Narrowing Your College List

There are 5,600 colleges and universities in the United States.  Trying to narrow down the list from more than 5,000 to a reasonable handful of schools to which you will actually apply can feel daunting.  It can feel overwhelming to know that there are so many choices available - colleges you have not even heard of previously - and yet you are being ask to select and apply to the schools which will be a part of your future. The good news though, is that the process of narrowing your college list starts with YOU and what YOU want in a school.

On the WKHS Counselor website there are a variety of pages specifically geared toward helping you in the college search and with lots of information and questions to consider for yourself.  These include Tips for Investigating a College, What do You want in a College, and a Self Reflection page.  We dedicated a lot of content to this search process because it is true that before you really start looking for the “right” school it is important to figure out what you WANT in a school and that can only be found by looking in yourself and determining what factors are most important to you.

You'll find a lot more on the website (which we hope you'll check out), but a few examples on factors that might differ for various students... for some students distance from home may be a big deal. Being close can have it’s advantages – like being able to come home and have a free home cooked meal or a place to do your laundry and also not having to worry about flying half way across the country any time you would want to come home for a visit. Going to school at a college far from home can also have it’s advantages – often a different climate, a new experience and adventure where you can be independent, and no concerns about mom or dad just dropping in unexpectedly. And, of course, there are some students who will elect to find a school that is not too far and not too close. (Remember, that by communicating with your family about what you are looking for in a school you may find that a college outside of your comfort zone is still worth considering because you and your parents may be able to reach some mutually agreed upon ground rules – so the concern that they might come see you or you might come home too often can be eliminated by talking about those issues up front.)

The size of a school is another factor for many students. Small, Medium, Large or somewhere in between – the challenge is that many students will say, “I don’t know” and that is where making a variety of visits to different sized schools can be advantageous. You can explore a small school and see if the experience of knowing lots of people on campus and in your classes is better for you than a medium or large school where you may have a class in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students. As you visit the schools you may find that there are experiences or advantages that a larger school can provide that a smaller school can’t such as a wider variety of clubs or groups for students to be involved. The key is to figure out what size school fits you and then you can narrow your search to explore more schools in that range.  However, it is important to keep an open mind about size because there is only 24 hours in a day so the way you will spend your time is going to be very similar no matter what size of a campus you select.

Other factors that often influence a student’s college decision will include the types of majors or programs offered at the school, their athletic programs – both collegiate sponsored and intramurals, the food, the dorms, the cost (but don’t necessarily eliminate potential colleges simply based upon cost because often the private schools are much more expensive, but also offer a much larger financial aid package to make it competitive and comparable to a public school), extra-curricular opportunities, career placement services and on and on.

Again, we cannot stress the point enough that everyone is different and what is best for one person is not necessarily the ideal school for someone else. All too often we listen to students who are only looking at the 2 or 3 schools that their best friend or sibling looked at rather than trying to find the school that fits best for them. Also, we truly believe that it is about being a good match – for both you and the college and that there is not 1 perfect school.  You will be successful no matter where you end up attending.

We know it can be a bit intimidating to search for a school and to try to figure out what you really want in a college and for your future, but it is also supposed to be fun so try not to put too much pressure on yourself to find “perfection” and try to take a step back and figure out what will make you happy. It really can be fun, but we know it is also overwhelming so remember that we are here to support and help you in any way we can.

One day left between you and your long weekend!

Class Rank

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

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

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

Also, one more reminder to senior students and families that tomorrow night, Thursday, September 3rd is the Senior College Information Night at 7pm in the Auditorium. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pack Period

Tomorrow will be our first Pack Period of the school year.  For students new to WKHS, when you think about a Pack Period you can also think of it as something like a homeroom where announcements are shared, particular topics are addressed or discussed, or timely activities are completed. Our Pack Periods at Kilbourne are typically held as a component of your 2nd period class. (Sometimes specific grades will be called for an assembly during the Pack Period time to come to the auditorium for a group presentation.)

Pack Periods are held on Wednesdays approximately every other week.  The Pack Period is a time for students and staff members to forge stronger connections, share important information, and to build on student success skills for learning and for life.

One of the main items that all students will see during tomorrow's Pack Period is a video from the Counseling Center. 

We are on a different bell schedule during Pack Period days to give you an extra 24 minutes to be in the Pack Period.  This also  means each class is 3 minutes shorter - so your 2nd period class will begin 3 minutes earlier than normal (a really important point to be aware of if you are a student with late arrival and no class during 1st period so that you're not late to 2nd period on Pack Period days.)

Grade Point Average

Grade Point Averages (GPA's) are a big part of high school lingo... and yet some students might not  know how grade point averages are computed.  Your transcript is a record consisting of every high school class you have ever taken and the grade you earned in each class. 

The "easy" explanation for how your GPA is calculated is that every class you take at WKHS taught by a Kilbourne teacher or a CC+ instructor with traditional grading is computed into your GPA. Some students begin taking high school courses while still in middle school. Those grades will appear on your transcript, but they are not calculated into your GPA. This is done to assist you because many times middle school students haven't recognized the impact that their grades have on their high school GPA and the long-term impact on their future college applications. Additionally, any classes that you pass that were taken as pass/ fail appear on your transcript but will not be calculated in your GPA.

