Lockdown Reflection

I have thought a lot about it and tried to decide what I wanted to say about the lockdown situation we had last week and part of me wanted to just not address it on my blog... but I also believe that my blog is the place where I try to reflect on all of the things happening at school and this was a big one.

Thursday was scary. 

It is scary to think that something bad could happen in our school. There is so much in our world that is negative, beyond our control, and overwhelming to even think about. And then, on Thursday, we were all forced to react to the possibility that the scariness of the rest of the world was happening at Kilbourne - a place we all love, feel safe in, and where we are surrounded by friends and classmates. 

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge that those feelings of fear you were feeling during the lockdown were (and are) valid and real.

I wish none of us had to know a world where scary, unpredictable things can happen. And yet we do. And so that is why we have drills, so that we can practice and think about what it would look like if a real crisis took place. Because I suspect that many of you, like me, weren't really thinking a lot at first - you were just moving and doing the things you have practiced during lockdown drills.

There is no doubt that everything didn't go as planned or expected. There isn't anything good in that except that we are now learning from it. At school we spend a lot of time encouraging students to fail forward, to try hard in your classes and when it all goes wrong, to figure out where things fell apart and work to correct that for the future. I promise, the WKHS administration are working hard to get the various people involved with aspects of the system that didn't work properly to make corrections and get it right so that you will feel even more safe and reassured that should something ever happen at WKHS the systems designed to help keep you protected will work.

You all know that there wasn't actually a crisis that caused the lockdown. But there could have been. And that is yet another reason why it is always so important to speak up if you see something that doesn't look or feel right. You don't want anything bad happening at your school or to you or your friends. We have to look out for one another, support one another, notice if something isn't right and work to fix it. 

If you are still feeling stressed and uneasy about last Thursday's lockdown, I want to remind you that my door is open to you and I am here to talk about those feelings with you. I am so thankful that this wasn't a true crisis and that we are able to process all of this together now with that knowledge. 

Character Strengths

I am always on the look out for new ideas and approaches that students can use to help launch them into their college essays. Essays can be tough for so many students because you aren't used to writing about yourself. And, although this isn't accurate, too many of you also tend to think that there isn't anything unique, interesting or engaging that you could write about.

Let me clear that up right here and now. YOU are the only you there is which makes you unique. YOU are interesting in how you think and what you enjoy. And YOU are engaging in how you live your life to put those interests into play. And even if you are overthinking this (as some of you are prone to do), remember that you can talk about any part of your life and share why that represents an important value or characteristic that helps to make you YOU.

I had heard about the VIA Character Strengths and decided to check it out. Interestingly, when I went to log in I found that I had made an account before and I could see my results, but I went ahead and took the survey again just to see what the process was like and how my results would compare. It was a free, easy process to complete. You go through a series of questions and identify how much or how little that represents you. Remember, with stuff like this, it is always better to try to truly differentiate your answers. The more in the middle you give for everything the less accurate the results tend to be in the end. After completing the questionnaire you will be able to download your VIA Character Strengths profile which gives you a ranked order of what you have identified as being your top strengths.

If you are feeling stuck with trying to identify what you could write about, perhaps doing some more self-reflection activities like the VIA Character Strengths questionnaire could help you come up with ideas on how those strengths show up in your life. If you're interested in checking it out, go to their website at: https://www.viacharacter.org/ 

Columbus Suburban College Fair

The Columbus Suburban College Fair is coming up a week from Sunday on Sunday, September 21st from 1:00 - 3:30pm at The Capital Center on Captial University's Campus (2360 E. Mound St., Columbus, OH 43209).  This is the largest local fall college fair and a great opportunity for our students.

College fairs give you a chance to meet with admissions representatives in person. They are all gathered together in one place in order to meet you and to answer your questions. Many schools also keep track of the number of interactions/ meetings you have with their admissions representatives during your search and application process so that they can gauge your interest level in their school.

Be prepared before you get to the college fair. Know that there will be far more schools than you are interested in or can even truly take in during one afternoon, so it is useful to come up with a list of colleges that you would be interested in learning more about by doing a search that looks for different criteria that seems to be a good fit for you. With that list in hand you now have a starting point for the colleges that you would like to talk to during the fair.

All students are asked to register with Strive Scan by visiting www.strivefair.com because this will allow for you to have a bar code specific to you.  Then, when you are at the college fair next weekend and you talk to a college that interests you, they can simply scan your barcode and that will allow the college to know of your interest. I promise you, this is a MAJOR improvement over the days when students had to hand write out interest cards at each college table.

I encourage you to check out the Columbus Suburban College Fair information on the front page of the WKHS Counselor website for more information about this year's event.

A few other hints:

It can be useful to ask the same questions of each college so that you can compare them and their responses appropriately and I encourage you to consider thinking about the things you most want to know about the school and can’t find in a brochure or website. Everyone is different so your questions are going to be different depending upon your interests, but if you are really interested in playing a club sport in college, you might want to ask about their club/ intramural program and the numbers of students that participate. You may want to ask what the top 2 or 3 majors are on campus as that will give you an idea of what most of the students are interested in studying. If you are undecided about what you would like to study, it would be a great idea to ask them what support and services are available to help students in exploring different majors.

Take something with you to be able to jot some notes on - I suggest a pen or pencil over a phone because even though your phones are amazing for the notes app, the impression it may give to colleges is that you're not engaged in what is happening and are side tracked and paying attention to your phone instead. It is a crazy event with so much happening, so if you don’t write it down as you go you won’t remember much after the fact. The admissions representatives are giving you a small look of the college – what do you think following each glimpse?

When you are walking through the college fair with the list of schools that you want to talk to don’t forget to leave some time for browsing – you may realize that a school you had not previously considered has just what you are looking for in a college. It can be easy for us to get caught in the cycle of only looking at specific schools because that is what “everyone” else is considering.

