Teacher Rec Letters

Juniors, remember when we talked in our junior meetings about the fact that I'd remind you when it was time to start asking teachers about possibly writing a recommendation letter on your behalf?  Now is the time.  :-) And we have a Junior Seminar Presentation tomorrow morning (Thursday, April 3rd from 8:15-8:35am in Room 201) to address Rec Letters specifically.

Recommendation letters are a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought and time. Juniors, as you finalize the list of schools where you will be applying next fall, it is important to determine if you are going to need a recommendation letter from a teacher (or two). Many of the Ohio schools - Ohio State University, OU, BGSU, Kent State, etc. do not require teacher recommendations.  Because rec letters are a time consuming process, if the colleges where you are applying do not require recommendations, then please do not waste your teacher's time by requesting letters that won't be needed or used!

If you are applying to schools that require teacher recommendation letters, it is very helpful and beneficial to the teachers if you can give them as much time as possible to write your recommendation letters. That means, if you know now that you are going to be applying to a school which needs a teacher rec letter, then I would like for you to ask the teachers this spring allowing them to have the entire summer to write your letter. (These next few weeks are a great time to ask!)  After you ask your teacher(s), you will want to provide them with information that can help them as they write your letter. We have several handouts in the counseling and career center and on the WKHS Counselor website that you can use for this purpose. 

And yes juniors, this is also a reminder that you need to be working now toward finalizing a list of where you plan on applying to college. (And we will have a junior seminar presentation on May 1st to talk more about finalizing those college lists too.)

Caps & Gowns

The reality of high school coming to a close for seniors often starts to set in when caps and gowns are distributed and for the Class of 2025, that started today and will continue tomorrow during lunch periods.  I always love seeing the looks in my seniors eyes when they walk away from the tables carrying their cap and gown package.  This is such an exciting time in your lives and you have worked hard over the last 13 years to get to this point.  Don't forget to keep pushing academically, but also know that it's ok to pause as you pick up your cap and gown and realize that this is part of what your efforts have been for - to reach this milestone in your life!  I'm proud of you and excited for you.  

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

Lunch & Learn for Parents

Every year we have questions from students and parents about the Honors Diploma and what is involved for students who are trying to earn this designation on their diploma at graduation.  On Friday, April 4th at noon, the WKHS Counselors will be hosting the next session in our Lunch & Learn Series to talk all about the Honors Diploma.  

This brief, 30-minute session, will take place over zoom so that parents can grab their lunch, hop on the session, learn about the Honors Diploma, and continue on with your day.  The zoom link will be emailed to all parents Friday morning and it will also be posted on the Counselor website.  I hope to see you online this week to learn all about the Honors Diploma!

Final CC+ Reminder

First, I hope you had a great spring break! I am looking forward to seeing you and hearing about your time off from school.

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

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

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

Spring Break!

We made it and are now officially on Spring Break! 

I hope that you have a wonderful and relaxing break. Good luck to all of the individuals, groups, and teams that are traveling this week. 

Have a great week and stay safe!

Impressive Students

This month we had the opportunity to celebrate students at two separate ceremonies. Unfortunately, due to some other circumstances in the district, I wasn't able to attend either event, but I wanted to still give a well-deserved shout-out and recognition to my students who were recognized.

On Friday, March 7th there were 31 WKHS students inducted into the Socratic Society. The Socratic Society recognizes students for dispalying Personal Effort, Compassion, Lifelong Learning, Integrity and Scholarship. Students can only be honored once during their high school career for inclusion into the Socratic Society. During the ceremony, 7 of "my" students were among those recognized. A huge congratulations to: Leen Abusalha, Mohamed-Saeed Aden, Brady Baringhaus, Ella Beymer, Mackenzie Cain, Kaleb Colegrove, and Eric Collier. 

And then on Tuesday, March 11th, approximately 360 Sophomores and Juniors were recognized as a part of the Academic Honors Celebration with bronze and silver keys. Students earn this recognition based upon their grades. 

Bronze Keys are awarded to students who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of 3 full semesters. Congratulations to "my" students who accomplished this: John Abbott, Ibrahim Ahmed, Amani Alash, Micah Anderson, Isatta Bah, Gus Baugh, John Beachy, Colin Beckstedt, Rylee Bindel, Adriana Black, Madison Bockrath, Dihan Bouhamidi, Gavin Brown, Alex Bussard, Caroline Campbell, Jose Cano Illescas, Isabell Chen, Vivian Cowan, Michael Dolciato, and Mahmoud Eldresi.

Silver Keys are awarded to students who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of 5 full semesters. Congratulations to "my" students who earned this recognition: Charlotte Aagenas, Lacey Abbott, Callen Acheampong, Joseph Adrian, Aya Ahmed, Sydney Allwood, Esad Alpay, Ama Ampem, Jake Arens, Cameron Armstrong, Gia Aschenbrand, Finn Barker, Emily Bartlett, John Battle, Grace Beattie, Ali Becht, Gray Beckett, Rowan Beckner-Evans, Elizabeth Bennett, Callie Best, Ella Beymer, Sophia Bollentino, Julia Borchers, Safaa Bouhamidi, Akira Boyd, Kaitlyn Bradshaw, Zach Brown, Ryan Burke, Ellie Buterbaugh, Tyra Butler, Kate Campbell, Brayden Capperes, Mallory Carlin, Palmer Cavicchia, Jacob Caviness, Camille Chabannes, Nora Cheslik, Nikos Chimbidis, Sa'Kiyah Coleman, Nathan Corn, Quention Cost, Eliose Cotterman, and Grace Glaros.

I am proud of you all!

AI & College Admissions

There is no area that is changing faster and growing more rapidly than the influence of AI in college admissions. It is the area where I find I am watching the most webinars, reading the most articles, and listening to the most podcasts about than any other aspect of college admissions. 