All regular and honors classes are unweighted which means that they are all based on a 4.0 scale.  AP, IB and CC+ courses are weighted on a scale of 1.25.  Below is a chart that shows how GPA is calculated.

Letter Grades	Percentage	GPA Scale	AP/ IB Weighted Calculation	AP/ IB Weighted GPA
A	90 – 100%	4.0	4.0 x 1.25	5.00
B	80 – 89%	3.0	3.0 x 1.25	3.75
C	70 – 79%	2.0	2.0 x 1.25	2.50
D	60 – 69%	1.0	1.0 x 1.25	1.25
F	0 – 59%	0.0
S	Satisfactory
P	Passing

All classes are granted credit based upon the semester.  This means that when you pass the 1st semester you have earned that credit and it is computed into your grade point average. Each semester class is worth 1/2 a credit excluding physical education courses which are worth 1/4 a credit.  So, if you earn a B in the first semester of English 1 and a C in the first semester of Physical Science, then your GPA for these two semesters of classes would equal a 2.5. Plusses and Minuses in your grades are still calculated based upon the base grade as we don't have different GPA weights for a B+ vs a B or B-.

It is important to know that some students have taken classes at other schools and are transferring their credit to WKHS. Those classes will also appear on your transcript with the grades, but are not computed into your GPA. This is because your Kilbourne GPA will just reflect your Kilbourne classes - any classes you took in another district or an online school will have the GPA that you earned at that school. So, for example, if you transferred to WKHS from a surrounding district, your classes and grades will be transferred over to Kilbourne, but they won't be included in your Kilbourne GPA. This means that students will not have a grade point average until after they have completed a semester at WKHS. The reason that this is important is that some students have transferred from schools that have different grading scales and it doesn't allow equitable comparisons. When students are applying to college you will submit both of your transcripts so that they have the complete picture of your grade point average.

You can see a copy of your transcript on Infinite Campus and it also shows your grade point average.  If you have any questions about your GPA, stop by and see us.

CC+ Classes Begin

Just a reminder to all students who are taking a CSCC class through CC+, your classes begin this week!  These classes meet for 2 periods, but only twice a week.  So, those of you who are taking English Comp 1 or Ethics, you will have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.  If you are taking Psychology, you will have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  There are no CC+ class meetings on Fridays.

As we have talked about in the past, you will still have work to do for your college classes outside of your designated class time and those non-meeting days are an ideal time to stay disciplined at using for work time on those courses.

One important suggestion - because your CSCC professors will all use your CSCC email, we would strongly suggest you set up the automatic forward option on your emails to send it to a gmail account which you check regularly or set up your CSCC account to your phone.  Check out the details on CSCC's website for more information on how to do that.

Good luck as your start your college classes!

Office Workers

We have a great volunteer opportunity that students can take advantage of during the school day within the comfortable walls of WKHS.  We have office workers volunteer their time to help out in the counseling/ administrative offices. Our office workers each year have been amazing!  They helped run passes, update the bulletin board, put together packets or whatever else was needed.  Some days were busier than others and so there were days when they didn't have to do much of anything to help us other than be available.  We do have an application process to be selected as an office worker, but if you are interested, we'd love to have you! Students with a period of academic prep or options in their schedule would be eligible to apply.  (You would no longer have prep or options if you chose to work in the office.) You will accumulate community service hours as an office worker. Applications are available in the front of the counseling center. 2 students will be selected for each period of the day.  

We have already had times in the last few days when we wished we had office workers so we could send a pass for a student to come see us.  So know this is a service opportunity that is truly valued and appreciated. Please apply as soon as possible if you are interested so we can get you involved!

Senior College Information Night

The Senior College Information Night will be held one week from today, on Thursday, September 3rd, at 7:00pm at WKHS in the auditorium. This is one of the most valuable meetings for senior students and parents to attend because there are so many college related questions that we will be able to answer.

We will be reviewing the college application process, the procedures for submitting your items to WKHS and to the colleges, and other information you need to know. We hope you will make every effort to attend! We strongly encourage both the seniors and their parents to attend this night.  Why?  Because the seniors are the ones who are actually applying to college and you need to know the steps and details involved specific to WKHS.  We think it is ideal for parents to also attend so they can help support you in your application and they don't ask you tons of questions that you will learn on this evening.

We know it is not always possible for every senior student and family to attend, but we hope you will try. Remember, with so many seniors, it can be really challenging if we are not all starting with the same foundation of information. This evening will answer all of your basic questions and then we’ll figure out the rest together as the year continues. We're looking forward to seeing you on September 3rd!

Meeting with School Counselors

Students, if you want to meet with us - just drop by our offices! That is honestly the BEST way to meet with us. You don't need to schedule an appointment in advance. We're generally around before and after school as well as during your lunch or academic prep/ options periods for you to stop in and chat.