Ideally, you will be able to avoid getting caught up in the crowds and confusion so that you don’t walk away from the college fair with a lot of brochures, but no real ideas or impressions about which colleges most interest you. At the end of the college fair you will likely have a bag filled with information about colleges. One of the best college fair articles suggested, “Don’t succumb to the temptation of just piling all those brochures in some obscure corner of your bedroom. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a day or two away from the college search. Then get out all of those brochures, along with the notes you took at the fair, and read through them. You may find that some colleges aren’t as interesting as you first thought. Others only look better the more you research them.”

If you have never been to a college fair before, I admit that it often feels like mass chaos.  But it is also the opportunity for you to gain a lot of useful information from a large number of schools in a short period of time.  Good luck and happy college searching… I can’t wait to hear about the schools that spark your interest!

Build My Future

Have you considered a career in a construction related field? Build My Future is a field trip opportunity for current 10th, 11th and 12th graders to learn more about many different residential construction related careers.

These careers include: Roofing, Tiling, Excavating, Landscaping, Welding, Carpentry, Electrical, HVAC, Design, Window installation, Flooring, Architecture, Masonry, Exterior cladding, and Interior finishes.

Students will have the chance to participate in interactive labs with experts in the various fields and to learn more about the career paths available to you for the future.

The field trip will take place on October 1st. Space is limited and registration is open now. If you are interested, please be sure to sign up on the Interest Form that is on the front page of the Counselor Website.

Strength = Connection

This week is national suicide prevention awareness week. You have been/ will be hearing announcements daily to remind you that YOU MATTER! You matter to your family and friends. You matter to your teachers and classmates. You matter in our school and community. It is so easy to get caught in the lie that you are just a number, but you are so much more than that!

One of the greatest strengths that I love about Kilbourne and Worthington as a whole is how all of you show up for one another in times of struggle. We have witnessed that over and over again in big and small ways. Maybe it is giving a smile to someone in the hall or holding the door open for someone or encouraging and listening to a friend who is having a bad day. It is so easy to forget how much you are making a difference in the world around you, but you are having that impact.

Tomorrow there will be a PACK period during which time your teachers will be showing a video about the importance of suicide prevention. The reminder that we hope you take away is that if you are ever worried about a friend (or yourself), remember that help is available. You can ask about how your friend is doing, you can an adult and we can check in on the friend, or both!

Aside from the PACK period which is a district-wide initiative, the WKHS Counselors will also be in the commons during all of the lunch periods tomorrow with goodies and give-aways connected to suicide prevention and the 988 crisis line.

If you or someone you care about is ever in emotional distress or having thoughts of suicide, help is only three numbers away: 988. This is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline—available 24/7, free, and confidential. Since its launch in 2022, the Lifeline has supported more than 17.5 million people and answered more than 12 million calls. 

Our greatest strength is connection—reach out, lean in, and know you belong!

Application Deadline Terms

As you start through the college application process you will be exposed to a variety of new terms. One area that can be confusing is what all of the different application deadlines such as Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision and Rolling Admissions mean.

Early Decision

The key to remember with Early Decision is that it is a final decision and a COMMITMENT! Applying to a school in this program is considered a contract between the student and the college. You can apply to only one school as an Early Decision school. If you are accepted, you are promising to withdraw all other applications. Few students will ultimately apply to a school Early Decision because you are promising to attend the school - without seeing their financial aid package - and most students are not 100% certain that they want to attend one particular school. If you are considering applying to a school under the Early Decision program, please stop in and talk to me.

Early Action

This is a non-binding option and significantly more students will apply to schools using this option. Early Action has an earlier application deadline and students will learn if they have been accepted to the school much earlier than regular decision dates. (Some schools will defer an admissions decision to the Regular Decision deadline if the student is on the bubble and they want to wait to see how the rest of the applications will look.) Early Action is not a contract and, as a student, you are not obligated to attend school at that institution.

Restrictive Early Action

This is a non-binding option that is much less common. Sometimes also called Single Choice Early Action, with Restrictive Early Action you are not locking yourself into attending the school if you get admitted like you would be doing with Early Decision, but you are communicating to the college that this is your number one choice school. If you apply Restrictive Early Action to a college then it means you cannot apply Early Action or Early Decision to any other private colleges.

Regular Decision

This is the deadline that is often publicized from colleges and it is the actual latest deadline to apply to that school. This means you are applying and will hear your decision on their regular time schedule. There are no commitments or early notifications. It is important to note that the Regular Admissions deadlines are often AFTER the deadline for scholarship consideration – which adds in a whole additional set of deadlines to watch, but that is a different story for another day.

Rolling Admissions

This means that the colleges look at each application as they arrive and they make a decision as they go. So, if you apply quickly to a school with rolling admissions you are generally going to receive your admissions decision quickly. Schools that function with a rolling admissions policy of evaluating applications will still generally have a regular decision deadline which is the final date that the college is willing to accept any applications for the fall class.

It is really important to be watching your deadlines carefully – I can’t stress that enough! If you are struggling to find the deadlines for different schools, please stop in to see me.

College Reps at WKHS

Every year college admissions representatives travel across the country to various high schools in order to meet with students and to talk about the opportunities available at their campus.  It always surprises me that more students are not flocking to these chances to meet with the admissions representatives.  Because even though you are technically there to learn about what they have to say about their school, perhaps even more importantly, you are expressing your interest and desire to attend their college! The admissions representatives who are traveling to the schools keep track of who they see. Many colleges can go back and tell you exactly how many times a student has come to tour campus, contacted the admissions office, or had an official interaction with a representative of the school. You never really know what can make a difference when it comes to admissions or getting a scholarship from a school, so if you are able to attend a meeting with a representative, it can only help you.  And, as if that isn't enough, at many colleges the regional representatives who make the visits are also the ones reading your applications and making admissions decision recommendations.  You have the chance to make a positive impression on them when they are at Kilbourne.  My hope, above all, is that the impression they leave WKHS with is that when you apply they don't look back and think, "hmm, they weren't even interested enough to come and meet with me when I was at their school."

