Spring Break

Yay!  We have made it to Spring Break!  I hope that if you are planning to travel with your family or with one of the sports teams that you have a safe and enjoyable time.  If you're staying at home, I hope you are able to relax and rejuvenate.  And no matter what your plans are for spring break, I hope you find plenty of reasons to smile.  Have a great week!

Eliminating Colleges

Seniors, as you start narrowing down your college choices it is important to notify the other colleges that you are not planning to attend. It is obvious to most students that by May 1st (National Decision Day) that you have to notify your intended college that you will be coming there next fall, but it isn't always as obvious that as you begin identifying which college or the few colleges that are still in the running, it is important for you to notify the other colleges that you do NOT intend to attend their school beginning next year. 

Please wait to tell the schools that you will not be attending until you are 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 off of their deferrals or even wait-lists. Think about your classmates who might be deferred or 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.

Worthington Job Fair

Are you looking for full or part-time employment?  WKHS students who are 16 and over are invited to participate in the Worthington Job Fair coming up on the Friday after spring break.  In addition to those of you who might be seeking summer job opportunities, I know there are several students who are hoping to work before starting college because of the need to save money or they only plan to attend school part time so that they can work and earn money while going to school.  There are many competitive employers in the central Ohio area who are interested in meeting those soon-to-be graduates from Worthington to see if you might be a good fit for working at their organization.

On Friday, April 14th from 9:30 - 11:30am at the Worthington Education Center there will be a Job Fair for Worthington students.  A bus will be provided for those who want/ need to take it.

Students are expected to have a resume, dress professionally and be ready to interview with potential future employers.  There will also be the opportunity to participate in mock interviews and complete job applications on the spot.

There is a permission form that is required to participate in the Job Fair and it is due back to the Counseling Center ahead of the event.  So please stop by the Counseling Center to pick up the permission slip!  If you have questions, please see me.

Institutional Priorities

My email inbox has been flooded with college notifications about decision release details and data.  If I were going to sum it all up, I'd say that nearly every college message has touted record numbers of applications and building a class of students that will contribute to making the college a positive learning experience for students in years to come.

One of the important realities as I read the updates from colleges is that they have to turn down incredibly talented students each year not because you wouldn't be successful on their campus, but simply because they have too many qualified applicants.  And with record numbers of applications being submitted that can feel so hard for students who are left confused and wondering why not me.

I have tried talking to seniors many times about the fact that it isn't always about you, but rather it is about the college and their goals and what they might be looking for as they are building their classes.  These are known in the college admissions world as Institutional Priorities and they play a huge part in admissions.

Georgia Tech maintains an awesome blog about college admissions topics that I love reading.  They recently wrote about Institutional Priorities and I strongly encourage that students and parents of every grade level read through it to be able to have a better understanding of why it matters and why your  rejection may have nothing to do with how successful they think you could be at their campus.

Caps & Gowns

The reality of high school coming to a close for seniors often starts to set in when caps and gowns are distributed and for the Class of 2023, that will take place tomorrow (and Wednesday) during lunch periods in the Commons.  I always love seeing the looks in my seniors eyes when they walk away from the tables carrying their cap and gown package.  This is such an exciting time in your lives and you have worked hard over the last 13 years to get to this point.  Don't forget to keep pushing academically, but also know that it's ok to pause as you pick up your cap and gown and realize that this is part of what your efforts have been for - to reach this milestone in your life!  I'm proud of you and excited for you.  

Also, one other hint from years of seeing seniors pick up their caps and gowns - when you get home, take the gown out of the bag and hang it up!  There will be TONS of creases in your gown and you'll have to iron/ steam it to try to get them all out, but giving gravity a chance to help is always a plus as well.

CSCC App Day

Are you planning on attending Columbus State Community College next year after you graduate? This is a great option for a lot of students because it allows students to transition from the high school to college expectations in typically smaller classes and for a fraction of the cost. Students attending CSCC have much later deadlines for admission and so it can be easy to procrastinate on completing the application.  This Thursday, in the Conference Room off the Counseling Center (Room 120), we will be hosting the admissions representative from Columbus State Community College for an Application Day.  Seniors, if you have not already applied to CSCC and want to have it as an option for you in the future, please take advange of this application day!  Students can come during 4th or 5th periods and should bring their Social Security Number so that your entire application can be completed on the spot.  Even if you're not sure you're ready to go to CSCC right away or if you are still holding it as an option for financial reasons as you try to make your decision about college, you can also come and participate in the Columbus State Community College Application Day.  