You don't need a big reason to come down and say Hi. We are happy to see you even if you just wanted to tell us how well or how poorly you did on a test that day. If we are busy meeting with another student or parent - you can stop back down, leave a pass for us, send us an email to let your counselor know you want to see her. If we haven't tracked you down that day or the following day, chances are the pass we sent for you didn't make it to you or we can't find you in the commons - so please come back!

During high school there are times when you may wonder if there is anyone who cares and is willing to listen to what you are going through and we want to remind you that we are here for you.

Parents, out of respect for your time and our schedules of trying to prioritize and maximize meeting with students during the school day, we do ask that if you would like to meet with us that you reach out via email or phone so we can set up a time to meet in advance rather than just having parents attempt to drop by like students are doing. Thanks for understanding.

Meet the Teacher Night

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

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

Here is the schedule for the evening:

Welcome & Introduction in WKHS Auditorium by Principal, Aric Thomas: 6:45pm
1st period - 7:00 - 7:10
2nd period - 7:15 - 7:25
3rd period - 7:30 - 7:40
4th period - 7:45 - 7:55
5th period - 8:00 - 8:10
6th period - 8:15 - 8:25
7th period - 8:30 - 8:40
8th period - 8:45 - 8:55

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

One of the benefits for parents about this evening is that it will allow you to put a face with a name so that if when your kids are talking about a test in Mr. ____'s class or an assignment for Mrs. ____'s class parents will be better able to keep it straight.

Confidentiality

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

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

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

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

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

Get Involved

Being involved in sports, clubs, volunteer outreach, or other areas of interest help connect students to the school and community. You have special gifts that only you can share and you can make a positive difference!  

WKHS is very fortunate to have a wide range of opportunities available within the school setting for you to get involved. There are 29 interscholastic sports, over 40 clubs, the school newspaper, video news team, yearbook and a wide variety of performance groups (choirs, bands, orchestra, and theater). While there is obviously no shortage of established groups that you can get involved with, if you have other passions that you want to focus on, don't forget that you can also help establish a new club. As long as you can find a faculty member who is willing to help you with club oversight, Mr. Todd and Ms. Masi in the athletic office can assist you with the paperwork needed to establish a new club or organization.

For underclassmen, getting involved makes your transition to high school easier because you get to know older students and you find a place where you can belong. For upperclassmen, being involved gives you the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and to grow in your areas of interest. (And no, for the record, I don't think you should just get involved because it will look good on your college applications... you should be participating because it is meaningful and important to you, but yes, being involved is a plus for college applications too.)

As we kick off the new year, perhaps getting involved can be one of your goals for the year. You will be able to contribute and find a sense of belonging all at the same time.

Last Day to Add Classes

Monday (August 24th) is the last day for students to add a year-long or first-semester class to their schedule. This is an important deadline to pay attention to for all students. You have 6 weeks to drop a class without it appearing on your transcript, but you can only drop a class if you will still have above the minimum required number of courses. If you have any questions about your particular situation and if you would or would not be able to add or drop a class, please stop in and see your counselor during your lunch or off period.

Lexi

Do you know who was REALLY excited for school to start again?  Lexi!

For those new to WKHS (either incoming freshmen or students who have moved to Worthington), Lexi is short for Lexington. She is a Miniature Goldendoodle (which means that she is a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Miniature Poodle.) Lexi weighs 23 pounds and she is hypoallergenic which means she should not be a problem for students with allergies.

Lexi is a therapy dog and she LOVES coming to school to spend time with students and staff. Her only goal is to love and be loved and she has definitely missed the love and attention from everyone throughout the summer. So, in case you need a reason to stop by the counseling center to say Hi, remember that Lexi will be there and, like us, she will be thrilled to see you.

Back to School

It's a school night!  :-)

Can you believe summer is over?  Tonight is a school night which means you are going to have to try to go to bed at a decent time so that you can function during the day tomorrow.  I hope you enjoyed your last day of summer vacation and are getting excited about coming back to school. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Today we had a great day welcoming the freshmen students to Kilbourne. I was so impressed with the Link Leaders who made the day fun, meaningful and welcoming to the 9th graders. Thank you Link Leaders for your service and commitment. I was proud of how you demonstrated your leadership and set the standards for what can be expected at the high school. You set a great example for the Class of 2030 of what it means to be a part of our Pack. 

We're looking forward to seeing you all in the morning.  Sleep well!

CC+ Reminders

We wanted to remind you that although the WKHS classes will all start this week, any of your CC+ classes that are not taught by a Kilbourne teacher have a later start date. This can get confusing at times which is why we attached a yellow information sheet to the schedules of all students enrolled in a Columbus State CC+ class. If you are taking Comp 1, Psychology, or Ethics at Kilbourne, those CSCC classes are taught by a CSCC professor. You will be on the same timeline for the semester as CSCC so your classes won't begin until August 31st. So that means you do not have to come to class for those specific classes until the week of the 31st.

In addition to the start date being different, we wanted to remind you that you have to have completed all of your Workday steps. Your class(es) will show up in Blackboard ahead of your start day.

