have to be making a list (although I would argue that there is great joy in being able to cross something off once you have accomplished it), but everyone needs some sort of a system to help keep your thoughts organized. It is much more difficult and demanding to try to hold something in your head than it is to refer back to it on paper.  It doesn't require a lot of time, but the payoffs are large as long as you stick with it. 

As you start thinking about the end of the semester, please work on staying focused and organized. What do you need to do to make sure that you end this quarter successfully? What about preparing for exams? There is still time left to make improvements, but you need to start now. If lists are not your way to stay organized, that is OK, but find a system that works and use it.

Figure out what you need to do, gather your materials from the semester and organize them, prepare now so that as you are studying you already have your resources at your fingertips and don't have to waste time searching through everything and above all, organize yourself so that you can apply yourself completely to the end of the semester.

(And, for the record, if your bookbag looks like this one, PLEASE, stop everything now and get organized!)

Take a deep breath

Breathing is important.  Obviously, you need oxygen and it happens without any thought - on average we each take about 960 breaths per hour (or 16 per minute).  And yet, it is something that we often don't do well... especially if we are stressed or upset!

When you are under a great deal of pressure, your body responds - again, without you having to think about it.  Your breathing often changes and your muscles will grow tense.  It is an automatic reaction that your body does in taking over functioning for you to prepare you to manage whatever danger is coming your way - think of it as your body going into an early "fight/ flight/ freeze" response.  But that is a challenge because your stress and frustration are not likely to need to prepare you to run from a lion or whatever other danger might have necessitated a fight, flight or freeze response and so we have to take back control over our body.

I have to acknowledge something.  I hate the concept of breathing as a stress reliever!  I. HATE. IT!  Except for the fact that it WORKS!

Even for me, when I am upset about something I often think to myself, "what would I tell my students right now" and the answer is always to slow down and take a few deep breaths.  And immediately I think again about how much I hate that answer because I always feel as if the problem I am facing is too big to be solved with by a few simple breaths.  But I do it anyway because that is what I ask each of you to do and then inevitably, it helps.  And, yes, as crazy as it is, it makes me mad that it works at the same time I am grateful that it is helpful.

Controlling your breathing is really important because it assures your brain that you are not in danger and it then allows your brain to be able to have the ability to think logically and talk about what is happening "left brain" rather than just staying in "right brain" mode of emotion.

But here is the reality, you need to practice deep breathing when you are calm and relaxed to help your body know how to relax itself and calm down with deep breaths when you are stressed out.  Again, I know it seems too simplistic and you are right, it is not going to make all of your problems go away, but it will help you to manage the challenges you are facing.

I also have lots of other breathing strategies (3/3/3, square breathing, double out, hot chocolate breathing, etc.) that we can practice together if you know that this is something you would like help focusing on to help with your emotional well-being.  I also like the breathing tool in the Virtual Hope Box app which you can download for free.

Pre-ACT Results

Your Pre-ACT scores are already back!  Your scores are available for pick up starting tomorrow in the Counseling Center.  You can pick up your score sheets during your lunch periods or before or after school from any of the secretaries at the front of the counseling center. 

One nice feature of the PreACT is that you will get your test booklet and the score summary written report.  You can use this information to help you determine what you did well on and what you want to improve on in the future.

Don't forget, these are just practice tests so they are giving you an indication of where you might expect to score on the actual ACT 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 stop by and see me.

Winter End of Course Tests

Let's talk about End of Course tests for a moment.  And no, I am not talking about your semester exams that count for grades in your actual classes.  The End of Course tests are those assessments required by the state of Ohio that all students must complete.  The tests are also how you will earn the various components that you need to graduate.

Next week is the winter testing window for the End of Course tests.  You will be taking these tests if you are currently in Government, if you took a tested class during the summer, if you took a tested class last school year but due to illness or other reasons you weren't able to complete the tests when the state testing window was open, if you need to try to improve your scores, or if you moved in from out of state and need to take the assessments.

All students are strongly encouraged to check your school email to look for information about End of Course tests.  If you need to complete a test then you will have received an email giving you information about what date you will complete your test and which room to go to for testing.

I know that it is really hard to miss class time for the testing (especially when you only have 17 days of classes left in the semester), but remember that because these tests play a role in you earing the graduation requirements you want to try to do your best on the tests when taking them.

