The automatic emails from this site are no longer happening. You can receive posts from the new site - www.wkhscounselors.wordpress.com. I've written 3,951 posts since launching this site which is pretty crazy. I appreciate everyone who has followed along the way. The new site is a way for all WKHS students and families to gather the information and not just "my" families. So please, join us there. And know I appreciate you still coming back to read the updates.
Seniors, once you start narrowing down your college choices it is important to cut your other schools free. As you begin identifying which college or the few colleges that are still in the running, it is important for you to notify the other colleges that you do NOT intend to attend their school beginning next year.
Please be sure to wait to notify the schools that you will not be attending until you are completely sure that you are no longer considering them. However, I realize that many of you have narrowed your choice to a smaller group of colleges and you have completely eliminated others from consideration. Those which have been completely eliminated are the colleges I am recommending you notify now.
This is important because it allows the college to plan for their upcoming student body and to know if they have room to accept other students off of their wait-lists. Think about your classmates who might be on the waiting list for a school and they want to hear back from the schools as quickly as possible and there are other students across the country in the same situation. Colleges can't begin opening up additional slots until they know which students will or will not be attending.
Additionally, if you received scholarship offers from one of the colleges that you have eliminated from the running, this can also potentially allow the college to offer that money out to other students which, again, can help people such as your fellow classmates. Believe me, the colleges will not be angry with you for deciding that you will not be attending their school - they understand that this is part of the process, so just go ahead and take a few minutes to let them know of your intent to attend a different college.
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 that are just before or after spring break, 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.
Yesterday I talked about 2 career exploration opportunities, but what if you don't know what fields you want to consider as possible jobs?
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a test that serves as a qualifying exam for students interested in a military career and is also a helpful career based assessment to help students identify personal strengths and areas of interest for the future. Information about the ASVAB is available at: https://www.asvabprogram.com/.
While many people know the ASVAB is a test used for military enlistment and classification, the ASVAB Career Exploration Program (CEP) is much more than a military test. The ASVAB CEP can be taken by all students in 10th grade and above, regardless of their future career plans. Students can have no intention of entering the military and still take the ASVAB as a career exploration tool!
The ASVAB will be administered to interested students on Friday, March 27th at WKHS. If you are interested in signing up to take the ASVAB, please complete the interest form or see your school counselor.
On a totally separate note, good luck to the Girls Basketball team who will be competing tomorrow night in the Regional Semifinals game! This is their second year in a row to win and become District Champions! We are proud of you and wish you lots of luck in your game tomorrow night!
One of the exciting parts of high school is the chance for students to explore different career fields that could be possible for their future. There are 2 unique opportunities coming up that might be of interest to students.
First is the Performance Columbus Automotive Maintenance Pre-Apprenticeship Program. This is a year-long pre-apprenticeship program that is open for juniors and seniors. There are two opportunities for interested students and parents to attend an open house to learn more about the program. The open houses will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd and Thursday, March 19th at 5:30pm. Students and parents should try to attend together on whichever date works best for your schedules. The open house will highlight program expectations, scheduling and next steps. Here is a link to a flyer with more information.
Next is the Healthcare Career Summit Field Trip. The field trip will take place on April 30th, but the deadline to register is this Friday, March 6th. This field trip will allow students to learn more about healthcare careers including registered nurse, medical assistant, radiologic technologist, surgical technologist, medical laboratory technician, and respiratory therapist. Check out this handout for more information. We can only take 50 students so if you are interested, please be sure to complete both steps required to sign up right away.
If you're interested in either of these career fields, please be sure to take advantage of these opportunities!
There are lots of exciting happenings tomorrow related to WKHS students.
First, we are going to be on a 2A/2B bell schedule to enable all students to see a teaser of the Black History Month celebration.
Here is the bell schedule:
1st: 8:40-9:20
2nd: 9:25-10:50 (class and assembly)
3rd: 10:55-11:35
4th: 11:40-12:20
5th: 12:25- 1:05
6th: 1:10- 1:50
7th: 1:55-2:35
8th: 2:40 - 3:20
Then, tomorrow evening at 7pm, everyone is invited to the WKHS Auditorium to see the whole Black History Month celebration presentation. It is a free event and open to all students, parents, and community members who are interested. The students have been working really hard to make this a special evening and it should be fun!
And, as if that wasn't enough, tomorrow members of our girls swim team have qualified for the Swimming State Championships and will be competing in Canton, Ohio! Good luck to (in alphabetical order): Grace Baker, Keira Fidler, Caity Fuller, Abi Goodrich, and Madelyn Richner. We are so proud of you and will be cheering you on from afar. Go Wolves!
College is expensive! It is an investment in your future and finding financial options to help make it realistic to be able to afford to attend such as with additional scholarships is important. I know it can be a time consuming process, but it is worth it.
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.
I admit it... I am a list maker. I have lists for just about everything you could imagine. I created a list of things I *MUST* accomplish before the end of the day, not to mention the list I already have at school of the "other" things I need to do. I also have a list of things to do at home, a list of "to do's" for next week, lists for other upcoming school related projects, a list of summer projects (yes, already) and even a list for "when I have time." So, sadly, I guess I could probably benefit from having a list of all of my lists. :-)
The reason I am mentioning it, is that lists work for me, but everyone needs some sort of a system to help keep your thoughts or your massive "to do piles" organized. It is much more difficult and demanding to try to hold something in your head than it is to refer back to it on paper. I heard once that your head is a good place to have and process ideas not to hold ideas and I believe that makes sense. It doesn't require a lot of time, but the payoffs are large as long as you stick with it. Personally, I love being able to cross something off my list knowing that I had achieved a goal - no matter how small.