College reps will start their visits at Kilbourne this week.  We have a list of the upcoming college visits posted in the Upcoming Events calendar on the Counselor website so that you can see which schools are coming to WKHS.  There are about 50 schools already scheduled day one includes some big interest schools such as Miami University (Ohio) and Dartmouth. If there are schools that you'd like to meet with, please be sure to sign up on the google sheet within the event calendar and then write down the dates and times so that you don't forget to come to the Counseling Center.  When you get there, a secretary will introduce you to the admissions representative and after your meeting with them is over the secretary will give you a pass to return back to class.

Juniors and Seniors have unlimited opportunities to attend these sessions. Please be reasonable though. If a visit is scheduled during a time when you have class, you should get your teacher’s approval in advance of attending the information session. You are responsible for all missed work and teachers are not supposed to excuse you from tests, quizzes, or labs. 

Freshmen and Sophomores are also invited to attend the sessions with the college representatives, but are limited to participating in the visits during your lunch or Academic Prep periods. 

These are great opportunities to talk directly with the college admissions representatives so please take advantage of their visits!  While meeting with a representative cannot replace the actual experience of walking on campus, seeing the people, and experiencing the classes, it can be a very important piece of your information gathering process. 

Life is all about choices

At the start of every school year I spend a lot of time talking with students about class selection and, for seniors, about college selections for where they will apply. There can be many hard choices involved with deciding what classes are most important to you when you also want to have lunch with friends or the opportunity to sleep in during 1st period. But I actually believe that wrestling with those decisions is great practice for the bigger choices that you'll have for the rest of your life.

Every time you say "yes" to something in your life, it also means you are saying "no" to something else. What do I mean by that? If I choose to say yes to scrolling through social media on my phone, then I am choosing to say no to going to bed earlier and getting more sleep. If I choose to say yes to sleeping in, then I am also choosing to say no to getting up and moving my body before school so that I am more focused throughout the day. If I choose to say yes to going out to eat for lunch every day, then I am choosing to say no to sticking to my budget of what I can afford.

I intentionally picked 3 examples that were saying yes to something I'd enjoy when the consequence is something I probably need more of and tend to neglect. But life choices aren't always that clear cut.

For example, I can say yes to going to college at College A, but that means I am saying no to all of the other colleges that I might like as well. I can say yes to taking a class that sounds interesting to explore for my future, but at the same time I might have to say no to continue in a class that I have been involved with for a long time and that can feel scary. Or perhaps it is being forced to say yes to one extracurricular activity over another even though you wish you'd have time for both.

There are so many different aspects that can come into play. Sometimes the choice is between what you want now and what you want in the future. Sometimes the choice is between 2 unknowns. Sometimes the choice is simply to trust yourself and step forward with faith in your ability to make decisions. You're getting lots of opportunities to practice making decisions now and that will only help you as you move forward into the future. So please focus on trying to make the best decisions you can now in the little decisions so that you will have confidence in your ability to make the bigger decisions as they arise. And remember, it can be hard to say no to something that you'd enjoy, but you are giving yourself other great opportunities with all of the Yes's that you choose.

Common App Workshop Reminder

Seniors, just a quick reminder that tomorrow (Thursday) at 7:45am is our final Common App 101 Workshop.  Please be sure to bring your laptop or chromebook with you because you will be working on your actual Common App application during the time together.  We will be holding this work session in Room 201 and look forward to seeing you bright and early tomorrow morning!

PSAT Registration

The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT and the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship Competition. This test will be administered free of charge here at WKHS on October 14, 2025.

This is a great opportunity for students to begin to assess their progress toward college and career readiness standards. All junior students are strongly encouraged to take this test free of charge and it is also open for sophomores as well.

Students can register for the PSAT at bit.ly/PSATsignup25.  The deadline to register is September 12 at 3:20pm.

If students would like to practice and prepare for the PSAT, CollegeBoard and the KHAN Academy are offering a free supplemental practice tests. Information for this can be obtained online at https://www.khanacademy.org/sat and https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice

September 1st

I hope you had a great long weekend and had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather. It will be nice to have a shorter week ahead. But what I found myself thinking multiple times throughout the day today was, "I can't believe it is September 1st!" Obviously just the way the first few weeks of school have already flown past, but also realizing that some of the seniors have college application deadlines that are 6 weeks to 2 months away is mind-boggling.

Because time always gets away from us, I want to remind you that it is important to start working on your applications now. Here are a few steps you can take this week to help yourself be more prepared for your application deadlines.

1. Log into Common App and fill out the "easy" parts. Just go ahead and knock that out. You likely did a lot of the easy questions in the main Common App section during the Common App 101 workshop, but we didn't spend time on the individual college sections and that is important to work on as well.

2. Start brainstorming your essay ideas. This likely starts by figuring out how many essays you're going to need and what aspects of yourself you are going to show in the various prompts. Remember, you can come meet with me if you want to talk through some of what you're thinking as you're looking at your essay requirements.

3. In the Recommenders and FERPA section of your Common App, go ahead and assign me as your counselor. Please be sure to spell my name and email address correctly when you submit that.

4. Fill out your transcript release form on the Counselor Website. This is an easy step that is required for each college and so you might as well just knock that part out of the way now.

5. Figure out if any of your colleges want a recommendation letter and, if so, how many they want and from whom. Then it is time to ASK those people if they'd be willing and able to write a letter on your behalf. 

If you feel like you're making progress on those 5 items and want more steps, please just stop by and see me and I can give you a personalized step-by-step list of other application items that you can start working on now.

College Essay Guy

Anyone who knows me knows how much I genuinely enjoy learning, reading, and expanding my knowledge about what can better help students in all aspects of their lives. College applications is a huge part of that. And college admissions is an ever changing field.

I love College Essay Guy.

He provides amazing resources, great videos, and incredible tips to help students in putting their best foot forward in college applications.

Last night he hosted a webinar on "How to stand out on your college essays this fall" and while I couldn't watch it live because of Open House, I was able to watch it later and I thought you might be interested in seeing it too. 