Can AI be a useful tool in supporting your college admissions process? Absolutely.

Can AI be mis-used and therefore hinder your college applications? Absolutely.

And that is why it is a tricky area. 

Tomorrow, all junior students are invited to attend the Junior Seminar on AI & Admissions where we will spend 20 minutes talking about appropriate use of AI in applications. Juniors, as a reminder, the seminars take place before school from 8:15-8:35 in Room 201. I hope to see you tomorrow morning for this workshop!

There are some colleges that say students must cite any AI resource used in any aspect of their application. There are others that know AI can be a helpful tool in researching, brainstorming, or giving feedback. And nearly all colleges would say that you should absolutely NOT use AI to write your essay or complete your application as a whole.

The best rule of thumb that I have seen and heard related to appropriate AI use in your applications is that if you would not ask a human such as your parent, teacher or counselor to do something for you then you should not be asking AI to do it for you! I think that is a key way to help reframe thinking about AI and your applications.

AI and applications is an exciting, interesting area of growth and we will all continue to learn together.

Pathways & Possibilities Day

Tomorrow is Kilbourne's "Pathways and Possibilities" Day and I am so excited for it! During lunch periods all students will have the opportunity to interact with dozens of career professionals to learn about alternative pathways or possibilities for your future. 

We have intentionally targeted inviting job representatives that do not typically require a 4-year degree in order to work in the profession. You might wonder why. Well, there is so much time and attention spent in helping students look at 4-year colleges that we want to make sure that ALL students are getting support even if continuing on to a traditional college isn't in their plan. But it is more than that. There are a lot of jobs that you can get a certificate or other credentialling and be able to begin working where you will make more money than you would in just the typical high school diploma jobs.

My niece, Carly, is a perfect example of this option. Carly is a senior at the University of Kentucky. During the summer between her freshman and sophomore years of college she got 2 certificates - one in phlebotomy (drawing people's blood) and one to be a nursing tech. Then, from her sophomore through senior years of college she has worked part time at the UK Medical Center making far more money (and requiring way less hours of her) than she would have earned if she worked at a restaurant or store. Even more importantly, this clinical experience helped Carly have an even more impressive application when she was applying to med school. Let's be honest, did she want to be a phlebotomist or nursing tech for the rest of her life? No. Are those great career paths for some people? Absolutely! But it still was an important part of Carly's journey and has opened up more great opportunities for her in the future.

My hope is that EVERY student will take a few minutes out of your lunch periods to walk through the tables which will be set up in the commons and hallways to talk with the different career professionals. You never know about the various jobs that might peak your interest. Perhaps you will find something that will be a great pathway for your future or there might be jobs that can give you better paying possibilities. At the very least, please take a moment as you walk past our guests to say Thank you to them for giving their time to come and share with all of us!

Admissions Decisions Coming Soon

In the world of college admissions, there are several key points in time - the mad rush to finish applications before the deadline and months of waiting - and now, finally, the point when you find out if a college has accepted or rejected you for admissions. It can be a time filled with frustration, excitment, heart-break, and pretty much every other emotion in between.

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

The reality is that some of the most selective colleges were able to be even more selective than in the past and the percentage of students who were accepted continues to shrink at many schools. This is, in part, because so many students are choosing to apply to a LOT of colleges which means applications are up at many of the schools. OSU recently announced that they had received over 88,000 applications! That is crazy and is a huge jump from the previous high last year which had also been a record so the trend just continues to spiral out of control.

Getting the decision can be hard enough, but often the more difficult aspect is being asked, “Did you get accepted?” by well-meaning friends. Trust me on this one, if they get accepted to their dream school, the students will be telling everyone – you won’t need to ask. If they don’t offer up the news sharing if they were accepted or not, then be sensitive to the fact that more than likely they still don't know or they did not get accepted. Be kind and don’t ask about it as it puts students on the spot to share potentially disappointing news.

Senior Pictures

It's a "Senior Sunday" which means it's a good time to remind all seniors... the deadline to submit your Senior Picture for the yearbook is this Friday, March 21st.  All seniors are invited to turn in a preferred photo to Mr. Balogh at this link to have your picture included in the yearbook.  For students who do not submit a photo before the deadline, the school pictures by HR Imaging that you had taken in August will typically be used for the yearbook.  If you have any questions, please stop and see or email Mr. Balogh.

Spring Break College Visits

With just a week of school left before spring break, many of you have already started focusing on what all you are hoping to do over break.  No matter what grade you are in and what your plans you have already established for spring break, I'd like to encourage you to consider adding in at least one (if not more) college visits to your agenda.

For seniors, many colleges are in session during our break and so this is an ideal time to be able to visit the campuses of your top choices.  Being able to compare your college choices and to make sure that you are finding the school which will be your best fit before you the May 1st decision deadline is a helpful choice.  You can also consider making an overnight visit at the colleges for a different opportunity that you have probably not had a chance to do thus far.

For freshmen through juniors, making college visits is a beneficial opportunity to start identifying what aspects you like most and least in a college.  You will have the chance to actually walk around on a campus and imagine yourself being there in the future.  People watch, explore opportunities, investigate academics, and engage with the admissions staff to help guide you in your future college application plans.  If you are planning to be in town, there are lots of local colleges that you can visit easily.  If you will be traveling over break, you can still make college visits wherever you find yourself during break.  Chances are good that there are colleges near or along your destination and even if it is not a school that you are considering for the future, it still gives you the chance to get another view of colleges... and this can be incredibly valuable in determining what it is you want or don't want in a school.

More Scholarships

Last week I posted about Local Scholarships and since then pretty much every senior I have talked to has been by to talk about their financial aid package and/ or asking for more scholarship information to help manage the costs of their college offers.