Please note that if you are taking a COTC CC+ class, those courses (Pre Calculus and Calculus) are taught by our WKHS teachers and the academic calendar is the same as Kilbourne so you will start classes this week like everyone else.

Read the information sheet that was attached to your schedule and let me know if you have any questions!

Prepare for Success

This week we will start a new school year and it is important to put yourself in the best position possible to be successful.

The first step is to set your goals for the year. What are you hoping to accomplish? What do you need to do to reach these goals? It is often easier to dream big and, quite honestly, most of you could achieve any goal that you set your mind to, but it will take dedication and commitment.

Many of you are also out searching for new school supplies. As you buy your folders, binders, and notebooks, pause for a moment to think about what organization system tends to work best for you. Are you a "stuffer" who just stuffs papers into whatever happens to be available? If so, folders are probably best for you. If you are the type of person who wants to be able to combine notes from class with notes that you take from the book, you might gravitate toward a binder with loose-leaf paper rather than a spiral notebook. Whatever system you select, make sure it is one that will work for YOU.

Preparing for success is probably most closely connected to having an organization system for tracking your assignments. Perhaps you bought a planner or maybe you're hoping to use an app. It doesn't matter to me what type of an organization system you have selected, but it is essential that you pick something and commit yourself to using it.

This will be a great year! We hope you are looking forward to getting started (even though it means that summer is over and early mornings are beginning) and if you need help with setting reasonable goals or with organization, please don't hesitate to stop in and see us.

Reminders

Tomorrow (Monday, August 17th) is the first day back to school for students attending the Delaware Area Career Center. For DACC students, the bus will transport you from WKHS to DACC and back, but you will need to find your own transportation between home and Kilbourne. The bus up to DACC will leave WKHS in the morning at 7:15am. We hope you have a great first day at the Career Center!

Additionally, a reminder to seniors that tomorrow at 1:30pm is the second Common App 101 Workshop. We will meet in Room 201. Please be sure to bring your Chromebook or a laptop with you because you will work on your actual Common App while we are meeting.

Common App 101 Reminder

Seniors, just a quick reminder that tomorrow at 10:30am is our first Common App 101 Workshop. If you have signed up to attend, please be sure to bring your laptop or chromebook with you because you will be working on your actual Common App application during the time together. We will be holding this work session in Room 201 and look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

New Names and Faces

Kilbourne was filled with a buzz of energy, excitement, and nerves today as everyone came through to pick up their schedules. Don't forget, there are 2 more days for schedule pick up this week... Wednesday afternoon from 12:30-3:30 and Thursday evening from 5-8pm.

As you see your schedules and/ or as you walk through the building you may see that there are many new names and faces this year at WKHS. We encourage you to welcome and say hi to the following new staff members:

We will have 3 new security monitors: Mr. Benver, Mr. Schreiber, and Mr. Turnbull.

Mrs. Bowman (Math)

Mr. Zarycki (Math)

Mr. Timms (Special Ed)

Ms. Bush (Health/ PE)

Ms. Glitsch (Tech)

Mr. Sullivan (Orchestra)

Science has a bunch of new staff including: Mr. Larson, Ms. Starr, Mr. Joyce, and Ms. Lavelle

Ms. Coleman (EL)

Although they are not new to WKHS, we have a few staff members shifting positions - Mr. Berens will now be in the Art Department and Mrs. Taylor will be in the English Department

We have 3 new Administrative Assistants taking over for secretaries that retired including: Mrs. Stead, Mrs. Kehlmeier, and Mrs. Moneypenny.

Mrs. Dyer is a new Assistant Principal. She will partner with Mr. Alexander on the top part of the alphabet (A-K). Mrs. Leiding and Mrs. Travis will now share the bottom part of the alphabet (L-Z).

And then there were a few weddings over the summer and so Ms. Johnson is now Mrs. Maddock and Ms. Hunt is now Mrs. Gorski.

What hasn't changed? That everyone at WKHS is excited to work with the students and to have a successful year ahead. So even if you're uncertain when you see that your schedule features names of people you don't know yet, please know that it will be great!

Schedule Changes

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. If you want to request a schedule change, stop and see us after you pick up your schedule - we will be in our offices during the schedule pick up times and are happy to meet with you. Come see us!

Interesting College Data

As high school counselors, we spend a LOT of time reading and reviewing information from and about colleges. This is important information for us to be aware of so that we can help provide accurate information to students and families as you are navigating the college application and admissions process.

Data isn't always everyone's favorite to explore - it is way more enjoyable to check out college websites with happy photos and eye-catching graphics, but, when you're trying to figure out if a college is a good fit for you or what the reality is for being accepted or getting financial aid at a particular school, digging into the data can be unbelievably helpful.

Big J Educational Consulting releases data every year that counselors, students and families can use to help compare various colleges. And it is set up in an easily interactive format so that you can play around and look at the colleges you are considering.

If you (or your son/ daughter) is working on figuring out which colleges could be a good fit for the future, it would be worth spending some time exploring their data. We definitely had some eye-opening moments as we looked at the information.