It feels like it has been a long week, but tomorrow is finally Friday, it is the WKHS vs TWHS football game, and we get a long weekend!

Meet the Teacher Night

Tomorrow night, (Wednesday) WKHS will host our annual Meet the Teacher night for parents/ guardians. This event is sponsored by our PTO.

This is a night when your parents can come through school, follow your schedule, and meet all of your teachers. Meet the Teacher part of the evening will be over by 9pm. Each class will be 10 minutes in length and yes, your parents will have the same 5 minute passing time that you have during the day. (Hopefully they won't get lost and be late or else they could end up with lots of tardies!) :-)

Here is the schedule for the evening:

Welcome & Introduction in Main Gym by Principal, Aric Thomas: 6:45pm

1st period - 7:00 - 7:10

2nd period - 7:15 - 7:25

3rd period - 7:30 - 7:40

4th period - 7:45 - 7:55

5th period - 8:00 - 8:10

6th period - 8:15 - 8:25

7th period - 8:30 - 8:40

8th period - 8:45 - 8:55

Please make sure you give your parents a screenshot copy of your schedule or at least write down the room numbers for all of your classes so they know where they are heading for the evening!  Of course, parents, if your son/ daughter forget to give you a copy of their schedule, you can also print it off off on Infinite Campus.  We will not have schedules available to hand out so this is a really important step for families to make the most of Meet the Teacher Night!

Please make sure your parents know about this evening because I know many of them will want to attend and they usually like putting a face with a name so that if you are talking about a test in Mr. ____'s class or an assignment for Mrs. ____'s class they will be able to keep it straight.

Class Rank

When completing college applications you will find that most colleges will ask “What is your class rank?” and if they can’t get you to give them an exact rank they might also ask you for a percentile ranking. (Some schools may not ask you and may ask on the counselor form that I am required to complete for you.) The official answer is “We Do Not Rank.”

That is what I write on all of the forms that I complete for you and what you should indicate on your application – UNLESS you are one of the students with a grade point average of a 4.0 or higher for your high school career. If you have greater than a 4.0, then you are automatically ranked #1 in the class. (So yes, that would mean that there are multiple Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores ranked first in their respective class.)

As you already know, WKHS is an academically competitive high school and we would not want a class ranking to hurt you in any way. For example, a GPA at WKHS might rank in the top 20%, but at a less competitive school the same GPA might rank in the top 5 or 10%. So, unless you have a 4.0 or better, do yourself a favor and write “Do Not Rank” when completing your applications.

Confidentiality

Having safe adults that you can talk to and trust is an important aspect of navigating life as a high schooler. In addition to your parents and teachers, I hope to work to be able to earn your trust so that I can also be one of those safe people in your life.

It is important to know that there are limits to confidentiality. Some of those limits are long-standing, consistent aspects. If you are at risk to yourself or someone else, I must report it. If someone is harming you (abuse or neglect), I must report it.

What is new in limits to confidentiality are some of the new Ohio laws that I must follow. If you share information with me related to gender - such as wanting to use a different name or pronouns, then I must share that information with your parents.

Another new requirement within the Ohio law is that I must notify your parents if you have had a "substantial change" academically, physically, or emotionally. 

Knowing that your trust is important, I want to make sure you understand that these new laws and requirements are in place. All of it is with the goal of helping to make sure you have as many positive, supportive adults in your life as possible. So if you have any questions about confidentiality, please don't hesitate to ask!

Senior College Presentation

Seniors, the questions about your college applications are coming into me fast and furious... and I love it! I love that so many of you are on top of things with your applications and are trying to figure out what to do. But, with there being so many of you, it is really important that you all start with the same foundational knowledge. As a result, I cannot stress how important the Senior College Information Presentation is to get everyone on the same page with next steps in your application process.

This presentation will take place this Thursday, August 21st, at 7pm. We will be hosting it via zoom so that we can also record the presentation for anyone who cannot attend live. (I hope you and your parents will try to attend live though because I genuinely think there is a lot of value of participating in the session together.)

There are so many questions about applying to college like: "How do I request to have my transcript sent to my colleges? How do I make a positive impression with admissions reps? What is the difference between a recommendation form and a recommendation letter and how do I make sure the right one is included with my application? What is the difference between Early Action and Early Decision and which should I use when applying? Am I applying to enough or too many colleges?" During this presentation we will aim to address all of these questions and so many more!

This presentation is an important evening for all seniors applying to college and their families. Seniors are encouraged to attend with a parent/ guardian.

We emailed out the zoom link to all senior student and parent emails this afternoon and will send another email reminder out on Thursday. I hope you will plan to join us for this session!

Picture Day

I know that there were many students who were unable to have their photo taken during the schedule pick up nights. If the lines were too long or you were unable to attend on schedule pick up nights, it is still important that you get your picture taken. Not only are the pictures used for the yearbook and in Infinite Campus, but they are also used on your ID's which will allow you to access the WKHS sporting events for free.

Picture Make-ups for those of you who weren't able to have your picture taken yet for this school year will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, August 19th during all lunch periods. They will be taking these pictures in the Golf Simulator Room which is the old nurse's/ health office in the Art/ Tech hallway. There will be signs posted to help direct you to the right location. 

If you haven't yet had your picture taken, please be sure to make time during your lunch period to go and get this step marked off of your to-do list.

Last Day to Change Schedules

Do you feel ready for a 5 day week of school?  I am excited to start feeling like life settles down into more of a routine with all of you being established in your classes for the year.  Along those lines, I want to make sure that you all understand that tomorrow (Monday) is the last day to add a class for the first semester.  So, after tomorrow, you won't be able to drop and add something else into your day until we reach semester break at the end of December.  As a result, it is really important that you make sure you see me or email me tomorrow if you are wanting to drop/ add something in your schedule.

And We're Underway...

The first day of school was a success! Hopefully you loved all of your classes, found everything without a problem, enjoyed connecting with your friends, and are looking forward to a great year ahead.

