Before I close for tonight, I have to say a HUGE Thank You to Worthington Presbyterian Church. They donated all of the food to allow 40 WKHS families to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal this holiday season. We appreciate your generosity and kindness and it was such a privilege to be able to be a part of sharing that joy with others as we handed out the food today.
See you all next week!
The Monday after Thanksgiving starts the winter testing window for the End of Course tests and testing will continue through December 12th. 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 have so few days of classes left in the semester), but remember that because these tests play a critical role in you earning the graduation requirements, you want and need to try to do your best on the tests when taking them.
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.
A few reminders:
1. This is a FREE application. You do not need, nor should you, pay for someone to complete the FAFSA for you.
2. The link to complete the FAFSA is: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and you will be filling out the version for 2025-26.
3. Each student and parent will require their own FSA ID in order to sign the and submit the FAFSA application. Here is the link to request your FSA ID: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
4. Every college will have their own financial aid deadlines when they will ask for you to have your FAFSA submitted. Submitting your information in a timely manner and ahead of the deadlines is your best way to make sure you have a chance to be considered for all of the financial help that you might qualify for from the colleges.
5. There are a lot of students and families who "know" that they won't qualify for money through the FAFSA and you may wonder why we say you should still fill out the FAFSA. The reason is that there are some scholarships at various colleges that are only considered after need based aid has been distributed. If you haven't completed the FAFSA to determine what, if any, need based aid you would qualify for then they can't look at you for those other merit based scholarships. So it can be helpful to fill it out for that reason. Additionally, even if you don't qualify for grants, filling out the FAFSA will make it possible for you to be able to decide if you want to take out federal student loans to help pay for your college costs.
6. It will take you about an hour to fill out the FAFSA. So just relax, be patient and take it step by step. You can totally do this and it will feel so good to have it done and out of the way!
Please take a critical look at where you stand in each of your classes and what you need to do to finish out the quarter and begin fully preparing for exams. If your grades are not where they should be at this point in time, please make use of the resources available to you each day - the academic assistants in the Teaching & Learning Center and, most importantly, your teachers. I am also here to help you with studying strategies and tips if needed. For many students, your final grade for the semester will come down to how you finish out this quarter and how well you do on semester exams. Please don't neglect this opportunity to make the most of your remaining time.
1. You are in high school. You're still trying to figure yourself out let along what you want to do for the rest of your life.
2. You only know what you have been exposed to in your 14-18 years of life. How would you know if you might love anthropology or ecology or philosophy if you haven't had a chance to learn anything about it yet. There is so much to learn in front of you!
3. The careers you might end up selecting and pursuing may not even exist yet. With the way that AI has stormed into our lives, it is hard to imagine what all of the future technological changes will look like and how you, as a future adult in the working world, might be in careers that are new and evolving.
So why do we even both asking what you want to be? Well, part of it is likely an excitement over the future of the possibilities in front of you. Adults may be curious to see and hear what you are interested in and what excites you as options for the future. They also likely know that your future plans will change over time, but just having an idea of where your passions are currently is fun for those who care about you.
If you find yourself surrounded by extended family over the holidays and they start asking what you want to be when you grow up, you can share whatever you are currently thinking. You can tell them that you aren't sure, but are excited to start dreaming about and exploring all of the opportunities ahead of you. Or you can flip the tables on them! (Which is one of my favorite suggestions.)
If you are flipping the tables on them you can start asking them about THEIR career path, what they wanted to be when they were in high school, what they studied, what their first job was, how they transitions to various jobs or additional responsibilities over time, what they like about their job, etc. This is often nice for students because the pressure is taken off of you and the feeling that you need to have your whole life planned out.
But you can use your extended family members for potential contacts. If you know that you are interested in pursuing a career in a particular field you can share that information and then ask your family if they know anyone who works in a similar job. This can be incredibly valuable information because oftentimes students can benefit by talking to someone in their desired jobs or shadowing for a day. If your family members know of someone who works in a job that you're considering for their future, ask if they would help connect you with that person. Often your aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, or family friends are thrilled to be able to be a resource to help support you on the way towards your future path. Plus, even if they don't know of anyone off the top of their head, you never know who they might meet or come in contact with that could connect you in the future.
