Victory!

Congratulations to the WKHS Guys Lacrosse Team who won a great game over Upper Arlington tonight 10 - 8! This is the first time in Kilbourne history (17 years) that the WKHS lacrosse team has won against UA. A special congratulations to "my" students who are on the guys varsity lacrosse team including: Will Campbell, Tim Davis, Josh Burton, Colt Carnahan, Juan Contreras, Luke Bott, and Charlie Bassani. I am happy for all of you as your hard work has finally paid off!

There was a great deal of student (and community) support at the game tonight and the students rushed the field following the game to join in on the celebration. It was certainly exciting and I am sure it is a relief to the athletes to finally have the win over UA.

Evening Credit Recovery Program

The credit recovery program is one of the areas that results in a large number of questions and a great deal of confusion among students and parents. Basically, this program is designed to allow students that have previously failed a required course to repeat the class and earn credit needed for graduation. Not every required class is offered through credit recovery, but it does include a wide range of courses.

This program is not designed for students who failed just a quarter or didn't do well, but still passed the class for the semester - it is only for semester failures. Many people are often confused thinking that this is a tutoring program and it is not. Credit recovery is an online, self-paced, mastery opportunity for students to move through their required coursework to make up the credit they had previously failed. Students log on, read the required material and take quizzes and tests over the information. Many courses also include writing papers and/ or reading books. Students are given a maximum of 7 weeks to complete a semester's worth of work through credit recovery and you can work at your own pace through the material. After successfully completing the course, the new grade is added to your transcript.

The evening credit recovery program, new this semester at WKHS, is unique because it features teachers available to assist students with their work and to help answer questions. Students attend on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00pm in room 140.

The cost for this program is $125. If you successfully earn the semester of credit, you/ your parents receive a refund of $25. (Discount available if student is eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch program.)

The final day to register for the evening credit recovery program this year is next Monday, May 4th from 3:00 – 5:00pm in Room 140. Please bring check (made payable to Worthington Schools) and completed registration form (available in my office and it requires my signature) with you to register.

Senior Survey

Seniors, please, take a few minutes to log into PrepHQ and complete your Senior Survey! The link to the survey is located in PrepHQ beneath the "My Organizer" section and is titled "Surveys." You heard about the survey in the Senior Newsletter and during the last few class meetings, but very few of you have actually completed your survey. They are due by Friday, May 1st! (This Friday!)

The information collected about colleges and scholarships will be used when putting together the information for Senior Recognition Night and when they are creating the graduation program so it is very important that the information is accurate! (For example, last year a student called one scholarship by the wrong name and the parents were upset that it was listed wrong, so please double check to give the correct details.) If students do not complete the survey the school will not have anything to list in the commencement program, so please take a few minutes and complete the survey!

If you cannot remember your PrepHQ password, come and see me and I can let you reset it. As always, if you have any questions about your survey, stop in and see me.

Making the Final College Decision

This is the final week for seniors who are trying to decide what college they will be attending next year. Remember, there is no right or wrong choice – it is all about what school is the best fit for you and your individual wants and needs in a college. Try to take a deep breath and relax as we head into this week. Trust yourself and know that you will be successful in the future – no matter where you end up!

As you think about your different schools and compare and contrast them, it is essential that you determine what you really want in a school and what is most important to you in a college. If you are still struggling with your choice, then chances are pretty good that the schools that you have narrowed your decision down to are probably relatively similar.

Take the time to go back and look at the same factors you considered when picking which schools you wanted to apply to and try to get really picky about the different factors that played into your choice. Perhaps creating a chart can help you clarify how important each factor is to you and how each school compares in that category. For example, think about the location of the school. How important is that issue to you in picking a college? The schools are likely within your comfort zone of a location from home, but when looking at two colleges consider how far or close they are from your family. What does it mean to you if the school is 10 minutes away, 4 hours away, or a flight away? How important is it to you to be able to come home for an evening, a weekend, or a holiday? You can also look at the size of the school. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the different sizes of schools. For example, the larger school might provide additional choices and the smaller school may provide better teacher/ student ratios. What is more important to you? And if both are important to you then you will need to consider what you will do to adapt to make sure that the school will meet your needs. Consider the social life and activities on and around the campus. Is it what you picture for your college years? Most importantly, you need to figure out what categories and issues are critical to you and compare the school on those aspects.

I know that the time remaining is very limited, but if your school comparison charts are similar and you still can’t decide – go visit the schools again. Sit in on the classes and, if possible, arrange for an overnight visit (yes, you are really running out of time for overnight visits). People watch and consider your interactions with the students on campus. Are the students friendlier at one school over the other? What about the professors that you talk to? Are they engaging and whose classes are you most interested in attending? How was school safety? What strategies are in place to help keep students safe? Which campus support staff (admissions, financial aid, etc.) is friendlier and more helpful? (While this is not necessarily a key factor it can give you an image of the school and a glimpse at their values as an academic institution.)

Ask yourself if the school will meet your academic needs, if you will have the social life you desire, and if your family can make the investment. As you are progressing through your decision making process, remember not to be shy about asking questions and getting them answered because you are entitled to feel confident in your decision. This is your choice. You are not a victim in this process – you are the key active participant. Remember that if you want to stop in and talk about your college decision I am always here for you, but know that I can’t make this decision for you – just like your family and friends can’t make this choice for you. The good news – the stress is almost over and you will be relieved to be able to finally answer the question that everyone asks endlessly of “Where are you going to college?”

Way to go Irish!

I had such a great day today! This morning I went to Ohio Stadium to watch as Notre Dame played (and beat) OSU in lacrosse. Nick Beattie, one of my former students, is on the Notre Dame lacrosse team. As a freshman in a Division-1 program, I honestly didn't know if Nick would even have a chance to play, but just seeing him in his uniform on the field the first time literally gave me chills. I didn't have to worry about whether or not Nick would get in the game because not only did he play, but he also scored a goal! It was absolutely incredible! I was so excited for and proud of Nick!

Another former student, Andy Gottesman, was on the sidelines of today's game taking pictures for the Lantern (OSU newspaper) where he is the Multimedia Editor. Andy was kind enough to send me a couple of the pictures that he took of Nick from the game.

Seriously, when you see these pictures is it any wonder that as a freshman he has already worked his way into an editor position?!? Wow!

Community Service Opportunity

I know that many of you are looking for easy, short-term community service opportunities and I wanted to pass along a request for volunteers that we received today.

Phoneix Middle School is hosting a community wide garage sale on Saturday, May 2nd and they are in need of students to assist with tearing down after the garage sale is over around 2:00pm. Anyone interested in earning community service hours is invited to help! You can either just show up at the school to help or (and I would recommend this) contact their point-person at chu.barbara@gmail.com.

National Testing Day

The Princeton Review, a college admissions test prep company, is offering a national testing day this Saturday, April 25th. On this day they are offering students the opportunity to take a free practice ACT or SAT. There are several locations throughout the central Ohio area that will be administering the free assessments and the tests run from 9:00am - 1:30pm. Advance registration is necessary, so if you would like more information, please visit their website to sign up.

(For the record, I am not saying that students need to take one of these tests or that you need to take a test prep course, but some people find it helpful for students to be exposed to the tests and testing environments which is part of the reason people will frequently repeat a test to see if they can improve upon their scores. And, more importantly, it is an opportunity available to you and so I wanted to make sure you were aware of it in case you are interested.)

I will remind you that taking one of these tests will, obviously, add you to their mailing/ contact list and I am sure they will use this as an opportunity to reach out to you as a potential future student for one of their test prep courses.