I enjoyed having a chance to say hello to a lot of students - most of whom were coming to discuss schedule change requests. Remember, we cannot change teachers. If classes are full, I cannot overload them. And, in what seemed to be one of the surprises to a lot of kids today, not every class is offered every period. In fact, many classes are only offered 1-2 times in total which can make it really difficult to change schedules at all.

If you are seeking a schedule change now that school is in session you will need to fill out the Schedule Change Request form and get it signed by a parent. You have until Monday to make any changes, but after that you are in the classes for the semester.

I am excited for another year to be underway and I'll be so happy when all of you are in and settled in your classes and no longer feeling like you need to make changes to your schedules because it will also allow you to build connections with your teachers and classmates. I hope this will be your best year yet!

Back to School

Your summer is officially over and tonight is a School Night... which means many of you most likely have to try to completely flip your sleep schedule.  I know it will be hard, but please try to go to bed early tonight because the first few weeks of adjusting to being back at school full time tend to be exhausting.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you tomorrow!  It will be so good to have everyone back in the building again. Kilbourne is a great place to work, but it truly is amazing because of our students and so it will be so nice to have you all together with us again. Even just having the freshmen in the building today brought life and spark back to the building. Lexi is definitely anxious to see all of you!  She doesn't understand where her friends went for the summer so be sure to stop by the counseling center and say hi to Lexi and me.

Construction Continues

Do you know that time period after you start cleaning your room when everything somehow seems to be messier than before you started? I like to think about the construction at WKHS as being a lot like that. Right now, we are in a bit of limbo. I know, you have been being flexible and adjusting to rotating classrooms being open/ closed for over a year now, but the end is coming... just not quite yet.

As you may be aware, the location of the Library at WKHS and where the Counseling/ Administrative areas are will be flipping. They have asked us to box up all of our stuff out of the counseling center so that we would be ready to move, but the space in the new area isn't done yet. And so we are currently still going to be in our old offices, but they won't look the same. And, quite honestly, it doesn't feel the same when everything is pretty sterile and there are stacks of boxes everywhere. But this is temporary. 

So please know that the Counseling Center space won't look or feel normal, but it is still a safe space for you to come, talk, share, vent, and celebrate. And then later this fall when we move into the new space, you'll be among the first who get to check it out and help to make the new space feel comfortable and welcoming.

I appreciate your flexibility as we navigate this transition. It will be awesome after it is done... we just have to be patient until we get there. And if the surroundings feel stressful and overwhelming to you, just let me know and we can always take a walk and talk elsewhere in the building.

Phones Off. Friends On.

By now I am sure that you have all heard about the new laws in Ohio and therefore rules in Worthington that we will be following for this school year related to cell phones... basically, you aren't allowed to be using phones at all during the school day.

I know that at first this will likely create some anxiety among students and possibly even parents. Change is hard. The phones have become an extension of ourselves and the data about the number of times that we tap our phone to make sure we haven't missed any alerts even though we haven't received notifications is confirmation enough about how addicted we are to our phones. 

As we make this transition, know that it is normal to feel skeptical or uneasy about how this will work. There may be legitimate concerns like how can I reach my parent/ child in the day if it is an emergency, but in cases of emergency we will be able to help support you in the offices and with the landline phones. If you really need to reach your parent (or they really need to reach you) we will help to facilitate that communication. There is no question that part of the uneasy feeling comes from the times of discomfort when we aren't really feeling like we are connected to people around us and so jumping on our phones allows us to escape the present moment... but remember, EVERYONE around you will be feeling the same way and seeking connections from others around them too.

What about lunch time or in the hallways? Yep, no cell phones there too. And that is where I actually think the concepts of "Phones Off. Friends On." is going to pay off the most. You want to know what is happening with your friends, awesome, come to school and be present with them. You want to de-stress and power off your brain, great, let's focus on developing some new and different strategies that don't require you to be on your phone... which will help you now and for the rest of your life. There is no doubt that everyone will immediately be more approachable in the commons when people aren't just looking down at their phones. So who knows, maybe you're going to find a new forever friend that you never would have had the chance to meet and get to know if it wasn't for this new rule. 

Be Here Now is one of my favorite reminders... to be present with the people I am around at any given moment in time. To savor in the moments, the memories, the simplicity of life - no matter how boring or exciting. Because the people around me (and you) all deserve to have our time and attention just like you deserve to have that from those around you. And I am sure you have had times where you felt like someone was only halfway paying attention to you because they were also on their phone at the same time. Without phones, the effort to be present and "Be here now" will be a little bit easier and for that reason, I am confident that the district's call for "Phones Off. Friends On." will prove to be true. 

Remember, if you are feeling stressed about this change, I am here to listen and give you a safe place to share those fears and frustrations. Change is hard, but you will get through this adjustment. (In case it helps, remember that it is actually kind of like going back to middle school rules because you weren't allowed to use your phones there either and you survived that and MS years are way harder than HS years.)

Common App 101 Workshop Reminder

Seniors, just a quick reminder that tomorrow at 1:30pm is our first Common App 101 Workshop.  Please be sure to bring your laptop or chromebook with you because you will be working on your actual Common App application during the time together.  We will be holding this work session in Room 201 and look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Schedule Changes

Every year the week between schedule pick up days to the first days of the school year are filled with students asking about making changes to their schedules. I am happy to try to help facilitate schedule change requests, but I need to make sure you know a few things...

1. We are not authorized to make any teacher changes.  Sorry.  I can't move you from one teacher to another teacher's class.  I know that we all have favorite teachers from previous years or teachers that our siblings had that we hoped to have too.  I get it, but the administration works really hard to balance all schedules with timing and course sections and they don't want us to undermine that work by making things unbalanced. 

2. I cannot overload classes.  If a class is full, there is no way for me to add you into the class. Think about it, you know how packed many of the classes are and how many desks are in the room.  Each teacher and each period can only have so many students.

3. You need to have your graduation requirement classes. Obviously a big end goal of your classes is to graduate and so those take priority over every other request.

