Miss Abbott's WKHS Blog

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

2012-02-19T23:10:00.003-05:00

Parent/ Teacher conferences will be held on the evenings of Monday, February 27 and Thursday, March 1. Once again, parents will be able to sign up for conference appointments usng the online system.

To access the system, visit the portal at http://www.worthington-portal.org/ and log in using the same parent e-mail address and password that is used to access grades through e-Sembler. Click on menu, go up to “My Account” and then “Child Records Access.” Select the high school student you wish to schedule and under applications, choose student options and press the “Launch” button. You will then click on “Schedule Teacher Conference.”Select the day you wish to schedule the conference. (Active tab is white.) The day you are scheduling is listed about the course names. All available times have a button in the time slot which will allow you to select it. Select the time by course and teacher that you wish to schedule and click the “Schedule Teacher Conference” tab.

Your scheduled conferences will appear in a list below. You will also have the option of deleting or printing your conferences. I strongly recommend printing off the list so that you will know what room and which teachers you will be going to meet with at which particular times.

I realize that the directions sound confusing, but having seen the system, I promise you that it is not nearly as confusing as it sounds. Conference times are available on a first-come, first-serve basis so I strongly encourage you to log in and schedule your appointments as soon as possible.

If you do not have a valid e-mail address, please call the school at 450-6400 for assistance. If you cannot recall your password to access the system, please go to the portal and click the “Request Password” option in the bottom left of the log in screen. Your password will be emailed to you from Computer Services within the hour if the e-mail you submit matches the email in the student’s profile.

Honors Diploma

2012-02-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

For some students, earning an Honors Diploma is an important goal. I have to be honest, this isn't a factor for the colleges because the honors diploma recognition isn't granted until you graduate so colleges are not considering it when making their admissions decisions. The requirements for the honors diploma listed below are established by the state department of education.

To receive an honors diploma you need to fulfill 7 of the following 8 criteria:
- English: 4 units
- Math: 4 units (including Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 or equivalent and another higher level course or a four-year sequence of courses that contain equivalent content)
- Science: 4 units (including Physics and Chemistry)
- Social Studies: 4 units
- Foreign Language: 3 units (including at least 2 units in each language studied)
- Fine Arts: 1 unit
- Grade Point Average: 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
- ACT/ SAT Score (excluding scores from the writing sections): 27 ACT/ 1210 SAT

One of the areas that I have noticed some students falling short in is the science area. This is because some students have decided to take a different AP Science course instead of taking physics. The other area where students frequently don't meet the designated standard is with the 4 credits of Social Studies since only 3 credits are required. Don't forget, it would still be possible to earn an honors diploma if you were missing one of these, but you will need to make sure you fulfill all of the remaining criterion.

Academic Assistants

2012-02-15T21:44:00.001-05:00

As you are aware, in Room 209, the Teaching and Learning Center, there are Academic Assistants who are available to work with students free of charge. There are 4 academic assistants who work in each of the core content areas - English, Math, Science, and Social Studies - that are available all day long to help students.

I wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that the new Social Studies Academic Assistant has started and she is enjoying the opportunity to get to know the students. Mrs. Carrier, a graduate of the Ohio State University, is the new Academic Assistant. If you haven't had the opportunity to meet her yet, please stop by and help welcome her to Kilbourne!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T21:41:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had a great day today - a day dedicated to celebrating love and those who mean the most to you. My day was busy with non-stop Junior meetings, but I appreciate all of the students and parents who spent time meeting with me today.

I love the traditions at WKHS which includes the King and Queen of Hearts. As you are aware, at Saturday night's Valentine's Dance, the King and Queen of Hearts were announced. In order to be crowned the King and Queen of Hearts, the nominated students spent the last few weeks raising money for the winter charity (Susan Komen Breast Cancer Fund). 4 of "my" students were among the group working to raise money as King and Queen of Heart candidates - congratulations to (alphabetically): Hunter Atha, Grace Barker, Nick Bortolani, and Carly Cameron! The male and female students who ultimately raised the most money were Hunter Atha and Grace Barker and they were crowned as the King and Queen of Hearts, but even more importantly is the fact that the community charity was the biggest winner of all! Thanks to all of the students who helped to donate money for this cause.

February Socratic Society

2012-02-13T23:11:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to the students who were inducted to the Socratic Society this month. The Socratic Society is intended to recognize students for outstanding commitment to one or more of the Socratic principles - lifelong learning, integrity, compassion, scholarship, and personal effort. It is an honor that can only be received once during a student’s high school career. I was very proud to watch as 16 of "my" students were inducted into the Socratic Society during the ceremony.“My” students honored included (Left to Right): Front- Omar Alzaghameem, David Doss, Sean Baumgardner, Kevin Doerr and Nick Bortolani and Back – Kelly Bartholomew, Lauren Barnhart, Rachel Berg, Natalie Berg, Gabrielle Dendinger and Anna Bright. Not pictured: Trent Angles, Austin Cannon, Elizabeth Cherry, Corey Dailey and Perry Dilley.

Congratulations to every individual recognized and thank you for the impressive way you carry yourselves each day!

Gap Year

2012-02-10T18:13:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of Gap Years? Without question, the majority of WKHS students move straight from high school to college, but this is not always the best option for every student. In the past few years I have had several students who elected to take a gap year which is a year off between high school and college. The one point that I would like to make though is that a gap year is not just hanging out at home, living in your parents basement, playing video games for a year. Students pursue lots of different options during gap years and colleges recognize that gap years can be a valuable opportunity for students to gain perspective, personal insight, and re-energize their love of learning before beginning their college careers.

Sometimes students elect to take a gap year if they haven't been accepted to a college where they feel like they will be happy to attend. In these instances students may decide to take a gap year and hope that their experiences during their gap year will enhance their applications for the following year when they apply the following year.

Other times, and perhaps even more frequently for Kilbourne students, is that students will still complete their applications during their senior year and then defer their acceptances for a year. If you are interested in pursuing a gap year opportunity, talk to your college admissions office to confirm if they will defer your enrollment date by a year (or a semester if you are taking a shorter time off between high school and college).

Want to learn more about gap year programs and opportunities? Check out these articles:

The Gap Year: Breaking up the “cradle to college to cubicle to cemetery” cycle

How a gap year can change a life

Gap year quick facts

From the Mail Bag: On Taking a Gap Year

As January 1 Application Deadline Nears, an Argument for a Yearlong Breather

Gap Year Fairs

A Season of Choice: Consider a Gap Year

Building the components of a gap year

Gap year popularity: an international trend reflecting in the US

Scholarships

2012-02-08T18:49:00.000-05:00

As you are working on completing your financial aid paperwork it is only natural that your thoughts will turn to the overwhelming costs associated with attending college. Right about now, many seniors are so relieved to finally be done with their college applications that it can be hard to get motivated to complete scholarship applications. Several years ago I remember one student who complained all the way through his scholarship application and he ended up getting it done and submitted within hours of the deadline. As it turned out, he ended up receiving the scholarship and it was a significant scholarship (although, for the record, I believe that any scholarship received is significant as it is money that you do not have to pay on your own). Looking back, this student shared that he couldn't imagine earning that amount of money for just a couple of hours of work to complete the scholarship application.

I tell you this story to try to remind you that while I understand it can be hard to stay motivated to complete scholarship applications when only one or perhaps a handful of students will receive the scholarship award, it will be worth it if you receive a scholarship.

I also need to clarify that most 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 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 the WKHS Counselors website at http://www.wkhscounselors.com/.

Here are some other specific scholarships that might interest you:

8 Things you need to Know about Private Scholarships

15 Scholarships with February Deadlines

Check your church for scholarship dollars

Corporate Scholarships and the Benefits of Community Service

College money available for immigrants

Scholarships that help students who have lost a parent

Additionally, here are some scholarship related articles that I think you might find useful and helpful:

Get Organized for College Scholarship Application Season

Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Scholarship Seekers

College Goal Sunday

2012-02-07T18:18:00.002-05:00

Don't forget that deadlines are real - especially regarding college applications and scholarship/ financial aid deadlines. Most schools have FAFSA deadlines of February 15 to March 1st. Be sure to check with your college(s) of choice to make sure that you submit your FAFSA before their deadline.

I also wanted to be sure that all of my seniors (and your parents) were aware of an event called College Goal Sunday. This is a free workshop where you will have expert help from Ohio college financial aid representatives to complete and submit your FAFSA forms. Ohio College Goal Sunday is held across the nation this coming Sunday, February 12th. Sign in starts at 1:30 and the workshop begins at 2:00. There are three locations in Franklin County - DeVry University, OSU, and Ohio Dominican University. It is also being held in Delaware County at the Columbus State Delaware Campus. You will be working on the computers and completing the actual online FAFSA forms during these workshops.

It is necessary to register in advance!

The list of materials you should bring with you include: Your IRS 1040 tax return and W-2’s, your parent’s IRS 1040 tax return and W-2’s, your social security card and driver’s license, and any other benefit and income information.

A Busy Time of Year

2012-02-06T18:54:00.001-05:00

In some ways it is funny, but I tend to find myself saying, "Oh, this is just a busy time of year" frequently throughout the year. College application season = busy time of year, beginning and end of a semester = busy time of year, and right now with the registration process is without a doubt another busy time of year. :-) I appreciate all of your patience as I know that it can be difficult when I am not available when you stop by my office.

I wanted to give you all a heads up about my availability over the next few weeks because it will be limited due to all of the registration related meetings.

This week, I am around tomorrow to meet with you, but the will be unavailable for the rest of the week. Next week I will have a few random class periods of availability on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but the majority of the week will be filled with junior meetings.

If you have an urgent need, please leave me a note and I will try to find you between all of the registration appointments.

Online Registration

2012-02-05T20:44:00.003-05:00

Have you registered online?

Remember, all students currently in grades 9, 10, or 11 need to use the online registration system to select the classes you would like to take next year by the end of the day tomorrow!

Hopefully by now you have discussed your course selections with your teachers and received their recommendations and have talked about your course options with your parents. For those of you who have lost your online registration directions, here is a quick reminder. You will register on the portal at http://www.worthington-portal.org/ and it will prompt you for your username and password which you should know from school. You will find the area to indicate your course selection under "My Requests." If you have any problems, using the online registration system, please stop in and let me or one of the counseling center secretaries know so that we can try to fix it.

Remember, your math teachers have already indicated the math course that they are recommending for you to take next year online, so you will not be adding a math class. Also, as you are completing your online registration, don't forget that you can leave me a note in the request comments section. If you have changed your mind about a class that you already selected when completing your registration, simply log back in before the end fo the day tomorrow and make your changes. After tomorrow your course requests will be locked and you will not be able to log back in to change your classes on your own.

Don't forget to save your signed course recommendation forms! You *MUST* turn those in during your meeting with me! Freshmen will meet with me during English classes on Wednesday, February 8th, Sophomores will meet with me during US History classes on Thursday, February 9th, and Juniors will meet with me during your individually scheduled appointments. (You will receive your appointment slips later this week so please don't lose your appointment slips since they are your only reminder and your pass if you need to leave class.)

New Classes

2012-02-03T23:33:00.005-05:00

Have submitted your online registrations for next year yet? Don't forget, you must have your course selection entered into the system by Monday!

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the new courses that will be offered next year:

- The IB program will feature the most new courses since it is an entirely new program. If you are interested in participating in the IB program - either for just a few courses or for the entire formal program, please be sure that you stop by and see Mr. Jordan or send him an e-mail to indicate your interest.

- Economics and Financial Literacy: This course will meet the Social Studies elective requirement and will provide a solid introduction into economic principles and managing your personal finances.

- CADD: This is a semester long technology course that stands for Computer Aided Drafting and Design and it is a class where students will learn design principles and skills on the computer.

- Flex and Tone: This is a new course from the Wellness/ PE department and is another option for the junior level PE requirement.

- Introduction to Business was formerly called College Prep Business and provides a great overview of the business principles and is ideal for any students considering a future business major.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Finding Balance

2012-02-02T18:42:00.000-05:00

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 realistic about your expectations of 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 be an honor to have every teacher recommend you for AP classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with all AP classes. If you are struggling to find that balance, please talk to your parents about the classes you are considering and stop down to see me so that we can discuss it.

Co-Curricular Eligibility

2012-02-01T18:55:00.000-05:00

As you select your courses online, please be sure that you double check and make sure you are 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, Dance Team, 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 (formerly Phys Ed) course, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.

If you have co-curricular eligibility questions, please stop by the Co-Curricular office or drop by to see me.

How Many Classes Should I Take?

2012-01-31T18:59:00.001-05:00

"How many classes should I take?" It is a common question that students are asking and, in all honesty, the answer depends.

A general rule of thumb for students planning to attend college is that all freshman, sophomore, and junior students should plan to take at least 6 classes each semester. All seniors that are on track for meeting their graduation requirements can decrease the total number of courses each semester due to the demands of other requirements such as college and scholarship applications, but should still plan to take at least 5 classes each semester.

If students are behind on earning their credits, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes for a semester or the year.

In order to progress forward with your class, all freshman students must earn at least 5.0 credits to be classified as a sophomore. All sophomore students must earn at least 10.0 credits to be classified as a junior. And, to be classified as a senior, students must earn at least 15.0 credits.