Please work on staying focused and organized. What do you need to do to make sure that you will be able to end this quarter successfully? Remember, you only have 8 more days of classes this quarter. If lists are not your way to stay organized, that is OK, but find a system that works and use it.
Eating disorders are such a challenge for those who live with them because eating is essential and integrated into every single day of a person's life. This week is National Eating Disorder Awareness week. According to the National Eating Disorder Association 30 million Americans experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives. The emotional and physical toll that eating disorders have on those struggling with them as well as their family members and friends is significant. If you or someone you know is dealing with an eating disorder it is important to get help and to know that every BODY belongs. Resources are available and it will be worth it. For those of you who have pushed through the worst of your fight with your eating disorders, know that you are seen and valued and you serve as hope for those who are just entering their own eating disorder battle. And to all of you, remember that we are here if you need to talk about any concerns related to your eating concerns (or the concerns you have for your friends.)
One of the most confusing aspects to students when you are picking your classes is the desire to know where the classes will fall in the school day. And unfortunately, that is not an easy answer. So I thought it might help if I explained how the registration process, which is what we are currently wrapping up will eventually become the schedule for your classes for next year.
The expectation is that by the end of this week all of the counselors will have met with all of our 9th, 10th and 11th grade students to review your course requests for next year. And as soon as we complete those meetings it means our phase of the registration process is officially *DONE* and we will be so happy to have it completed.
But the process is still FAR from over...
Once all of the course requests are finalized we officially hand it over to the administration as the "final" registration requests. **This is your reminder that if you are applying for CC+ classes and want your CC+ courses included in your requests for the administrators to use when building the schedule, you need to get your forms turned into us by Friday of this week!** (But technically you do have until April 1st to submit the forms for the state's deadline.)
The administration (principal and assistant principals) will look at the numbers for all of the courses selected to determine what, if any, courses do not have enough students signed up to be able to offer the class. After they figure this out they will provide that information back to the counselors with a list of students impacted and we will then work with those students and their alternates list to find a suitable replacement course.
The administrators will also begin working to determine the total number of sections will be needed for each class (for example how many English 1 courses) to meet the demand. They will then work with computer services to create a schedule that will create the smallest number of conflicts possible. This is a MUCH bigger challenge than most people would imagine. For example, if a class like AP Computer Science is only offered 1 time in the day, then they have to figure out what students want to take that class and try to make sure that the time of day selected to offer the course will not conflict with any other classes - especially any other classes that are only offered once in a day (like Band, Choir, or AP Foreign Languages).
Eventually they will create a schedule and "lock" it in place. When that happens (hopefully this spring before school is out) they will then come back to the counselors with a list of all of the kids with conflicts in their schedules. In some cases, we are able to make minor adjustments to move a few classes around and make the schedule work. In other instances, we will have to work with the student to make tough decisions about what classes they do or do not want to take and use the alternates to find other courses that would work and still meet requirements toward graduation.
And that's it - we will ultimately get the schedule set just how we want it and hopefully all of you will pass all of your classes 2nd semester so that we don't have to go back and add anything into your schedule or change classes that you no longer meet the pre-requisites for, but all of those types of changes will happen after the final grades are submitted at the end of May.
Hopefully that helps you understand what is going on with the scheduling and registration process and why it will take so long.
This year's musical is Chicago: Teen Edition 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.
There are over 100 students involved in this production including those who will be featured on stage, those helping behind the scenes to organize the show and manage the effects such as light and sound, and, of course, the musicians who will be performing in the pit orchestra. No matter their role I know they have all been working tirelessly to bring this show to life.
I know many students 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!
Sometimes we can get so caught up in our own lives that we forget not everyone is in the same situation or feels the same way we do. How we talk about colleges is like everything else in life and we need to approach it with sensitivity and kindness.
What do I mean?
As college admissions decisions arrive, students will sometimes start announcing where they were accepted and their feelings on different schools, forgetting that other students are around. Being accepted is wonderful news and it is completely understandable that you want to shout it from the roof-tops when you have been accepted to a school, but it is also important to be sensitive to those around you and to remember that some of your friends and classmates are NOT being accepted into those very same colleges.
Receiving a college rejection letter is hard enough, but it is even more hurtful to hear someone else proclaim, "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.
This also plays out when people are talking about colleges where they intend to apply. Students or parents saying things such as "I would never apply to _____." This is hard because that college is most definitely someone else's favorite school.
Please understand, in no way am I trying to dampen your excitement, but I just want to encourage you to please try to be respectful and aware in what you say about schools and how you "rate" colleges. Remember, no one school is perfect for every student and every student is not right for every college- it is important to find the right fit and I sincerely believe that every student WILL be able to find the college that is right for them!
Just a quick reminder that the late registration deadline to sign up to take an AP Test this spring is coming up this Friday, February 20th. 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 back in the fall 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.
Earlier this month there were 21 students honored as being Kilbourne's February Students of the Month. Nominated by WKHS staff, these students are recognized for demonstrating the characteristics that are the foundation of the Portrait of a Learner - Confident Communicators, Adaptable Leaders, Critical Thinkers, Responsible Collaborators, and Resilient Learners. Students are only eligible to receive this recognition once throughout their high school career.