Schedule Pick Up Days

Are you getting excited to see your schedules for the coming school year?  Schedule pick up days are coming one week from today and we wanted to make sure all of you are aware of the days and times when you will be able to pick up your schedules... sorry, we can't email out copies ahead of time.

Tuesday, August 11th: 
9th graders, 11th graders: 8:30am - 11:30am

Wednesday, August 12th:
10th graders and 12th graders: 12:30pm - 3:30pm

Thursday, August 13th:
Any grade level of students: 5:00pm-8:00pm

Don't forget, schedule pick up day is packed with lots of activities like getting your school picture taken, picking up your books, etc.

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

We know that every year there are questions about what you should do if you are not available to attend on your designated schedule pick up time. If you cannot pick up your schedule and books on your designated time, then you can come to school on the other schedule pick-up day/ times. If you will not be able to attend any of the designated days/ times, then you will not be able to pick up your your books or get your student ID made until the 1st day of school, but schedules will be available online starting Monday, August 17th or you're welcome to come to school on either Monday the 17th or Tuesday, August 18th from 1:00 - 3:00pm.  (No morning pick up's on those dates though because we are all in mandatory meetings both mornings.)

Each year schedule pick up days are two of the craziest days in our offices, but we are looking forward to seeing you!

It's August!

It's August... which means a lot of things to different people. For fall athletes, it means seasons are now beginning in full-force. For students and teachers, it means summer is ending and the countdown to classes is on. And for seniors, it means that Common App is now live for the Class of 2027.

Common App is a website that students can use to apply to a wide range of colleges with the same basic core application and then separate individual smaller application sections for each individual college. There are over 1,100 colleges who accept the Common Application so it is definitely a site that a LOT of students will find themselves using if you will be applying directly to a 4-year college.

It can be great for seniors to log into Common App and start the basic information for your applications. But every year we have seniors who think they know exactly the right answers for various questions and then realize that they were not correct. We don't want that to happen to you!

In order to help prepare seniors for filling out the Common App we will host a Common App 101 Workshop where seniors will literally bring your computer and log into your own Common App account and we will walk you through the application step by step to help you be sure that you are completing all of the information accurately.

These are such an important part of the college application process that we will host the same workshop 3 different times so that you can pick the date and time that works best for your schedule. They are:

• Friday, August 14th at 10:30am
• Monday, August 17th at 1:30pm
• Thursday, September 10th at 7:45am

All of the workshops will be held in Room 201 at WKHS. Space will be limited for each session so we do ask that students register to let us know which session you will be attending.

Like you, we will be holding tight and trying to squeeze every last moment of enjoyment out of the remaining days of summer. But we are also looking forward to seeing you and hearing all about your breaks (and, for the seniors, which colleges are on your finalized list.)

College and Finances

Normally, when we are talking about college and finances the focus is on finding a college that will be a good Financial Fit for the student/ family. But, today we want to talk about a different aspect of college and finances - the college's financial stability.

As school counselors, we spend a lot of our time reading, listening to, and attending workshops about all different aspects of supporting students with their pursuit of college. One of the aspects that has been fascinating, strange, scary, and definitely not what we expected to be learning about is the fact that there are colleges who are really struggling financially. And that can potentially have a really big impact on students.

Now, we don't want to create panic among anyone as you are considering colleges, but it is something that students and families should be aware of and it is a great place to ask questions of colleges to learn more. The reality is that when a student selects a 4-year college, they assume that they will graduate from that college. But if the school is in financial distress and ends up having to close while you are in college (which is rare, but happens) then students are left scrambling to figure out how and where to finish their degree. (The good news, is that when this has happened, other colleges have stepped up and provided paths to help support the students in the path towards their future.)

Forbes released a report about the college financial grades that they assigned based upon the financial standing of the school. They looked at over 900 private, non-profit, colleges who have at least 500 students. It is a fascinating wealth of information. Here is a link to the story/ report.

As I was playing around in the data, I sorted to look at all of the Ohio colleges. 14 of the Ohio private colleges have a D grade on their financial stability. The good news, is that 15 have grades of A's or B's so more of Ohio's colleges are in good standing than those struggling.

Once again, we want to caution you that you shouldn't just automatically remove a college who appears to have a low grade from your consideration, but it is worth including their status as a part of your information gathering when you are meeting with the college reps. I hope you enjoy messing around and exploring the data that Forbes has captured.

AP/ IB Test Scores

As of today, all students who took AP or IB tests this spring can now access your test results on the AP/ IB websites. We know you studied hard and prepared well for the assessments so we hope you will be happy with the results you find!

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

Summer Assignments

It's hard to believe that we are about halfway through the summer already! We hope you have been enjoying your summer in spite of the hot, humid days we have right now. While you are likely trying to stay cool inside, this is a great time to reassess where you stand with your summer assignments (if you have any).