"But do I have to?" When we talk about the recommended courses, a lot of students will come back asking if they have to take 5 or 6 classes. The answer is no, but you will need your parents to sign off that they approve of you taking less than the recommended number of courses.

Graduation Requirements

2012-01-30T18:23:00.002-05:00

The best place to kick off the registration posts is with the ultimate goal - Graduation! It is important to be aware of the graduation requirements as you plan your course selection.

Current Juniors (to be Seniors) have the following requirements for graudation:
- 4 credits of English (which includes 1/2 a credit of Speech)
- 3 credits of Math
- 3 credits of Science
- 3 credits of Social Studies (which includes 1/2 a credit of Government)
- 1/2 a credit of Physical Education (2 classes, each worth 1/4 credit)
- 1/2 a credit of Health
- 6 credits of Electives

Current Freshman and Sophomores (soon to be Sophomores and Juniors) have the following graduation requirements:
- 4 credits of English (which includes 1/2 a credit of Speech)
- 4 credits of Math
- 3 credits of Science
- 3 credits of Social Studies (which includes 1/2 a credit of Government)
- 1/2 a credit of Physical Education (2 classes, each worth 1/4 credit)
- 1/2 a credit of Health
- 5 credits of Electives
- All students must have had a year's worth of fine art coursework between grades 7 - 12

And, just in case any of you have younger siblings who are currently in 8th grade - their requirements are the same as the Freshman and Sophomore requirements with the additional requirement that they must have a course in Financial Literacy.

Speaking of graduation, current seniors, don't forget, tomorrow is the last day to order your cap and gown before the price jumps from $28 to $55! Go online and order it today!

I wanted to remind everyone that the online registration window is now OPEN! I also wanted to let you know that I will be out all day tomorrow for a meeting at central office.

All Things Registration

2012-01-29T21:59:00.003-05:00

With the registration process for selecting next year's classes beginning last week and the online registration window opening tomorrow, I am going to spend this week highlighting different aspects related to all things registration.

Based upon the overwhelming number of e-mails and voicemail messages from parents, not to mention all of you who are stopping down trying to see me, I know there is a lot of concern about registering for classes. This is a very hectic time of year for me dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that I am aware of the anxiety and I will be able to help you make it through the registration process.

Let me try to put your mind at ease on a few issues. Yes, you do need to register online by next Monday (the 6th). I will also be double checking all of your classes and meeting with every student individually. We will be able to make any changes that are determined to be necessary at the time of our meeting or throughout the month.

Some people are hoping to set up appointments in addition to the individual meetings. I promise that I am more than happy to meet with you and we will work to find a time that is convenient, but it doesn't need to be before you register online because I can still go into the system and make changes to class requests throughout this month. Please go ahead and register with your best guess on classes that you would like to take and then when we are able to meet if changes are needed I can make them at that time.

I hope that eases your mind a little bit to know that it is not completely locked in stone after you submit your requests online! I am here to help you, but I do beg for you to try to be patient with me as having more than 350 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time.

Dealing with Deferrals

2012-01-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

One of the realities of the college admission process is that not every student will be accepted to every college. The waiting game can often be one of the more frustrating aspects. With family members and friends consistently asking, "Where are you going to college?" the uncertainty present with each "I don't know" response can be overwhelming.

Sometimes even when you hear back from the college, the answer still leaves you wondering where you stand. That is the case with a deferral. A deferral is not a "yes" and it is not a "no." It is what a college will do when they need more time to make a decision on your application.

So, what should you do if you are deferred?

One of the first steps should be to stop in and see me so that we can talk about the college decision and develop a game-plan for your next steps.

If I were trying to simplify the process, then I would suggest that you call the admisisons office and talk directly with the admissions officer who is in charge of our region. Talk to him/ her about where you stand and what they would like for you to do to be a more "ideal" candidate.

Draft a letter with any updates and information that you can share with the admissions staff. In particular, let them know that of any new experiences that you have had or recent accomplishments that they weren't previously aware of when you first applied. Updating them on your new activities and accomplishments is important because it is your effort to help give the college a reason to select you and add your application to the "accepted" pile.

Send them an updated copy of your transcript.

If you re-took your ACT or SAT exams and haven't forwarded your most recent scores to the college, request for the scores to be sent directly to the college of your choice.

Consider other outreach efforts to communicate your strengths with the admissions office such as an additional teacher recommendation letter.

Although no one likes to be deferred, remember that this is not the end of the world and there is still plenty of time to communicate your strengths to the admissions committee so that you will be accepted to their school.

Registering for Next Year's Classes

2012-01-25T22:53:00.003-05:00

As you heard during today's homeroom, all students currently in grades 9, 10, or 11 will use the online registration system to select the classes you would like to take next year.

Over the next few days your teachers should continue 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. Please be sure to carry your registration materials with you so that you can get your teacher signatures on the course recommendation form and can make any notes about other classes of interest. If you'd 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. Let me know if you need help finding a teacher during one of their off-periods.

After you have determined which courses you would like to take, please talk it over with your parents and then log in and register. (The online registration system will open Mondayafter you have received your teacher recommendations.) You will register on the portal at http://www.worthington-portal.org/ and it will prompt you for your username and password which you should know from school. If you have any problems, using the online registration system, please stop in and let me know so that I can try to fix it.

Remember, your math teachers indicated the math course that they are recommending for you to take next year online already so you will not be adding a math class. Also, as you are completing your online registration, don't forget that you can leave me a note in the request comments section. If you change your mind after completing your registration, simply log back in before February 6th and make your changes. After February 6th your course requests will be locked.

Don't forget to save your signed course recommendation forms! You *MUST* turn those in during your meeting with me. Freshmen will meet with me during English classes on February 8th, Sophomores will meet with me during US History classes on February 9th, and Juniors will meet with me during your individually scheduled appointments. I will send out individual appointment slips, but I am waiting a few more days to see if their are any other parents wanted to join in on the meetings before I assign everyone whose parents haven't already signed up for an appointment slot. Please don't lose your appointment slips since they are your only reminder and your pass if you need to leave class. Don't forget that your classes need to be submitted online before our meeting! (Don't worry, we can still make changes if necessary.)

News and Notes

2012-01-24T23:29:00.003-05:00

A quick (last-minute) reminder that tomorrow we will be on an extended homeroom bell schedule. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors will be receiving information about registering for classes next year. I feel like I should know the answer to this, but I have no idea what the seniors will be doing during the homeroom time. (Sorry.) I'm sure that there is something planned to keep you occupied.

The homeroom bell schedule is important to remember if you have late-start as it means 2nd period will start earlier than normal. :-)

I also wanted to pass along a few articles that might interest you regarding Social Media and it's impact on college admissions. Please make sure that you are making good choices when online!

College Admissions Officials Turn to Facebook to Research Students

Can facebook get you rejected from college?

The low-down on Social Media and College Admissions

Kilbourne Counselor Website

2012-01-22T23:14:00.003-05:00

Have you been to the Kilbourne Counselors website lately? Should I ask if you have been at all? :-) If you haven't, I hope you will take a moment and visit the site. The address is http://www.wkhscounselors.com/.

The website is still a work in progress, but every week we are adding more information and resources that I think will make your life a little easier. I will be the first to admit that the site is very simple and lacks pictures to help keep things entertaining, but that will come in time. Right now, I am just excited about the fact that we have a website at all to post information that I think you will want to access.

Considering the fact that I know absolutely NOTHING about creating a website, I am pretty proud of it. I am also learning that it is better to leave something on the site that you didn't really want rather than delete it only to figure out that you deleted the wrong item and then spend over 2 hours trying to recreate what you had wanted to have on the site. :-) Yes, that is how I spent most of my day today!

Today, a few of the items that I was able to get posted on the website are the scholarship offerings that we are aware of currently as well as summer camp program offerings for the coming summer break.

I have a list (4 pages, typed, single spaced) of things that I would like to do and add to the website to continue to improve it, but if there are things that you think of when you go to visit the site that you feel are missing that would be helpful, please let me know so that I can be sure to add it to the list.

The website is only useful if people are visiting it, so please, take a moment to check it out and then bookmark the site for future reference.

Report Cards

2012-01-19T21:17:00.003-05:00

First semester report cards will be distributed tomorrow during your 3rd period classes. Any students with options during 3rd period should stop by the Counseling Center and see one of the secretaries to pick up your report card. As you look at your report card, try to honestly reflect back on the amount of work that you put into each class and consider what you have done differently if your grades aren't where you wanted them. Remember, your semester grades are what will appear on your transcript and are used to calculate your grade point average.

Try to Be Aware

2012-01-18T19:33:00.000-05:00

It's easy to forget... sometimes we all get so caught up in our own lives that we forget that not everyone is in the same situation or feel the same way we do. Since we returned from winter break, as more and more college admissions decisions have been arriving, I have noticed that 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. While receiving a college rejection letter is hard, it is even more hurtful to hear someone else say something such as, "Oh, I was accepted to ___ (insert name of college) but I would never actually go there." Particularly if the school mentioned was the one where a student was recently rejected and had been their top choice college. So, go ahead and share in your excitement, but please be sensitive to what you say about other schools and how you "rate" your own schools. No one school is perfect for every student and every student is not perfect for every school - it is important to find the right balance and I sincerely believe that every student will be able to find the college that is right for them.

Junior Students and Parents

2012-01-17T21:39:00.003-05:00

Juniors, are you excited? Finally, a post that is completely about you! :-) Each year as we begin the process for registering for next year's classes, I offer up the opportunity to meet for a 30 minute time block with every junior student and his/ her parents, if the parents are interested in joining us. I have two days set aside for these individual junior meetings - Tuesday, February 14 and Thursday, February 16. They will be hectic days with back-to-back meetings, but I love the chance to meet with you and your parents to talk about the classes you have selected for your senior year and what your plans are for life after high school. I sent an e-mail out to your parents after school today, so talk it over with them and pick out a date and time that will work well with your schedule so that we can set up a meeting time.

I hope everyone had a good first day of the 2nd semester! Don't forget, the last day to add a class to your schedule for this semester is Thursday!

Get Organized

2012-01-16T19:42:00.004-05:00

Have you had a nice weekend? It's hard to believe that tomorrow starts a new semester. As you finish up the weekend and prepare for the start of the 2nd semester, I hope you will spend a little time getting organized.

Go through your materials from first semester. For those classes that were only a semester long, store information that is interesting and will be potentially useful to you in the future. This would include any papers, articles, resources, and handouts that were helpful in mastering the concepts from class. For year-long classes, keep all of your first semester materials, but review your papers, notes, and handouts to see if you need to continue carrying it to school or if you could store it at home until closer to final exam time.

Clean out your bookbag. As you go through your bag, take a critical look at what you have and consider what you will need for second semester. Decide if your past organization system was working for you and, if not, decide now what you'd like to do that will be different to help keep you organized during the second semester. (Hint: If your bookbag looks like the one pictured, you definitely need a new organization system. Sadly, I see far too many that look just like this.) Make a list of supplies you need - new folders, binders, papers, pencils/ pens, etc. and try to get them as soon as possible so that you start off on a positive note.

If organization is a struggle for you, remember that I am available (as are the academic assistants in Room 209) to help you with new organization strategies that might be more effective.

Dispatch Honors

2012-01-14T22:25:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Hunter Atha who was featured in today's Columbus Dispatch. Hunter is being honored as Athlete of the Week! This is a quite a huge honor considering all of the athletes from all of the different sports in central Ohio. Hunter is having a great diving season this year including achieving a personal best score. Congratulations Hunter! I'm proud of you!

Thank You Notes

2012-01-13T18:29:00.001-05:00

A thank you note is a simple enough idea - let someone else know that you appreciate them. I don't know about you, but a lot of times I am terrible at writing thank you notes. It doesn't mean that my gratitude is any less, but... and that is where everything falls apart. If I don't express my gratitude to the person who has been a positive influence in my life or who has done something nice for me or gone out of their way to help me, then how do they know how much I appreciate it? See the problem?

And I am pretty confident that many of you face the same problem. So I want to remind you of the importance of thank you notes. They do not have to be long or flowery - simply thank the person who has helped you. This is especially important for teachers who have written recommendation letters for you. Many people do not realize the time and effort it takes to write a good recommendation letter. If you didn't thank your teachers at the time they wrote your recommendation letters, perhaps now - as you wrap up your college application process - is the perfect time! Thank them for their help and support in your college applications. It is important to make sure that they know how much you appreciate their help along the way. It won't take you a long time, but it will certainly mean a lot to them.

Before I close this post, I want to be very clear - I am NOT talking about writing to me! I do NOT need nor am I in any way hinting, asking for, or needing you to write a thank you note to me! I just figured we could all use a reminder in the importance of writing thank you notes and expressing our gratitude for those around us. Have a great weekend!

Better Late than Never

2012-01-12T18:08:00.000-05:00

Hooray! You survived exams! Congratulations on successfully completing the first semester. I hope that you are looking forward to the long weekend.