Congratulations to the following students who were honored this month: Idir Ben Zaid, Ben Blankenship, Kenzo Burgher, Leandro Cobo, Sa'Kiyah Coleman, Murphy David, Layla Graeff, Hannah Karnai, Pierce Malinowski, Alex McCracken, Kelsey McFadden, Reese Miller, Henne Montooth, Andrea Pelcastre, Logan Poe, Jessica Pugh, Luke Renneker, Justin Serralde Romero, Addison VanLear, Cami Vantell, and Megan Vargas. We are proud of you all!
Each semester students have the first 6 weeks to be able to make adjustments to their classes. The options involve switching from traditional to pass/ fail grading. This option is not available for core classes, but can be done for many of the introductory level elective courses. Additionally, students who are currently taking above the minimum number of classes can drop a class before the 6 week mark and not have the class appear on their transcript.
This semester, 6 weeks is next Monday, February 16th, which, obviously, is a holiday. As a result, you have until 8am on Tuesday morning to drop your class or to switch to pass/ fail grading. The forms for both of these options are available in the front of the Counseling Center and on the Counselor website.
Just a reminder, you can take advantage of the fact that we have a long weekend coming up. For many students this is the perfect opportunity to make a college visit. Friday will be a traditional day at colleges where students will be going to class and engaging in activities like normal making it an ideal day to visit campus. Additionally, many colleges will host special visit days on Monday because they know high school students are off and so they often plan days to will allow students to learn more about the different programs and opportunities available on their campus. No matter if you are trying to decide what colleges you might want to apply to in the future or if you are a senior trying to decide which of the many schools you applied to will be your future home, I hope you will try to take advantage of the long weekend and make visits.
If you have no idea what colleges you might be interested in for the future, you can still make use of the long weekend by exploring colleges. You can, of course, begin your search online and try to find colleges that fit your interests, but more often than not, students tell me that they don't know what they want in a college. If that is you, then perhaps starting your college search by exploring some nearby campuses would be a valuable use of your time. As you walk around the campus, people watch and listen to the presentations by the college admissions representatives. From these observations and conversations you will begin to gain insight into various aspects of college life. These impressions will help you to start forming more of an idea about what you like and what you don't like in a college. These views will be extremely valuable to you as you start narrowing your college search.
And finally, a reminder that students should be the one to call the admissions offices to set up the college visits rather than having your parents do this for you. The good news is that many colleges have the visit appointments available online so you may be able to do it electronically, but if not the student should make the arrangements. Remember, you are trying to show the colleges that YOU are interested in their college and that you are mature and responsible enough to take this level of initiative.
A 4 day weekend is going to be great and we will be excited to hear about the various colleges you explore during the weekend and what your impressions are of the schools.
For some students, earning an Honors Diploma is an important goal. I have to be honest, this is not a factor for the colleges because the honors diploma recognition isn't granted until you graduate so colleges are not considering it when making their admissions decisions. The requirements for the honors diploma are established by the state department of education.
Here is a link to the state's explanation of the Honors Diploma requirements. If it is something you are working towards, please check the requirements and make sure you are planning your classes so that you can earn at least 7 of the 8 required components.
I love watching sports. And, as a result, I absolutely LOVE watching the Olympics! It doesn't even matter what random sport is on, I am willing to watch. And tonight, I will shift gears and watch the Super Bowl too even though I honestly don't care who wins for that game either.
So why? Why do I care to watch when I don't know the athletes and for many of the sports, I don't even know the rules of what I am watching? Because, to me, it is about watching people chase their dreams. And yes, the vast majority of the competitors won't win the gold medal or hoist the Super Bowl trophy in the air at the end of the night, but they all dedicated themselves to a goal that at one time someone probably told them would never happen. And even if they don't win the ultimate prize as being the "best" I still believe that they have achieved their goals and therefore made it all worthwhile.
I suspect you have probably had similar experiences in your life. When you loved something or had a dream for yourself and your future. Maybe it was never so big as to be an Olympian or to play in a Super Bowl, but your own personal goal and dream for your life. I hope you never let anyone tell you that something is impossible. I hope that if you decide to shift your goal/ dream, it is because you have a new, better defined vision for yourself. And I hope that as you watch people chasing after their dreams you can pause, even privately in your own mind and heart, to cheer them on just as we all hope people will cheer for you as you take on your own challenges.
There is no question, these moments of glory - the standing on a podium or on the field getting applause can certainly feel good. But don't ever forget the hundreds of thousands of hours of work, commitment, dedication, and perseverance that was required before they ever reached this point in their lives. Your goals and dreams may (or may not) require that same level of commitment to achieve them and you might not have a crowd giving you a standing ovation when you reach the goal, but it doesn't mean it is any less meaningful if you set your mind to something and achieved it.
And, if you are not a sports fan, I get that too... hopefully if you end up finding yourself watching the Super Bowl or the Olympics you will find yourself inspired by the stories of the athletes, or captured by the creativity of the commercials, or at least able to enjoy some good food while you watch.
Do you ever feel like everything happening at school is about your future? I mean, I guess I hope that you think that all of the time as each of your classes is helping to create a foundation of knowledge to help you in the future. But this week in particular I think a lot of students are feeling the future focus in our conversations... in registration 1:1 meetings we have been asking about your future plans and making decisions about your future courses. And during Academic Prep periods the administrators have been working with prep teachers to help support all 9th and 10th grade students to complete their YouScience assessment if students hadn't already completed it.
