Parent/ Teacher Conferences

First, another reminder that the online registration system is now open and students have through Friday to submit their course requests!  Please log in now and sign up for the classes you want to take next year!  

Next, I wanted to make sure that all parents know that Parent/ Teacher conferences are coming up soon and the online system for parents to sign up for a time to meet with teachers opened this morning.  Conferences will be held on Thursday, February 8^th from 3:30pm - 7:40pm and Tuesday, February 13^th from 5:00pm – 9:00pm.  Each conference will be scheduled in 15 minute time blocks.  Conferences allow parents the chance to learn about your student’s classroom performance from the teachers, it allows the opportunity for you to ask questions and they provide an opportunity to build a dialogue with the teachers regarding any thoughts and concerns you might have.

Conferences will be scheduled as people sign up for them, so if you want to make sure you have times that work well for you, I strongly encourage you to register right away.

Please follow the steps below to register for a parent/ teacher conference:

•    Go to http://ptcfast.com/schools/Worthington_Kilbourne_High_School.  This will take you to the conference scheduler.
•     Click on the teacher you would like to meet with for a conference.
•     Sign up by entering your child’s last name, first name, your name and your e-mail address and then click Submit.
•     The next screen will direct you to check your e-mail inbox for a message with the subject “Select Date/ Team for Teacher Conference Now.”
•     Open the e-mail and click on the link to select a conference time.  If you do not receive an e-mail, please check your junk/ spam folder.  Please note, you MUST follow the link in the email in order to complete the sign-up process.
•     The link will take you to a Time Picker.  Available time slots will appear on this page.  If there are no available appointments that suit your schedule, please e-mail the teacher directly to set up an alternate meeting time.
•     After submitting your time slot, you will be prompted to finish, schedule another appointment for the same student or register another student.  Once you have completed your reservations, you will receive an e-mail confirming the date and time of your conferences and a link by which you can make changes to your date or time if you need to do so.

AP/ IB Classes

Students have the opportunity to push themselves with rigorous classes such as honors, AP and IB.  And, with the AP and IB courses there is also the potential of earning college credit for completing the classes and performing well on the tests at the end of the year.  I wanted to spend a few minutes giving you highlights related to these options so that you are aware as you are scheduling your classes.

One of the top factors colleges consider when evaluating applicants is the strength of the academic schedule students take on during high school.  (And, of course, that they do well in those classes.)  One of the options that students can consider for selecting a rigorous academic schedule that also has the benefit of providing students with a global perspective and integrated learning to make connections across courses, is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Students who are interested in completing the full IB diploma program will have specific IB courses to take along with completing the IB exams, an extended essay, and a community action service project along with a Theory of Knowledge course.  Even if students are not sure that they want to take on the full diploma program, you can still participate in IB courses!  You can take just a handful of classes (or even just 1) if that is what appeals to you.  For example, students interested in Psychology or History might elect to take just the IB Psychology course or just the IB History course.  

As an IB World School, our students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow.  Students that are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program and the small cohort of students who they study with in the program.  If you have questions about IB, I definitely encourage you to talk with students in the IB program or to Ms. Goodwin who is the IB program coordinator.  And, of course, you can always talk to me too.

Students must pay to take the IB exams and, depending on the level of the class, how well you performed on the test, and the college you are attending, you may be able to earn college credit for the course.  It is helpful in your planning to be aware that most colleges do not grant credit for individual SL classes - only Higher Level (HL) courses.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in a wide range of subject areas from core subjects like English and Science to the arts such as AP Studio Art and AP Music Theory.  These classes are designed to fulfill the college course content and the teachers are following the curriculum requirements to prepare students for the AP exam at the end of the year.  

Students must pay to take the AP exam and, depending on how you do on it, you can earn college credit for the class.

Each college gets to set their own policy for what AP or IB classes they will give students college credit for completing and what the qualifying score must be in order to earn that credit.  You can usually find this information on the college websites as well as on the CollegeBoard website for AP exams.