Today is both my mom and my nephew's birthday. My nephew, Colton, turns 6 years old. He is a sweet (and competitive) little boy who loves sports (he plays flag football, basketball, and tee-ball), legos, and Star Wars. It is so hard to believe that he is already half-way through with Kindergarten.When my niece and nephew were born I wanted to cross-stitch each of them a picture so that they would have something to keep forever as a way to remember how much I love them. I did great with finishing my niece's picture. It was framed and I took it with me to the hospital the day she was born. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing about my nephew's picture. It took me more than 5 years, but earlier this fall I finally was able to give him the picture I had cross-stitched for him. Better late than never, right?!? I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but it says "Bad to the Bone" and I was pleased that it turned out and relieved that it was finally finished. Even though it was finished far closer to his 6th birthday than to the day he was born, the love I have for him that I hope he senses when he looks at the picture is far more than words can convey.

Have a great weekend!

Common College Decision Responses

2012-01-11T19:04:00.001-05:00

As more and more students begin hearing from colleges I thought it might be helpful to know some of the most common terms you will see in response letters from colleges. Below are some of the more common college related terms/ phrases for admissions decisions. If you receive a letter and you are uncertain what they mean, please feel free to let me know or to contact the college directly.

- Accepted: Congratulations - they are inviting you to join and be a part of their college/ university

- Declined/ Rejected/ Not Accepted: For whatever reason the college did not feel that you would be a good fit. While it is understandably disappointing, please remember that there are lots of colleges and universities out there so don’t give up on finding a good match.

- Decision Deferred: The college is not sure yet… usually they will tell you what additional data/ information they are interested in receiving to help them make their decision. The most common piece of data they will look for are senior year grades at the semester time.

- Wait List: The wait list is not a denial, but it is not an acceptance either. Colleges use wait lists as insurance to make sure that their freshman class will be the appropriate size. If enough students decide to attend, the college will not accept anyone off of their wait-list.

Please remember that we track admissions decisions, but for most colleges the only way we know of the decision is if you come in and inform us, so please, be sure to stop in and let me know as you hear back from each school.

Test Anxiety

2012-01-10T21:59:00.004-05:00

How did the first day of exams go? Were you feeling anxious? Test Anxiety can be common for students - especially with exams since they have such a significant influence on your semester grades. The best strategy to prevent test anxiety is being prepared. It is much more likely that you will be anxious and struggle with feeling overwhelmed if you have not adequately studied and prepared for the test. Unfortunately, for some students, you can be well-prepared, but still struggle with anxiety.

There are a wide range of strategies you can use to help deal with anxiety:

- Recent research has indicated that spending several minutes before a test to write about your feelings will help decrease test anxiety and improve test scores. The University of Chicago researchers “believe worrying competes for computing power in the brain’s ‘working,’ or short-term memory.”

- Practice putting yourself in testing situations when studying. The more you get used to the experience and feelings of testing the less anxious you will feel when in the actual test.

- Just before the test, avoid talking about the test material with your friends. Chances are fixating on the test material and talking about it with your friends right before the test will only make you more anxious.

- Approach the test with a positive attitude. Don’t go into the test expecting the worst to happen. You can remind yourself that you have studied and know the material.

- Avoid distractions so that you can focus on the test and not on what other students are doing. Do not compare yourself with others and how they are doing on the test.

- Take a deep breath, relax, and do the best you can.

I should also mention that smart testing strategies like getting a good night of sleep, eating breakfast, having all of your required materials (pen, pencil, calculator, scratch paper, etc), getting regular exercise, and giving yourself plenty of time to get to your test on time will also benefit you as a whole and in testing situations.

Good luck in the next two days of exams!

Students of the Month

2012-01-08T20:42:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to the 23 students who were honored Friday morning as Students of the Month! Kilbourne students can only be selected to receive this recognition once in their high school career. A special congratulations to "my students" who were among those recognized as January Students of the Month. Left to Right: David Doss, Steven Borchers, Lou Pfeifer, Carly Cameron, Amelia Boudinot, Lauren Hedges, Cassie Barrett and, not pictured, Cole Doran. I am proud of you!

Also, don't forget tomorrow is a Late Start day - enjoy sleeping in. :-)

Studying

2012-01-07T12:19:00.004-05:00

I could be wrong, but my guess is that the number one item on most of your "to do lists" this weekend is studying. Studying for exams can be daunting - especially because sometimes you don't know *how* to study. And, while, the weekend before exams isn't the ideal time to figure out what study strategies tend to work best for you, it is better late than never. The one lessson that I have learned (from both experience and from other students) is that reading your notes is NOT studying. You really need to be doing something in order to effectively study for exams. And yes, I am aware that for some of you and for some classes reading through your notes is sufficient, but in general as you sit there reading your notes it is common for your mind to wander. Then, as you are taking the test, you realize that all of the information you thought you knew was actually just familiar.

So, perhaps in addition to reading through your notes you could try some other ideas. Here are some examples, but again, it is about finding a strategy that will work for you. Remember, this will be different for each student and, typically, it also varies by different subject areas.

Re-write or type your notes instead of just reading them.

Make flashcards and review the content.

Have someone else question you from your notes, study guide, or text book.

Another great strategy is to go through and review your old tests - paying particular attention to questions that you answered incorrectly.

Make your own practice tests. You can use homework questions, sample problems from your classroom notes, or questions from your book or tests and put them together into one test just like your teacher would do. Give yourself a day or two away from looking at it (or at least a few hours of working on a different subject) and then go back and put yourself into a similar test environment and take the test. Practice going straight through the whole test without a break, without distractions, and without stopping to look at your notes or book just as you will have to do in the actual exam. When you have completed the test, check your answers and see how you did. You can then identify areas where you need more practice and review. It may also help you identify concepts that you need to seek help from your teachers or academic assistants on to help make sure you better understand the material.

Spending time reviewing old homework assignments and worksheets and working through the study guides your teachers provided (if they gave you one) is also an effective strategy.

It can be very helpful to enhance your notes by adding supplemental information such as what you have learned in the textbook or on other assignment sheets.

Create a concept map to help illustrate how all the points are connected and what areas are different or unique.

Another helpful strategy is to teach someone else. Sometimes this involves teaching a fellow student who is struggling to grasp the concepts, but it can just as easily be your parents, siblings, or a grandparent. By having to explain the information you know, you are reinforcing the concepts in your own mind and seeking useful ways to help someone else to understand the information and why it matters.

Try to recall as much information from memory as possible. So, think back on the class and try to remember all of the key points and pieces of information that you think you are going to have to know for the test and write them all down. Then compare that list to what you actually are responsible for knowing. What information did you forget about completely? What areas were you unable to recall enough information details? Briefly review that information and then move on to studying for another subject and then later come back and try to recall everything that you will need to know again. Were you able to do better this time? This strategy is effective because it forces you to figure out what you can recall at a certain time - just as you will have to do on your exams.

And last, but certainly not least, take advantage of the opportunity to seek extra help from your teachers. Some teachers offer review sessions, others will meet with students individually or in small groups to answer questions. And other teachers are willing to respond to e-mails to help clarify questions you might have. Remember, they know what is on the test (they created it!) and so they are your best resources for help, yet the work must be done by you to make certain that you truly know the concepts being covered in class.

Good luck and happy studying!

Semester Exams

2012-01-04T19:49:00.000-05:00

You don't need to panic about exams, but you do need to prepare for them! As you are aware, we have just a few days of classes before exams begin. Exams play a significant role in your final grade for the semester of each course (and remember, because we grant credits based on the semester this is really important to you!) Most of your classes will follow the structure that your 1st quarter grades are worth 40% of your final semester grade, the 2nd quarter grade that you are currently wrapping up now will make up another 40% and then your exam grade is worth 20% of your final semester grade.

20% is a really big deal...

Think about it, if you had a 57% the first quarter and end up with a 60% this quarter then you can still pass the class as long as you earn a 66% or higher on the exam. On the other side, if you are trying to make sure that you earn an A in a course and you had a 95% first quarter and an 88% this quarter than you need to earn an 85% or higher on the exam to reach your goal.

Clearly, exams are an important part of your grade, but more importantly, they provide you the opportunity to practice a more realistic glimpse of what testing will be like in college and helps you to showcase your semester's worth of knowledge.

Below is the schedule for the semester exams:

Day One - Tuesday, January 10th:
7:45 - 9:45: 3rd period exam
10:00 - 12:00: 4th period exam
12:00 - 1:00: Lunch
1:00 - 3:00: 7th period exam

Day Two - Wednesday, January 11th:
7:45 - 9:45: 2nd period exam
10:00 - 12:00: 5th period exam
12:00 - 1:00: Lunch
1:00 - 3:00: 8th period exam

Day Three - Thursday, January 12th:
7:45 - 9:45: 1st period exam
10:00 - 12:00: 6th period exam
12:00 - 1:00: NO Lunch Provided!
1:00 - 3:00: Make-Up Exams

A couple of questions that tend to come up at exam time...

Yes, you are REQUIRED and EXPECTED to be in all of your classes during an exam. (Even if you don't have an actual exam, the teachers are going to be working with you on projects, papers, or other learning related to their course.)

No, you do NOT need to be in school during your scheduled lunch period or during your Options or Prep periods. (Which means, for example, that if you have 1st period options and 6th period lunch that you do not have to come to school at all on the 12th.)

Hope that helps clarify and happy studying! :-)

PIN Number

2012-01-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

One of the steps that both students and parents will need to take in preparation for completing your financial aid paperwork is to request a PIN number. It is very important that you save and keep this number in a safe place for future reference as this will be your permanent PIN number.

Parents will also need to request their own PIN number unless they have one that they have utilized with older siblings as the parent PIN number will remain the same for all of children in a family.

To request your PIN number, visit http://www.pin.ed.gov/.

Don't forget, Thursday night at 7pm is the Financial Aid night at WKHS! Hope to see you there!

Back to School

2012-01-02T18:23:00.000-05:00

Well, tomorrow is the big day - we are back to school. No more sleeping in and hanging out relaxing all day. I am looking forward to seeing you, but, to be honest, I am not really ready to be back at work yet. So, help me out and stop down to say hi. Let me know how your time off was and what you did to occupy your time. Get some sleep tonight - it will seem really early tomorrow when the alarms start going off. :-)

Financial Aid Meeting

2012-01-01T16:10:00.000-05:00

I wanted to remind you that this Thursday, January 5th, is the Financial Aid meeting. The meeting will be held in the WKHS auditorium and begins at 7:00pm. We are fortunate to have Faith Phillips, a Financial Aid Officer from the Ohio State University presenting everything you need to know about financial aid.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T17:57:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

All of you who know me or have ever stepped in my office and looked at all the pictures are aware that my family means the world to me, especially my niece and nephew. New Year's Eve is particularly important to me - not because it marks the end another (hopefully) productive year, but because it is my niece's birthday. Today Carly turned 9 years old! She is such a special little girl and she has a gift for brightening my day. Last month, for my birthday, Carly surprised me by wearing a shirt that read "My Aunt is my BFF" as you can see in this picture. I think the fact that I am able to spend so much time with my sister's family is why I love winter break so much.

As 2011 comes to a close, I hope you will look back with pride over your accomplishments from the past year and look forward to the future with hope and possibility. Tonight, as you are celebrating the new year, please remember to stay safe and be smart!

Twitter

2011-12-29T08:49:00.002-05:00

WKHS now has a twitter account! This will be used as a way to communicate with students and families. The hope is that we will be able to celebrate the successes of students and share current updates in a timely manner. Please follow @WKHSWolves for the latest news and information from WKHS!

For the record, no, it does not mean that I will no longer be updating my blog - it is just another format to share information and updates with all of you!

Break Check-In

2011-12-28T08:16:00.001-05:00

Are you enjoying your break? It is hard to believe we are half way through! I have been having a great time so far and it feels like time is moving so fast and there are still a million things on my “to do” list that I had hoped to accomplish before we start back to school.

Yet, I know that many times people get through the first part of break and then feel like time moves too slow. If you are a student who isn’t feeling productive and you are wondering what you could consider doing to be productive with the remainder of your break, I have a few ideas for you.

Study! I know, you don’t want to hear that, but with just 5 school days remaining before exams, you really should be using your time now to better prepare for your exams. Review key concepts, figure out what you don’t know so that you can seek help from your teachers for clarification, and develop a study plan to make sure you are prepared for each exam.

Sleep! You like seeing this idea much better than the last one, right?!? :-) Don’t worry, I do too. Studying is work and sleep is restful. You need sleep and so many of you don’t get enough sleep that now is an ideal time to try to get into a good sleep routine. Unfortunately, I suspect that many of you are like me in that you are sleeping more, but necessarily on a good sleep schedule. It will be important before we start back to school that you try to get the sleep schedule closer to a more realistic time so that you aren’t hurting quite as bad as you will be when you have spent all day sleeping until 12 or 1 (or later) in the afternoon and suddenly have to be sitting in class and paying attention at 7:45 in the morning.

Help others. Volunteering your time to make a positive impact is a great way to use your time during the break. There are many organizations in need of willing hands and hearts to make a difference. You might even be able to convince your friends to join you in the community service outreach which will make it more fun to spend time with your friends while also helping others.

Be productive. Use this time wisely to check a few items off your own to do list. How organized are you? Do you need to go through your bookbag (that thing sitting in the corner that you haven’t touched since you tossed it there last Wednesday) and sort through your papers? Do you need new folders? Do you need to hole-punch your papers to put them into your binders? What else can you accomplish that will make your life a little easier down the road? Clean your room? Explore colleges? Organize your closet? Apply for scholarships? Write thank you notes? Investigate career options? Read the book you have been wanting to read? Finally finish your college applications? You get the idea – basically think about the things you know that you should do and try to knock a few of the items off your list.