YouScience is a great assessment tool that lets you learn more about yourself while also highlighting careers that would be a good potential fit.
YouScience is a measure of aptitudes. Aptitudes are your natural abilities to do things. It is not about saying you are good at math or science - it is more about the specific strengths that cross over to various subject areas.
When you take this assessment it is all online so you can do it from any computer or chromebook. The entire process from start to finish is about an hour and a half, but you can split it up over however many settings that works best for you. The assessment consistents of a variety of different small computer challenges (also known as "brain games"). Each of these challenges is timed and you just do the best you can on each one of them. When you start any of those timed tests, you have to finish that piece before you could stop and save to return later.
I took the assessment and was fascinated by all of the information it was able to say about me just from doing these fun tests. At the end,you will receive an email with links to your results. There were 3 main things I liked best about the results. 1, there is a multi-page personal summary that can be downloaded that talked about things that are easier or harder for you based upon your results. 2, there is a discussion summary guide which is a great resource to help you for use in recommendation letters, resumes and college essays. 3, the career specific information is interesting. I really liked that the career information could be divided out so that you could look at it based upon which careers fit for people with your aptitudes, for careers with your interests, or for careers that overlap well with your aptitudes and interests.
If there are any older students who haven't completed the YouScience assessment, I encourage you to do so! There is truly a wealth of knowledge available to you. You can access your YouScience tool for free using the link in HelloID. And, if you have completed it, this is a great time to hop back in and look at your results again and think about possible future career paths and if there are any classes you might want to try out next year to explore an area of interest. And, for what it's worth, I can't wait to hear about which brain games you thought were easier and which ones you thought were harder along, of course, with the results and what you think it says about you!
Tomorrow we will start meeting with sophomore students before transitioning 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. We will put your desired CC+ classes in as alternates and change your schedule once you have turned your forms in to us. 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, we need to get those forms ASAP, but no later than the end of February.
This coming weekend, WKHS students have the opportunity to attend and participate in a National College Fair. This event, sponsored by the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, is FREE to attend. It will be held on Saturday, February 7th, from 1:00-4:00pm at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Admissions reps from over a hundred colleges will be available to speak one-to-one with students and parents about the college admissions process, including paying for college, admissions requirements, activities on campus and more. The fair also features information on gap year and pre-college summer programming.
Students who plan to attend should register for the National College Fair online at: https://www.nacacattend.org/26GreaterColumbus and this website also has more information to help you make the most of your time at the college fair.
Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn more about colleges and finding the schools that will the best fit for you.
Tomorrow we will start meeting with every 9th grader and I'm looking forward to a busy, but meaningful day!
I also wanted to make sure that all parents know that Parent/ Teacher conferences are coming up next week and the online system for parents to sign up for a time to meet with teachers opened this morning. Conferences will be held on Monday, February 9th from 4:00pm - 7:30pm and Wednesday, February 11th from 5:00pm – 8:30pm. Each conference will be scheduled in 15 minute time blocks. Conferences allow parents the chance to learn about your student’s classroom performance from the teachers, it allows the opportunity for you to ask questions and they provide an opportunity to build a dialogue with the teachers regarding any thoughts and concerns you might have.
Conferences will be scheduled as people sign up for them, so if you want to make sure you have times that work well for you, I strongly encourage you to register right away.
Please follow the steps below to register for a parent/ teacher conference:
After submitting your time slot, you will be prompted to finish, schedule another appointment for the same student or register another student. Once you have completed your reservations, you will receive an e-mail confirming the date and time of your conferences and a link by which you can make changes to your date or time if you need to do so.
Click on the teacher you would like to meet with for a conference.
Sign up by entering your child’s last name, first name, your name and your e-mail address and then click Submit.
The next screen will direct you to check your e-mail inbox for a message with the subject “Select Date/ Team for Teacher Conference Now.”
Open the e-mail and click on the link to select a conference time. If you do not receive an e-mail, please check your junk/ spam folder. Please note, you MUST follow the link in the email in order to complete the sign-up process.
The link will take you to a Time Picker. Available time slots will appear on this page. If there are no available appointments that suit your schedule, please e-mail the teacher directly to set up an alternate meeting time.
The PE waiver provides the opportunity for students to waive having PE as a required class for graduation. This option is available to students participating in high school athletics including cheerleading and marching band. (For ease of explaining and writing this, when I refer to sports or athletics throughout this post, please know that it also includes marching band.) All students must still earn the full 20 credits to graduate from high school, this waiver would simply mean that what has typically been required (1/2 credit of Physical Education) would not need to be included in the 20 credits earned and an additional 1/2 credit of Elective would be required instead.
Please be aware that athletic participation during your senior year does NOT count toward the waiver.
In order to qualify for the waiver, students must successfully complete two full seasons of athletics. This can be 2 different sports in one year, it could be 1 sport over two years, or even 1 sport one year and another sport the other year. So, for example, if you participate in both football and basketball in the same year, you would qualify for the waiver. If you participate in football as a sophomore and again as a junior, you would qualify for the waiver. If you participate in football as a sophomore and track as a junior, you would qualify for the waiver.
In order to have your sport counted as one which can be used for the waiver, it must be an approved high school sport. This means that your club sport participation, like club soccer or club volleyball, is not included in the waiver eligibility. Also, dance team and the competition cheer team are all club teams and not high school sponsored athletics and so they are not eligible for the waiver option. Additionally, team managers and statisticians cannot count their involvement as a season toward the waiver.