The reality is that college is expensive! It is an investment and finding financial options to help make it realistic such as with additional scholarships is important. I know that it can be a time consuming process, but it is worth it if it makes your college degree more affordable.

Most scholarship money does end up coming directly from your colleges, but there are so many other places to look for scholarships and you should consider all of the options to try to help make your college experience even a little more affordable! For example, do your parent's employers (or if you work, your employer) offer scholarships for dependent children? What about your place of worship? If you volunteer for an organization, do they offer scholarships for their student volunteers? There are also countless scholarship search websites where you can complete personalized searches for other qualities and characteristics that would be ideal for you. If you want to see some of these sites, please check out financial aid section (under colleges) on the WKHS Counselors website.

OSU Testing

The Ohio State University announced today that they will now be requiring students to submit ACT or SAT scores as a component of their applications for current juniors (class of 2026) and beyond. They have also decided that they will superscore the ACT and SAT results. Which means that they will take your highest scores from various sections of the tests to calculate an overall highest composite score. Superscoring is nice because it takes away the pressure of trying to score your best in a single test session, but it does add to the appeal of taking the tests multiple times to try to get the highest scores possible.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the other Ohio colleges, but I suspect that many of them will follow OSU's lead and soon announce their own testing policy with a return to requiring the college admissions tests as a component of their applications.

Juniors, I know you just took the SAT yesterday, but if you were unsure if you wanted to take the ACT or repeat the SAT again, this news might help you make that decision.

CC+ English Classes

If you are a student planning to take CC+ English classes next year, this is a post just for you (and your parents). As you learned in the email that was sent out from Mrs. Mann on Friday, there is an additional option beyond just Comp 1 and Comp 2 for next year. We have added in the English 2291 US Literature 1865-Present class. This course will function in the same format as Comp 1 and Comp 2 in that it will meet for 1 semester, at WKHS, for 2 periods, 2 days per week. 

Why are we adding an additional class?

Good question. We try to make sure that the classes we are offering for students will meet as many of the general education (GE) requirements at various colleges as possible. In the last few weeks we learned that Comp 2 is no longer meeting a GE at OSU and Miami. 

Do I have to change from Comp 2?

No! You can definitely still keep Comp 2. You can still take it even if you are hoping to attend OSU or Miami you just have to understand that it won't fulfill a GE requirement.  Plus, Comp 2 DOES still meet GE's at OU, Cincinnati, BGSU, Akron, and Kent State.  It is also fulfilling your senior English course requirement (just like the Literature class will.)

How do I know what to take?

Well, it is a personal decision. I'd suggest that you do the following things to help guide your decision making:

1. Reflect on your purpose of taking the class. Are you taking it because getting GE's done while in high school is important to you? Or are you taking it to get a college experience and you're ok if it fulfills a GE requirement or if it doesn't?

2. Look at all of the classes you have taken and are planning to take that can get you college credit and cross reference those courses with the various GE requirements at all of the possible colleges you are considering. Here are some steps to help you do that:

• If you took AP/ IB classes, go to the CollegeBoard/ IB websites to see the credit policies at the colleges you are interested in attending. (I'd suggest printing out that list for each college if you have a lot of AP/ IB courses.)
• If you took CC+ classes, create a free account in Transferology. Enter in all of your CC+ classes. Then look at your possible future colleges and print out the list for what the CC+ classes will count as at each college.
• Next, look up the GE requirements for each college you are interested in attending. Go through the requirements and compare your AP/ IB/ CC+ classes to figure out what will count for you for the future. That should help guide you in what classes you can select to fulfill the most GE requirements for your intended schools.

When do I need to decide?

You can always make adjustments if there is room available later, but if you want the master schedule to be built in a way that will take into account your desired classes, I need to know ASAP - definitely no later than the last day before spring break. Otherwise it will just be by chance on if you fit into the class or not with the number of seats we will have available.

What do I do if I want to change classes?

Just send me an email to let me know that you want to change classes or stop by and see me and I can change your requests.

Tomorrow's SAT Schedule

Tomorrow we are on a VERY different bell schedule!

Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors - you will be functioning on a late-start schedule tomorrow.  This means that you get to sleep in and relax a little bit in the morning.  If you ride a bus, your bus will pick you up  90 minutes later than normal.  If you walk or drive to school, you can determine what time you want to arrive just be sure to make it to school in enough time to be able to get to your 5th period class at 12:25pm.  As I mentioned, with late start buses running 1.5 hours later than normal, this means that if you ride a bus that will likely mean you will arrive to school around 10:10am and you'll have that time until the start of classes to study, eat lunch, and hang out in the Aux Gym.

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

And then everyone (9th through 12th grade) will proceed to afternoon classes with the following bell schedule:

• 5th Period - 12:25 - 1:05
• 6th Period - 1:10 - 1:50
• 7th Period - 1:55 - 2:35
• 8th Period - 2:40 - 3:20

I also have a few SAT Testing reminders for the juniors:  This test is an official SAT so you are strictly bound to all of the restrictions and requirements set forth by SAT.  Testing will begin promptly at 8:40am so you will need to report to your assigned rooms (check your email for location assignment).  Please be sure to bring your district issued chromebook (fully charged!), your Student ID card, and, if you want, a calculator.  And I would also suggest that you bring a watch.  Cell phones are NOT allowed to be on in the testing room at all.  You should have already completed the pre-registration steps so that you're all set to test. Good luck tomorrow!  You will do great!

4th Quarter

Tomorrow begins the 4th quarter. One big important reminder to all students is that 4th quarter grades this year determines your fall elgibility  in sports next year! The spring weather can be challenging for some students because it can be hard to focus on school when you simply want to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't want you to enjoy each day, but I do hope that you are keeping in mind how your actions today will influence you tomorrow and in the future.  Take some time now to reflect personally and academically on where you are, where you want to be and what you need to do to achieve your goals.