Celebrate family. There is so much hustle and bustle leading up to the holidays that everyone tends to be running in a million different directions. It is a nice idea to try to slow down and enjoy being with your family and finding joy in the small moments. Surprise your mom and ask her to watch a movie with you (without an ulterior motive). Shock your sibling by inviting him/ her to play a game with you. Impress your dad by doing something unexpected that will help him out without being asked. You get the idea, but those simple moments can make a big difference and are the moments we will remember years from now rather than what the gifts that you unwrapped this year.

Here are two other articles with ideas for winter break: (and for the record, the first included sleep on their list too!) :-)
How I hope we spend our holiday break

Celebrate Holidays through Community Service

News and Notes

2011-12-27T14:33:00.005-05:00

A variety of different quick updates for you...

Those students involved in the choir program at WKHS are probably aware that Mr. Griffin's wife has been very ill as she battled cancer. Sadly, she passed away on Friday and her family including Mr. Griffin, Emma (a junior at WKHS) and Calvin (a 2007 WKHS graduate) will be joining together with extended family and friends to celebrate her life during a special memorial service tomorrow afternoon. The service will be at 1:00 in the WKHS Auditorium on Wednesday, December 28th. Students and families who would like to pay their respects to the Griffin family are invited to attend. Here is a link to Mrs. Griffin's obituary from the Columbus Dispatch.

The school e-mail is down this week, but will hopfully be back up by Thursday or Friday. I wanted to make sure that you were aware of the fact that I am unable to read e-mails sent to me at school this week until the e-mail system is back up.

ACT scores are now available! For those students who took the December 10th ACT, your scores are available to see online today. I hope you did well!

And finally, an article that might interest you - New Tools for Predicting Success in College

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:20:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful day surrounded by your family and friends. I am fortunate enough to be able to celebrate with my sister's family and my niece and nephew are on cloud 9! Last night at church the message was so powerful and meaningful - to remember what is truly precious and to cherish those moments and memories. Today I have been focused on those special moments - my nephew waking up and telling me that I make a very good stuffed animal, my niece making me a potholder, and the hugs, giggles, and love that have filled the day. I have also been thinking about the other precious gifts in my life and I want you to know that in addition to my family and friends, I am grateful for being able to work with each of you on a daily basis. You will never know how much it means to me that I am able to walk through this journey with you and how much joy you bring to my days. Thank you!

Winter Break

2011-12-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

Hooray! We reached winter break! I don't know about you, but it seems like the last few weeks have been a major sprint. I hope you have plans to relax and enjoy the upcoming days off.

I hope you enjoy the holidays with your family and that you stay safe with any travels that you have planned throughout the break. Also, I wanted to let you know that I will not be blogging as consistently over break as this is a vacation for me too. :-)

I'm looking forward to hearing all about your holiday fun after we get back to school. Again, have a great break!

Tomorrow's Schedule

2011-12-20T20:49:00.005-05:00

I also wanted to make sure that everyone is aware that we are on a modified bell schedule tomorrow for the Holiday Assembly. You will go to the assembly with your 3rd period class.

Below is the breakdown for each period:

1st Period: 7:45 - 8:30
2nd Period: 8:35 - 9:20
3rd Period: 9:25 - 11:00
4th Period: 11:05 - 11:49
5th Period: 11:54 - 12:38
6th Period: 12:43 - 1:27
7th Period: 1:32 - 2:16
8th Period: 2:21 - 3:05

And last but not least, I also wanted to wish a Happy Hanukkah to all those students and families whose holiday started tonight!

Cap and Gown Orders

2011-12-20T20:24:00.000-05:00

Seniors, did you order your cap and gown? Commencement is just over 5 months away and the list of students who have not yet ordered their cap and gown is unbelievable. Initially, the deadline to order your cap and gown was this Wednesday, but the list is so long that they decided to extend the deadline. You now have until mid-January to be able to order your cap and gown before the late fees ($50!) will be added to the regular fees. If you are among the many students who haven't placed your order, please visit Herff Jones to order your cap and gown online today!

Things To Do

2011-12-19T20:57:00.001-05:00

I admit it... I am a list maker. I have lists for just about everything you could imagine. I just finished creating a list of things I *MUST* accomplish before we leave on break (only 2 more days!) - 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 while in Kentucky visiting my sister's family over Christmas, a list of "to do's" for the remainder of break when I am back at home, lists for other upcoming school related projects, and even a list for "when I have time." So, as you can see, I could probably benefit from having a list of all of my lists. :-)

The reason that I am mentioning it, is that lists work for me, but everyone needs some sort of a system to help keep your thoughts 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 ideas not to hold them 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.

As you start thinking about the end of the semester, please work on staying focused and organized. What do you need to do to make sure you end this quarter successfuly? What about preparing for exams? There is still time left to make improvements, but you need to start now. If lists are not your way to stay organized, that is OK, but find a system that works and use it.

Financial Aid

2011-12-14T21:58:00.004-05:00

As seniors are finishing up their college applications, many are now turning their eyes toward their financial aid options.

Most students will need to fill out the FAFSA form (FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and it is essential to meet the deadlines established by your colleges of choice to determine what amount of aid they can offer. (For example, many deadlines will be February 15th.) So this is definitely not something you can put off once we hit the first of the year. There are some people who will automatically assume that they do not qualify for financial aid and it is important not to make assumptions and to read the fine print from the colleges carefully as there are some colleges that won't offer any financial packages (including merit scholarships) without having a FAFSA on file. Additionally, there are some colleges that will require students to complete the CSS Profile. Specific questions about each college's requirements and deadlines should be addressed to the financial aid offices at each respective college.

The way financial need is determined is taking the “Cost of Attendance” (which includes tuition, fees, room, board, books, and other miscellaneous expenses) and then subtracting from that the “Expected Family Contribution” and the remaining difference is what is known as your “Financial Need.”

The financial aid administrators remind us that usually people do not agree with their Estimated Family Contribution, but it is the same for everyone so it is fair across the board.

For what it is worth, it is also important to know that it depends upon each school as to whether they guarantee to meet your entire financial need with a financial aid offer. You can usually find this information on the college financial aid website.

If you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or the parent of a student in one of these grades, you may be interested in using the FAFSA4caster which provides an estimated Expected Family Contribution to give you an idea of what you might qualify for regarding federal aid including grants.

When you are completing the FAFSA application, please remember that this is a FREE application – do not pay to have someone help you fill it out as there are plenty of opportunities to get free assistance to complete it if you need it. You will also want to make sure that you are using the correct website – http://www.fafsa.gov/ – (do not use .com as that is a site that has a fee.)

You can request your PIN number now, but please make sure you save it and keep it in a safe place for future use as this will be your permanent PIN number. Parents, you will also need your own PIN number unless you have one that you have utilized with older students as it is the same PIN number for all of your children.

When you are filling out the FAFSA form please pay attention to who they are asking for information about – the beginning of the form is all about the student and later it is about the parents. This can be confusing if your parents are helping you fill out the form because it says “you and your” so sometimes parents will accidentally put their information in rather than putting in the student information.

If your parents are divorced, you will use the parent with whom you live with the majority of the time. You fill out the form based upon your “household” so anyone living in that household and under that roof are included in your FAFSA. So, for example, if your parents are divorced and you live with your mom who is remarried then your FAFSA application will include the information from your mom and your step-dad.

Please remember that you cannot fill out your FAFSA forms until after January 1st. You will need your tax information as well as your parents tax information. If you cannot get the tax information completed early enough to meet the deadlines from the colleges, then be sure to use estimated numbers and then go back and revise the information once you have the actual data.

To help you with the college financial aid process we will have a financial aid meeting for students and parents at 7:00pm at WKHS on Thursday, January 5th.There is also an event known as “College Goal Sunday” which is Sunday, February 12th where financial aid administrators will provide free expert help in completing the FAFSA forms. To find locations and to register you can visit http://www.ohiocollegegoalsunday.org/.

PSAT and PLAN Test Results

2011-12-13T18:26:00.002-05:00

Your scores have arrived! Any students who took the PSAT and PLAN tests in October can pick up your score reports from the Counseling Center beginning tomorrow. You can pick up your score sheets during your lunch periods from either of the secretaries at the front of the counseling center. If you have questions about your scores, feel free to come and see me and we can take a look together, but I will say that the score sheets have a lot of useful information and tips as well as information that we have available on the counselor website - http://www.wkhscounselors.com/.

Don't forget, these are just practice tests so they are giving you a general indication of where you might expect to score if you were taking the ACT or SAT with no additional preparation or review.

Interim Reports

2011-12-11T18:26:00.004-05:00

Interim grades were released on Friday. Have you been on e-Sembler to see the most updated information about where you stand in your classes? It is hard to believe that we have just 13 days of school left before semester exams!

I randomly checked some grades this weekend and was sad to see how many students are struggling. If your grades are not where they should be at this point in time, please make use of the resources available to you - the academic assistants in room 209 and, most importantly, your teachers. I am also here to help you with study strategies and tips if needed. For many students, your final grade for the semester will come down to how you finish out this quarter and how well you do on semester exams.

Don't forget, it is the semester grade (and not the quarter grade) which appears on your transcript and impacts your grade point average. That being said, it is your quarter grades which will determine eligibility for the winter and spring sports seasons. Please be sure that you are doing everything possible to put yourself in the best situation for getting the grades you want for the quarter and semester!

Arsenic & Old Lace

2011-12-10T23:45:00.005-05:00

Last night I attended the WKHS production of Arsenic and Old Lace. I was so impressed! Everyone involved in the play did a fantastic job. It was funny and at one point I was laughing so hard that I had tears rolling down my face. Many of "my" students were a part of this show including Jimmy Barbin and Josh Cook who had leading roles. Jey Bukkapatnam was the stage manager and also had a role in the show. Jordan Birch was another actor in the show. Additionally, behind the scenes, many individuals were a part of building the set and helping with various aspects that make the play a success. My students who participated in these aspects included Robyn Du, Zoie Banes, Dustin Black, Adele Buchbinder and Rosalyn Chen. Congratulations to everyone involved in the play - it was truly outstanding!

I had intended to post earlier in the day and remind everyone to try to attend tonight's final show, but somehow the day got away from me. We are very fortunate to have such talented students who put together such outstanding shows, so if you have never seen a play or the musical, I strongly encourage you to make plans to attend the next show (which I think is the musical).

On a separate note, I hope that everyone who took the ACT today felt like it went well!

Guaranteed

2011-12-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Ashland University announced that they would guarantee that students who attend their school and meet specific requirements WILL graduate in 4 years or else they are able to continue until it is completed free of charge. This is a similiar plan that Baldwin Wallace had announced earlier this year. As I had talked about in a previous blog, knowing how long it will probably take to graduate from college is an important factor when determining college costs that can be detected.

This article from the Dispatch talks about Ashland's new guarantee.

College Admissions Decisions

2011-12-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

College admissions decisions are already starting to come in for some students. Every senior looks forward to receiving their college acceptance letters. It is an exciting time and reassures that there is more ahead. Depending upon the schools where you are applying, it is possible that you will hear back quickly or you may be waiting until sometime in March to find out if you have been accepted. I do ask that as you begin receiving your acceptance or, sadly, even rejection letters, to please keep me informed about the decisions. For the vast majority of the colleges, the only way I know about your admissions decision is if you share the information with me.

Remember, the only way to receive an acceptance letter is to actually APPLY to the college! (Just a friendly little reminder for those of you who are struggling to get your applications finished.) :-)

DACC Open House

2011-12-08T07:40:00.000-05:00

Just a quick heads up that tonight, Thursday, December 8th is the Open House at the Delaware Area Career Center. The open house will run from 5:00 - 8:00pm. Any students (and their parents) that are interested in learning more about the range of opportunities available at the career center should consider the opportunity to visit the career center. Being able to see the labs first hand, talk to the instructors, and meet students who are currently attending the Delaware Area Career Center, is truly the best way to decide if earning your elective credits at the career center is a good option for your future. I hope you will take advantage of this open house opportunity if you are interested!

Socratic Society

2011-12-07T20:25:00.002-05:00

Last Friday morning 36 students were inducted into the Socratic Society. Staff members are given the opportunity to recognize students for excellence in one or more of the core socratic values of Scholarship, Integrity, Personal Effort, Compassion, or Lifelong Learning. Students are only eligible to be selected for this honor one time during their high school career.
A special congratulations to "my" students who were among those recognized this month! (Left to Right): Mariah Minichello, Hannah Vincent, Emily Cantrell, Tori Eger, Nia Brown and Alex Allison. Also, I had several students who are not pictured, but were inducted on Friday: Janae' Calhoun, Michael Dillow and Kevin Doerr. I am proud of each of you!

Patience...

2011-12-06T20:10:00.000-05:00

Let me start off by acknowledging that I am *NOT* the most patient person on the planet!
I know that it can be frustrating waiting for something to happen. Waiting to hear news. Waiting for the next phase of your life. Waiting... waiting... and still more waiting. But the reality is you need to be patient.