Students must complete a "full season" in order to have the sport count which is considered from the first practice through the last event or banquet. If a student is "cut" from a team, quits, or has an athletic/ activity code violation which requires them to forfeit 50% or more of the season, then that season would not be able to be used to meet the two-season requirement. If you were to get hurt, the injury will not eliminate the option of having the season count if the principal, coach and athletic director determine that the student actively participated and made contributions in spite of the injury.
Many students ask if it can be a partial waiver because they had completed 1 season of sport and so they only want to have to take 1 PE class and the answer is no, there is no ability to mix and match. If you have already completed a PE course, you can still utilize the waiver to eliminate PE as a required course, but you must complete 2 seasons of sports in order to qualify for the waiver. The bottom line is that 0 seasons of sports = needs PE/ doesn't meet the waiver eligibility requirement, 1 season of sport = needs PE/ doesn't meet the waiver eligibility requirement, and 2 seasons of sports = meets the waiver eligibility requirement and therefore doesn't need PE classes.
The district has developed a system to track your athletic participation automatically and that happens at the end of each school year. Even though it should catch your sports automatically, it never hurts to double check at the end of the year to make sure your waiver appears on your transcript.
When we are talking about registration for next year, it often leads students to think about some of the other learning program partnerships that are options available to you as Kilbourne students. I am specifically thinking of the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC), Linworth, and the Worthington Academy.
It is important to remember that the Delaware Area Career Center requires students to apply and even though the priority deadline has passed, they would still welcome your application. So, if you are interested in applying to DACC, please get your application completed and submitted online ASAP.
For current juniors who are already enrolled as students at DACC, as long as you are in good standing with your program then you are automatically eligible to continue in your program next year. So, when you register online you will select the 1/2 day or Full day option that you prefer and register only for the classes at WKHS that you plan on taking.
If you are a sophomore or junior who has applied to the career center, then when you are completing the online course registration, you will fill out the request as if you are taking a full day at WKHS. Later, when you find out that you have been accepted to the program of your choice, then we will meet again and we will go back in and adjust your classes to reflect your half day or full day DACC preference.
Linworth is another incredible option for some of our WKHS students. While most students who attend Linworth start there as freshmen, there are limited opportunities for older students to apply and attend. If you are interested, we need to set up a time for you to visit and interview. For current Linworth students, please register online for just the classes you will take at WKHS. As always, you will set up your Linworth schedule at Linworth on the first day of school next fall.
Worthington Academy is another application based program available to WKHS students. The Academy is housed on the west end of Perry/ Phoenix Middle School and it provides students with the opportunity to blend their learning with a mix of teacher instructed and online courses.
Much like DACC and Linworth, students who are already attending the Academy and are in good academic standing can register for the Academy as a part of their registration process and then select only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS. Those students who are applying for the Academy for the first time will register as if you were going to be attending classes at WKHS for the full day. Once you are accepted, the Academy staff and the WKHS counselors will go in and update your course requests so that you have the Academy and only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS in your schedule.
Please know that there are limited seats available at the Academy, so if you are interested in applying you want to get your application in as soon as possible. If you have questions about the Worthington Academy, feel free to stop and see me or you can also contact the Academy Principal, Dr. Flynn, via e-mail at sflynn@wscloud.org.
Taking rigorous classes while in high school is one of the best ways students can prepare themselves for college. At WKHS we have lots of options available for students to do this most notably honors classes along with IB, AP and CC+ courses. Through these classes, students have the opportunities to push themselves and have the potential to earn college credits while in high school by taking AP, IB and CC+ classes.
One of the top factors colleges consider when evaluating applicants is the strength of the academic schedule students take on during high school. (And, of course, that students do well in those classes.) One of the options students can consider for selecting a rigorous academic schedule that also has the benefit of providing students with a global perspective and integrated learning to make connections across courses, is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Students who are interested in completing the full IB diploma program will have specific IB courses to take along with completing the IB exams, an extended essay, and a community action service project along with a Theory of Knowledge course. Even if students are not sure that they want to take on the full diploma program, you can still participate in IB courses! You can take just a handful of classes (or even just 1) if that is what appeals to you. For example, students interested in Psychology or History might elect to take just the IB Psychology course or just the IB History course.
As an IB World School, our students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow. Students who are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program and the small cohort of students they study with in the program. If you have questions about IB, I definitely encourage you to talk with students in the IB program or to Mrs. Goodwin who is the IB program coordinator. And, of course, you can always talk to me too.
Students must pay to take the IB exams and, depending on the level of the class, how well you performed on the test, and the college you are attending, you may be able to earn college credit for the course. It is helpful in your planning to be aware that some colleges will not grant credit for individual SL classes - only Higher Level (HL) courses.
Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in a wide range of subject areas from core subjects like English and Science to the arts such as AP Studio Art and AP Music Theory. These classes are designed to fulfill the college course content and the teachers are following the curriculum requirements to prepare students for the AP exam at the end of the year.
Students must pay to take the AP exam and, depending on how you do on it and the policy of your intended college, you can earn college credit for the class.
College Credit Plus (CC+) is another rigorous option for students. The difference in a CC+ class is that students are earning the credit for the work completed across the semester instead of relying on a test at the end of the year.