There is no secret to success!  It is hard work, doing what you need to do to push yourself to improve and always giving your personal best even when you don't feel like it. For many of you this might mean that you need to take some time to get organized and prepare for the end of year push.  (HINT: if your bookbag looks like this you DEFINITELY need to work on a new organization strategy!)  For others it may mean that you need to challenge yourself to maintain your focus as distractions continue to come your way.  And yet others may need to find new study strategies that will help you to demonstrate your knowledge.  No matter what goals you may need to focus on, my biggest hope is that you will find a system that works and use it.  Looking at what you have been doing and being willing to try something different to result in a different outcome is the best initial step you can take.  As always, if you need help with getting organized, determining strategies to focus through distractions or for new study strategies, I hope you will come to see me!

Summer School Reminder

We talked about summer school during registration meetings and I have blogged about it in general, but up until last Friday, the opportunity for students to sign up for the free credit-recovery aspect of summer school wasn't available.  But it is now!  So, if you are a student who has failed the semester of a class and you need to make it up this summer in summer school, I have sent you a personalized link so that you can sign up for a class for free.  Please be sure to follow through and complete the online registration process so that you are assured a seat in summer school.  And if you have any questions about the registration email or summer school as a whole, please stop and see me so we can discuss it.

It's Still Work

There is a famous Confuscious quote, "Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life."  I suspect many of you have heard it.  Confuscious is a famous philosopher and far smarter than me, but I have to tell you, I think he got it wrong with this quote.

I absolutely LOVE my job, but I work incredibly hard at it.  In fact, because I love it so much I probably pour even more of my time, energy and effort into what I do each day.  I have a part-time job that I also love.  I can assure you - they both require hard work, time and dedication.  But, they are both incredibly rewarding and meaningful.  My guess is that was probably the point Confuscious was trying to make.  The reality is that as human beings, we can endure almost any circumstance if we feel the end outcome will be worth it.

The reason I am even talking about this though is that I think there are a LOT of high school students (and probably some adults) who struggle trying to figure out what they want to do in life and are constantly searching for the job that they will love so that they don't have to work.  And I believe that is setting you up for failure.  Find a job that you will be good at, that you will feel you can contribute and use your personal gifts and talents to benefit others and pursue it with everything you have inside of you.  But know that there will still be days or at least parts of the job that will most definitely be struggles and feel like hard, demanding work.  Adjusting that expectation can change everything because if you are able to go into the work world with the awareness that you won't love every part of your job and that there will be hard days that you dread (and yes, I can assure you there will be plenty of both), then you will be far less likely to beat yourself up and fall into the mind trap that there must be some other job out there that will be better for you - that you won't feel like work.

There is already so much stress and pressure that you experience as high school students, adding the extra level of stress that you must find the PERFECT job that you love is a pressure you don't need to add.  We have so many career exploration opportunities for you and I want you to do them all, but I also want you to understand that you are far from done learning and growing.  You will find and explore new paths ahead of you and all of it will contribute to you finding your right place in this world.  So try to take the pressure off and enjoy the learning process.

For now, start thinking ahead a little bit.  Juniors, don't forget that tomorrow is the Junior Seminar on Choosing Careers/ Majors in Room 201 from 8:15-8:35am.  For students in all grades, do you have plans for Spring Break?  That would be a great time for you to head out and make college visits, but they are also ideal days to ask a neighbor, friend, or extended family member if you could spend a day shadowing them to learn more about what they do each day.  The summer is also a great time to try to get some experience out shadowing and learning about what some of the job possibilities are that exist in the world today so you can start now thinking about what experiences you might like to observe.  It doesn't matter to me if you are shadowing someone for one day or doing a full senior project experience, but my hope is that you will ask the people you are spending time with what they love about their jobs, what they don't like, and if they feel like they work hard at what they do... because I suspect you will find that in every job there is definitely a LOT of work involved!

OHIO

OHIO - of course, it is the name of our state, but it is also represents a saying - "Only Handle It Once."  This is an organization and time management saying that can be helpful to use and adopt into our daily lives. 

The basic concept is that whatever you're dealing with such as a piece of paper or an email message that you should only handle it once.  For most of you, the ways that I see this playing out poorly is when you are working on assignments in class and you have notes, textbook, and a handout such as a lab paper out when the bell rings and instead of placing the notes and handout back where they belong students will grab the papers all mixed together and shove everything into their backpack before rushing off to their next class.  This happens in class after class throught any given day.  And then, as a result, you are forced to spend more time later sorting through all of the materials in order to re-organize and separate the information for each class.  Even though it may feel as if it would take a minute or two longer to put the material from the class into the appropriate folder before heading off to your next class, in the long run, only handling the material once will save you time.

Now, please let me clarify, that doesn't mean you should only spend one moment working on an assignment.  If it is something that you are working on in class that doesn't mean you don't still handle it and deal with it at home if the work needs to be completed for the next day of school.  It's just the organization side that will hopefully be streamlined.

Also, if you are working on an assignment, look at it and figure out if you have everything you need -for example, do you have the notes, resources such as textbook, posterboard or supplies for projects? Is there is help that you need - for example, do you need to get clarification from a teacher or classmate or assistance from your parent on the work you are completing, or anything else that you'll need to successfully complete the assignment.  Gather those items ahead of time so that you don't end up wasting a bunch of time starting and stopping your work.

And while I know that you don't all spend a lot of time on emails, I can assure you that email is a part of your future and the Only Handle It Once strategy is a great approach for managing the "easy" emails.