4. If the classes you have requested are during 1st or 8th period then I cannot give you 1st or 8th period off.  I'm sorry.  I know that a lot of juniors and seniors hope for late arrival or early release, but the only way the master schedule works when the administrators build it is for classes to be spread across all 8 periods.  They focus on eliminating as many conflicts as possible and so that sometimes means a class that is only offered once per day ends up being in 1st or 8th period.

5. I know that a lot of times the hopes and expectations aren't in alignment with what the reality is when you first see your schedule.  Pause and give yourself a little bit of time to process through it.  It can be hard when you think that you're the only one in a particular lunch (I promise you're not) or that you don't have any classes with your friends. Every year I end up encouraging kids to just go to class and give it a try and see who else is in their classes and they realize that a friend they had classes with a year or two ago is also in that class and they are given the chance to rekindle the friendship again. Just don't panic when you see your schedule.

6. If you want to change levels from AP/ IB/ Honors classes that had summer work to other classes without summer work, remember that you are still responsible for completing those summer assignments and the grade will go with you into the new class. (So if you're doing all of that work for the class, are you sure you really don't want to just stick with the class you had requested a few months ago?)

7. If you want to request a schedule change, stop and see me after you pick up your schedule - I will be in one of the classrooms upstairs during the schedule pick up times and am happy to meet with you. Come see me!

Schedule Pick Up

Is anyone else feeling a little overwhelmed by the fact that school starts next week? Somehow I suspect it isn't just me! I'd imagine it will start to feel real that summer is coming to a close when you come to pick up your schedules this week.

Due to the ongoing construction at WKHS, schedule pick up will look a little bit different than past years in that it will all take place on the 2nd floor and it will be held during the evening so that we aren't in the way of the construction workers.

The process is paperless again this year which means that your emergency medical information, health forms, and athletic forms need to be updated online BEFORE coming through the schedule pick up lines.  Those forms will all be on the Worthington Schools website (not counselor website).

Students and families are invited to come pick up your schedules, get your school pictures taken, and navigate all of the other stations (such as textbook pick up, vision & hearing screening, etc) on Wednesday, August 6th and Thursday, August 7th from 5-7:30pm.

When possible, they would ideally like for 9th and 11th graders to come on the 6th and 10th and 12th graders to come on the 7th, but if your schedule prohibts you from attending on your preferred date, please know that you can come on either evening.

Sorry, I can't email out copies ahead of time. And I know that every year there are questions about what you should do if you are not available to attend on your designated schedule pick up time. If you will not be able to attend either of the designated days/ times, then you will not be able to pick up your your books or get your student ID made until the 1st day of school, but schedules will be available online starting Monday, August 11th or you're welcome to come to school on either Monday the 11th or Tuesday, August 12th from 1:00 - 3:00pm.  (No morning pick up's on those dates though because we are all in mandatory meetings both mornings.)

Each year schedule pick up days are two of the craziest days for me, but I am looking forward to seeing you!

Common App

Here we go! It is August, Common App is live and for seniors who are planning to apply to 4-year colleges, this is a big deal. 

Common App is the website that over 1,000 colleges have joined together to allow students to use this joint platform to be able to apply to all of their colleges with equal consideration as those who might apply to their schools through other application avenues.

Common App is a great resource that nearly all seniors who are applying to 4-year colleges will end up using for one or more of their college applications. The counselors at WKHS are dedicated to helping support you with the Common App and we want to make sure that you don't end up making some of the most frequent mistakes while filling out your application. As a result, we are holding 3 separate Common App 101 Workshops where senior students are invited to come to Kilbourne with your laptop or Chromebook and we will walk through Common App together. You will literally work on your own Common Application while we are going through the time together.

This is one of our most highly attended events which is why we have 3 separate sessions scheduled so that you can find the one that will work best in your schedule. Because we are going to be in Room 201 and space is limited, it is important that you register for the session that you want to attend so that we can make sure everyone is able to have space to attend.

The 3 workshops are scheduled for:

• Monday, August 11th at 1:30pm
• Wednesday, August 13th at 10:30am (this won't be a good option for students who are serving as Link Leaders)
• Thursday, September 4th at 7:45am

Here is the link to sign up.

Summer Assignment Reminder

Two posts, two days in a row, in the summer?!? Oh my... it shows that we are already getting closer to needing to be thinking more and more about school. Perhaps you are feeling like me and wanting to push it off a little longer which is totally valid, but if you are signed up for Honors, AP or IB classes next year you probably need to be doing some work now on your summer assignments.

Remember, the classes which have summer assignments means that all of that work you are doing (or not doing) will impact your grade in the fall. You definitely don't want to start out in a hole from day 1! Sometimes, in the past, students would procrastinate on completing their summer assignments and then decide at the last minute that they would drop out of the advanced course in favor of the non-advanced version (so, for example, dropping AP US History in favor of regular US History). If you are planning on switching levels, it is really important that you make that change prior to Tuesday, July 15th. If you wait until after July 15th to decide that you want to change levels, you will still be responsible for completing the summer work because even if you change levels your summer assignment is a part of your academic record and so your grades on the summer assignments will go with you to the new class.

Hopefully you are feeling good about your summer assignments and how you are progressing on your summer work.  If you haven't started, please get moving on it! If you have lost your summer assignments, please feel free to check out the WKHS Counselor website - www.wkhscouselors.com - as we have posted the assignments your teachers have submitted there as well.

And, for the record, if you do want to drop from an advanced course to a regular class, please just email me at babbott@wscloud.org before the end of the day on Tuesday the 15th and I will make the change for you the next time I am able to drop by school.

Test Scores Released

As of today, all students who took AP or IB tests over the spring can now access your test results on the AP/ IB websites. I know that you had studied hard and prepared well for the assessments so I hope that you are happy with the results that you find!