As you know, students taking many of the advanced classes (Honors, AP or IB courses) next year likely have summer work to complete for those classes. Hopefully you have started making progress on the work that is expected of you. It is important to remember that you are responsible for completing all summer work and that it will impact your grade in your class. In the past there have been times when students would procrastinate on completing their summer assignments and then decide at the last minute that they would drop out of the advanced course in favor of the non-advanced version (so, for example, dropping AP US History in favor of regular US History).  If you are planning on switching levels, it is really important that you make that change prior to Wednesday, July 15th. If you wait until after July 15th to decide that you want to change levels, you will still be responsible for completing the summer work because even if you change levels your summer assignment is a part of your academic record and so your grades on the summer assignments will go with you to the new class.

Hopefully you are feeling good about your summer assignments and what is expected of you. If you haven't started, we strongly encourage you to start working on it. If you have lost your summer assignments, please feel free to check out the WKHS Counselor website - www.wkhscouselors.com - as we have posted the assignments your teachers have submitted there as well.

And, for the record, if you do want to drop from an advanced course to a regular class, please just email your school counselor before the end of the day on Wednesday the 15th and we will make the change for you once we return to school. The date/time stamp on the email will allow us to know which students have dropped without needing to complete the summer work.

We hope you are enjoying your summer and hope that the 2nd half is relaxing, enjoyable and productive.

Job Shadowing

The summer is an ideal time to try to job shadow because you won't have to miss school and most jobs have consistent responsibilities throughout the entire calendar year.

By spending time shadowing individuals who are working in fields that are potentially interesting, you will be gaining a behind the scenes look at what the career really entails. You will also have the opportunity to network and make connections with people who can, potentially, help guide and mentor you in your own future career path. But, because so few students actually take the time to arrange for job shadowing opportunities and follow through with it, what I like best about is that it allows you to have a leg up on everyone else when thinking about this as a potential future career.  You know just a little bit more about what a day in the life would feel like, what the stressors and high points are in the job, and you will more clearly have an idea of if this is truly a good career fit for you.

If you are interested in setting up a job shadowing experience, start by identifying the job you would want to shadow. Consider asking family members and the family members of your friends if they know anyone working in that field to see if they could help give you a contact name to reach out to about spending a day following them to learn about their career. If you cannot find anyone who knows of someone within that job field, you can always contact companies that have that field as a career and asking blindly if they would allow you to shadow someone. If you are making a blind contact, you might start by reaching out to their Human Resources department.

When your day arrives to job shadow I have a few hints for you...
1. Dress appropriately for the job.  (If you are unsure what approrpriate attire would be, ask when you are setting up the visit.)
2. Be on time. (This is your first impression. Don't blow it by being late.)
3. Smile, shake hands, look people in the eye and maintain a positive attitude. Ok, that is a lot in one hint, but the way you approach the people you interact with throughout the day will be important.
4.  Leave your phone in your car. Seriously. I know, it is a challenge to have your phone far beyond the stretch of your arm, but here is the thing... you end up checking text messages, social media, or the time just out of mindless, random habit. You don't want to do that when you are shadowing. So, for this one day, leave your phone in your car. Or, if that truly is going to send you into withdrawl, then turn your phone OFF (not just do not disturb) and put it away and only turn it on during your lunch break or when you are in the restroom. But, again, please, let me stress to you the value of just leaving your phone in your car!
5.  Come up with some questions you'd like to know about the career professional who you are shadowing and their job as a whole. Throughout the day, spread out those questions and give them the opportunity to share with you their career path and experiences. It's important to remember that your day there isn't just about interviewing them - they have a job to do, but having a few thoughtful questions or developing additional questions in response to things you are observing in the day is a good use of your time and of theirs.
6.  Bring something (notebook and pencil) to jot down thoughts and questions as they come up throughout the day. Remember, no phone means you won't have access to the Notes app on your phone so you have to go old school on this one.
7.  Keep track of anyone that you meet throughout the day, especially anyone who helps share insights or information with you that helps further develop your understanding of the job field. Most professionals will have business cards that they can share with you or you can write down their names in your notebook. 
8.  Later, after your visit is over, send a thank you note to the person who allowed you to spend the day shadowing them. You can also consider sending a note to any of the people you identified in point number 7 above.
9.  For yourself, jot down some notes - a few sentences or bullet points are fine. But take the time to reflect back on what you thought of your time at the job. Did you like it? What was the best or worst part to you? What surprised you? By having those brief notes, you will potentially be able to use it for yourself when you are writing a college essay, filling out your application, or trying to remember some piece of information a year or more from now related to the visit experience. I know that it seems as if you won't forget any of it, but I promise, it will not stay as fresh in your mind as you anticipate, so just write a few simple thoughts and reflections down before you leave the experience behind.

Remember, you can shadow several different jobs to get varying perspectives and ideas of different fields that interest you. Plus,there are so many careers (like nursing for example) that have drastically different settings and so even if you have picked out a career that you want to shadow you may be interested in learning from people in a range of different settings.

We can't wait to hear about your experiences as you go out and job shadow!  Good luck and we hope you learn a lot.

Sharing Sad News

In writing this blog, we are trying to keep all Kilbourne students and families updated with timely information that helps with navigating the high school years. Unfortunately, the high school years can also be a time when students must deal with grief and loss. As school counselors, we know the weight and magnitude that death can have on anyone who knew and cared about those who have died.