Course Selection & Balance

When you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be reasonable about your expectations for yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle so while it may feel good to have every teacher recommend you for honors, AP, or IB classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with 7 advanced classes. I get it, there are a lot of incredible classes available at WKHS, but overloading your day and burning yourself out does nothing for your love of learning or your ability to successfully complete your classes.  I cannot stress enough how much I want you to think about the rest of your commitments.  

What sports, clubs, music groups, part-time jobs, and volunteer commitments do you have?  When will you have time to relax and breathe, spend time with your family and friends and, perhaps most importantly, still get a good night's sleep each night?

I completely understand that this can be hard to figure out the balance because you aren't at next year yet to be able to imagine what your days will feel like, but the Kilbourne staff worked with students and created a Time Commitment Planning Calendar which can help you gain insight into what your intended plan will really look like.  You can find copies on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com - or there are hard copies available in the counseling center.  A student helped by completing a sample calendar so that you can see what a completed one looks like and that is also on the Kilbourne Counselor website.  I strongly encourage you to consider 2 of your busiest weeks and fill out the calendar so that you can have a realistic perspective for what the classes you are considering would provide a good balance for you - being both rigorous (particularly in any area of passion) and reasonable.

Additionally, when you are thinking about balance, don't forget that you want to have a balanced approach to your 4 years of high school.  Don't try to load up in your sophomore or junior year with the intention of taking a super easy senior year.  That isn't good either.

If you are struggling to find that balance, please talk to your parents about the classes you are considering and stop by to see me so that we can discuss it too.  I am emphasizing balance first because my plan is to talk about some of the rigorous course opportunities in the days ahead and I want the importance of balance to be the foundational thought you have before anything else!

National College Fair

I have been spot-checking some schedules today and love how many of my students already have their course requests in and done!  Great job being on top of things!  Don't forget, the online registration is now open and ready for you to submit your requests so that you can get the classes you want to take next year!

On a non-scheduling note, next weekend, WKHS students have the opportunity to attend and participate in a National College Fair.  This event, sponsored by the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, is FREE to attend.  It will be held on Saturday, February 3rd, from 1:00-4:00pm at the Ohio Expo Center- Kasich Hall.

Admissions reps from hundreds of colleges will be available to speak one-to-one with students and parents about the college admissions process, including paying for college, admissions requirements, activities on campus and more.  The fair also features information on gap year and pre-college summer programming.

Students who plan to attend should register for the National College Fair online at: https://www.nacacattend.org/24GreaterColumbus and this website also has more information to help you make the most of your time at the college fair.

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn more about colleges and finding the schools that will the best fit for you.

• Saturday, February 3rd
• 1:00-4:00pm
• Ohio Expo Center- Kasich Hall

Register Online

Just a quick reminder to all WKHS students, the online registration is now OPEN for you to log into Infinite Campus and submit your course requests.

Don't forget, you will want to search for courses using the course NUMBER from your course selection sheet (and not the course name).

If you need a reminder on how to submit your registration requests, we have screenshots with the step by step directions on the Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com

Be sure to fill your day to reach the 100% of units selected.  That means you will need to include lunch for both semesters and, if you want an off period, a prep/ options/ early release or late arrival for each semester.

Remember that you must select 3 alternate courses that you would want to take if your desired classes will not work in the way you had hoped.

Teacher Recommendations

One aspect of the registration process that can sometimes cause confusion for students related to selecting their classes is how to deal with teacher recommendations.

During classes, your teachers will be reviewing the different classes offered within their departments as well as talking with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year.  Some of the core and foreign language teachers are directly submitting their recommendations for what class they would suggest for you to take directly into Infinite Campus.

If you don't agree with what a teacher has recommended, you are not locked into that course.  For example, we know that there are MANY students who will be recommended for lots of honors or AP classes and not want to take all of them.  This is completely appropriate and acceptable... in fact, I would say that I absolutely WANT you to prioritize and schedule a balanced load that meets your interests and goals for the future.  (And your teachers and administrators want that for you too!)