So, as you go through these final few weeks before spring break I hope you will try to work towards establishing the positive organization strategy of OHIO and Only Handling It Once!

Local Scholarships

Seniors, now is the time to be working on submitting your applications for local scholarships!

Local scholarships are great because you are only competing against other WKHS students (for many) and, at most, against other students from Worthington or the Central Ohio area.  These scholarships are all among the scholarships we have listed on the WKHS Counselor website and I strongly encourage you to take the time to check them out.  To find the scholarship listings on the Counselor website - you can use the logo on the right side of the page or hover over the College/ Career tab and Scholarship Search will appear in the drop-down menu.

Many of the local scholarships have due dates of April 1st, but there are some with earlier or later deadlines so it is important to pay attention to those details so that you don't miss out on the opportunities.  As you read through the scholarships available, look carefully to determine which ones you might be a good candidate for and therefore want to apply to try to receive.  Please remember that time flies and many of the scholarships have requirements such as essays or recommendation letters so it is important not to procrastinate and to get your applications completed on time.

Lunch & Learn: Coping Skills

The WKHS Counselors will be hosting our next Lunch and Learn Series for parents this Friday, March 7th.  This session will provide information about Coping Skills.

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, March 7th.  The zoom link will be emailed to all parents and we will also post the link on the Counselor Website on Friday morning.

We know that supporting your son or daughter to deal with the stressors of high school can be overwhelming at times, so I hope you will make plans to join us online over zoom so we can help review useful, timely coping skills that you and your child can put to use immediately.

Scam Alert

We recently learned about a scam that is impacting families across the country. In this particular scam, which you can read about in this article, someone calls and tells families that their child signed up for free test prep resources, but they need their credit card number for a deposit on the materials and that it will be refunded after the student is done with and returns the supplies. Obviously there are scammers across the country who know that junior students are all in the phase where they are taking the SAT or ACT and so this is a scam that seems easy to see why someone would fall for it. Just be aware that there are no sign up options for anything like this for the WKHS students so if someone reaches out to you, it is definitely a scam.

Junior Seminars

Next Thursday kicks off our Junior Seminars and I am really excited about this new initiative. Every other Thursday from March 6th through May 1st junior students are invited to attend brief, in-depth, workshops on a particular topic. Students can decide which workshops interest them and come to just those sessions. The seminars will be held in Room 201 from 8:15-8:35am just before the start of school so I hope you'll grab your breakfast or coffee and come to school 20 minutes early to participate in the sessions that interest you most!

March 6th: Choosing careers/ majors

March 20th: Using AI effectively in college applications

April 3rd: Recommendation letters

April 17th: Senior survivor panel

May 1st: Creating a college list

Save those dates and I hope to see many of you next Thursday morning!

Where do you sit?

Are you looking for strategies to help you retain more information in your classes? Being able to recall the information covered by your teacher in class is essential in helping students excel in classes. One aspect you may not be aware of is that where you sit in class has a significant impact on your retention rates. Multiple research studies have shown that if you sit in the front row you have better retention rate than those who sit in the back rows. Additionally, the closer to the center you sit the better your retention rates. So, if you have the choice of a seat in a class, try to select the front row and middle of the room (assuming that is where your teacher stands as you want to be seated close to the speaker). If you cannot be front and center, then your second choice should still be the front row just out from the center. Your next choices from that point would be to continue sitting in the center seats as close to the front as possible, but definitely in the middle. The places to avoid would be the back rows on the outside edges as retention rates in those areas are significantly decreased. 

In many ways I suspect this probably seems obvious to you as when you are sitting in the front and center, right in front of your teacher, you are less likely to be working on assignments for other classes or to get distracted and doodle or daydream. Even if your teachers assign your seats, if you have trouble paying attention and want to improve your retention rates, consider asking your teacher to move you into a seat to maximize your retention rates. Also, when you are picking your seats, don’t forget to try to pick a seat that will not create additional distractions because it is near your friends.

Bad Days

Every day is not going to be a good day. That is hard and frustrating, but it is real. What you can't forget is that it is also manageable. When you have a rough day, week, month or even year, it can feel like everyone and everything is stacked against you. And that can feel overwhelming and scary. So I have a few reminders for you on those hard days.

1. You are not alone! There is ALWAYS someone willing to help and listen. If you can't find a listening ear in the friends or family members or adults around you, remember that you could always call or text the crisis line at 988.

2. Remember that the bad doesn't always last. Sadly, the good doesn't either. Life is never going to be all good or all bad, but staying open to the experience and curious about what is coming next is important. Think of it like a rollercoaster ride. You choose to get on the ride knowing that there are going to be thrilling up's and scary down's and unexpected twists and turns, but in the end, when you look back on it you enjoy the journey. Trying to approach life with that mindset can help.

3. Do more of what helps and less of what hurts. This can be a hard one to think about, but it is SO IMPORTANT! There are things that help you to feel better when you are having bad days. We don't always stop and do those things, but we can and we should. That might mean getting some extra sleep, listening to music, talking with friends, laughing, going for a walk, or eating a favorite meal. No matter what it is that tends to help you, when you're having those tough days, do more of those things. And, at the same time, avoid doing more of what hurts you. Don't scroll endlessly on social media or go down a rabbit hole focusing on those who have hurt you, don't numb out, don't watch, read or listen to upsetting stories for endless hours. By setting those limits, you better protect your heart and your mind.

Remember that I am here if you want to talk about life and how you're doing in this journey of all of the up's and down's.

FAFSA Reminders

Seniors, for the last month I have been focused on the younger students with their future planning, but as those meetings started winding down last week (and I am SO HAPPY that ALL of my registration meetings are now DONE!!) I started having a chance to touch base with more seniors again. The topic that came up the most was paying for college and how you're going to afford the colleges that you'd like to attend. This is a very stressful part of the process and I am thankful that you are thinking through it all with your families so that you make smart decisions for your future.