The week after school ended, Mr. Thomas shared the news with the Kilbourne staff and families that Mrs. Chelsey Hundertpfund, a science teacher at WKHS, had died. "Hundy" as she was lovingly known to most students at school, had been out of school for the last year as she fought against cancer, but there are some current WKHS students who had her previously or knew her through her involvement with the Environmental Club and Yoga Club.

Hundy was just 43 years old and she is being missed so much right now by her husband and 2 little kids along with her extended family, friends, colleagues and former students. We know that the death of Hundy is significant to so many of you and that grief, sadness, and loss is real. There is no doubt that she made an impression and worked hard to make sure all students could see and feel her excitement about science and life.

If you want to read Mrs. Hundertpfund's obituary, please check it out here: https://www.newcomercolumbus.com/obituaries/chelsey-hundertpfund

If you are struggling with the grief from Hundy's death, we encourage you to reach out to the trusted adults in your life and remember that those feelings are real and valid because she was someone who made a difference in your life.

Summer School

Summer school in Worthington kicked off today and we are excited for all of our students who are going to be working hard to get back on track for graduation by taking advantage of the free summer school provided in Worthington! Remember, if you signed up for summer school you should be attending daily from 8-10 or 10-12 depending on your designated time window. You can work on your own outside of school as well to help you make progress in your classes faster.

If you failed a semester course and didn't get signed up for Worthington summer school, there is a waiting list for a seat, but use the email sent by your counselor to join the waiting list and as seats open up they will work to give you a chance to make up your credits as well.

At the same time, we know that many students are planning to do get-ahead credits during the summer in order to make room in your schedule for other classes that you are interested in taking. You can use any accredited school, but most often students use TRECA. Don't forget that the deadline to sign up for TRECA summer school is tomorrow, June 2nd at 4pm.

Congratulations Graduates!

Today was the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2026 and it was a wonderful celebration of all of your accomplishments. As each of you walked across the stage and received your diploma, it marked a moment of transition - from high school student to Kilbourne Alumni. We are so proud of you!

Seniors, thank you for your leadership, your kindness, your hard work and for allowing us to share in your lives. As school counselors we were honored to be able to walk alongside you during your journey through high school. It meant a lot to us that we were able to see you overcome tough days and to celebrate with you over your accomplishments. While we hope you are leaving high school with good memories, the best is ahead of you and we wish you luck in all that comes your way. Love, Miss Abbott, Mrs. Schnell, Mrs. Himmel, Mrs. Mann, and Mrs. Lord

You Made It!

Congratulations! You have officially made it to the end of the 2025-26 School Year. It still feels like we just started the semester and we blinked and somehow here we are. We hope you are proud of how the year went and that you are pleased with how you finished the year academically. Enjoy the start of your summer and please stay safe!

Lexi & Exams

1 more day of exams!! Are you excited that you only have 2 exams remaining in your year? Most students have said their exams haven't been as bad as they had expected which is always encouraging news.

Do you know who is NOT excited that there is just 1 day of school remaining?  Lexi.  She is NOT ready for summer and NOT ready for everyone to leave her. In fact, this week has been quiet in the counseling center except for the breaks and lunch period and she has been acting so sad. It is kind of comical to watch and several of the students and staff who have been around have noticed. 

So tomorrow, with very little break time between your exams and then everyone leaving for the summer, I anticipate Lexi will be very sad to see you all go, but we will be at the doors so she can see as many people as possible to say goodbye and get one last "belly rub" before you all leave. But if you do have a few extra moments or are stressing with your exams, please stop by and see Lexi... and us too of course.

Summer School

If you fail a class in high school, you have to repeat that course before you can move on to the next level.  So, for example, if you fail Algebra 1 then you have to take Algebra 1 again before you move on to Geometry.  This is particularly challenging for students who fail English or Math since those courses each require 4 credits to graduate. If this applies to you, PLEASE be sure to sign up for Worthington Summer School ASAP! It will be held at WKHS, it is free and transportation is available if you need it. The way summer school registration works for credit recovery is that students are required to use a personalized email link for signing up for Worthington Summer School. The counselors are working to send links to all students who failed a class. We have sent out registration links to kids who failed 1st semester classes and, for 2nd semester, as we begin getting confirmation that students have failed a class this semester, we will send them out for this semester as well. (Please be aware that these emails come from a "no reply" email address and are sent to both the parent and the student so either of you can use it to register.)

Additionally, back in February when we were looking at your intended courses for next year many of you reported that you would be taking classes during the summer to get-ahead in your classes/ credits. That is completely acceptable - you just need to make sure you are taking your classes through an accredited school and then transferring that credit back to us by bringing in a copy of your transcript. Many students have found TRECA to be a cost effective alternative, but again, it can be any accredited school.

If something has changed in your plans and you will not be taking a class that you had previously indicated you were going to complete via summer school, please stop to see us or send us an email to let us know so we can adjust your schedule for next year.  (This goes with advanced classes and for classes you have failed.) We want to try to get as many of these adjustments made as possible before the school year ends so that your courses will be right in August when you pick up your schedule.

