Last Day to Change Schedules

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

Schedule Changes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Assignment Reminder

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

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

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

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

Summer School

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

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

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

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

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

Next Year's Schedule

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

Unfortunately, now that the schedule is locked it becomes crazy for the counselors as we go through each of the schedules that didn't match and try to figure out if there is a solution and what possible options we can use to make a schedule fit together. We will spend hours pouring over schedules and will have to call down some of you to talk about back up choices based upon the conflicts in your schedule. This is never easy and I know can be disappointing when you don't get all of the classes that you wanted, so I promise that I am doing the best I can to make everything work together.

I started the process of calling kids down today.  In the coming days, if you get a pass, an email or a remind message from me to come see me during your lunch, off period or between periods, I am asking you to please make every effort to come at the day and time I am calling for you so we can look at your schedule together.  (And that specific timing is when I think I should be able to fit you in without making you wait for long.)  You definitely don't want me to be the one to make those tough choices for you, so we really do need to meet and look at the options together.

Inevitably, when everyone hears that the schedule is locked, students will be curious about the schedule and what their classes will look like for next year.  I am more than happy to talk about this with you, but not until all of the conflicts are resolved.  So, I ask you to please be patient with me and wait until the last three days of school (next week during your exams) to try to come and get a sneak peek at what your schedule will hopefully be for next year.  (Full disclosure though, all schedules are 100% up for revision and changes based on whatever has to happen with the master schedule as the summer progresses.)

Exams Approaching

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

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

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

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

Transcript Requests

Seniors, one of the steps that is required when you leave WKHS and head off to college is to request for your transcripts to be sent to your intended college. You are just a few hours away from the deadline to declare where you will be attending and submit your enrollment deposit which means now is a great time to request your final transcript.

We have made the final transcript request process as simple as possible. The mandatory graduation form that you were emailed last week is the form that you will fill out to tell us where to send your transcript. It is also the form where you will request who you want to give you your diploma at graduation and to fill out some other questions and feedback to help us honor you at senior recognition night and to improve the school in the future.

The one aspect that tends to be confusing to students related to final transcripts is that if you are a senior who took College Credit Plus (CC+) classes through CSCC or COTC last year or this year, you also need to be sure to request for your CSCC and/ or COTC transcripts to be sent to your future college. This is not done by WKHS and so we cannot take care of this process for you - you must request it directly from CSCC and/ or COTC.

If you are going to continue at Columbus State, then you don't have to do anything with your CSCC transcript (they already have that), but you would need to send them your COTC transcript.

If you are going to a 4 year college, then you will need to send them both transcripts... and again, this is in addition to us at WKHS sending them your final high school transcript.

We have posted the links for how to send your CC+ transcripts on the Counselor website so if this is something that applies to you, please be sure to request to have them sent.  

Every Point Matters

As we rapidly approach the end of the year (20 more school days for seniors and 23 days before exams for everyone else) it is important to remember that every point matters! In each of your classes you have opportunities on a regular basis to complete in-class work, follow through on homework, engage in projects, take quizzes and tests and with each of these activities there is the chance to earn points towards the grade in the class. 

It is always interesting to me when I am talking to students about how much of a difference a few points can make between passing and failing or between a B+ and an A-. For some students, it is a struggle to get all of your work done. I get that. Some days life gets in the way and it can be hard, but even if you're turning in a partially completed assignment, it is better to get a 50% on the assignment for work that you did complete than taking a 0% by just not turning it in at all.

If you are struggling in the class and in jeopardy of not passing, it is essential that you maximize the small assignments that might be "easier" to complete 5 or 10 point assignments so that your entire grade doesn't hang in the balance of your semester exam or a large quarter test. You have far more control over how you will complete and earn points on the daily in-class and at-home assignments than you do on the tests and quizzes because you can use your notes, textbooks, and the support from your teacher and the academic assistants to be able to complete these activities while your tests and quizzes depend solely on the information you have in your head about the material. So please, try to make sure that you are taking full advantage of EVERY point opportunity and submit all work, even if it is only partially completed to give yourself the best chance of academic success in your classes.

Online Summer School

Every year we get questions about taking online courses or classes in other districts during the summers and as long as it is an accredited school this is completely fine.  So, for example, if your parents are divorced and you go to spend the summer with a parent who lives in another state you can take your summer school class at the school near your other parent and then transfer the credit back to us.  Or for those students who plan on traveling a great deal over the summer, taking an online course might be more in line with your needs.  Again, in Worthington we try to be very flexible in helping all students meet their academic goals so, as long as the school you are taking classes from is an accredited school, we will transfer those credits to Worthington.

Students and parents often ask me which online schools they can use and again, if it is accredited it is fine.  The school we have had the most students utilize in the past has been TRECA due to the cost effectiveness of their credits.  But again, that can change from year to year and so I encourage you to search for the schools and programs that will best meet your individual needs.  I do know that TRECA summer school registration has now opened for the year, so if you were planning to take a TRECA summer school class, please be sure to get signed up for that soon.  Their website is: https://treca.org/programs/summer-school 

Lunch & Learn for Parents

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

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

Final CC+ Reminder

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

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

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

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

CC+ English Classes

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

Why are we adding an additional class?

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

Do I have to change from Comp 2?

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

How do I know what to take?

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

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

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

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

When do I need to decide?

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

What do I do if I want to change classes?

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

4th Quarter

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

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

Summer School Reminder

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

OHIO

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where do you sit?

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

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

AP Test Registration Reminder

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

Course Adjustment Deadline

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

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

Worthington Academy & Linworth

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

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

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

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

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

Summer School

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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