One of the important reminders I have for you is to be sure that you have submitted your FAFSA and that your intended colleges have everything that they need to look at you for financial aid consideration.

Here are articles that speak to the FAFSA and financial related issues with college:

Why you should fill out the FAFSA even if you don’t think you’ll qualify

Ohio Colleges Deadline Dates for FAFSA

You got into college.  How will you pay for it?

No loan colleges: What to know

How student loans work

Debunking 5 common myths about paying for college

 

Construction Update

Just a quick reminder that the construction progress is continuing and so starting tomorrow students will have new classrooms! Be sure to check your schedule in Infinite Campus to see your updated room numbers. All Academic Preps have returned to classrooms so that no one will need to be in the auditorium for that purpose. This is the last phase of construction upstairs! Please remember that this means new sections of the second floor will be closed off and students won't be allowed to enter or use those areas while other areas are now open. Please follow the posted signs as you navigate between classes.

Anastasia

This year's musical is Anastasia and the students and staff involved have been working SO unbelievably hard to prepare for the show! There will be 3 performances of the show - Friday night at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2:00pm and Saturday night at 7:30pm. You will not want to miss out on the chance to see the incredible talent and dedication of our WKHS students in action. Tickets cost $12 and you can register on the Worthington Hometown Ticketing website.

A huge good luck to "my" students who are involved in the production on stage including: Ethan Bevington, Jamey Chimbidis, Tori Camacho, John Alley, Anna Blake, Eric Collier, Jessica Atilano-Munoz, Sophia Bixler, and Cassady Campbell.  

The production of the show requires the dedicated work of the crew behind the scenes which also several of "my" students including: Adam Al Khayro, Charlotte Andon, and Milo Buerk.

And, of course, a performance is not a musical without music and so I also want to recognize the following students who are involved as a part of the pit orchestra: John Battle and Mason Cottle.

I know that many of you were able to watch the teaser part of the show's opening today during 8th period and, like me, are excited to see the whole show.  Good luck to everyone involved - you will do great!

Senior Mixed Emotions

For seniors this is such a time of mixed emotions for many different reasons.  The excitement about being in your final semester of high school battles the disbelief that high school has flown past.  The eagerness to be done with high school because you are ready to move on to whatever is next competes with the fears about what will come after high school.  The joy of college acceptances comes at the same time as the disappointment and sadness of deferrals and rejections.  None of it is easy!

Over the past few weeks as more and more early college admissions decisions have been arriving, I noticed that students will sometimes forget that others are around and start announcing where they were accepted and their feelings about different schools. 

When you have been accepted to a school, it is wonderful news and completely understandable that you want to shout it from the roof-tops, but it is also important to try to be sensitive to those around you and to remember that some of your friends and classmates are NOT being accepted into the very same colleges. 

While receiving a college rejection letter is hard, it is even more hurtful to hear someone else say something such as, "Oh, I was accepted to ___ (insert name of college) but I would never actually go there." Particularly if the school mentioned was the one where a student was recently rejected and had been their top choice college. 

So, go ahead and share your excitement, but please be sensitive to what you say about other schools and how you "rate" your own schools. No one school is perfect for every student and every student is not perfect for every school - it is important to find the right balance and I sincerely believe that every student will be able to find the college that is right for them.

Finding a way to balance the range of emotions you are experiencing as seniors is important. Sure, many of you are excited to graduate and be done with high school, but that also means the future, starting college, getting jobs, and being "adults" is just around the corner. I know that this is a time of high anxiety and remember, I am here to help support you! Please, do NOT sabotage yourself and your grades in your classes as a *solution* to not feeling ready to leave high school. Stop in and see me - let me know how you are feeling about high school coming to an end in just a few short months. I look forward to chatting with you soon!

AP Test Registration Reminder

Just one quick reminder that the late registration deadline to sign up to take an AP Test this spring is coming up this Friday, February 21st. So for those students who weren't prepared to make the decision on if you wanted to take an AP Test in the spring before the deadline in November can reassess how you are doing in the classes you are taking and if you want to take the AP Test.  Remember, the AP tests are a required step in order to try to be granted college credit for your AP classes. Each college sets their own policy on what classes they will grant credit for and what scores you must earn to receive that credit.  You can search for the policy on the colleges you are considering on the College Board Website.  Registering for an AP Exam now costs $140 ($100 for the test and $40 for the late fee) and you will complete the registration process on the My Payments Plus system.

Crisis Averted

I realize that a lot of students don't watch the news or only catch it in bits and pieces so I am not sure if you saw the story that came out this weekend about the planned school shooting in Indiana that was averted. The summary of the story is that a student planned to carry out a school shooting on Valentine's Day in Indiana at her high school. The threat was called into a school safety hotline and thankfully the crisis was averted because they were able to respond before the shooting happened.  But, this was only possible because someone spoke up and said something when they saw the warning signs.

It made me remember this video from Sandy Hook Promise. This video is a bit chilling... but it is short and I hope you will watch it before we continue the conversation.

What did you think?  I found it unsettling.  It is true though... we often see things up front and wonder if we should say something, if we should get involved, if we should trust our gut instinct, but then after the fact, it becomes easy to look back and think, "Oh yeah, I saw that" or "I knew this."  Unfortunately, as the video tried to explain, talking about it after the fact can be too late.  So, I think most of all, for me, this video served as a reminder that we ALL have a responsibility to try to help those around us who may be hurting, scared or contemplating violence and to help keep our school safe.  And it also makes me think about the fact that we all can make a difference!

So, here are the two most important reminders...

- If you hear someone making a threat or someone writing a threat, report it to an adult. (See something or hear something then SAY something!)