Exams & Test Anxiety

How are you feeling about final exams starting tomorrow?  It’s normal to feel a little bit nervous before and during a test. What is important is to learn how to deal with those anxieties so they do not become overwhelming. Below are a few key strategies for managing test anxiety that might be helpful to you during exams. If this is something that you struggle with, please feel free to stop in and see us so we can discuss additional ways to help manage your test anxieties now and in the future.

o Study. Being prepared is the single most effective way to help manage test anxiety. If you are confident that you know the material and have put forth your best effort to be prepared for the test, then you can relax and do the best you can.

o Learn from past quizzes and tests

o Ask the teacher for suggestions on how to best prepare for the upcoming test

o Don’t cram – that only adds to the stress and pressure of trying to “squeeze” everything in

o There are lots of study strategies available that can help students and we have a variety of ideas, so if you are interested, stop by and see us and we can talk about different techniques you can try to implement for various classes. There are also tips featured on the WKHS Counselor website.

- Stay Positive. Being confident and entering the test with a positive attitude will help you to achieve success. There are lots of strategies people use to help maintain a positive outlook –visualization (imaging yourself doing well on the test) and positive self-talk (we all talk to ourselves so instead of thinking that you are going to fail the test replace that self-talk with positive comments such as “I am prepared” or “this test will allow me to show how much I have learned”). Sometimes it is important to stay away from other people who tend to express their negative outlooks and opinions going into a test… those people who will just stress you out more with their panic about the test.

- Take care of yourself. I *know* that you hate hearing things like this, but it is important to take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep so that you are well rested and mentally alert for the test. Eat a healthy meal (breakfast/ lunch) because you don’t want to be sitting in class focusing on food or listening to your stomach growl and you also don’t want to be coming down off a sugar or caffeine high and be dragging the rest of the testing period. Allowing yourself time to exercise is also important as it is a physical release of stress and can reinvigorate you for studying as you prepare for the test.

- Be a “smart” test taker. Don’t panic! Read the directions carefully. Take a deep breath to relax. Answer the questions to the best of your ability and if you don’t know an answer, skip the question to return to it later and continue on to other questions that you are more confident in answering. Budget your time, but don’t rush to be the first finished – this is not a race. Stay focused. (Focus on answering the question – don’t allow yourself to get off track and worry about your grade or how others are doing – just continue to refocus on answering the next question.) If you start to become overwhelmed with anxiety during the test, take a few slow deep breaths, relax your muscles and remember that you are in control of dealing with these feelings so just take it one step at a time.

- After you are finished, give yourself a short break from thinking about the test, but also don’t forget to consider what worked well and what could have gone better and then make changes accordingly for the future. If you were able to manage your anxiety effectively then you can continue practicing these skills for future tests. If some of the strategies were not effective, then you can try to adjust and adopt new strategies to help manage the anxiety.

Remember, it is also important to keep the test in perspective. It is actually quite rare that a single test will make or break you. (And yes, this even includes the End of Course Exams/ SAT/ ACT tests because you can always repeat these tests again in the future.) Good luck on your exams!

Don't forget - tomorrow you have 1st, 4th, and 7th period exams.

Graduation Rehearsal Reminder

Tomorrow morning is graduation rehearsal for seniors. Don't forget, this is a mandatory requirement for all seniors who plan on attending the commencement ceremony. I'll be honest, it is a long and rather boring time - not at all like the excitement you will have during the actual ceremony on Sunday! The rehearsal is very important though and it will be worth it when everything goes well during the actual commencement ceremony. One of the most important details that seniors need to remember to pass along to their parents after the rehearsal is which side of the stage you will be on at the commencement ceremony. Trust me, your parents will be disappointed if they end up being on the "wrong" side and don't have a good view of you walking in and out during your special day. 

Rehearsal starts at 9:30am and you should be done around noon followed by a senior class sponsored fun day on the back fields. Don't forget, if you still have textbooks or your chromebook, you need to get them turned in before graduation rehearsal or else you have to pay for them to be able to walk in the commencement ceremony.

GPA Calculator

Many students are trying to guesstimate what they need to do in order to raise their grade point average. This link takes you to a GPA Calculator which will allow you to calculate what grades you would need to earn in order to achieve your desired GPA. (You will need to have your current GPA which you can find on your transcript in the documents area of Infinite Campus.) 

Sending AP Scores

Seniors, if you have taken an AP exam, you need to send your official scores to your intended college.

As you are likely aware, colleges each get to set their own protocol for what AP tests they will accept and what scores will result in earning credits at their school.  You can check out the AP Credit Policy using the search on CollegeBoard's website here: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies

One great aspect about sending the AP Scores is that they will send your current and past scores to the college with one report so if you have taken 5 AP tests, you don't have to pay to send 5 different scores. And, if you are taking an AP test this year, you can still request your scores to be sent to 1 school for free if you log into your account and select your intended college before June 20th.

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