It is important to realize that while CC+ is set up to be free to students, if you fail the class then you are responsible for paying for the class. Additionally, whatever grade you earn in your CC+ class that grade is on your college transcript. So, in comparison, for IB and AP classes, the grade you earn in the class doesn't have any bearing on your college transcript - you either earn the credit or not through the exams, with CC+ it is starting your college GPA. For example, if you decide to complete your Associate's Degree at CSCC and then transfer to OSU, that college GPA is going to impact your potential to be considered for particular majors or scholarships.
CC+ also requires more independent learning and follow through of students than traditional high school classes. You are moving through a full year's worth of content in a semester and you will be doing much of the work on your own time since the classes only meet 2 days per week. Students who need frequent reminders are likely not ideal candidates for CC+ classes.
There are advantages and disadvantages of all 3 rigorous course opportunities. The best news is that there isn't a bad decision about which classes to take - so think about yourself and your own areas of interest and decide what you think feels best for you.
Remember, all colleges get to set their own policies for what classes they will give students college credit for completing and what the qualifying score for AP and IB exams must be in order to earn that credit. You can usually find th
One aspect of the registration process that can sometimes cause confusion for students related to selecting their classes is how to deal with teacher recommendations.
Last week, your teachers reviewed the different classes offered within their departments and made suggestions about the courses they would recommend you to take next year. Some of the core and foreign language teachers submitted their recommendations for what class they would suggest for you to take directly into Infinite Campus.
If you don't agree with what a teacher has recommended, you are not locked into that course. For example, we know that there are MANY students who will be recommended for LOTS of honors or AP or IB classes and not want to take all of them. This is completely appropriate and acceptable... in fact, I would say that I absolutely WANT you to prioritize and schedule a balanced load that meets your interests and goals for the future. (And your teachers and administrators want that for you too!)
The first place we suggest you start is by talking with your teacher about their recommendation and the course you would prefer to take. Since your teachers know your learning style and approach they will have important and valuable information for you and your parents to take into consideration when selecting classes. I encourage you to carefully take their recommendations into consideration - especially if they are suggesting you take an "easier" course than the one you were previously considering.
However, we also know that some students may not feel comfortable telling a teacher they want to take a different class than what the teacher was recommending. I am anticipating this could be the case if a teacher is suggesting their elective or core course and you wanted a different one and don't want to hurt the teachers feelings. I get it, but I will also remind you that your teachers should not be pressuring you into anything! This is YOUR future and YOU are the one who will be in the class and doing the work next year! So, know that I am more than happy and willing to talk to you about what courses you would like to change and make adjustments for you. If you and your parents have decided that it is not in your best interest to take a class that your teacher has recommended and you want an easier or comparable course, then we will easily fix this during our individual meeting next week.
If you have decided that you want a more difficult course than what was recommended by your teacher then you must complete the Course Override form (on the Counselor website) in order for us to change that in your schedule. Before you decide to go with a more difficult course than has been recommended, please be VERY careful in thinking through all of the possible implications of doing that because your teacher's are recommending based upon what they know about your learning AND what they know about the classes. They want to make sure that you are being recommended for classes that will help you to be successful in the future.
One of the graduation requirements is for all students to complete a Financial Literacy Course. There are a lot of different classes that can fulfill that requirement, but this tends to make the requirement a bit confusing.
Economics and Financial Literacy - this class is a Social Studies elective course that will give you a SS elective credit and meet the financial literacy requirement.
Personal Financial Management - this class is a Business elective course that will give students an elective credit and fulfill the financial literacy requirement.
Independent Living - this is one of the Family & Consumer Science classes and it will give you an elective credit and fulfill the financial literacy requirement.
Financial Algebra - this is a year long math class that meets the financial literacy requirements while also giving you a math credit.
The cool thing about all of these classes is that they are all covering the same financial literacy standards, but the additional content and approach in the classes are different so that you can select the course which appeals most to you.
We get one more snow/ cold day tomorrow! Enjoy it and start transitioning your sleep schedule back to "school times" if you got yourself flipped around this week.
Yesterday I talked about how many classes you need. And I didn't remind you that there is also the opposite side of scheduling where students want to take ALL the classes and fill their schedules up with too many difficult classes compared to what they can actually manage successfully. After all, it is really easy right now (especially when we are in the midst of multiple back-to-back snow days) to think "Oh I can manage to do it all, it will be fine." But then when you're in the midst of actually doing it you can feel like you are drowning.
So, when you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be reasonable about your expectations for yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle so while it may feel good to have every teacher recommend you for honors, AP, or IB classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with 7 advanced classes. In the past I have even had students stop by proclaiming a plan to take 8 classes by skipping their lunch period. I get it, there are a lot of incredible classes available at WKHS, but overloading your day and burning yourself out does nothing for your love of learning or your ability to successfully complete your classes. I cannot stress enough how much I want you to think about the rest of your commitments.
What sports, clubs, music groups, part-time jobs, and volunteer commitments do you have? When will you have time to relax and breathe, spend time with your family and friends and, perhaps most importantly, still get a good night's sleep each night?
I understand this can be hard to figure out the balance because you aren't at next year yet to be able to imagine what your days will feel like, but the Kilbourne staff created a Time Commitment Planning Calendar which can help you gain insight into what your intended plan will really look like. You can find it on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com. A student helped by completing a sample calendar so that you can see what a completed one looks like and that is also on the Kilbourne Counselor website. I strongly encourage you to consider 2 of your busiest weeks and fill out the calendar so that you can have a realistic perspective for what the classes you are considering would provide a good balance for you - being both rigorous (particularly in any area of passion) and reasonable.