Feel free to stop and see me if you have any questions.

Final CC+ Reminder

All students looking to earn free college credit in classes next year MUST turn in the College Credit Plus intent to participate form before Saturday, April 1st!  This is a firm deadline established by the State of Ohio and we cannot extend it so please make sure you get your forms turned in to us!  

Just as a reminder, this includes college classes on the college campus, online college classes, college classes taught by college instructors at WKHS (English, Psychology, Government, Sociology, Ethics), and the regular WKHS classes taught by the WKHS teachers which can get you college credit for the exact same class you may have already signed up to take (Pre-Calculus, Honors Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus AB).  

If you have any questions about College Credit Plus - stop and see me or watch the videos on the counselor website.  (www.wkhscounselors.com).  The intent to participate form packets which includes the video sign-off forms are also available on the counselor website.

Eligibility Reminder

We are just a week and a half into the 4th quarter, but I wanted to remind all students that your progress and success in classes during the 4th quarter is what will determine if you are eligible for co-curricular participation in the fall.  You must pass 5 half credit classes in order to be eligible. (PE classes and TOK do NOT count towards eligibility.)  Eligibility matters for sports, marching band, and other clubs that compete such as Mock Trial, In the Know, Science Olympiad, etc.  So make sure you are finishing out this school year strong so that you are able to participate in the clubs and sports you want to do in the future.

Summer Jobs and Camps

I suspect that I am not the only one looking forward to summer.  Have you started considering how you might want to spend your time?  If getting a summer job is on your list or if you are interested in learning more through camps, there are tons of opportunities available to you.

Worthington Schools will host a Job Fair for students 16 and over in April where you can meet with employers and seek job opportunities.  But before then we also have a lot of jobs who have been reaching out to us advertising the fact that they are looking for teens that would be interested in working.

Additionally, summer camps can provide a great opportunity for students to learn more about particular career fields and various college campuses.  We receive notifications about many of these opportunities too and are regularly updating the list on the Counselor Website.

Remember, when in doubt, check the counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com - and you can always use the search tool to find what you're looking for.

Motivation

Last week I was talking with a student and her parents and the student was sharing that she has been struggling with motivation.  I think this is a familiar feeling for many of you... I know that I too have trouble staying motivated all the time.

I talked about the fact that she might not have the motivation to do things, but that she could still have the discipline to do them.

Then this weekend I was reading about how ACTION comes BEFORE Motivation.  And the more I have thought about it the more true it seems.  Think about it for a moment.  We tend to believe that we will have motivation, it will lead us to take action, and the action will deliver results.  But when you think about your own life, how often is that really true?

What is much more likely the case is you take action, it leads to results which then gives you motivation.  Let's think about some real world examples where you might see this playing out in your own lives...

You want to improve at your sport so you practice, you begin making more shots/ running faster/ hitting better (whatever it is for your sport), and then that motivates you to work harder in practice.

In the classroom you spend some time studying which leads to doing decent on the test which then motivates you to study even more for the next test because you have realized that the pay off will be there.

I know that with trying to train Lexi and Mia (my 2 dogs), we had to work on skills that then lead to some success which then gave me the motivation to work even harder with them.

So if you are struggling with motivation, know that you are NOT alone!  Rather than waiting or hoping that motivation is just going to strike, take some small steps of action today towards your goal and see if the results will help you to feel more motivated over time.

Demonstrated Interest & Admissions

This is a stressful time for seniors who are still waiting to hear back from the schools where they applied. Interestingly, college admissions officers are also nervous. They are trying to figure out which students to accept and how to guess with today's economic times which students will actually attend if offered the opportunity. 