- Remember that any one warning sign may not mean that something is wrong, but if it doesn't feel right, then it is always better to reach out to an adult to try to make sure that they receive the support they need/ deserve.

What are warning signs of people at risk of hurting themselves or others?  These are just a few that people may observe:

• Fascination or obsession with firearms and/ or mass shootings
• Difficulty controlling anger or regulating emotions may appear as over-reactions or aggressive behavior for seemingly minor reasons
• Sudden change in academic performance, withdrawing from family or friends, and/or disinterest in areas that they used to enjoy
• Victims of bullying or feeling picked on or persecuted by others
• Isolation or social withdrawal
• Access to firearms
• Making threats of violence
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Previous suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, or self-harm
• Major changes in eating or sleeping habits
• Dramatic changes in physical appearance
• Giving away possessions
• Severe destruction of property
• Access/ use and prevalence of drugs and alcohol/ substance abuse

Again, because it bears repeating... if it doesn't seem right, say something!  80% of school shooters told someone of their violent plans prior to the event.  70% of people who complete suicide told someone of their plans or gave some type of warning or indication. I am SO thankful that someone spoke up in Indiana!

Course Adjustment Deadline

Next week is the last chance for students to change a class from conventional grading (A, B, C, etc.) to Pass/ Fail grading. The forms are on the bookshelf in the counseling center and require a parent signature. If you plan to switch a class to pass/ fail, please be sure to pick up a form and return it before the end of the day on February 19th.

February 19th is also the last day that students can drop a class without receiving an F on their transcript. And yes, it is too late to add a class. Sorry.

Long Weekend Ahead

We have a 4-day long weekend ahead!  I am sure that many of you (like me) are excited about having a 4-day weekend.  I would like to challenge you to be intentional during the weekend and select just 1 thing that you will do over the long weekend to spend your time wisely in helping set you up for the long or short term future.

Want some ideas on what you can do?  If you are behind on work in any of your classes, then you can spend some time working on school stuff in order to get caught up.  You can relax and really focus on recharging so that you can mentally transition yourself to a better place.  You can do some of the career exploration inventories such as YouScience.  Or perhaps you would be able to start exploring colleges more either by searching their online information or going and making an actual college visit... colleges are still in session on Friday so that can be a great day to be able to see the campus while students are around and going to classes.

You don't need to do all of those things.  In fact, my whole point of suggesting that you pick 1 thing is the hope that you will be intentional about doing something that involves taking steps to help yourself.  If you try to do everything at once then it won't help you feel as if the long weekend was a restful experience and I do hope that it will be an enjoyable weekend even as you are focused on getting other things done.

February Students of the Month

This past Friday morning was the ceremony to recognize the February Students of the Month.  Students can only receive the award of Student of the Month once in their high school career and must be nominated by WKHS faculty and staff for their academic achievement, good citizenship, and/ or service to the school and community.

4 of "my" students were among the 14 students who received this special recognition.  This included: (left to right) Evan Blanton, Cora Bystrek, Isabelle Bradley, and (not pictured) Sam Cline.  I am very proud of what each of you have accomplished and the positive way you represent yourselves and WKHS.

Super Bowl and College

A lot of times when students are weighing their decisions about what college they would like to attend in the future it can feel as if this single decision will determine your success in life. I don't believe that is true. I think if you make the best decision for yourself, you can trust that, with hard work, you can find success. 

Tonight many of us will watch the Super Bowl. (Or the commercials or the half time show). But as you watch the athletes taking the feel in the Super Bowl you know that this is the peak of their athletic careers and goals. This game is what they have been striving for throughout the year (and arguably for all the years leading up to tonight too.) But for each of the athletes competing this evening, their path to success has been different and unique. They attended a wide range of different colleges and worked hard to achieve success in whatever path that they took to get to tonight. 

So, in your own life, remember, there isn't just 1 college that will determine if you will be successful in college or in life after college. You can make your college experience your own and achieve all of your dreams with hard work and possibly a little luck too.

Winter Formal

High school dances are one of the more memorable experiences that students tend to remember far beyond the time that they are in high school. Tonight is the Winter Formal. Student council members have been working hard to make sure that students will have a fun event tonight. If you are going to the dance, enjoy getting all dressed up, taking pictures, eating yummy food, and celebrating being a teenager at the dance with your friends. I hope it is a memorable evening and I can't wait to see your pictures and hear all about it next week!

Worthington Academy & Linworth

One of the things that I love about working in Worthington is that there are so many different opportunities available to students. Kilbourne is an amazing place and I truly believe that it is a school where every student can shine and thrive. For some students, it is the blend of Kilbourne along with one of the other specialized programs provided in the district that allows students to achieve at their highest levels.

Linworth and Worthington Academy are two such programs. Both require students to apply and go through an interview process for consideration. Both provide unique, personalized learning experiences to push, challenge and support students to learn and grow. And both are smaller environments centered on engaging students in creative ways.

At the Linworth Experiential Program, it truly is all about the experience and how your learning today will translate into the real world tomorrow. With classes designed to engage students and opportunities to participate in a variety of experiential learning experiences culminating in a semester long project during 2nd semester of senior year, this program allows students to thrive. Students take classes on a block schedule and can move back and forth between WKHS and Linworth for classes throughout the whole school day with a continual shuttle looping between the buildings all day.

At the Worthington Academy, students have the chance to adapt the curriculum to the time schedule that they need. The Academy is housed on the west end of Perry/ Phoenix Middle School building and it provides students with the opportunity to blend their learning with a mix of teacher instructed and online courses. This means that students are learning, in person, with online classes where they can also get help from teachers in the room if they are confused and need extra help. For students this means that they are able to move faster through classes that they understand and take more time on subjects that might be confusing to them. Students attend Worthington Academy for half the day - mornings or afternoons - and are at WKHS for the other half of their day. 

