I am still thinking about Sunday's graduation ceremony. I loved being gathered with you all and the nervous anticipation as you waited in the holding room ahead of the ceremony. I loved hearing one of my students, Emma Browning, sing the National Anthem and watching as another one of my students, Owen Chilcoat, gave his speech and was then among those inducted into the Hall of Fame. I loved seeing all of the families and groups of students gathered together before and after the ceremony ended hugging, laughing, and celebrating. But, most of all, my favorite part of graduation was the smile and hug I got to give to students just seconds before I handed them their diploma.
Kilbourne has lots of cool traditions and allowing seniors to have the option of who they want to have hand them their diploma is, undoubtedly, my favorite one of all. I love the fact that students will be able to look back years from now and say x is who gave me my diploma because in so many districts that isn't the case. To me, it is the ultimate recognition of how important the student/ staff relationship is to our school and district.
Each year that I have been asked to hand someone their diploma I am deeply touched and honored. This means so much to me because my students mean so much to me.
Each of these individuals are talented in all different aspects and my life is better because of knowing them. When I think about the experiences some of these students have had to endure to be able to walk across the stage - wow, it truly takes my breath away. And so to Emma, Natalie, Stefany, Jerald, Rachel, Brenna, Kahlida, Noah and Broderik - I want to to say thank you for allowing me to have the honor of presenting you with your diploma. Thank you for the positive impact you have had on my life and on WKHS as a whole. I am so fortunate that I had the chance to get to know you and I cannot wait to see all that you accomplish in the future! Congratulations and Good Luck! Love, Miss Abbott
Congratulations to the Class of 2023! You are all now officially alumni of Worthington Kilbourne High School and I am proud of you and loved celebrating with you all this weekend.
It all started with Baccalaureate on Friday night where we had the chance to pause and reflect on your talents and accomplishments, hear reminders of approaching the world with curiosity, and, best of all, seeing your baby pictures and how far you have come to today. I love Baccalaureate and many of my students were involved in the planning or had roles during the day or artwork featured. A huge shout-out to the Activity Club and "my" students involved including: Ben Ambler, Kya Angle, Emma Browning, Brooke Carter, Meara Couvillon, Linclon Glaros, Owen Chilcoat, Jude Abuzeide, Caleb Anderson, Toby Bomser, Lily Aschenbrand, Alyssa Berger, Sopha DePizzo, and Mirabel Domecq - you all planned and put on a beautiful evening.
And then to today's graduation ceremony! It was the big celebration of your class and recognition of how much you have learned and grown since you first started school in Kindergarten and especially over the last four years of high school. A special congratulations to Owen Chilcoat who was inducted into the Kilbourne Hall of Fame - such a deserving honor!
It was truly a great weekend! But now it is back to the real world... and for all of the other grades, tomorrow starts exams. So, good luck, I hope you had a weekend full of studying. And I hope that I will get to see you all before summer break... which means I would love to have you pop by and say hi/ bye before the end of the year. (Lexi would love that too!)
It is also important that all students are aware that there is a drop deadline of July 15th for all AP and IB courses. Prior to July 15th students can drop the classes without penalty. After July 15th the summer assignments are still required and the grades for the summer work will be transferred into the new class that you will transferring into for next year instead of your intended class. So, it is important not only that you know what you will need to do, but also to start working on the assignments - at least enough to make sure you feel confident that you are going to enjoy the course - so that you will know by July 15th if you feel you are going to need to change out of that class.
Wow, Class of 2023, what a journey your high school career has been. From a global pandemic to life returning to normal and a lot of roller-coaster adjustments in between, you have made it. Today was your final day of high school - CONGRATULATIONS!
Over these four years, you have demonstrated resilience. You have displayed an unwavering enthusiasm. You have cared about those around you and shown up for friends in need. You have refused to be shaken off-course by challenges and have met them head on and grown as a result. It didn't matter if it was challenging classes, difficulties with friends/ family, or frustrations in your extra-curricular activities, you found a way to push through with strength and courage. You have achieved success and are prepared for your futures in college, the military or the work-force.
I am proud of you. I hope that as you get ready to leave Kilbourne behind you will know that you were cared about and that you have made an impact on all of the staff members lives - including mine! Thank you for your willingness to share your life for these last 4 years with me. I wish you nothing but the best in all that is ahead of you. And remember, "Once a Wolf, Always a Wolf" so if you ever need anything, know I am just an email or phone call away.
Love, Miss Abbott
BUT ALSO... you're not quite done yet. :-) Ok, so you are done with classes and that is huge. But I also want to remind you that this Friday at 10am is your graduation rehearsal. This is a MANDATORY requirement if you are going to participate in Sunday's commencement ceremony. Graduation rehearsal is held at WKHS. You do not have to dress up or wear your cap and gown - those are saved just for Sunday. So even though I am saying good-bye to you as students today, I will see you on Friday (and, of course, on Sunday)!
Unfortunately, now that the schedule is locked it becomes crazy for the counselors as we go through each of the schedules that didn't match and try to figure out if there is a solution and what possible options we can use to make a schedule fit together. We will spend hours pouring over schedules and will have to call down some of you to talk about back up choices based upon the conflicts in your schedule. This is never easy and I know it is disappointing when you don't get all of the classes that you wanted, so I promise that I am doing the best I can to make everything work together.