For the younger students, this is a good time to remind you that colleges are keeping track of every contact and interaction you have with them. They want to know that you are interested and that applying to their school is something you have investigated and feel like it would be a good fit. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that you should call a school multiple times a week - that would definitely get on their nerves, but they want students who are truly interested. You can show that by meeting with their admissions representatives when they come to WKHS or to the Columbus area, participating in "optional" interviews and essays, and visiting their campus. 

The reality is that there are no guarantees in college admissions and if you will get accepted or not is always a guessing game as colleges do their best to get as close to their target number of new students with their acceptances. Even though this is stressful, it really will all work out in the end.

What Size of a College?

When you start considering college, one of the ways to start narrowing down schools is to consider the size of a college.  "How big of a college campus do you want?" is a question we ask students a lot and to be honest, I kind of hate it as a question.  How could you possibly know how to give a number to say that a certain size was what you were looking for in a campus?  I would like to encourage you to think about the size of a campus that will be right for you in comparison to your learning and social experiences in high school.

For example, these might be some reflection questions you should ask yourself...

- When learning do you like to establish a positive relationship with your teacher and does that impact how much/ well you learn in the class?

- Do you enjoy meeting lots of new people and look at opportunities when you walk into a room where you don't know anyone as the chance to meet new friends?

- If you walk into an area like the commons without knowing who will/ will not be there are you going to be comfortable or nervous?

- If you are eating lunch somewhere and saw your teacher walk past, would you be comfortable saying hello to them or would you rather blend into the background and hope that he/ she wouldn't know/ recognize you?

Why is it that I think these are more helpful questions? The answers you give to these questions will help to guide your thinking on if you would do better with a smaller environment vs a larger environment.  But it's also important that I point out that small and large are relative.  How would you refer to the size of our high school?  Most people would just say it's "normal or average" but that isn't really true - it is just what you are familiar with.  In fact, the average high school in the United States has 752 students while WKHS has over 1500 students.  So you might think that you don't want a small college (and you might not), but if you are making that choice based on size, you need to remember that the smaller college which might have like 5,000 students is actually still 4 times as large as WKHS.  So it would be like your college graduating class size being comparable to the whole student body at WKHS and you definitely don't know everyone at WKHS.  Along those same lines, you might think you want a large college, but what is large to you?  Is large 20,000 students or 40,000 students?

Here's the reality, you only have 24 hours in a day.  A solid chunk of that time will be spent sleeping not to mention the time you will spend in class and studying.  So you will only have a limited amount of time left in the day.  So sometimes people inaccurately think that they have to go to a large school to get a college that will have plenty of opportunities for them.  And even though it is awesome to see that a college has hundreds of groups that students can get involved with, you won't have the interest to join most of them and then time will also limit how many groups you'd be able to join at once.  So this means that if the smaller college (who may have just dozens of groups to get involved with) has the same top 2-3 groups that you actually would have had time for at the larger college, then your on-campus experiences with those groups would actually be similar.

Sometimes students want the large campus for the experiences such as a good school spirit or a positive sports culture to rally behind your team.  That is totally understandable.  Remember though, large campuses don't automatically guarantee those components.  Instead try to pay attention to how many people are proud of the campus and community.  Are students and staff proud to be associated with the college?  That would help you to get an idea of their school spirit.  For sports environment, remember that there are LOTS of different collegiate sports levels and so you can find school spirit in a variety of sizes of campus.  (Some D1 schools are bigger and others are smaller so it isn't even just by what division they compete in for their sports.)

Hopefully this helps to give you questions that would guide you towards the size that would fit better for you than just asking "what size do you want?"  The reality is you will be successful at whatever college you pick, but try to really make sure you find the experience that will feel most comfortable for you academically and socially.

Grief Group

For so many students, grief is one of the biggest challenges they must face while in high school.  The reality is that grief is not something which just goes away and yet you must continue living your life and so many students try to compartmentalize their feelings.  Having the chance in a safe, supported environment to be able to talk with others who are your age and also experiencing grief can be particularly healing.  As a result, the WKHS Counselors have partnered with OhioHealth Hospice grief counselors to provide a grief group for our students.  If you (or your son/ daughter for the parents reading this) would like to join the grief group, we would love to have you!  Please stop and see me asap so that I can get your name added to the list because the group will be starting soon.