As you continue thinking about your courses for next year (and any subsequent years), it is important to be sure that you are taking enough classes, but you also don't want to over-extend yourself.
For most 9th, 10th and 11th graders, you will be taking 6 classes. That would leave you with room for a lunch and an off period (prep or options or early release or late arrival).
For most seniors, if you are in good standing academically, you can drop to 5 classes. Why do we give you the flexibility to drop to 5 classes? Because the process of applying to college and applying for scholarships is time consuming and we want to be sure that you can give your best to your course work and also your future plans. It is important for seniors to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required to be considered a Full Time student. Being full time is important for a range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, plus colleges definitely want to see you as a full time student. So you definitely won't go below the 5 minimum classes in any semester.
While 5 to 6 classes is the minimum per year, if students are behind on earning credits due to failing classes, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes during a semester or the year.
Also, when planning out your classes over the next year, be sure that you double check and make sure you'll be taking enough classes to be eligible to participate in athletics and other co-curricular activities. (Remember, any school sponsored activity that involves competition requires you to be eligible. So this includes band, choir groups, Mock Trial, In the Know, etc.)
In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter. If you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life course or TOK, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits per semester so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.
Enjoy having another day off tomorrow and please, stay warm!
I absolutely LOVE snow days! I think the snow is beautiful... from the comfort of my home. :-) And, actually, I think there is nothing more joyful as a kid (and adult for that matter) than the added bonus of an unexpected day off where you don't have anywhere to go, nothing that you have to do, and you have the freedom and flexibility to spend the day doing whatever fills you with joy.
What might that look like? Sleeping in. Reading. Making/ eating yummy food. Listening to music. Cleaning your room. Checking something off your "to-do" list that has been hanging over your head for too long, but you just haven't had time to do it. Participating in a hobby - making something, building something, creating something, coloring/ drawing, playing your instrument, etc. Watching a movie. Catching up on your favorite shows. Snuggling with your pets or teaching them a new trick. Playing in the snow. Shoveling the snow for your family or your neighbors. Drinking hot chocolate. Sitting under a blanket beside a fire.
I feel like the options are endless... and wow, when I read through the list I just wrote, all of that would be a pretty incredible way to fill your bonus day off.
Perhaps you're trying to be productive and check some things off your school to-do list. I have a few reminders there for you as well...
Register for your classes for next school year! The online registration window is now open so there is no better time to hop online and select the classes you want to take next year.
Seniors, many of you attended the Scholarship Senior Seminar on Thursday morning, this is a great time to start working on some of those scholarship applications.
Complete your YouScience assessment. Or, if you already did it, spend some time exploring your strengths in the aptitude section and the potential career matches in the career section. If you haven't done the YouScience brain games yet or if you are ready to look more at your results, you can get there through HelloID.
If you're planning to participate in CC+ next year, apply to your intended college.
Juniors, sign up for your 1:1 meeting time with your counselor. (Invitations were sent to your email, but we have links to all of the counselor appointments on the Counselor website).
Even though we have a snow day, the time to schedule your classes for next year is still this week. So please be sure that you do focus on that at some point in this coming week. Remember, next week we will meet with every Freshman and Sophomore student and we will review all of your course requests and answer any of your questions too.
Enjoy your day off tomorrow. Please stay warm, safe, and try to do something that brings you joy in your bonus day off!
This week a large part of my time has been trying to explain to students about how you earn credits in high school. It is a valuable reminder for everyone.
High school is different than elementary and middle school. In middle school, you take classes and each year you move on to the next grade and take all the classes for that grade. In high school, you must earn credits for specified classes and the way you earn credit is by passing each semester of the class.
So, for example, all students must earn 4 credits of English to graduate. When you pass both semesters of English 1 during your freshman year, you move on to English 2 during your sophomore year. If, unfortunately, you failed one of the semesters of English 1 then you are going to have to make that particular semester up before you can progress on to English 2. Students who failed a semester will be able to make up the course either by repeating the class in summer school, repeating the class through credit recovery or repeating the class by retaking it during your sophomore year. The bottom line is that you must REPEAT the class in some format.
Some classes (like English) have pre-requisites that students must meet in order to move on to the next level. Other classes, like Science and Social Studies, do not have pre-requisites to move on to the next level so we will potentially allow you to move from Physical Science to Biology or from World History to US History without first repeating the freshman year class. Don’t misunderstand though, you will still have to repeat the class at some point, but if you are not making it up during summer school, then you will likely be taking a freshman year class during your junior year.
In order to earn sophomore status, students must have earned at least 5 credits. To become a junior you will need 10 credits. To be classified as a senior, you must have earned at least 15 credits.
So, if you need to repeat a class, by far, most students will do that during summer school. Summer school
I just got home from Curriculum Night and it is always so fun to see everyone exploring the options available at WKHS. Before I get into reviewing the graduation requirements, I want to remind all students and parents of 2 important events we are offering tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning, Thursday, January 22nd at 8:15am in Room 201 we will host a Senior Scholarship Seminar. This is a quick, 20 minute presentation to help get seniors moving on working on searching for scholarships.
Additionally, tomorrow evening, Thursday, January 22nd, at 7:00pm in the Auditorium we will host a College Credit Plus (CC+) presentation. This presentation is an annual requirement for all students interested in participating in CC+ classes in the upcoming school year. Please make plans to attend if you are considering taking a CC+ class next year!
Now, for graduation requirements. I know they can feel daunting for students and parents because there are so many components involved. With registration starting today, having an idea of what you need to complete for graduation is essential to selecting your classes, so I wanted to take a moment and give a quick overview of the requirements.