The first place that we suggest you start is by talking with your teacher about their recommendation and the course that you would prefer to take.  Since your teachers know your learning style and approach they will have important and valuable information for you and your parents to take into consideration when selecting classes.  I encourage you to carefully take their recommendations into consideration - especially if they are suggesting you take an "easier" course than the one you were previously considering.

However, we also know that some students may not feel comfortable telling a teacher that they want to take a different class than the one the teacher was recommending.  I am anticipating that this could be the case if a teacher is suggesting their elective or core course and you wanted a different one and don't want to hurt the teachers feelings.  I get it, but I will also remind you that the teachers should NOT be pressuring you into anything!  This is YOUR future and YOU are the one who will be in the class and doing the work next year!  So, know that I am more than happy and willing to talk to you about what courses you would like to change and make adjustments for you.  If you and your parents have decided that it is not in your best interest to take a class that your teacher has recommended and you want an easier or comparable course, then that is what I can easily fix during our individual meeting or you can send me an email or drop by my office and I can make those adjustments.

If you have decided that you want a more difficult course than what was recommended by your teacher then you must complete the Course Override form (on the Counselor website) in order for me to change that in your schedule.  Before you decide to go with a more difficult course than has been recommended, please be VERY careful in thinking through all of the possible implications of doing that because your teacher's are recommending based upon what they know about your learning AND what they know about the classes.  They want to make sure that you are being recommended for classes that will help you to be successful in the future.

Number of Classes

As you start thinking about your courses for next year (and any subsequent years), it is important to be sure that you are taking enough classes, but you also don't want to over-extend yourself.

For most 9th, 10th and 11th graders, you will be taking 6 classes.  That would leave you with room for a lunch and an off period (prep or options or early release or late arrival).

For most seniors, if you are in good standing academically, you can drop to 5 classes.  Why do we give you the flexibility to drop to 5 classes?  Because the process of applying to college and applying for scholarships is time consuming and we want to be sure that you can give your best to your course work and also your future plans.  It is important for seniors to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required to be considered a Full Time student.  Being full time is important for a range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, plus colleges definitely want to see you as a full time student.  So you definitely won't go below the 5 minimum classes in any semester.

While 5 to 6 classes is the minimum per year, if students are behind on earning credits due to failing classes, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes during a semester or the year.

Also, when planning out your classes over the next year, be sure that you double check and make sure you'll be taking enough classes to be eligible to participate in athletics and other co-curricular activities.  (Remember, any school sponsored activity that involves competition requires you to be eligible.  So this includes band, choir groups, Mock Trial, In the Know, etc.)  

In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter.  IF you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life course or TOK, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits per semester so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.  

If you have any questions about eligibility, please stop in the co-curricular office or stop to see me for additional clarification.  

Tomorrow & Registration

Tomorrow kicks off the process for registering for classes for next school year.  You will be on a very different bell schedule and then, tomorrow night, you and your parents are invited to WKHS for Curriculum Night as a chance to get more information about the various programs and opportunities available to students.

Here is tomorrow's bell schedule:

1st period- 8:40 - 9:20
2nd period- 9:25 - 10:50**
3rd period- 10:55 - 11:35
4th period- 11:40 - 12:20
5th period- 12:25 - 1:05
6th period- 1:10 - 1:50
7th period- 1:55 - 2:35
8th period- 2:40 - 3:20

** As you can see - 2nd period is very long and that is because we will be holding class assemblies for the current freshmen, sophomore and junior students to pass along information about course registration and important information you need to know to successfully select your classes.

I recognize that it feels too early to be making decisions about what you're going to take next year when students are still settling into the new semester, but the time it takes to be able to take your requests and then build a master schedule that will meet your needs is very complex.

One of the most common reactions for students (and parents) as soon as they hear that it is registration time is to panic.  So please, right now, before you even receive your registration information, pause, take a deep breath and relax!  Thinking about the future can feel overwhelming, but I promise that I will help you through it.  This is a very hectic time of year for me dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that I am aware of the anxiety and we will get through it together.