College Decisions Coming Soon

The next few weeks will be big as students finally receive the college admissions decisions you have waited months to receive. Most of the schools that have yet to announce their decisions will be releasing them over the next couple of days to weeks. This can be a very stressful time for students. Try to take a deep breath and relax – you have done the best job to put yourself in the best situation possible with your applications. If you are stressing out awaiting the news, feel free to stop in and see me so we can talk about it.

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.

Parent Lunch & Learn

The WKHS Counselors will be hosting the next session of our Lunch and Learn Series for parents this Friday, March 17th.  This session will provide information on the topic of Mental Health.  

As a reminder, the lunch and learns are brief presentations on a particular topic over zoom during lunch time so that parents/ guardians can join and listen in from home or work while eating their lunch.  The goal is that the presentation will take about 15 minutes and then that will give about 15 minutes for any other questions that families might have that we could address as a whole group.  We are excited about this opportunity to leverage technology and to meet families where they are so that you can get the most up to date information that we can share with you.

We will be hosting the March Lunch & Learn session at noon on Friday, March 17th.  The zoom link will be emailed to all parents and we will also post it on the Counselor Website on Friday morning.

And, I can't close without saying great job today to all of the juniors who took the ACT!

Tomorrow's Schedule - ACT

Tomorrow we are on a VERY different bell schedule!

Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors - you will be functioning on a late-start schedule tomorrow.  This means that you get to sleep in and relax a little bit in the morning.  If you ride a bus, your bus will pick you up  90 minutes later than normal.  If you walk or drive to school, you can determine what time you want to arrive just be sure to make it to school in enough time to be able to get to your 5th period class at 12:55pm.  As I mentioned, with late start buses running 1.5 hours later than normal, this means that if you ride a bus that will likely mean you will arrive to school around 10:10am and you'll have that time until the start of classes to study, eat lunch, and hang out in the Aux Gym.

Juniors - you will ride the bus at the normal time and arrive to school like every other day.  You will then report to your assigned testing location by 8:40am so that you can begin taking the ACT right away.  The test will conclude around 12:20 and you will then have a break and a chance to grab lunch before the start of classes.

And then everyone (9th through 12th grade) will proceed to afternoon classes with the following bell schedule:
5th Period - 12:55 - 1:29
6th Period - 1:34 - 2:06
7th Period - 2:11 - 2:43
8th Period - 2:48 - 3:20

I also have a few ACT Testing reminders for the juniors:  This test is an official ACT so you are strictly bound to all of the restrictions and requirements set forth by ACT.  Testing will begin promptly at 8:40am so you will need to report to your assigned rooms (check your email for location assignment).  Please be sure to bring your Student ID card, number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils are allowed!), and a calculator.  And I would also suggest that you bring a watch.  Cell phones are NOT allowed to be on in the testing room at all.   Good luck on the test!  You will do great!

ACT Pre-Registration Reminder

Juniors, don't forget, you need to be sure that you have taken the time to log into the ACT website and completed the Pre-Registration paperwork including creating your account, giving information about your grades, and selecting where you want your 4 free test scores to be sent following your test.  If you are having any trouble with getting this completed, please bring your directions and code with you (that you were given during PACK period a few weeks ago and that has been sent to you via email) and we can work on figuring it out together.  This is a really important step that you don't want to mess up so please get it taken care ahead of Tuesday.  

Also, one other reminder, when you create your ACT account information, please be sure to save the information such as your username and password somewhere.  It is common for people to think "I'll remember it" and then later when students need to request for their scores to be sent to a college and they can't remember their ACT account information it becomes a major problem.  None of the information ACT asks for is too challenging, you just need to pause and be sure to get it done.

End of 3rd Quarter

Tomorrow is the end of the 3rd quarter.  As we head into the 4th quarter, some students inevitably find it hard to focus on school when they simply want to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. I understand that and I 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.  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!  

Enjoy your long weekend!

Common App Essays

The Common Application has announced that their essay question prompts for next year will remain the same.  In case you don't know, Common Application is an application website that many colleges use allowing students to fill out one application that can then be submitted to various colleges and is one of the primary methods that students will utilize when applying to college. 