Basic Academic Requirements:
4 credits of English
4 credits of Math
3 credits of Science
3 credits of Social Studies
1/2 credit of PE (or additional elective credit if earning the PE Waiver)
1/2 credit of Health
5 credits of Electives (anything other than the classes listed above count as electives)
1 full year worth of Fine Art completed between grades 7-12
Financial Literacy requirement (can be met through Personal Financial Management, Economics & Financial Literacy, Independent Living, or Financial Algebra)
Demonstrate Comptency in English and Math: For most students this will be done by earning comptency scores of 684 or higher on the English 2 and Math 1 state End of Course tests. Students can repeat these tests as needed.
There are a range of other options for how comptency can be demonstrated, but testing is the clearest path. If you need other options, I will be working with you to identify what pathway would work and be a viable option for you in the future.
Show Readiness by earning 2 Seals: There are 12 seals (9 state seals and 3 local seals) that students can try to earn. All students must earn 2 seals and one of those two seals must be a state seal If you visit the counselor website and look at the graduation requirements page there is a link to information about all of the seals. As you click on each seal you will be able to see the specific information about what is required to try to earn that seal.
Today you also received a copy of your transcript. If you or your parents want to see it now or at any other point in time, you can always review your progress by accessing Infinite Campus.
Tomorrow kicks off the process for registering for classes for next school year. You will be on a very different bell schedule and then, tomorrow night, you and your parents are invited to WKHS for Curriculum Night as a chance to get more information about the various programs and opportunities available to students.
Here is tomorrow's bell schedule:
1st period- 8:40 - 9:20
2nd period- 9:25 - 10:50**
3rd period- 10:55 - 11:35
4th period- 11:40 - 12:20
5th period- 12:25 - 1:05
6th period- 1:10 - 1:50
7th period- 1:55 - 2:35
8th period- 2:40 - 3:20
** As you can see - 2nd period is very long and that is because we will be holding class assemblies for the current freshmen, sophomore and junior students to pass along information about course registration and important information you need to know to successfully select your classes.
I recognize that it feels too early to be making decisions about what you're going to take next year when students are still settling into the new semester, but the time it takes to be able to take your requests and then build a master schedule that will meet your needs is very complex.
One of the most common reactions for students (and parents) as soon as they hear that it is registration time is to panic. So please, right now, before you even receive your registration information, pause, take a deep breath and relax! Thinking about the future can feel overwhelming, but I promise that we will help you through it. This is a very hectic time of year for us dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that we are aware of the anxiety and we will get through it together.
So, let me give you a quick glimpse of what these next few weeks will include. Tomorrow will be the meeting where you’ll get the details of what you need to do to register for your classes. You will submit your course selections online through Infinite Campus starting on Friday. The deadline to submit your requests is Friday, January 30th. Counselors will meet with every student individually to review your requests. We will still be able to make adjustments to your requests at that time so if you are uncertain about something, go ahead and make your best guess on what you are thinking and then we will talk about it when we meet together.
Here are some of the key dates you’ll need to know about:
Wednesday, January 21st: Registration materials distributed
Wednesday, January 21st: Curriculum Night at 7:00pm – you and your parents can come to talk with the teachers and learn more about the different options available to you;
Between now and the end of February: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled
Friday, January 30th: Deadline to submit online course requests
Monday, February 2nd and Tuesday, February 3rd: Individual meetings with all freshmen students during Modern World History classes
Wednesday, February 4th and Thursday, February 5th: Individual meetings with all sophomore students during English classes
Friday, February 27th: Counselor deadlines to be able to make any adjustments in the online system
Over the next few days, during classes, your teachers will be reviewing the different classes offered within their departments as well as talking with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year. As you talk about the classes and what your teacher recommends they may enter that information into IC for you so that you don't have to worry about signing up for those classes as they will already be on the list for you.
You will have a course selection sheet to help guide you in the different options available and you can use that sheet to make notes about your thoughts on what interests you and then you can highlight to help select your classes that you will then enter online. If you would like to hear more in depth information directly from the teachers who teach particular courses, please set up a time to talk to the teacher or come to meet with them during Curriculum Night. (Let us know if you need help finding a teacher during one of their off periods.) Don't forget that your teacher in the same department will also be able to share a lot of insight with you about the classes options within their department even if they aren't the one who teaches it.
After you have determined which courses you would like to take, please talk it over with your parents and then login and register on Infinite Campus. The online window for students will open this Friday (January 23rd at 4pm.) When you submit your course requests on Infinite Campus they will be saved automatically. You will need to be sure to submit 3 alternates. I will only use those to replace classes if your first choice selections are absolutely not possible.
Freshmen and sophomores will be meeting with us individually during your History or English classes. Juniors, you will have individual meeting times. You should have received an invitation to set up our time to meet via email so use the link to select your own meeting time during an off period that works best for you. Please be aware that some of the appointment slots for juniors will be before the online registration window closes, but you must submit your requests online before our meeting!
Also, just in case you lose any of your forms, we will have extra copies posted, along with the slides from tomorrow’s presentation and the Course Planning Handbook all available for students and parents to access on the Kilbourne Counselor website – www.wkhscounselors.com – and as of tomorrow we will have it on the home page for your convenience.
Once again, the counselors are here to help you, but I please be patient because having more than 300 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time... and we ultimately have until February 27th to get everything determined and finalized.
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