Right now colleges are completely overwhelmed and back-logged with applications that they have been receiving. After you have submitted your application and all of the required paperwork it takes the college time to get everything processed and updated in their computer. To make things even more confusing, many colleges are also automatically generating letters that they are sending home to students to remind you that you need to send your transcript and test scores and a recommendation letter. People tend to panic when they see that notice and want to send the materials again. Colleges do not want that happening as it will simply back up their system even more. This is a very common occurance at this time of year, but it does create a lot of panic in homes of seniors across the country!

Try to be patient and do not panic. If you get one of these letters (from any college) take a moment and double check - did you mail your official transcript to this particular school? Did you request to have your official test results sent to the college from the ACT/ SAT websites? Did your teachers complete their recommendation letters?

If your transcript was mailed within the last 2-3 weeks, then take a deep breath and relax knowing that it is likely just because their system is backed up. Continue double checking on the college website (most will give you access to see your application status) and see if they have everything. If you are nearing the end of the 3rd week and they still don't have all of your items, then you should give them a call to double check. Chances are they just haven't made it there and into their system yet, but there are times where things get lost in the mail or filed in the wrong area. If items need to be sent again then we can work together to take care of that, but first make sure that they really are missing it.

As always, swing by my office to see me if you have any questions.

Application Reality Check

2011-12-05T22:16:00.003-05:00

December 1st was a major college application deadline, but it is certainly not the last deadline. Many students arrived in my office in a panic at the end of last week fearing that they had missed their only opportunity to apply to college. I want to assure you that there is still plenty of time to apply to college, but you definitely need to be working on the applications now. So, let's do a quick reality check on where you should be for the application process (if you are a senior)...

- Your need to request your transcript for any colleges with application deadlines before January 1st by December 15th and don't forget to pick up your transcript and mail it to the college.

- If your college forms required a recommendation letter then you should have turned in the parent brag sheet and counselor recommendation supplement forms to me by now. (I have the rec letters written for everyone who had submitted their paperwork prior to this week.)

- If your college applications require a teacher recommendation letter then you should have asked your teacher for a rec letter and provided them a resume or the recommendation request form with information sheet completed.

- If you are still working with January or February deadlines then you should be working on editing the drafts of your essays to perfect them before the deadline.

Hopefully that falls in line with where you are in the application process... and it is even better if you are ahead of the game and have submitted your paperwork in advance or already submitted your applications! Some of you have started hearing back from your colleges, don't forget that we are tracking that information, so please keep me posted as you receive the college admissions decisions from each school.

Planning Ahead

2011-12-04T23:02:00.004-05:00

I hope you had a nice weekend! It's hard to believe that we have just 2 and a half weeks left before winter break. As you are busy in your classes trying to get everything wrapped up before the quarter ends, I wanted to give you a heads up about my schedule because there are several days when I will not be available.

I assume you already recall that you have a late start day tomorrow. (I'm jealous that you get to sleep in!) I will be around all day, so even though you have shortened periods, if you need anything, please stop by. Late start days always tend to be slower days as far as students stopping in to visit.

The days that I will be out of the building start on Friday. I have a financial aid conference to attend on Friday so I will not be available. And then next week I will be out on both Monday and Tuesday for a meeting at central office.

Remember, if you ever have an emergency and I am not available, you can always see one of the other counselors. If it is not an emergency, then please try to either plan ahead and stop in to see me this week before Friday or else wait until next Wednesday to check in with me.

College Admissions Interviews

2011-12-01T20:09:00.003-05:00

Some colleges offer the opportunity for prospective students to participate in an interview with an admissions counselor or an alumni representative as a component of the application process. If you are looking at a school which requires an interview – don’t panic!

It is important to relax and be yourself. This is your opportunity to shine. Display your personality and allow your interests and passions to be expressed.

In addition to answering their questions, don’t be afraid to ask any questions you have about the school. Be sure to complete some research ahead of time so that you are not asking questions you easily could have found by visiting their website.

If there is anything about yourself that you want to be sure that the admissions representatives understand – unique circumstances, experiences, or special traits that they might not ask about don’t hesitate to offer up this information. This is your one opportunity to actually discuss these areas with a real person. By bringing up these topics, it may spur them to ask additional questions that you will be able to answer. If you want to talk more before your interview, don't hesitate to stop by and see me.

And, hopefully it goes without saying, but remember that first impressions are important – so be polite, smile, dress appropriately and arrive on time for your interview!

Here are some additional articles about college interviews that I found that I thought you might appreciate:

Do college admissions interviews matter?

College Interviews – Start practicing early

Nine tips for mastering alumni interviews

Application Details

2011-11-30T21:59:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is December 1st! This is one of the significant deadlines for many colleges and so over the last few days seniors have been scrambling to try to get their applications finished up. As you get ready to hit submit, I'd like to remind you to double check every aspect of your application before you turn in your application!

Make sure you didn't skip over an area planning to come back to it later. Many students leave activities or honors lists empty intending to return to update that information later. Also, be sure that you have provided accurate information about yourself and your parents. For example, when you mess up your social security number, it can be difficult for the college to match your information together and it takes a lot longer to get everything straightened out with your application.

If your application required an essay, make sure that you put the right essay with the appropriate application. (In other words, don't submit an essay to Dayton answering OSU's question and vice versa.) Also, be sure that your essay is within the specified word count. Hopefully it goes without saying, but since it is all about details, please make sure that you upload the final version of your college essay rather than a draft version.

For those students who are applying to schools which utilize the Common Application, you have some additional details to pay attention to with your applications. It is essential that you print preview your application before you submit it to be certain that everything looks exactly like you want it to appear. The way it looks when you hit print preview is the way it will look for your college. A hint of what you should be looking for when you print preview the page would include making sure that nothing is being cut off. For example, double check the short and long essay as well as the general application text boxes to make sure your information isn't being cut off. If your application isn't appearing exactly how you wanted it to look, then you need to make changes to your application so that it does look how you wanted it to appear. Also, when using the Common Application, double check that you have truly submitted your application. This includes submitting the main application, paying the fee for the application (if the college charges an application fee) and submitting any supplements that the college requires. You will also want to verify that all of your school forms have been submitted. (You will be able to see this on the school forms tab of the Common Application.) The school forms area will include the transcript being submitted by me and, when applicable, the teacher or counselor recommendation letters. If you notice that one of your school forms/ recommendation letters has not been submitted, but you had previously asked a teacher for a rec letter, please go and see the teacher and ask nicely what the status of your recommendation letter is and ask if they need you to resend them the common application recommendation link. Try to keep in mind that they are helping you by writing your recommendation letter, so be sure to approach the contact with gratitude and kindness rather than being upset about the fact that you have to ask them again about your recommendation letter.

For those college applications that are not on the Common Application, don't forget that you need to make sure that you have mailed in your transcript in it's sealed envelope. Many students still have transcripts in the Counseling Center that you need to pick up, address, and mail before the deadline.

If you need any last minute help with your applications, feel free to stop down and see me tomorrow.

Procrastination

2011-11-28T19:33:00.005-05:00

Procrastination is one of the more common problem areas that students battle. Every year I meet some students who are "master procrastinators." The reality is that some people don't mind putting everything off until the last possible second and then working like crazy to get everything accomplished before the deadline, but this can result in a lot of unnecessary stress. Procrastination certainly doesn’t mean that you are lazy or incapable, but it is often a sign that something is getting in your way of completing your tasks and responsibilities. If you are interested in learning strategies for gaining control over your tendencies to procrastinate, it is important to remember that there are no quick fixes. As with most things in life, what works for one person will not necessarily work for someone else so it is important to find a strategy that will work effectively for you. I doubt that any of these suggestions will be ideas that you have never heard of before, but it comes down to deciding that you want to try to make a change. So, reward yourself for progress made because it does take time to improve.

Some ideas to help combat procrastination:

Plan ahead.

Break your big projects, assignments, or responsibilities down into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Commit to spending at least 15 minutes working on something that you have been avoiding.

Remind yourself that there is not going to be a better time – not tomorrow, not next weekend, or next month – something else will always come up that continues to contribute to the procrastination.

Ask for help.

Focus on the desired outcome – rather than your fear or inaction.

Be realistic – most tasks take far longer than you expect.

Minimize Distractions… and take care of whatever is distracting you.

Let go of perfectionism. (And, for those of you who are perfectionists, I know that this is a hard one, but the reality is that many things aren’t worth doing perfectly, so just start and do your best – it will still be better than not doing it at all.)

Recruit a friend to help keep you accountable. (If you tell someone else about your goal or plan to battle your typical procrastination blocks, you may be more likely to follow through, but please make sure it is a friend who will help you stay accountable not convince you that it is OK to put off starting your paper for a few more days.)

Do the hard part first… or… do the easy part first. (Whichever is more motivating to you is the one you should choose.)

Keep track of your progress so you don't lose sight of how much you've accomplished.

The bottom line is that if you get it done when you need to instead of procrastinating, you’ll feel better about yourself and have less stress… so get to work. :-)

If you are wanting to procrastinate a little longer from doing the work you should be accomplishing right now, perhaps these articles about procrastination will be of interest:

What is procrastination?

7 Ways to Get Started

How to Cure Deep Procrastination

The Procrastinating Caveman: What Human Evolution Teaches Us About Why We Put Off Work and How to Stop

7 Symptoms of procrastination and how to stop them

10 ways to give procrastination a bypass

Number of Years in College

2011-11-27T21:59:00.003-05:00

How long will it take you to make it through college? Most people will automatically think to themselves "4 years" because most WKHS students are planning on attending 4-year colleges after graduation.

Unfortunately, graduating from college in 4 years is not always the reality. While a traditional college is a 4-year school, it is not always realistic that their students will, in fact, graduate in 4-years. You may wonder why this matters now, but it is very important for you to look at the 4-year graduation rates when you are considering colleges for your future because the longer it takes you to graduate from college, the more you will be taking on in costs for college as well as the longer it will take you to graduate and get out into the working world or to move on to grad school.

You can usually find the 4-year graduation rates on college websites, but it isn't always easily accessible. This is a link to a US Department of Education website called College Navigator where you can search for schools and then by looking at the retention/ graduation rate area you will be able to see the statistics for each school in an easily accessible way.

Each school's 4-year graduation rates should not be your sole factor in making a decision, but it is another piece of the puzzle to help you. You should use the information to help you ask more questions about why their graduation rates are so low. Is it because it is too difficult to schedule classes when you need, is it because the costs are too expensive, is it because students change majors too many times so they end up with a lot of classes that do not help them toward their major, etc.

Happy Searching as you look for the school that is the best fit for you and your future.

A "Black Weekend"

2011-11-25T20:19:00.002-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving is known as “Black Friday” for all of the people who plan out their day and shop til they drop, but for high school seniors across the country the entire weekend has been called a “Black Weekend.” NOT because of shopping, but because the push to finish applications is down to the wire so parents are forcing their senior students to spend all weekend working on college applications in an effort to try to get them completed. I keep wondering how many of you are really spending the weekend locked away in your rooms stressed out as you try to finish your college applications. Hopefully many of you were ahead of the game and didn't end up procrastinating to try to get everything done over the holiday weekend. If a significant part of your holiday weekend has been "black" due to non-stop college application work, I hope you finish soon so you can enjoy some of the break.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:45:00.001-05:00

I wanted to take a moment and wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy spending time with your family, eating turkey, watching the parade, watching football, and taking a nap... or whatever your own traditions include.

I am fortunate to be spending the holiday with my family and am cherishing the opportunity to be with the people who mean the most to me. I have so much to be thankful for today and every day. I hope you know that all of you are part of what I am grateful for and that I am thankful that you are in my life!

Have a great day and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Stressed?

2011-11-23T23:33:00.006-05:00

How are your stress levels?

Stress comes from a range of events and life circumstances. When positive things happen such as getting a new job, dating someone new, or graduating from high school, stress levels increase. And, obviously, stress levels are higher when negative things take place like failing a test, fighting with family or friends, or having a lot to do in a limited amount of time. Quite simply, the reality is that stress is a part of life and it cannot be escaped, but it is important to learn strategies for dealing with stress.

Hopefully having 5 days off school is helping to decrease your stress levels, but I am also very aware of the fact that holidays can also create stress. Expectations tend to be higher during holidays. Families are often together and sometimes that means lots of questions about your college plans or it could mean that siblings who are off to college are home and the change in routine can cause challenges. Students whose parents are divorced are often juggling multiple holidays and trying to be in several places at once which is never easy. Whatever the circumstances are for your family, try to remember that even though the holiday may not be the picture of perfection that you might see portrayed on movies or TV shows, it can still be enjoyable - even if it is stressful.

Finding the stress relievers that are effective in your own life is important not only during the holidays, but throughout the year. Talking to friends, journaling, drawing, reading, listening to music, running, coloring, playing sports, spending time with your pets, taking a walk, dancing, exercising, watching a funny movie, or helping someone less fortunate are all examples of some simple stress relievers that might be ideas you can consider utilizing. Remember, once we are back at school if you are needing someone to talk to about some additional strategies for learning to manage the stress in your life that I am always around and willing to listen.

Also, below are some articles related to stress that might interest you:

Stress among teens is real and parents can help

Are your kids stressed?