Juniors, you can take a look at these prompts and start brainstorming what your answers might be for each question.  After you list your thoughts for each question, look at which response best allows you to tell the story of who you are and will be the best introduction of you to the admissions committee.  Then it is time to start drafting and editing and drafting some more.  :-)  

Students who utilize the common app will be asked to select and answer one question in 250-650 words.  (Please don't worry about word count on your first draft - it is always MUCH easier to cut words than it is to try to add more in later.)

Below are the common app essay questions to help you get started: 

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure.  How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that made you happy or thankful in a surprising way.  How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and new understanding of yourself or others.

6.  Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.  Why does it captivate you?  What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7.  Share an essay on any topic of your choice.  It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Also, we have confirmed that on April 20th we will host an Essay Brainstorming Workshop to help you prepare for writing your essays.  More details about this will come closer to the event.

Academic Honors Ceremony

Tomorrow morning we will honor 339 students who are receiving recognition for Academic Honors.  As a component of the award ceremony, students will be presented with silver and bronze keys in recognition of their achievements in academic excellence.

Bronze keys are awarded to Sophomore students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of 3 full semesters. 37 of "my" students are being presented with bronze keys.

Silver keys are awarded to Junior students with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA at the end of 5 full semesters. 36 of "my" students will receive silver keys.

And then the Gold keys will be awarded at the Senior Recongition Ceremony in May to the Senior students who have earned a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher at the end of 7 full semesters. 

Congratulations to each of you for your academic commitment and achievements!  I can't wait to see you and celebrate you tomorrow morning.

Academic Assistants

At WKHS we are incredibly fortunate to have 4 teachers in the core areas of English, Math, Science and Social Studies working in the Teaching & Learning Center (Room 209) to assist students.

Those of you who use this room reguarly may have already heard that Ms. Terpenning is no longer working as the Science Academic Assistant because she is doing her student teaching towards becoming a Special Education teacher.  The good news is that she is still at WKHS for her student teaching so we haven't lost her completely.  But, starting tomorrow there will be a new staff member joining as the Science Academic Assistant - Ms. Tompkins.  The next time you are in 209, please welcome her to Kilbourne!

And, I will also use this as my chance to remind you to take advantage of working with Ms. Elliott (English), Mrs. Haurani (Math), and Mr. Wood (Social Studies) because they can make a huge difference in your success as a student if you work with them to help you.

Remember, this is a more structured environment where you can find a quiet place to study and get your work done. Students can drop by before school, during lunch, prep or options to get extra help on assignments or for assistance in studying for upcoming tests.  If you just need the dedicated, quiet space to study without the distractions of phones or friends, you can just sit at any of the open tables.  If you need help in a particular subject, you can sit at the table with the Academic Assistant for that subject area.

And, as if this wasn't enough, the academic assistant's are also outstanding resources for helping students to get organized, to stay on top of assignments and to assist you in making plans for completing projects in a timely manner.  They are an unbelievable asset to the students at WKHS and you are missing out if you are not taking advantage of their free help!  I consistently see the significant difference in grades for those students who are working with teachers and academic assistants to get caught up vs those who try to manage it on their own.

Socratic Society

Yesterday morning, 28 Kilbourne students were inducted into 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): Summer Abuzeide, Sabeen Ahmed, Labiba Alam, Gwendolyn Armstrong, Julie Barrie, Owen Cotterman, Natalie Cox, Grace Darner, Amaree Douglas, and Audrey Emami.  Congratulations to each of you! I am proud of you!

Anger

When people are feeling angry at school, it's not uncommon for them to work their way to the counseling center.  Sometimes they can tell me why they are feeling angry and sometimes they don't even have words for it.  The reality is, everyone has reason to be angry at times, but, especially for those who live in anger a lot, it is an emotion that isn't always comfortable to express.  I believe there are likely many factors that contribute to this.

All human beings get angry.  As Theodore Rubin said, "Feeling angry is a universal human phenomenon.  It is as basic as feeling hungry, lonely, loving or tired.  The capacity to feel angry and to respond in some way to that feeling is in us from birth."   Think about it, a newborn baby cries and screams and gets red with rage.  He does so usually in response to some increase in bodily tension of discomfort or frustration.  The baby expresses his/ her anger and hopefully the needs get met.