So, let me give you a quick glimpse of what these next few weeks will include.  Tomorrow will be the meeting where you’ll get the details of what you need to do to register for your classes.  You will submit your course selections online through Infinite Campus starting on Friday.  The deadline to submit your requests is Friday, February 2nd.  I will meet with every student individually to review your requests.  We will still be able to make adjustments to your requests at that time so if you are uncertain about something, go ahead and make your best guess on what you are thinking and then we will talk about it when we meet together.

Here are some of the key dates you’ll need to know about:

-          Wednesday, January 24th: Registration materials distributed 

-          Wednesday, January 24^th: Curriculum Night at 7:20pm – you and your parents can come to talk with the teachers and learn more about the different options available to you; 

-          Between February 1st and February 15th: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled 

-          Friday, February 2nd: Deadline to submit online course requests

-          Monday, February 5th and Tuesday, February 6th: Individual meetings with all freshmen students during Modern World History classes

-          Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday, February 8th: Individual meetings with all sophomore students during Science classes

-          Friday, February 23rd: My deadline to be able to make any adjustments in the online system

Over the next few days, during classes, your teachers will be reviewing the different classes offered within their departments as well as talking with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year.  As you talk about the classes and what your teacher recommends they may enter that information into IC for you so that you don't have to worry about signing up for those classes as they will already be on the list for you.  

You will have a course selection sheet to help guide you in the different options available and you can use that sheet to make notes about your thoughts on what interests you and then you can highlight to help select your classes that you will then enter online.  If you would like to hear more in depth information directly from the teachers who teach particular courses, please set up a time to talk to the teacher or come to meet with them during Curriculum Night.  (Let me know if you need help finding a teacher during one of their off periods.)  Don't forget that your teacher in the same department will also be able to share a lot of insight with you about the classes options within their department even if they aren't the one who teaches it.

After you have determined which courses you would like to take, please talk it over with your parents and then login and register on Infinite Campus.  The online window for students will open this Friday (January 26th at 4pm.)  When you submit your course requests on Infinite Campus they will be saved automatically.  You will need to be sure to submit 3 alternates.  I will only use those to replace classes if your first choice selections are absolutely not possible.  

Freshmen and sophomores will be meeting with me individually during your History or Science classes.  Juniors, you will have individual meeting times.  Your parents have received an invitation to set up our time to meet in case they wanted to join us in the meeting and for those who haven't signed up, I will be sending junior students an email tomorrow morning for you to select your own meeting time during an off period that works best for you. Please be aware that some of the appointment slots I have available for juniors will be before the online registration window closes, but you must submit your requests online before our meeting!

Also, just in case you lose any of your forms, we will have extra copies posted, along with the slides from tomorrow’s presentation and the Course Planning Handbook all available for students and parents to access on the Kilbourne Counselor website – www.wkhscounselors.com – and as of tomorrow we will have it on the home page for your convenience.

Once again, I am here to help you, but I do beg for you to try to be patient with me as having more than 300 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time.

Mid-Year Reports

Seniors, there are some colleges which ask for mid-year transcripts to review your 1st semester grades in order to help them when making their admissions decisions.  If you applied to a college who requires mid-year reports and you applied using Common App then I have already uploaded your Mid-Year Transcripts this past week so that they will have them.  However, if you applied to a college through a different application system other than Common App and they are asking you to submit Mid-Year Transcripts or if it is a college that doesn't require mid-year transcripts normally, but they have specifically asked you to provide one, then I need for you to let me or Mrs. McDaniel know so that we can send a copy of your most up to date transcript ASAP.  I know that waiting for admissions decisions is hard and this is just one more piece of information that can help the colleges when making their final choices.

Graduation Requirements

Understanding the graduation requirements can feel daunting for students and parents because there are so many components involved.  With registration starting this week, having an idea of what you need to complete is essential to selecting your classes, so I wanted to take a moment and give a quick overview of the requirements to graduate.  I also wanted to point out to parents that the Lunch & Learn about these graduation requirements which was supposed to have been last Friday has been rescheduled for tomorrow due to last week's snow day so parents can join us on zoom at noon tomorrow to learn more about all of this.