But, I wanted to draw seniors attention to the honors diploma requirements because I know that heading into your 2nd semester of senior year it can be tempting to request to drop classes in favor of an easier final semester of high school. Before you make that decision you should keep in mind all of your other goals - and if honors diploma is one of those goals, then you will want to be sure that dropping classes won't change your eligibility status.
For some students, earning an Honors Diploma is an important goal. I have to be honest, this is not a factor for the colleges because the honors diploma recognition isn't granted until you graduate so colleges are not considering it when making their admissions decisions. The requirements for the honors diploma listed below are established by the state department of education.
To receive an honors diploma current seniors need to fulfill 6 of the following 7 criteria:
One of the areas that I have noticed as a trend of some students falling short of meeting the honors diploma requirements is in Social Studies since only 3 credits are required for graduation so students won't take the full 4th credit needed. The other area where students frequently don't meet the designated standard is with the 1 credit of Fine Art. This is because many students rely on the fine art courses they took during middle school for their graduation requirements, but those courses do not equal high school credits. (They count for graduation, but aren't actual credits earned.) So students who want to have that requirement met for the honors diploma would need to complete the 1 credit of fine art during the high school years.
Don't forget, it would still be possible to earn an honors diploma if you were missing one of these, but you will need to make sure you fulfill all of the remaining criterion.
Also, I wanted to point out that these are the requirements for the most common pathway to the honors diploma, but there are also honors diploma pathways for students participating in the IB diploma program or in a Career Tech program at the Delaware Area Career Center and the state of Ohio also has additional pathways such as STEM, Arts, and Social Science & Civic Engagement pathways. You can check them all out here.
Remember, you don't earn the honors diploma until graduation so obviously this doesn't matter to colleges when they are evaluating your application for admission, but if it is a personal goal you have set for yourself then you want to make sure you end your high school career strong so that you reach that goal.
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. 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.
At some of the more competitive colleges - particularly those who cover all of demonstrated need for students, in addition to requiring the FAFSA, many of those colleges will also require that students and families will submit the CSS profile. The FAFSA helps colleges determine federal aid, but the CSS profile helps colleges determine institutional aid. The CSS profile typically asks for a lot more detailed information from families than the FAFSA does. And while the FAFSA is free to complete, there are fees associated with the CSS profile, but fee waivers are available to students who qualify and are on free/ reduced lunch.
Usually this is a topic students figure out as they are going through the whole financial aid application process and the CSS profile is just another step in that process, but with the timing of the FAFSA being delayed, I realized that the CSS profile dates and timing haven't changed and so I wanted to encourage you to double check if your intended colleges are requiring the CSS profile and to watch your deadlines closely so that you don't miss them while waiting for the FAFSA to be released.
When students and parents are completing the FAFSA, you will each need to have an FSA ID number. This number will allow you to electronically sign your FAFSA and in the future it would let you sign promissory notes as well as complete future FAFSA's.
The student and parents will each create their own separate numbers. You cannot use the same e-mail addresses for the creation of the FSA ID so if you don't have an e-mail address and have been using your parents e-mail in the past then this is the ideal time to create your own e-mail account.
You will make your own challenge questions to help you access your number if you forget it in the future so it is important to write down those challenge questions and answers to make sure you will remember it down the road. I recommend that students and parents make a folder related to FAFSA where you store all of this information so that you will always have it when you might need it.
Here is a link to create your FSAID numbers: https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch
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The Lunch and Learn series is set up so that we focus on one particular topic of interest and share information for about 15-20 minutes and then give 10-15 minutes to answer questions that you may have related to that topic. The goal is that in just 30 minutes, parents will walk away more aware of the topic at hand and how it impacts their kids.
The Lunch & Learn session will run from 12 to 12:30pm over zoom so that parents can grab their lunch to eat while tuning in to learn about the topic of the month. The zoom link will be posted to the Counselor Website on Friday morning and will be emailed to all WKHS parents/ guardians.
I hope to see you on zoom on Friday, November 15th at noon for the Executive Functioning Lunch & Learn!
In high school, participating in sports is very common for students. Think about it chances are good that you or one of your friends have participated in a sport at Kilbourne. Perhaps you even know someone who is striving for the 12 Seasons of Greatness award by competing in 3 sports all 4 years of high school.