Just a reminder, if you were a student who took AP English Language last year and are planning to take CC+ Comp or CC+ Literature this year, double check that your scores and the classes you had signed up for make sense. (So, for example, if you assumed you would get a 3 on the AP Lang test and so you didn't sign up for Comp 1, but you only scored a 2, you need to let us know so that we can adjust your course requests to put you into Comp 1. Or, on the other hand, if you decided to put down Comp 1 in your course requests just to be safe and you scored a 3 or higher on the AP Lang test, you need to let us know so that we can adjust your schedule as you don't need to repeat Comp 1 again.) You also need to be sure that you send those test results to CSCC so that they have the documentation needed for you to skip Comp 1.

Diploma Presenter

I cannot believe that it is the end of June. I hope that you are all having a great summer! I have been thinking a lot about the fact that my seniors (Class of 2025) are all preparing for all the great adventures ahead of them. 

I love many of the traditions that we have at WKHS and none more than the fact that Kilbourne students get to select who they would like to present them with their diploma during the graduation ceremony. I believe that this personal approach and having the person hand you your diploma be someone you know vs a stranger from central office or a school representative that you don't know well makes the ceremony much more meaningful and memorable.

This year I had 14 seniors allow me to have the honor of presenting them with their diploma. 14!!! That is CRAZY to me that I was able to share in that moment with so many different students. And here is what I can tell you, for each of these individuals, I felt pride and remembered different moments and had different feelings of excitement for them related to what they have overcome and the incredible opportunities coming up for them in the future.

Pictured above are the students who I had the honor of giving their diploma at graduation. From left to right - (Front Row): Riley Douglas, Roslymar Carrero Ramirez, Ava Casper Welty, Jimmy Alvarado Dominguez, Johnny Chan, Mason Cottle, (Back Row): Mohamed Aden, Logan Baker, Juan Bermudez, Nathan Bradley, Dmytro Chubenko, Maksym Chubenko, Brady Baringhaus, and (not pictured) Mahmoud Ahmad.

To Mohamed, Mo, Jimmy, Logan, Brady, Juan, Nathan, Rosly, Ava, Johnny, Dmytro, Maksym, Mason, and Riley - First, I am so proud of you and excited for you! Thank you for allowing me to have the honor of being a part of your graduation day. Graduation is a quick moment in time but it represents all that you have worked for over the last 18 years. You have overcome struggles (big and small), you have achieved goals (short and longer term), you have learned and grown and taught others (like me) lessons along the way. I hope that you will always know that you have made a difference in my life and that I am thankful to have been able to be a part of your high school journey. Good luck with all that is ahead of you in the future! Love, Miss Abbott

Summer School

A few quick, last minute reminders about summer school...

1. If you failed a class and are taking a class through Worthington Summer School, that started today! Hopefully you remembered and made it for your designated time slot (8-10 or 10-12) at Worthington Academy building. If you failed a class and didn't get signed up yet, please be sure to check your school email for the link to register and you will be able to be added to the waiting list. Rememer, Worthington summer school is free and is an important opportunity to stay on track for graduation.

2. If you were planning to enroll in an online get-ahead summer class through TRECA, don't forget that tomorrow, June 3rd at 11:59pm, is the deadline to sign up. There is a $95 fee for each 1/2 credit class. Your actual summer school work with TRECA won't start until next Monday, June 9th. By listing Worthington Kilbourne HS when you register, TRECA will automatically send your transcript to me at the end of the summer school term.

And then I want to also remind all of you that if something has changed in your plans related to summer school, I need for you to let me know as soon as possible. Email will be the perfect way to communicate your changed plans. Because I know that many students who were planning to take a get-ahead online class didn't sign up for it, you might be short of a graduation requirement in your course requests for next year or if you are no longer going to be attending the Worthington summer school session, your core class sequence likely needs to change and I need to try to do all of that before school starts again in August.

I hope that you all have a great summer and that if summer school is a part of your plans, that you will learn a lot and be able to make good, quick progress through the courses.

End of the Year Reflections

The end of the school year is always filled with lots of emotions. There is the stress of trying to finalize schedule conflicts and deal with failures, excitement for graduating seniors and all that is ahead of them, sadness to say goodbye to students (both those leaving for just the summer and seniors who are leaving WKHS for good), and relief to make it to slower days of summer where sleeping in becomes the norm.

Two weeks ago today was Kilbourne's graduation ceremony and it was a great day celebrating the students in the Class of 2025. But personally, it also ended up being a really special day for me too. I was surprised to be one of the staff members inducted into the Kilbourne Hall of Fame. I am not trying to make the seniors graduation day and celebration be about me, but I have to acknowledge how much this meant to me. There are so many teachers, along with many of my former students, who have been selected for the Hall of Fame and I admire and respect each of them more than I can express. They are truly the best at making a difference and so, to me, the concept that I would be among these other incredible people is simply indescribable. I don't know that I am actually worthy of this recognition, but I know that it certainly filled my heart.

The end of this school year was also different because for the first time in 19 years, I had to pack up my office to move. As you are aware, the construction on the 2nd floor is now complete, but the first floor is far from done. The administrative and counseling center area is going to flip locations with the library which means that my office will no longer be my office. I have to admit, this made me really sad. My office is where I have so many memories with so many students from all of the years. My office was our shared safe space to talk about the good and the bad. As I worked on boxing everything up I also knew that I needed to go through files and purge away stuff I no longer needed. One of those files ended up coming home with me to my "keep forever box." I had cards, notes, and even print outs of emails from literally the first month of working in Worthington (which, by the way, was before all of my students were even born!) and reading through these notes was so fun and helped me to remember that the connection I have had with students and their families throughout the years is bigger than just the space of my office. And, once again, it filled my heart with so much love and gratitude.

So even though the end of each school year is always filled with lots of emotion - this one has been special and different. My heart is full, my emotions are definitely at the surface, and my gratitude for each student and family that I have had the honor of working with is without measure.

Next Year's Schedule

Mrs. Backhurst has been working tirelessly on the master schedule for next year.  She has determined where each class will be held during the school day to meet as many student requests as possible. As of yesterday, the administrators have officially "locked" the master schedule into place. 