Basic Academic Requirements:

• 4 credits of English
• 4 credits of Math
• 3 credits of Science
• 3 credits of Social Studies
• 1/2 credit of PE (or additional elective credit if earning the PE Waiver)
• 1/2 credit of Health
• 5 credits of Electives (anything other than the classes listed above count as electives
• 1 full year worth of Fine Art completed between grades 7-12
• Financial Literacy requirement (can be met through Personal Financial Management, Economics & Financial Literacy, Independent Living, and, for the current juniors and seniors it can also be met with IB Business HL, IB History, and Financial Algebra)

Demonstrate Comptency in English and Math:

• For most students this will be done by earning comptency scores of 684 or higher on the English 2 and Math 1 state End of Course tests.  Students can repeat these tests as needed.
• There are a range of other options for how comptency can be demonstrated, but testing is the clearest path.  If you need other options, I will be working with you to identify what pathway would work and be a viable option for you in the future.

Show Readiness by earning 2 Seals:

• There are 12 seals (9 state seals and 3 local seals) that students can try to earn.  
• All students must earn 2 seals and one of those two seals must be a state seal
• If you visit the counselor website and look at the graduation requirements page there is a link to information about all of the seals.  As you click on each seal you will be able to see the specific information about what is required to try to earn that seal.

On Wednesday you will receive a summary sheet that shows your graduation status progress.  If you or  your parents want to see it now or at any other point in time, you can always review your progress by accessing the Worthington Portal and going to My Accounts and clicking on "Student Graduation Status."  

Students of the Month

Congratulations to the 25 students who were honored earlier this month as being WKHS Students of the Month. Kilbourne students can only be selected to receive this recognition once in their high school career.

A special congratulations to "my" students who were honored. This includes (pictured Left to Right):Ali Becht, Mira Bixler, Tai Crump and Elizabeth Bennett.  I'm proud of you all!

On a separate note, how AMAZING was it to have a snow day yesterday and another long weekend?!? I was able to get caught up on stuff that seemed to find a permanent place on my "to do list" and it was nice to feel productive.  I hope you are enjoying the bonus day for the weekend as well.

Junior Students & Parents

Juniors, we are rapidly approaching the point when you will be selecting your senior year classes.  Each year as we begin the process for registering for next year's classes, I offer up the opportunity to meet for a 30 minute time block with every junior student and his/ her parents, (if your parents are interested in joining us). 

I have a multiple blocks of time set aside for these individual junior meetings:

• Thursday, February 1st (8am-6pm)
• Thursday, February 8th (3:30-8pm)
• Tuesday, February 13th (8am-6pm)
• Wednesday, February 14th (8am-4pm)
• Thursday, February 15th (8am-4pm)

They will be hectic days with back-to-back meetings, but I love the chance to meet with you and your parents to talk about the classes you have selected for your senior year and what your plans are for life after high school. I sent an e-mail out to your parents earlier this week, so talk it over with them and pick out a date and time that will work well with your schedule so that we can set up a meeting time. 

Crisis/ Suicide Prevention Lines

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

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

If you are having suicidal thoughts while at school, I hope you will come to tell me or share that information with another adult that you trust.  If you are away from school, I hope that you will reach out to your parents or some other adult who your trust.  But I know that sometimes the people closest to us can miss the level of pain we are experiencing and so I'd like to remind you that you can always call or text a crisis/ suicide hotline and there will be someone on the other end ready and willing to talk to you who can help brainstorm next steps.  The number to reach out to is super easy to remember - all you have to do is dial 988 and you will be connected to a counselor who can help.

Additionally, in recognition of how much our society has grown to depend on text messaging as a means of communication, there is also a crisis text line where you can reach out for help and support in addition to the 988 number.  To contact the crisis text line you can send a message to 741741.  You can send them any message to get the conversation started.  And I know that it can be hard to even know where to start so remember, you can always reach out even with just one word such as "4hope" (which helps connect you to someone in Ohio) or even "help or hello" and before you know it you will be communicating via text with someone else who understands what you are experiencing and is ready and able to help you.