Thankful

For at least the last 7 years, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving is better known in the Counseling Center as "Turkey Day" and it is one of the best days!

Worthington Presbyterian Church facilitates an outreach effort to raise the money to purchase food boxes for area families to be able to have all of the items they need to prepare their own Thanksgiving meals.  Members of the church purchase and box the Turkeys, potatoes, stuffing, etc and then give them to schools so that they can be passed along to families in need. 

Each year we have received 40-50 Thanksgiving meals to distribute and I have to tell you, it is so awesome!  First, it is powerful to see all of these meals that have been donated.  Second, it is a privilege to be able to hand the food over to families who might not have been able to afford the holiday food items easily.  And finally, it is a humbling reminder that we live in such a compassionate, caring, and giving community.

A huge thank you to Worthington Presbyterian Church for making this outreach possible each year!

Now that you all are officially on Thanksgiving break, I hope you have a great 5 days!  I hope you have safe travels, time to relax and unwind, and the chance to make positive memories with those around you.

Naturalization Ceremony

Working at Kilbourne has given me so many memorable opportunities.  I have had the joy of meeting incredible students and their families.  I have had the honor of presenting students with their diplomas at graduation.  I have learned and grown through a range of different experiences.  One of those experiences was at the Naturalization Ceremony held at Kilbourne last week.

This was the 3rd Naturalization Ceremony that I have had the privilege of witnessing and each time I am overwhelmed with emotion at the power of the event.  Kilbourne began hosting Naturalization Ceremonies as a part of a project by seniors to host an event to celebrate diversity, to honor inclusion and to recognize the importance of community.  This began under the direction of Mr. Johnson, a past Assistant Principal at Kilbourne and is now being facilitated by Mrs. Backhurst.

Last Thursday, Kilbourne's auditorium was transformed into a courtroom with two judges and many court officials present so that over 300 individuals could become United States citizens.  The courts still have COVID restrictions in place and so the people petitioning to become citizens could not have their family members in the auditorium with them, but hundreds of their loved ones packed the gymnasium to watch the event as it was livestreamed.  I know that many classrooms streamed the ceremony, but I elected to go down to the gym where I could watch alongside the families and it was so powerful and so emotional to witness.

Families were recording the proceedings on their phones of what they were watching on the televisions.  People were dressed up showing what a monumental day it was in their lives.  Some of the families were carrying huge "Congratulations" balloons and others held flowers to pass along to their loved ones.  The excitement and pride was palpable and it was contagious.

I cried as the 311 individuals took their oath becoming US citizens.  This is something that is so easy for me to take for granted and yet I am grateful for all of the privileges that I have simply because of the country where I was born.  Now, in the week of Thanksgiving, it is important that I pause and reflect on this more.

If you're interested in watching the ceremony and hearing the seniors present, I encourage you to check out the video on Worthington's YouTube channel.  I don't know if it will hold the same power as it did when I watched it in the gym, but I believe you will realize just how incredible it is that our students and staff had this opportunity.  A huge thank you to the seniors who did such a great job planning the event with Mrs. Backhurst.  It was a memorable, positive and exciting day!

DACC Application

On Friday over 60 WKHS students participated in the field trip to the Delaware Area Career Center. I want to remind you that even if you decide to attend the career center, WKHS students are always WKHS students. With most programs you will have the option of attending the career center for full days (where you would take your lab coursework which counts as elective credits and your academic courses all at the career center) or for half days (where you only take the lab coursework at the career center and then return to WKHS for the other half of the day for your academic classes). You will graduate from Worthington Kilbourne and continue to participate on our athletic teams - even if you decide that you want to attend the career center for the full day. 

I strongly encourage you to check out the programs because the hands on opportunities to learn something new while also gaining your required elective credits can be a very appealing option! If you didn't have the chance to participate in the field trip, or if your parents are interested in learning more and visiting DACC with you, there will be an Open House coming up on December 1st.  

Attending the Delaware Area Career Center is a competitive process and students must apply for consideration.  If you are interested, please make sure to start working on your application because it is now open and you'll want to get it submitted so that they can consider you for a spot in their program.  The priority application deadline for optimal consideration is January 13th.

Information about the open house and the application to attend DACC are all located on their website.