To help you with the college financial aid process we will have a Financial Aid Meeting coming up, one week from today, on Thursday, November 14th at 7:00pm in the WKHS Auditorium. We are fortunate enough to have Faith Phillips, a financial aid director for OSU Newark and COTC, sharing her expertise with our parents and students. She always has useful insight and is able to present it in engaging ways that will help you in completing your financial aid application.
Because the FAFSA has so many new aspects and tends to create a lot of questions, this is likely an important night for senior families - even if you have older siblings who have been through the FAFSA process before. I hope you will make plans to join us on November 14th!
The test will begin promptly by 8:40 and you will most likely finish testing during 5th period. (If you have lunch 4th period we will be sure you have time to eat and give you pass to go to 5th period.)
I was very happy to see so many of my students signed up to be taking the practice test for the ACT and I wish you all good luck! I hope it will be a meaningful practice opportunity for you in preparation for future college admissions tests. Good luck on the Pre-ACT!
I am not sure if we will wake up tomorrow knowing the outcome of the election or if things will still be too close to call, but I do anticipate that there will be LOTS of people on TV and social media stirring up drama, emotions and stress. Remember, political talk has dominated social media and the news for months leading up to today and so it is normal to expect that this will continue in the months following the election as well. It is helpful to remember that ratings and clicks matter to those working in the news media and while they are trying to inform us about the news, they are also trying to boost their ratings at the same time. As a result, it is important to be careful to prevent yourself from getting sucked down into a dark place by watching too much news or by engaging in unproductive, unhealthy interactions. Worrying can give you something to do, but often it isn't helping you. So once you acknowledge that your anxiety is there for a reason, it is important to shift your focus to things within your control.
How can you do this? By staying present. Feel what you are feeling – whatever that might be and allow those feelings to have the space in your body and mind. Express those feelings in ways that are safe, healthy and productive. Actively work to embrace and spread joy as a way to counter the negativity born from the negative political battles. You control what you contribute to society, which can be as simple as saying hi to your neighbor or holding open the door for a stranger. You also control what you do to help yourself. Below are some notes from the Crisis Text Line on ways that you can help yourself during this stressful time.
Acknowledge and accept your feelings. It is completely normal to feel stressed or disappointed. Recognize and accept these feelings and allow yourself to process everything. If you’re sad, be sad.
Talk to others. Remember that you’re not the only person feeling this way. Try not to isolate yourself and open up to someone you trust.
Write it down. If you don’t feel like talking, write it down. Pouring your feelings out on paper is a good way to unravel your thoughts. If you don’t have access to pen and paper, there are great journaling apps. Most phones also have a “notes” feature you could use.
Unplug from the news and social media. Put some space between yourself and the election coverage to prevent an overload of emotions. It’s understandable to want to be in the know, but set a timer for how long you’ll indulge in the media. Invest your spare time into self-care instead.
Practice self-care. Self-care is extremely important in all aspects of life. This could mean curling up with your favorite book, watching your favorite shows, exercising, or taking a nice, long, bath. It can be anything as long as it is an activity that disconnects your thoughts from current events.
Regarding self-care, I will add to that suggestion to at least do the easy things – move your body, stretch and take some deep breaths. It sounds simple, but it makes a difference.
Over time, as you work to understand and adjust to the stress and the election outcomes, I would like to remind you that this is more of an “AND” situation – not an “or” situation. You can be disappointed about the outcome AND still have hope that better days will be ahead. You can be relieved by the outcome AND still recognize that others are not feeling that same way. You can be frustrated by the opposing beliefs that someone else around you holds AND still choose to be accepting of them as people. We all have individual responsibilities and steps to take to make the world a better place – so please, in the weeks ahead, do nice things for yourself and the people in your life including those who share your perspective and those who do not.
Before I end, I want to share that part of what I love about my job as a school counselor is that I get to know so many of you well. I love your passion, your intellect, your interests, your excitement, and the fact that NONE of you are exactly like anyone else. You each have your own unique outlook and perspective. You each have value that you contribute in ways that only you can. In my heart, in my office, and in our school, you are respected and appreciated for all of the diverse backgrounds, ideas and outlooks that you hold. My greatest wish is that each of you will know that YOU ALL MATTER HERE!
On Friday morning, 25 students were 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.
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