If you are interested in either Linworth or Worthington Academy, let's talk about it and we can work to get you connected with the application and staff of those programs to help answer any questions that you might still have.

Summer School

Let's talk about Summer School.  I have been talking with lots of students about the need for summer school to stay or get back on track for graduation when we were having our 1:1 meetings.

Worthington's summer school will be happening again this year.  There are 2 different sections of summer school offerings available in Worthington Summer School.  

1 - Students can register to take classes as credit recovery - meaning that if you had failed a class you can take the class over again in Worthington's summer school.  Credit recovery courses will be free of charge.  

2 - There will be a limited number of classes available for getting ahead in credits and those classes will have a fee associated with them.  

Worthington Summer school will run from June 2nd - June 26th at WKHS and free transportation will be available to students who need it.  Registration is completely online on the district website along with tons more information about summer school - check it out at https://www.worthington.k12.oh.us/studentsparents/learning-opportunities/summer-programs

Some students and parents have had questions related to taking summer classes through a different school district or through Online schools.  The basic answer is yes, you are allowed to take classes through any accredited school.  Please be sure that they are accredited before you sign up for their classes.  After you have completed your course, they will give you a transcript and you will need to provide that to us at WKHS so that we can transfer your credit.  

As these courses are not coordinated or run by Worthington, I don't have a lot of details about various options, but a Google search for "online summer school" has been successful for students in the past.  (Some students also search for their intended course name to help make sure their search return gives them schools that offer that class.)  You can select any accredited program that works best for you - so look at their costs, learning experiences, expectations, and determine what seems to be the best fit for what you are seeking.

My top tip is to make sure you are signing up for their summer school classes because I do know that in the past students found there was a significant difference in the cost if they were taking a class online during summer school vs. taking a class online during the school year.  The school we receive the most transcripts from each year is TRECA, so that is one option to consider, but it is definitely not the only one out there.

We gave summer school information in your registration packet/ handout so you can use that as an additional reference.

CC+ Registration Reminders

Tomorrow I will start meeting with sophomore students before transitioning back to juniors next week.  One quick reminder to all students who are hoping to participate in CC+ classes at any time next year, you need to bring your completed CC+ forms with you to our 1:1 meeting.

That means you need to have:

- Attended the presentation in person or watched the video on the Counselor website

- Applied to the college(s): Columbus State for English, Psychology, Ethics, Government, or Sociology and Central Ohio Technical College for Math (there are detailed directions to complete this step on the Counselor Website)

- Filled out the Intent to Participate form and full packet (for the CSCC packet, that will include having your Cougar ID number which will come to you via email sometime between 2 days and a week after you have applied.

If you don't have those steps completed by the time we have your 1:1 meeting that is ok.  I will put your desired CC+ classes in as alternates and change your schedule once you have turned your forms in to me. Remember, the drop-dead deadline for turning in the forms is set by the state as April 1st. But if you want your CC+ classes to be considered when the administrators work on building the master schedule to give you a chance of getting your desired classes, I need to get those forms ASAP.

Everything is Training for Something

I have long believed that all of your experiences in life (good and bad) will contribute together to help you in the future.  A while ago I read the statement, "Everything is training for something."  It has a catchy phrase aspect to it that has stayed with me and resonates with my beliefs.

As a high school student, there are things that happen in your life that are preparing you for the future in so many ways.  Some of them are easier to see than others.  For example, when you are stuck in traffic you are learning patience.  When you are wrestling with a difficult math problem you are developing perseverance and logic.  When you are helping a friend through a difficult break-up, then perhaps you are also learning how it will feel when someone later breaks your heart.

I can look back now on my life and see how really big moments that I never wanted to have happen have helped to prepare me for a future I never imagined.  I will share one very obvious example with you... years ago, I would go every day after school to help care for my dying grandfather and feed him dinner and visit with him.  As he was getting closer to the time of his death, I communicated LOUDLY and FREQUENTLY to all of my family, the medical staff, and anyone who would listen that no matter what I did NOT want to be there when he died.  But, that wasn't how it worked out.  You may know that I now work part-time as a grief counselor with OhioHealth, but I can assure you that if I had never had my own experience of seeing death first-hand I wouldn't be as effective at what I do in that job.  When my grandfather died I had no idea where my life would take me in my future part-time job and there was NO part of me that was thinking, "well, at least this is training for something."  But the reality is, that is precisely what the experience ended up being in my life. 

And you have these moments all the time too.  As you are going through them, you will not always realize or imagine how they will help you in building the skills you will need in the future.  Whenever possible, if you can lean into the experiences you are going through and learn from them, you will be able to have the skills you have developed accessible to you or those around you in the future.

I am in the lucky position that I often get to see students pulling on strategies that have helped them in the past or working to build new skills that will undoubtedly help them in the future.  Stressed about a test, but you learn how to calm your body and remain focused - that will translate to stressful experiences in a job interview or key presentation you will have to give some day.  Feeling overwhelmed and wondering if this is even worth it, but then finding the courage to speak your truth and get help - that will translate into having the courage to be present with others who are struggling and to provide hope in a way that your life story becomes a lighthouse representating a beacon of hope for others that are struggling.  Your parents are fighting non-stop and you constantly feel as if you must walk on egg-shells to navigate things at home - this can lead you to developing a different approach to how you will parent your own children and what you want to make your home environment life for your own family some day.  Truly, the examples are endless.

Everything is training for something.  You are worthy of the training presented to you and you are capable of overcoming any obstacle which comes your way... especially if you realize that one aspect of the training is reaching out for help when needed.  I believe in you.  I can't wait to see what all of this training is preparing you for in the future and how you will change the world for yourself and for others.