What to do if your child is stressed

45 Second De-Stress Tips

5 stress busting techniques from my household

How to avoid burn out: 10 symptoms of severe stress

(And we can handle that!) :-)

Delaware Area Career Center

2011-11-21T23:00:00.003-05:00

Today was a field trip to the Delaware Area Career Center. As a reminder, don't forget that even if attending the career center, WKHS students are always WKHS students. With most programs you will have the option of attending the career center for full days (where you would take your lab coursework which counts as elective credits and your academic courses all at the career center) or for half days (where you only take the lab coursework at the career center and then return to WKHS for the other half of the day for your academic classes). You will graduate from Worthington Kilbourne and continue to participate on our athletic teams - even if you decide that you want to attend the career center for the full day. I strongly encourage you to check out the programs because the hands on opportunities to learn something new while also gaining your required elective credits can be a very appealing option! If you didn't have the chance to participate in today's field trip there is a second look day trip on December 8th. Any students interested in making this visit should stop by the WKHS Counseling & Career Center to pick up a permission slip from the secretaries. Permission slips must be submitted in advance in order to make arrangements for your visit.

A Short Week

2011-11-20T21:39:00.003-05:00

Are you excited about the fact that we only have 2 days of school this week? I am definitely looking forward to the short week and the Thanksgiving holiday!

It is important to remember that the shortened week will mean that there are only 5 school days remaining between now and December 1st. For those of you who are planning on applying to schools with a December 1st deadline, you must pay attention to completing all of the steps on time!

Colleges typically want your complete application package in their office by the date of the deadline. That means that your transcript, recommendation letters, official test scores, and application including the essay are all in the college's hands by December 1st. The application is generally the easiest part to make sure it arrives before the deadline because it is an online submission, but don't forget to give yourself time to get the other aspects mailed to the college in time. That means that if you are in the group of students who still plan to hit this December 1st date, then please verify that you have completed your transcript release form and that you remember to stop back and pick it up (with $1.00 per transcript) so that you can get it in the mail this week or at least by the Monday after we return from Thanksgiving break.

Links Fixed

2011-11-19T23:32:00.003-05:00

Thank you to the people who let me know that the links to all of the articles from the November 14th blog post were all going to one site instead of to the appropriate articles. I looked up all of the articles again and was able to find them and so I was able to go back and fix the links. I anticipate that by tomorrow evening I will also have updated the links to the November 13th blog post. Sorry about that! I obviously need to add more space between articles... definitely a lesson learned! Thanks again for the feedback from those who pointed it out to me - I am happy to know that people are, in fact, reading the blog.

Demonstrating Interest

2011-11-19T22:16:00.003-05:00

It is interesting to stop and think about all of the different factors that play into a college admission decision. When colleges are evaluating all of their applications, one of the aspects that may help set one student apart from another is the level of interest that they have demonstrated. The reason that demonstrating interest is important to a college is that they have a limited number of spots that they can offer for admission. They are trying to find a way to maximize the number of students who they accept that will actually attend their college in the future and they still want to find a way to get the most competitive, involved group of students that they can find.

So what are some of the ways that you can demonstrate your interest in a college?

Meeting with the college admissions reps when they come to WKHS is a great first step. I'll be honest, for this year, admissions officers visiting Kilbourne has come to an end, but for the younger students, this is something you should keep in mind for next fall. The reason that this is such a significant way to demonstrate your interest is because a lot of kids don’t take advantage of this opportunity so when you do take the time to come and meet with them, you will stand out.

Attend their community nights – many colleges will offer presentations at area hotels or community centers that students and parents can attend. We have been listing these upcoming nights on the WKHS Counselors website. These events tend to be more common in the fall and spring months so you can always check our website and also the college's website for opportunities to meet with them.

Visit their campus! Visiting their school is probably the best way to demonstrate your interest in their college. Because the college visit is such a strong indicator of your interest and because there are many things to consider when you are making a campus visit, I am including a few articles below - many of which deal with the college visits. (Hopefully I will be able to get the links to work better this time. I am very sorry that they haven't worked recently!)

I know it isn't always feasible to visit every single school that you are interested in applying to so find other ways to familiarize yourself if you can't make it to their campus. Visit their website. Read the admissions blogs. Don’t be a pest, but if you have questions, seek the answers by contacting admissions representatives. (And, for the record, you should make those contacts rather than having one of your parents call on your behalf!)

Some schools will offer alumni interviews in the area and if the school you are considering is among them, it would be wise to take advantage of this opportunity as it, again, demonstrates the sincerity of your interest in their college.

Here are a few articles you might want to read regarding demonstrating interest and campus visits.

Campus Visits Top the List

More Ways to ‘Demonstrate Interest’ in a College

Want to see just how much attention colleges are paying to interest and your responses to them – look at this article: Not replying, yet still applying

When the college tour takes a detour to a keg party

6 Campus tour to-do’s for students and parents

Letter of Intent

2011-11-16T23:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday afternoon Charlie Bassani signed his national letter of intent to play lacrosse at Robert Morris University. Charlie was joined in the “signing” ceremony by one of his WKHS teammates, Tae Young Kim, who was also signing his letter of intent. Family members, friends, teammates, and coaches attended the signing ceremony to show their support of Charlie and to celebrate this great accomplishment with him. Charlie shared some kind remarks and signed the form representing his commitment to play lacrosse for Robert Morris, but this day was more of a celebration of the years of hard work and dedication that he has invested in lacrosse to maximize his abilities. Congratulations Charlie! I am so proud of you and wish you nothing but the best at Robert Morris!
In the photo above, Charlie is pictured with his parents and sister, Miriam. Charlie's brother, Harrison, wasn't able to attend Charlie's signing ceremony as he is in college and is currently studying abroad.

College Articles

2011-11-14T20:02:00.001-05:00

Did you enjoy the long weekend we just had? One of my "accomplishments" for the weekend was catching up on reading some articles related to college and these are a range of articles that I thought might appeal to you. Pick and choose which ones you want to read based upon what you think will help you most because I know there are a lot here.

The ideal high school graduate

Disclose disciplinary infractions

Insight into admissions at the University of California

4 tips for approaching your college application activities list

4 tips for finding the right college arts program

10 tips for staying organized in the college application process

How to keep your college bound teen from burning out

Small tips that have big impact for college admission

Is it “easier” to get in if you apply early decision?

College search made easy with college navigator

20 very scary online application mistakes to avoid

The many myths about college admissions

10 ways to improve your chances

10th grade college preparation

Foreign language requirement for college admissions

How to match the college to the student

How to measure one college against another

Talking to your teen about college

Top 10 myths of college admissions

Weeding through your college mail

How to choose the perfect college – 15 points to ponder

To how many colleges should I apply?

In selecting a college, academic major remains top factor for students

15 key factors in admissions decisions

Happy Reading! :-)

More on Essay Writing

2011-11-13T22:56:00.002-05:00

Seniors, how are you doing on your college application essays? Have you made good progress or are you feeling stuck? With December 1st deadlines rapidly approaching it is important to focus on drafting, editing, revising, editing, and perhaps editing some more until you end up with the best essay possible.

Some students have been having a difficult time coming up with topics that answer the OSU essay question about what you will do in the next four years that will surprise your family and friends. They recently provided clarification to remind students that the purpose of their essay, and quite honestly, the purpose of every college essay, is to share insight about yourself and how you anticipate making the most of the opportunities ahead of you in college. You want to be certain that you allow the college to learn something about you through your essay.

For the essays that give you the choice about what question to answer, pick the question that allows you to tell a story and show what it is that makes you uniquely you.

Here are some additional articles about college essays that might help you:

Getting started on your personal college essay statement
Crafting an application essay that “pops”
6 Tips for a College Admissions Essay on an Influential Person
Short Answer Mistakes
11 guaranteed ways to ruin a college essay
Mistakes to avoid when writing college applications essays
7 golden rules for writing and editing: A non-grammar focused guide to irresistible writing
Advice on whittling your college essay
The college essay: What (not) to write about

Enjoy sleeping in tomorrow! (I'm jealous!) :-)

Letter of Intent

2011-11-12T23:04:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Hunter Atha who signed his national letter of intent to dive next year at the University of Wisconsin. Hunter had his "signing" ceremony after school on Thursday and the swim and dive coaches shared a few comments before he “signed” and thanked everyone in attendance. Hunter was joined by his parents for this recognition and was surrounded by other supporters including his brother, Tanner, his extended family members such as aunts, uncles and grandparents, his current and past coaches, teammates, friends, and teachers. Congratulations Hunter! I am proud of you and wish you the best at Wisconsin!

Veterans Day

2011-11-11T21:32:00.003-05:00

Today, Veterans Day, we remember and honor the men and women who have served the United States in our military to protect our freedom.

As I reflected on how much I appreciate the service, dedication and sacrifice so many men and women have given to our country, I couldn't help but have my mind wander specifically to a few different groups of people. My mind went first to my grandfather and his friends, then I thought of all the Marines that I met while at the Parris Island for the Educator's Conference (what all the pictures and newspaper article in my office are from), and then I couldn't help but think of all of my former students who have served (or are currently serving) in the military.

I'll be honest, there is a part of me that is worried to put up this list because I am scared that I am missing people, but this is the list I could come up with tonight in alphabetical order... Vinnie Aebi, Adam Bardelang, Alex Blake, Josh Burton, Taylor Castelli, Eric Castoe, Austin Clouse, Tom Collier, Drew Cox, Dorothy Dibble, Joda Dotson, Stephen Downard, Michael Frizzi, and Zach Ellifritz.

There are no words to adequately express my gratitude and respect for your courage, strength and dedication to country. To all Veterans, thank you for your service and for those of you still in the military, thank you and please, stay safe!

Also, for those of you who might be thinking that you'd like to find ways to honor our nation's military men and women, I thought this article had some great ideas:

15 great ways for students to support our military

Oh The Places You'll Go

2011-11-10T23:06:00.004-05:00

We made it through the week! I don't know if it was just me, but this felt like a really long week. I hope you are looking forward to the long weekend. Not only do you have the day off tomorrow, but you also have a late start on Monday!

My guess is that some of you will be using the long weekend to make college visits. Don't forget to take a picture on every college campus that you step foot on - even if it is a school you are not seriously considering for your future. We would love to see the pictures, plus, every interaction you have with a college shapes your views on what you are looking for in the future.

I am thrilled with the pictures I have received already, but I also know that many of you have recently taken or are soon planning college visits and we'd like to continue to build on our picture display. As a reminder, the picture can be of you anywhere at the college - a pretty place, in front of a cool building or an area where you expect to spend a lot of time, or, as seems to be the biggest hit - in front of a sign featuring the name of the college.

Charlie Bassani gets the recognition for giving me the first picture for the class of 2012.
Jonathan Black gets the recognition for giving me the picture from the college that is the greatest distance from WKHS. (Arizona State University)
Mariah Minichello gets the recognition for giving me the most pictures to date. (8 colleges) - FYI, this was a close one as two students have 7 college pictures displayed and one has assured me that more pictures are coming soon.
So far it appears that Northwestern is the "most visited" school with 4 pictures provided by Josh Cook, Matthew Cooperman, Cole Doran and Rosalyn Chen.

Thanks again to everyone that has helped with this project by taking pictures! Please continue taking pictures - I love seeing them when you bring them back and hearing more about your visit to the school!

November Students of the Month

2011-11-09T22:15:00.003-05:00

Last Friday morning a ceremony was held honoring the group of students selected as November's Students of the Month. 6 of these outstanding individuals were “my” students. Hunter Atha, Shane Bennett, Jillisa Blake, Jeyenth Bukkapatnam, Brittany Bunn, and Lydia DeWeese were all nominated by staff for their academic achievement, good citizenship and/ or service. This is an honor that students can only receive once during their high school career. Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition! I am proud of you.

(Unfortunately, since I had to be out of the building for a conference, I was not able to be there to get a picture of just "my" students, but Ms. Schwartz helped me out by taking this full group picture of all the students who were honored at the event.)

Studying Strategies

2011-11-08T22:04:00.004-05:00

Do you know how to study? I ask students that question a lot and, quite honestly, the most common response is "no." It really isn't a surprise though. The reality is that until high school gets hard enough that you hit the wall and it no longer comes easy to you, studying isn't something you typically have to worry about and spend a lot of time focusing on.

The challenging part of studying is that what works best for one person may not be what works best for someone else. And, even if you figure out what works best for you in one particular subject area, that still doesn't mean that this particular strategy will be most effective for a different subject.

The best news is that there are lots of different ideas and strategies that you can use to develop a study strategy that works best for you! For what it is worth, think of learning to study like you think of learning to run. You already know some skills that have helped you to know how to study and to be successful - just like you already know how to run, but if you practice and really train at running, you can improve significantly and studying will work just the same. Keep working at your study strategies, practice and continue refining your technique until you find the perfect combination that works for you.

Here are some articles with study strategies and tips that might interest you:

Common Study Mistakes

Surefire Tips for Earning Grades Colleges will Notice

Shrinking Outline Method:

How to Cram for a Final:

5 Ways Poor Attendance Hurts

One Minute Paper

Smart Study Habits

Wired Studying Isn’t Always Best Strategy

9 Evidenced Based Study Tips

Using Checklists

Always check what you’re being asked to do

Facebook's impact on student's grades

Career Related

2011-11-05T22:41:00.002-04:00

As you are aware, I was out of the building Thursday and Friday. The reason that I wasn't there is because I was attending the All Ohio Counselor Conference, a gathering of counselors from across the state. During the conference, I presented a session about the Career Fair that we held in 2008 and 2010. All the time spent thinking about the Career Fair made me want to take a moment again to express my gratitude for all of the students, parents, staff and community members who worked hard and dedicated their time, energy and effort to help make the event a success!