I started the process of calling kids down today. If in the coming days, you get an email or a remind message from me to come see me during your lunch, off period or between periods, I am asking you to please make every effort to come at the day and time I am calling for you so that we can look at your schedule together. (And that specific timing is when I think I should be able to fit you in without making you wait for long.) You don't want me to be the one to make those tough choices for you so we really do need to meet and look at the options together.
Inevitably, when everyone hears that the schedule is locked, students will be curious about the schedule and what their classes will look like for next year. I am more than happy to talk about this with you, but not until all of the conflicts are resolved. So, I ask you to please be patient with me and wait until the last three days of school (next week around your exams) to try to come and get a sneak peek at what your schedule will hopefully be for next year. (Full disclosure though, all schedules are 100% up for revision and changes based on whatever has to happen with the master schedule as the summer progresses.)
What a whirlwind these last few days have been...
Then Friday had 2 big moments that I was able to share in...
I keep thinking of how lucky I am to be able to share in all of these types of experiences because there were truly memories made over these last days that will remain for years to come!
As you are likely aware, colleges each get to set their own protocol for what AP tests they will accept and what scores will result in earning credits at their school. You can check out the AP Credit Policy using the search on CollegeBoard's website here: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies
One great aspect about sending the AP Scores is that they will send your current and past scores to the college with one report so if you have taken 5 AP tests, you don't have to pay to send 5 different scores. And, if you have taken an AP test this year, you can still request your scores to be sent to 1 school for free if you log into your account and select your intended college before June 20th.
Here is the page that explains everything you need to know about sending your AP Scores: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores
When was the last time you thanked your teachers? I know that they get paid to do their jobs, but just like you love to have positive encouragement, remember that your teachers are human and they also love to know that others notice their extra help and effort. If you were a student who needed a teacher recommendation letter and you haven't written them a note of appreciation, perhaps this week is a great week to do so. Or simply make an extra effort this week to "catch a teacher" going above and beyond for you or for a classmate and thank him/ her for what you saw them do. We have so many incredible teachers that I believe you will be successful in finding something to thank one of them for this week.
Also, each year the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio sponsors a week long camp called iCanBike that provides differently abled campers a safe, supportive and fun opportunity to learn to ride a two wheeled bicycle. The camp will be held at Worthington Kilbourne High School from June 19th through June 23rd. Volunteers must be at least 15 years old and physically able to walk and run alongside the participant as they master the skill of riding a bike. Volunteers will be partnered with a single camper and you will work together for the week for 75 minutes each day. There are sessions spread throughout the day to match everyone's schedule availability. Students who have volunteered for this camp in the past have shared how fun and rewarding this experience had been for them as well as for the campers who were learning to ride their bikes. Anyone interested in learning more or registering to be a volunteer should go to http://dsaco.net/icanbike/
If you are starting to consider different careers, perhaps you have a family member or friends that would allow you to shadow them for a day or two on the job to see what their particular career is really like as this will help you determine if that career is truly of interest to you.
Current juniors (Soon to be Seniors) – this summer is going to be busy as you prepare for your senior year. Hopefully you are taking the time to visit colleges from your list and getting an idea of what you think about different schools. (Don’t forget to take a picture of you somewhere on campus for me!) You can also begin drafting your college application essays and preparing for the ACT and SAT exams.
Of course, there is always spending quality time reconnecting with your family and friends, going on vacation, reading, and even attending camps or other formal activities which can be a part of the summer for many. If you are interested in learning about some of the camp opportunities - many of which are offered on college campuses, please be sure to check out the camp opportunities page on the WKHS Counselor website as we continue adding summer enrichment experiences to the site as we receive them.
The bottom line is try to be productive this summer – at the very least it will give you great stories to share next fall when people ask you what you did over the summer.
On Friday morning we honored and celebrated students who were being inducted into the Socratic Society. Staff members are given the opportunity to recognize students for excellence in one or more of the core Socratic values of Scholarship, Integrity, Personal Effort, Compassion, or Lifelong Learning. Students are only eligible to be selected for this honor one time during their high school career.
If you are going to continue at Columbus State, then you don't have to do anything with your CSCC transcript (they already have that), but you would need to send them your COTC transcript.
If you are going to a 4 year college, then you will need to send them both transcripts... and yes, this is in addition to us at WKHS sending them your final high school transcript.
We have posted the links for how to send your CC+ transcripts on the Counselor website so if this is something that applies to you, please be sure to request them to be sent. As always, let me know if you have any questions.
1. Start now
2. Start later
3. Try to find another way
4. Never do it at all
The task never changes or suddenly gets easier - it is still just sitting there waiting for you, but the amount of time you have to invest in completing the activity can get less. So if you are struggling to get going to finish up on your school work I will remind you that seniors have just 2 weeks left (10 school days) and everyone else have 12 days of classes plus your 3 exam days. That means that you would benefit from starting now. You will feel more in control over your choice and the situation. If you are someone who struggles with initiating a task perhaps some of these strategies will help you:
As with all of the previous Lunch & Learn sessions, the meeting will take place over zoom at noon on Friday and will last just 30 minutes so that you can grab your lunch, learn something new, and get back to your day without taking too much time. The zoom link will be emailed to all parents on Friday morning and will also be available on the Counselor website.
I hope to see you online Friday!
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