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

Parent Lunch & Learn

The WKHS Counselors will be hosting our next Lunch and Learn Series for parents this Friday, January 19th.  This session will provide information on Understanding the Graduation Requirements.

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.

The session will begin at noon on Friday, January 19th.  The zoom link will be emailed to all parents and we will also post it on the Counselor Website on Friday morning.

We know that the graduation requirements are VERY confusing, so I hope you will make plans to join us online over zoom so we can help introduce you to the updated standards and help you learn about the educational requirements, competency requirements, and readiness requirements your son/ daughter must meet in order to graduate.

Volunteering

I have been STRUGGLING to get my feet under me this semester and that is obvious in the lack of my blog posts.  I am hoping to get that turned around this week.  Thanks for being patient with me while I was quiet on these posts.

I hope you all enjoyed your (cold) long weekend!  Being that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day I thought it was a good time to talk about volunteering and the value of giving back to others in our community.

As you begin applying to college and for scholarships there are many times that questions come up about what community service experiences you have had. And, even if not asked directly, if you had memorable experiences they can often be used to support your essay responses.

No need to panic! Your volunteer work doesn’t have to be a huge project or consist of thousands of hours of time – what is important is to get involved!  No matter what year you are, now is a great time to start working on volunteering – the experiences will help you in the long run.

Community service opportunities are as different as each individual who decides they want to help make a difference in the world around them. The sky is the limit and I encourage you to find something that inspires you.

Some volunteer ideas that could help get you started could include – community beautification projects (cleaning up parks or areas of the city), helping elderly neighbors, visiting nursing homes to perform music or talk with residents, homeless outreach, helping at the library, packing groceries for a food bank, assisting at the humane society or other animal shelters, wrapping and handing out gifts to those less fortunate, organizing and attending holiday parties for kids or the poor that would usually have nothing to celebrate, serving in a project for those who are disabled or ill (such as Make a Wish, Adventures for Wish Kids, or the Special Olympics), fundraising or recruitment events, becoming the champion for a cause and helping with awareness (Diabetes, Cancer, Organ Donation), and the list literally goes on and on. Also, don’t forget that there are several co-curricular groups at WKHS that focus on community service such as Interact Club, REACH club, Project MORE and Wolves for Cubs and you are encouraged to look into those opportunities as well.  Also, if you are trying to volunteer during the school day at WKHS, don't forget that every semester we are looking for office workers to help out in the Counseling Center.

I am anxious to hear your community service stories and the ways you are working to make a difference!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I hope that you have been enjoying your winter break.  I miss seeing you all and am looking forward to catching up with everyone when school resumes, but I have to admit, I am thankful we still have 2 more days off.

Seniors, the 2024-25 FAFSA application opened yesterday as anticipated.  They are calling it a "soft launch" in that they aren't letting everyone get in and fill it out all at the same time.  When I have checked it periodicially throughout the day I have been seeing the "waiting room" message.  Don't stress out if that is happening for you and your family too.  This is a good reminder to go ahead and get your FSA ID created (you will need one and so will your parents).  Also, because the FAFSA data that you enter isn't being released to colleges until the end of January, it takes away some of the stress of feeling like you have to log into the FAFSA and fill it out today.  Now, that being said, remember that this is something you should definitely focus on getting done and you really need to make sure that you have completed it by whenever your desired colleges have established as their priority deadlines.

For all students, remember that the start of a new semester may mean you have new classes and a new schedule.  Be sure to check Infinite Campus for your updated schedule to be ready for where you will go for your classes.

And then I wanted to share this article with you... have you been watching the bowl games?  If you are a football fan then you have likely heard conversations about the committee that picked the teams for the bowl match up's and, in particular, for the national championship playoffs.  This article talks about how that decision is similar to college admissions decisions.

I hope you and your families have been enjoying some down time to relax and recharge so that you are ready to take on the new semester of school.  Enjoy the last few days of break!