I also wanted to remind you that although we only hold the career fair every other year, exploring potential future career interests is something that doesn't take time off.

If you are interested, you can complete a career resource inventory on OCIS, the Ohio Career Information System. Here are directions for using OCIS:
1. Log in http://www.ocis.org/. User name: Kilbourne. Password: ohiocis03
2. In the top right side of the page, click on “Create my Portfolio” to set up a personal account
3. On the top left side of the page, click on “Individual Academic and Career Plan.”
4. Read the screen.
5. Students in grade 9 should click on “Getting Started.” Follow the directions and complete each activity.
6. Students in grades 10-12, should click on “Looking Deeper.”

You can navigate through the OCIS pages by using the Quick Links button on the top right of the page for quicker navigation.

Additionally, here are some articles that pertain to careers which might interest you:

Five jobs with high salary, low education

What can I do with a major in…

Helping teens develop marketable job skills

Credit Flexibility

2011-11-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

On Monday night, November 7th, at 7:30pm we will hold a meeting to share information about the new options available to students through credit flexibility.

The State of Ohio passed legislation that changes how students can earn units of high school credit. Students are now able to earn credit based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of or in combination with completing hours of classroom instruction. Students will be able to customize aspects of their learning around their interests and needs. It encourages student self-direction and motivates learners to develop new skills and fulfill their potential. Examples of credit flexibility opportunities include, but are not limited to, independent study, online learning, and demonstration of course proficiency.

I hope that all students and parents interested in learning more about credit flexibility will join us Monday night in the auditorium.

University of Toledo Scholarship

2011-11-01T21:30:00.002-04:00

Today I learned that Worthington Schools has joined in a program offered by the University of Toledo to provide up to $10,000 in scholarships per student who spends 4 years of high school in the district and earns a 3.0 GPA or higher each year. With the costs of college being so overwhelming, this is a great opportunity for our students!

Here is the Dispatch article that highlights the news that Worthington has joined in on the scholarship program. Here is an article that the Columbus Dispatch ran several weeks ago when Dublin joined in on the program as this article gives additional information about the scholarship.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I hope you had a good day. I don't know if it is just me, but halloween isn't nearly as much fun as it would be if there were little kids around, but hopefully you were able to make some little kids really happy as you passed out candy to them and complimented their costumes. This picture is of my niece and nephew in their halloween costumes for this year. Carly is a leopard and Colton is a shark. They are too cute! :-) I know, I am biased, but still...

Today also marks the start of the 2nd quarter. Remember, it is very important that you focus on making the most out of every day in your classes. As you are aware, it is the semester grade that ultimately matters and counts on your transcripts. So, with most classes, you have 60% of your grade remaining. (40% from the 2nd quarter and 20% from the semester exam)

It is important to start the quarter strong. Get organized and work on staying organized all quarter. This is important because you need to make the most of the opportunity to have a fresh start with each new grading period. Additionally, I strongly encourage you to take time to reflect on your progress during the 1st quarter. Did it go as well as you had hoped or planned? Did you put forth your best effort? It is important to consider what went worked and continue doing those same things moving forward. Then, as you identify what didn't go as well as you had hoped, be sure to adjust what isn't working so that you don't continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

And one other reminder, for any of you who are interested in participating in the field trip to the Delaware Area Career Center, don't forget to return your permission slips to Mrs. Windisch in the Counseling Center tomorrow! (They were due today, but she is still able to accept them if you get it to her right away.)

Net Price Calculator and Financial Aid Related

2011-10-30T17:29:00.005-04:00

As of this weekend, every college will now feature a net price calculator on their website. This is in an effort to help provide students and parents with the information needed to make more educated decisions and choices about what they can expect to pay for a college education at each school. Now, I will forewarn you that not every net price calculator is the same and some are more detailed than others. Why does this matter? Well, if it is very specific and takes all of the different factors into consideration that the financial aid office will be looking at when creating your financial aid package, then you are likely to get a better picture of what your estimated aid might be, but if it is a more simplistic calculator then there could be more variance when compared to your actual aid package.

Without a doubt, college is very expensive and so trying to figure out the best ways to be able to finance your education is an important factor to consider in your college search and selection process. Below are a range of articles related to net price calculators, scholarships and financial aid that might interest you.

Get out your net-price calculator

Look to parents’ employers for college scholarships

Discover scholarships just for men

Make your extracurricular activities pay off

Colleges increasingly look for applicants who can pay full price

The Net-price calculator: Financial aid game changer?

The Myth of the “Full Ride” Athletic Scholarship

Consider these 8 scholarships for aspiring writers

10 Twitter handles to help with your scholarship search

Be Moneywise: Choose the right college to attend

How calculators can help counselors help students

Tips on finding and securing scholarships

Schedule Reminder

2011-10-29T21:04:00.003-04:00

This past week was pretty crazy schedule wise for me since I was out of the building for half the week helping as a part of the crisis recovery team at McCord Middle School. I appreciate all of your patience because I know it is hard when you were trying to see me and I wasn't available.

I wanted to give you a heads up and reminders about this coming week's schedule...

- Monday (October 31st) is a late start day. This is when your teachers will be working to finalize your 1st quarter grades. Hard to believe that we are already a fourth of the way through this school year!

- Tuesday is November 1st. Some of the seniors have college deadlines for November 1st. If you are one of them, please be certain that you have submitted all of your application materials to the college by the end of the day Tuesday.

- I will be out of the building on Thursday and Friday (November 3rd and 4th) for a statewide counselors conference. So, if you need to see me, please plan on coming in on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

2011-10-27T21:02:00.003-04:00

Parent/ Teacher conferences will be held on the evenings of Monday, November 7th and Thursday, November 10th. There is an online system to allow parents to set up appointments to meet with teachers.

To access the system, visit the portal at http://www.worthington-portal.org/ and log in using the same parent e-mail address and password that is used to access grades through e-Sembler. Click on menu, go up to “My Account” and then “Child Records Access.” Select the high school student you wish to schedule and under applications, choose student options and press the “Launch” button. You will then click on “Schedule Teacher Conference.”

Select the day you wish to schedule the conference. (Active tab is white.) The day you are scheduling is listed about the course names. All available times have a button in the time slot which will allow you to select it. Select the time by course and teacher that you wish to schedule and click the “Schedule Teacher Conference” tab. Your scheduled conferences will appear in a list below. You will also have the option of deleting or printing your conferences.

I realize that the directions sound confusing, but having seen the system, I promise you that it is not nearly as confusing as it sounds. Conference times are available on a first-come, first-serve basis so I strongly encourage you to log in and schedule your appointments as soon as possible.

If you do not have a valid e-mail address, please call 450-6400 for assistance. If you cannot recall your password to access the system, please go to the portal and click the “Request Password” option in the bottom left of the log in screen. Your password will be emailed to you from Computer Services within the hour if the e-mail you submit matches the email in the student’s profile.

A Crisis Reminder

2011-10-25T21:37:00.004-04:00

Today the students and staff at McCord Middle School learned that one of their 8th grade students had died. All of the WKHS counselors went across the street to help out on this difficult day and so, as you can imagine, my mind has been very crisis focused. I thought this might be a good time to review the importance of communication when crisis situations occur. It is important, as a school counselor, to be aware of any major incidents that impact students from the school as soon as possible so that we can help prepare an appropriate response. For the record, I tend to check my e-mails over weekends, holidays, and the summer for any critical incidents, but I do not check my school voicemail, so the best way to pass along important timely news is e-mail. Obviously, my hope is that this information is never needed and that we will not face any crisis situations in the future, but I also know that it is better safe than sorry.

Deadlines are Real

2011-10-24T22:46:00.003-04:00

Deadlines are real! Often times I worry that the tendency we have in high school to set a deadline and then extend it or accept late materials creates a major problem when it comes to college applications and the rest of the world. The reality is that outside of high school, deadlines are real. If they say you need to have something done by a particular day, then it is essential that you have it done by that day. College applications fit into this strict rule so this is your friendly reminder to watch your deadlines!

It is really important that you stay organized and submit all application materials to colleges prior to their designated deadlines. There are several schools that have scholarship deadlines of November 1st. (This means that if you want to be considered for the maximum scholarship offering that you need to apply by November 1st.) Other schools have November 15th, December 1st, December 15th, or even later deadlines, but because every school is different it is really important that you stay on top of this and meet the requirements with plenty of time. If you have a college application with a November 1st deadline and you have not seen me already, please be sure to come in and see me!

I'd like to remind you that college applications is just 1 piece of my job as a high school counselor. I am more than happy to help you by writing recommendation letters if they are needed by your school, but you must give me at least 30 days notice before you need the letter! Being able to outline, draft, edit and revise each letter is important so that I can share all the great things you will bring to the college.

Don't forget, it also takes us 3 days at WKHS to process your transcript release so you need to allow plenty of time pick up your transcript and then mail it to the college. Some schools (like OSU) hold firm to the requirement that their deadline doesn't just mean that the application has been received by that date, but that all supporting documentation is also in their hands by that particular date. This means that they also need to have your transcript and official ACT/ SAT test scores prior to the deadline date.

If you are having trouble figuring out the deadlines, stop down to see me and we can look it up together.

Impressive Students

2011-10-23T22:44:00.010-04:00

The students at WKHS never cease to impress me with all of their remarkable accomplishments, areas of involvement, awards, and activities. Below are a few of my students who deserve recognition.
Mariah Minichello, awarded OCC Academic League Leadership Award
Nick Darby, National Merit Semi-finalist
Cole Doran, National Merit Commended Scholar

Sean Baumgardner, Kristen Barone, and Grayson Biglin, Homecoming Court Attendants
Steven Borchers, Eagle Scout Award
Arthur Ding, Eagle Scout Award

Congratulations to each of you!

Delaware Area Career Center

2011-10-20T21:52:00.003-04:00

When students enter 9th grade, many are excited about the different choices and opportunities available in high school. Unfortunately, the reality is that the first two years of high school really don't have all that many choices academically. There is a great deal of flexibility though as students reach their junior and senior years. One of those options includes the possibility of attending the Delaware Area Career Center.

Today during Science classes, all sophomores listened to a presentation about the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC) and the programs that they have available for students. This is a great opportunity to earn your elective credits in an area that interests you rather than being forced to pick classes that you are selecting simply because they will fill up your schedule. One of my students, Rachel Berg, did a great job as one of the student ambassadors who spoke during a few of the presentions.

It was interesting to hear about all of the different programs that are available for students to explore. There are some unique experiences and opportunities available that can really stand out to colleges. In particular, the students I have worked with in the past who participated in Teacher Academy and in Zoo School were stand-outs to the colleges!

Sophomores – if you are interested in participating in the field trip to the DACC, please be sure to stop into the Counseling and Career Center to pick up a permission slip. After signed by your parents please return it to Mrs. Windisch in the Counseling and Career Center. She will also give you a teacher permission slip that must be completed before you can attend. The field trip is Monday, November 21st. All permission slips must be returned by October 31st so that the career center can prepare for your visits.

October Students of the Month

2011-10-19T23:18:00.004-04:00

Earlier this month 27 students were honored as Worthington Kilbourne High School Students of the Month. The recognition as a Student of the Month can only be earned once during a student's high school career. 4 of the students selected for this month's recognition were "my" students.
Congratulations to (pictured left to right): Michelle Borchers, Kaitlyn Bennett, and Bryn Caswell. Also, not pictured, Jeyenth Bukkapatnam. I am proud of you all!

Activities

2011-10-17T20:58:00.003-04:00

At WKHS you are blessed to have a wide range of activities that you can choose to be involved with based upon your interests. Whether it is athletics, music groups, theater, clubs, or community service outreach opportunities, every student can find a place where they can contribute and belong. And, in the off chance that there is not a group that you are interested in, it is also possible that you can work with a staff member to establish your own group.

Sometimes students or parents will talk about their belief that colleges want to see students who are involved in a ton of activities. What is more important than just being a part of a lot of activities is that students find areas of passion and pursue those areas with focus and long term dedication.

As you are considering your areas of involvement, how you can get involved, and also how you will report that information to colleges, these articles might be helpful. Remember though, it is far more important that you are involved because it is meaningful to you rather than because it will "look good" on a college application!

When a part-time job is your extra-curricular activity

Don’t Discount a Summer Job

Summarizing Your Activities on the Common Application

Focus your activities – don’t take a shotgun approach

11 Ways Teen Entrepreneurs can Volunteer in their communities

How many volunteer hours do I need?

Admissions officers not impressed by pricey service trips

Do colleges want well-rounded students or those with a passion?

Great Job!

2011-10-12T23:19:00.003-04:00

I wanted to take a moment and thank all of the students who participated in the PSAT and/ or PLAN testing today. Everyone behaved very well and the test process went by as well as we could have wanted. This may sound strange to you (in fact it might not make any sense to you as this is so old compared to what you are familiar with), but today I felt like one of the ghosts from Pacman. As those of you who were testing are aware, I spent the entire day wandering up and down the rows of the gym aimlessly. Although it wasn't as much fun as playing Pacman, I am really proud of all of the students who participated in the tests today. In particular I applaud the students who tested all day long. I know it was a demanding day, but you did great!