Some of us have learned that anger is an unattractive and unacceptable emotion; we are convinced that if we expressed it, people would punish us with disapproval.  We pay a big price on the days we repress our anger.  It builds up within us until we eventually release it - and often when that happens it isn't in productive or healthy ways.  We may lash out at people not even remotely involved.  Internalized anger can make us emotionally and physically ill - it can cause headaches, insomnia, and ulcers.  Repressed anger touches just about everything - our relationships, our performance, and our ability to enjoy and appreciate the good things in our lives.

Sometimes anger can overwhelm us.  Some of us roll up the windows and scream in our cars.  Some of us wait until no one is around and scream into our pillows.  Some of us just scream.  Most of us have thought we were crazy at those times.  We're not.  We are just alive and responding to the stress and anger that is present in our lives.  The reality is that anger is an emotion of power.  How we respond to and channel our anger can propel us forward or backward.  Anger will not just go away - it must be released.

"When you clench your first, no one can put anything in your hand, nor can your hand pick up anything." - Alex Haley

It is unlikely that our clenched fist will spontaneously relax and open.  We may first have to notice that it is clenced before we can gradually begin to loosen it.

What I think is most interesting about anger is that it is an emotion that if you carry it around over a long period of time, it doesn't allow you to fully live.  This is because anger is the emotion that we tend to show and let others see, while the feelings that are just below the surface that we are trying to hide from ourselves and others are often at the root of our anger.  There are many different feelings which this could include such as:

• Lonely
• Sad
• Vulnerable
• Overwhelmed
• Exhausted
• Stressed
• Hurt
• Attacked
• Disgusted
• Disrespected
• Scared
• Rejected
• Shocked
• Uncomfortable
• Unloved
• Worried
• Unsure
• Confused
• Disappointed
• Jealous
• Anxious
• Insecure
• Guilty
• Hurt
• Grieving
• Helpless
• Offended
• Regretful
• Shame
• Envious
• Pressure
• Tricked
• Annoyed
• Fearful
• Trapped
• Nervous
• Depressed
• Frustrated
• Embarrassed
• Tired
• Abandoned
• Inadequate
• Ignored
• Panic
• Unwanted
• Resentment

Look at that list - most of the feelings are hidden and show up as anger, but to get the anger to go away it is necessary to chip away at the emotions underneath that are supporting the anger.  Unfortunately, sometimes it feels easier to stay angry than it is to deal with the emotions that are underneath our anger. 

So how do we manage the feelings of anger when they are present?  We work to release the anger in safe and healthy ways.  Below are a few examples of strategies you can use to help release feelings of anger.

• Talk about it.  I hope you will feel safe and comfortable to come and talk to me about the times you are feeling angry - especially if you live your life always feeling angry.
• Identify the feelings beneath your anger and explore them
• Get the feelings out, but don't take it out on another person or yourself
• Breathe deeply, count to 10
• Artwork to express yourself
• Journal
• Be honest and open with yourself and trusted adults in your support system
• Channel it into a positive action to help others
• Know that it is ok to be angry as long as you are not hurting yourself or anyone else

The more you understand your anger the more you can make changes that allow for the release and healing.  Have the courage to explore your anger because the more you allow the feelings to surface the more of yourself you will find.

Senior Pictures

Senior photos are a vital part of the yearbook each year.  Many seniors will have professional pictures taken to help capture their personality or interests.  But perhaps your family hasn't done so or isn't able to arrange for senior pictures.  That is ok.  The Yearbook staff wants to be sure that all seniors have the opportunity to have a senior photo included in this year's yearbook.  The deadline for all senior photos to be submitted to Mr. Cecutti (tcecutti@wscloud.org) for the yearbook is March 31st.  That is a firm deadline so you only have this month to be sure that your picture is submitted to be included.  For those who might not have a picture to include, you can reach out to Mr. Cecutti to request for a photographer from the yearbook staff to take your picture on the grounds of Kilbourne so that you have a picture you are happy with to be included in the yearbook.  Again, time is of the essence, so if you need a picture, please reach out to Mr. Cecutti asap, and if you already have your picture, please be sure that it gets submitted in time to be included in this year's yearbook!