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 can be 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.  In the coming days, if you get a pass, 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 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 definitely 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 during 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.)

Dear Seniors...

Dear Seniors in the Class of 2025,

Today was your last day of high school. With every senior that I saw and had the chance to talk with yesterday and today, the constant theme was reflecting back on how fast high school went. I completely agree with that sentiment! It doesn't seem like it has been 4 years since you all first came to WKHS and yet, here you are ready to graduate and take on the next adventures in your life.

I have done a lot of reflecting about your class and the word that comes to my mind most of all is RESILIENT. You have adjusted, adapted, overcome, endured, and through it all you have done it with joy, compassion, and kindness. In a lot of ways when I think of resilient students I think of this characteristic for the big aspects you have faced in school whether that was transitioning to high school with masks and then to no masks, dealing with the massive upheaval of construction, fighting for creative parking options, slugging through difficult content or challenging courses, balancing classes at WKHS and on college campuses, helping your friends, competing with your whole heart on athletic fields, and dedicating so much time to perform well on stage. But I also think of your resiliency in how you faced personal challenges - learning a new language, fighting cancer, dealing with the death of a parent or other beloved family member, struggling to find your place and where you belonged, moving to a new school, managing the stress of hard family situations at home, and so much more. 

There are no words that can adequately express how thankful I am that you have allowed me to walk alongside you in this journey. Thank you for opening up your hearts and your lives to me. Please know that you have made me a better person and I will always be grateful that I had the privilege to know and work with you for the last four years!

You have a very bright future ahead and I cannot wait to see the impact you will have. Congratulations!

Love, Miss Abbott

PS - Enjoy your day off tomorrow and I will see you all Friday afternoon for Graduation Rehearsal!

Sending AP Scores

Seniors, now that you know where you will be attending college in the future, it is important to remember that if you have taken an AP exam, you will also need to send those official scores to your intended college.

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.  

Here is the page that explains everything you need to know about sending your AP Scores: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores

I would also like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all of the WKHS moms!  I hope your sons/ daughters expressed their appreciation for all the big and little things that you do to help them, but never doubt that you ARE making a difference in their lives each and every day!  Thank you for allowing me to share in your children's lives as well!

Kilbourne Kindness Closet

The Kilbourne Kindness Closet is a place where current WKHS students, parents and family members can get free Kilbourne spirit wear to show your school pride and feel like a connected part of our community. 

We count on donations from Kilbourne students, staff and families to keep the Kilbourne Kindness Closet stocked with clothes. As you do spring/ summer cleaning and find clothes that no longer fits you or doesn't apply to you any more, please know that we would love to have those donations for other families. Additionally, seniors, you are just about a week away from being alumni of WKHS. As you get ready to purge your high school gear that you no longer want/ need, please be sure to drop it off at Kilbourne for future wolves to wear.

We appreciate the community's support in making this project a reality!

Senior Recognition Night

In just about 2 hours we will hold the Senior Recognition Night which kicks off the festivities of honoring seniors.  This week as we have been working to prepare for this awards ceremony I keep thinking about how impressive you are and all that you have accomplished. From impressive scholarships earned to the awards and recognitions you have received it is exciting to be able to honor you all.

Your class has contributed in positive and meaningful ways at WKHS.  And the reality is, even for those who weren't invited to attend tonight, each of you has made a positive difference at Kilbourne.  Whether it has been in the classroom, with a club, a sport, or simply being a friend to someone on a bad day, you help make Kilbourne such a special place.

Can't wait to start celebrating the Class of 2025 this evening!

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is national Teacher Appreciation Week!  WKHS is blessed to have a staff of incredible teachers who are committed to their student's success - not only in the classroom, but also in life.  I can think of so many examples of teachers going the extra mile to help students.  They are often found: spending time before or after school reviewing material with students, cheering on kids at concerts and games, responding to e-mails and text messages on evenings and weekends to clarify questions, developing exciting and engaging learning experiences, writing beautiful recommendation letters, listening to a student who needs to talk after a bad day, and countless other examples that make an impact in ways big and small.

Looking back at my own life I remain grateful for the teachers I had - for what they taught me, the care they showed, and the impact they had on my life.  I remember those who gave us challenging assignments that pushed me and still impact how I look at life today.  I remember the teachers who believed in me and helped me to develop the confidence to chase after my dreams.  I'll be honest - I don't remember all of my teachers.  But I suspect that there are other students who fondly remember those teachers who I can barely recall.  I think that is the beauty of education - hopefully every student has at least 1 teacher who they feel believes in and cares about them and a teacher who holds them accountable and pushes them to learn and grow.

I suspect that you all have some teacher that has made a difference in your life.  I don't know which Kilbourne (or even elementary or middle school) teachers stand out to you most as being the ones who challenge you to be YOUR best every day, but I hope you will consider taking time this week to say thanks to at least one of the teachers at Kilbourne who has made a positive impact on your life.  You never know - maybe your kind words to them will be exactly the encouragement they needed today and your words will stay with them for years to come. 

Exams Approaching

Next week (Tuesday and Wednesday) the seniors will complete their final exams. Seniors will be on a regular bell schedule along with the rest of the school, so your teachers will likely be splitting lengthy exams over two days.

For underclassmen, your exams are just 2 weeks away. As with semester exams, your exams will be done in blocks over the last 3 days of the semester.

I know that the stress of having 10% of your grade in one test combined with the anticipation of finally being done with another school year can seem overwhelming at times. That is why it is so helpful to start preparing for your exams now. It always feels as if there will be a better time to study, but today is that better time. Cramming at the end only increases your stress and pressure. 

Try to start by getting yourself organized. Figure out what classes will have exams and which will have projects that you need to dedicate time towards completing. Get your notes organized. Start working on any study guide resource materials that have been distributed. Study your old tests and quizzes as those feature the most important topics that your teachers have covered throughout the semester. Work with the academic assistants as well as your teachers to help prepare for exams. And, of course, if you want/ need study strategy ideas remember that we have lots of that information posted on the WKHS Counselor Website.