PSAT and PLAN Reminders

2011-10-11T22:26:00.004-04:00

As you are aware, tomorrow is the PSAT and PLAN testing day. I thought it might help if I gave you a few reminders and some information about what to expect tomorrow.

If you are taking the PSAT, you will report directly to the gymnasiums when you arrive to school on Wednesday morning. You will need to bring your student id with you in order to check in. You will also need a number 2 pencil (no mechanical pencils allowed), a calculator, and I would recommend a watch. The test will begin by 7:45 and you will finish testing at the start of 4th period.

If you are taking the PLAN test, you will go to your 1st through 3rd period classes and when announcements begin you will be released to head to the commons to eat your lunch and then check in at the gymnasiums for the test. Check in begins at 10:50am and you will test for the remainder of the day. (As with the PSAT, don't forget to bring a number 2, non-mechanical, pencil, a calculator and a watch.)

If you are one of the students who love testing so much that you have elected to take both the PLAN and PSAT, you will test 1st through 3rd, have a quick break for lunch, report back to the gym and test again for the remainder of the day.

Generally speaking, the majority of juniors will be testing in the morning and the majority of sophomores are testing in the afternoon so teachers have adjusted the coursework being covered in class accordingly. Ultimately though, you will be responsible for making up any missed work from class.

And, as with any test, don't forget to get a good night sleep, eat breakfast, and dress in layers as the room can seem hot or cold randomly. You will not be allowed to have your cell phone with you at your desk nor can you have your bookbag, so I'd strongly suggest leaving all of your personal items aside from your pencils, calculator, student id and watch in your locker.

Debate Team

2011-10-10T21:01:00.002-04:00

WKHS is starting a debate team and they are seeking any and all students who are interested in learning more about this group and are hoping you will want to join the team.

The debate team will compete in the Ohio High School Speech League against other local schools such as Olentangy and Gahanna. Regular debate tournaments will begin in mid-November and run through late February. The tournaments occur on Saturdays. Each tournament involves at least four 45-minute “rounds” of debate per competitor. Each debater must normally compete in two “pro” rounds and two “con” rounds – meaning you will learn to persuasively argue both sides of a topic, which requires a truly open mind. The first debate topic is "Individuals have a moral obligation to assist people in need."

As you can imagine, participation in this group will help you to develop strengths in researching, analyzing, writing and speaking and would be a logical fit for students interested in law, politics, and positions of leadership.

If you are interested in joining this group, please plan on attending an initial debate team meeting immediately after school in Room 207 on Thursday (October 13th).

This Week's Schedule

2011-10-09T23:54:00.003-04:00

This is going to be a busy week. I'm guessing that I don't need to remind you that we have a 4-day week ahead, but just in case you hadn't noticed it on the calendar, we don't have school on Friday! Wednesday is the day for the PSAT and PLAN tests, so I will be in the gyms helping to administer the tests all day. This means that I will not be available in the counseling center. I will also be out all day on Thursday for a meeting at central office. This means that the only 2 days that I will be around and available are Monday and Tuesday. Please try to stop in and see me at the start of the week if you need anything or else we will have to meet up next week.

College News

2011-10-05T21:13:00.004-04:00

- There are lots of articles out there with a wealth of information about college applications. This article is one that stood out to me. I liked the range of information that it covers and the points that it makes. I'd strongly recommend you consider spending a few minutes reading it.

- Friday is the deadline to register for the November SAT. If you felt like you needed to repeat this test you will have your test scores back at the end of November which is in time for most college application deadlines.

- Sophomores and Juniors as well as any interested Freshmen, don't forget that this Friday is the last day to register for the PLAN (practice ACT) and PSAT tests. Both tests will be held at WKHS next Wednesday, October 12th. You can bring your cash or check ($12 for PLAN/ $15 for PSAT) to Mrs. Windisch, the secretary in the Counseling and Career Center.

College Fair for Students with Learning Disabilities

2011-10-04T17:32:00.003-04:00

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow night, October 5th, is the College Fair for Students with Learning Disabilities. This event is free and open to the public and will allow students and parents to meet with representatives from schools in Ohio and around the country to compare the range of accommodations available. The event will be held at Gahanna Lincoln High School in the cafeteria from 6:30 - 8:00pm. (Address is 140 South Hamilton Rd., Gahanna).

Follow the Directions

2011-10-03T21:43:00.002-04:00

I have to say that today’s topic is a lesson that can apply to lots of different circumstances throughout your life. From the time you were little you probably learned that there are always rules and consequences of not following those rules. Sometimes we don’t have any problem following the rules and sometimes… well, it isn’t always quite so easy to do *exactly* what we are supposed to do.

I can think of countless examples of this in my everyday life and many of them cross over into your life too – be at work/ school on time, don’t use cell phones on 2nd floor at school, drive the speed limit, etc. Some times these are easy and sometimes we may struggle even though the reality is – they really aren’t that difficult to obey.

OK, I am rambling – the basic point is that I’d like to remind you to follow the directions! In everything and in every way – there are consequences of not following directions. This applies to your school work and – for those of you who are seniors – your college and scholarship applications.

When teachers or applications ask you to write an essay of 250 words or less – keep your essay to that length. If they ask for a list – give them a list. If they ask a question – answer the question completely. The difference is often in the details! Please pay attention and do what they are asking you– you never want someone to have a reason to eliminate your hard work on a technicality. And yes, as far as college applications are concerned, even if they say it is optional or preferred that means they really want it that way, so just suck it up and do it their way. Remember, in class not following your teacher’s directions might result in a bad grade, but as you get out into the real world the consequences can be much more severe and have a lasting impact.

I recognize that this all seems very obvious, but at some point we all get tired and think, “oh well, this is good enough…” So remember I’m here if you need me to encourage you to push through and take it that one extra step. :-)

Recommendation Letter Resources

2011-10-02T20:22:00.005-04:00

So much of my time right now is filled with writing recommendation letters so I thought that you might be interested in some information and articles about good rec letters. Hopefully, if you are a senior, you have already determined if recommendation letters are necessary for any of your applications and asked your teacher(s) or me to write a letter on your behalf. Please stop in and see me as soon as possible if you have realized that you need a recommendation letter, but haven't asked for one yet. Don't forget that you must complete the pink teacher recommendation request form (2 sides) if you are seeking a teacher recommendation letter and you must fill out the 2 sided counselor recommendation supplement form (purple) and ask one of your parents to complete the parent brag sheet (blue) if you need a recommendation letter from me. The colors that I am referencing are in case you are picking up a copy of the forms from the WKHS Counseling and Career Center. These forms are also available for download in the College Application section of the WKHS Counselors website.

Here are some additional articles regarding recommendation letters:

Getting good letters of recommendation

Importance Guidance on Getting Good Letters of Recommendation

Ask early and nicely for letters of recommendation

Getting Great Teacher Recs

Note to Applicants: Admissions Officers Do Read What Your Teachers Say

How Many Recommendation Letters Should You Send?

How recommendations can make (or break) your child’s college applications

Look for 5 qualities in your scholarship recommendation writers

Getting good letters of recommendation

Pass/ Fail & Drop Deadline

2011-09-30T22:21:00.001-04:00

I wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that the last date to drop a 1st semester course without having it appear on your transcript is this coming Tuesday, October 4th. That is also the last date to submit a request to have a 1st semester class graded on a pass/ fail scale instead of the standard scoring. Please make sure that your requests for these options are turned into the counseling center before the school day ends on Tuesday!

Writing Your College Essays

2011-09-29T22:11:00.004-04:00

Writing a college essay is the most time consuming part of the college application – it can be a frustrating, challenging process, but this is your opportunity to put your best foot forward and show the colleges what makes you special. Ideally the college admissions and scholarship officers will learn something about you and see how well you write.

When colleges review your application they can read things like your grade point and test scores, but they still want to know more about YOU – the person behind those grades, scores, and activities. It is important to remember that your essay will be one of hundreds or more-likely thousands that the admissions committee members will read. (Can you imagine reading all of those?!?) Think of it kind of like a first date - try to interest them in what you have to say and be sure that it is written well so that it will hopefully stand out. Think of this as your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions and scholarship officers reading your application. Be open, honest and real.

When you have to write an essay you need to keep a few important points in mind:

1. Answer the question!
When they give you a prompt or question – be sure that your essay is answering what they are asking! These are smart people – they know when you are just trying to take a different essay and trying to make it fit for their question. Put in the time to write an essay that answers what they are asking. Also, be sure that you respond to all parts of the prompt.

2. Show me – Don’t tell me.
Great, so you told me that you are organized and honest… good qualities for their future college students, but are you demonstrating that to them with your essay? Show them what you mean – that will usually require specific, concrete stories or examples to illustrate your point.

3. Did I learn something about you?
The whole point of these essays is so that the college admissions officers will learn something new about you. (And trust me, they are learning something about you – even if that lesson is that you didn’t care enough about getting into school to pay attention to details like spelling.) So, step back and look at your essay again – did they learn something about you that they wouldn’t have known prior to reading your essay?

Let me assure you – they really do read the essays! Don’t think you can just throw something down on paper and have it be “good enough.” These are formal essays for an application to a college that will be the launching ground for the rest of your life. I know that it is intimidating, but relax and start writing – and editing – and then do some more writing and editing… One of the biggest challenges as you write your essay is controlling the tone. You want to come across as confident but not boastful, self-assured but not aggressive, accomplished but not perfect. Try to avoid claiming that everything you've ever done has been unbelievably great. Don't be afraid to admit that you are human. Colleges want real, interesting people. Because it's so hard to control the tone of an essay about yourself, you will want to ask several people – teachers, friends, your parents, or even me – to read and respond to your essay. Get a variety of reactions, and then decide how you want to revise the essay. Remember, when getting help with essay revisions it is important to go into it with the thought that you want to get revisions so it can be the best possible essay (instead of going in hoping the editors will just say – good enough.) And yes, that also means you can’t procrastinate and put it off until the last possible second. :-)

Colleges Visiting Kilbourne

2011-09-27T21:43:00.003-04:00

Did you know that many college admissions representatives come to WKHS in order to visit with you? Stop for a moment and think about that – the schools are paying someone to come to Kilbourne in order to meet with you and showcase the opportunities available at their college.

While meeting with a representative cannot replace the actual experience of walking on campus, seeing the people, and experiencing the classes, it can be an important piece of your information gathering process. Possibly even more importantly, you are expressing your interest and desire to attend their college! The admissions representatives who are traveling to the schools keep track of who they see. Many colleges can go back and tell you exactly how many times a student has come to tour campus, contacted the admissions office, or had an official interaction with a representative of the school. You never really know what can make a difference so if you are able to attend a meeting with a representative, it can only help you.

We have a list of the upcoming college visits posted on the Counselor website so that you can see which schools are coming to WKHS. You can stop into the Counseling and Career Center to sign up for any of the visits that interest you.

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

Sophomores are also invited to attend the sessions with the college representatives, but are limited to participating in the visits during your lunch or Academic Prep periods. If you have academic prep, you will need to secure a pass just as the upperclassmen are required.

These are great opportunities to talk directly with the college admissions representatives so please take advantage of their visits.

Seeking Help

2011-09-26T22:55:00.002-04:00

I need help. I have been spending countless hours working on the department website and have hit a stumbling block. For over a week I have been trying to figure out what I am doing wrong and why I can't get what I *think* should work to actually work. I realize that this might not be something you will probably know how to fix, but if your parents or anyone you know has experience working with joomla, could you please let me know. I think being able to talk through a few (hopefully) simple questions will get me through this road block. Thanks!

PSAT and PLAN Tests

2011-09-25T22:39:00.004-04:00

PSAT Test Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Location: WKHS Gym
Time: 7:00 (check-in) beginning promptly at 7:30am – 10:45am
Cost: $15 (checks payable to WKHS)

The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT. Juniors and interested underclassmen can register in the Counseling and Career Center by bringing in a check made out to WKHS. This is an important practice test for the SAT and it is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship competition. Even if you took the test as a sophomore you should re-take the test as a Junior!

PLAN Test Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Location: WKHS Gym
Time: 10:50am (check-in) beginning promptly at 11:15am – 3:00pm
Cost: $12.00 (checks payable to WKHS)

The PLAN Test is the practice test for the ACT. This test intended for sophomores. (Freshman students can elect to take this test, but it is not an option for juniors!) The content of the PLAN test is closely tied to that of the ACT achievement test, which is used for college entrance and placement decisions. It covers the same subjects and gives you estimated ACT scores.

The PLAN test has many benefits. It can help you get started in thinking and planning for life after high school. It will show you areas you may need extra help. The results can also be used to help focus your test preparation to improve your ACT scores. Additionally, one of the other highly valuable aspects is that the PLAN test includes a career component that helps identify career interests and possible career fields. The number of students who have no idea what they might want to do some day is scary and this is one way to help come up with some ideas.

Both of these tests are only practice tests; therefore, scores will not appear on your transcript.

Students can register for these tests in the WKHS Counseling and Career Center beginning tomorrow.