Career Related Strengths

Last week as I met with students and we discussed future classes it was incredibly common for the conversation to turn to what career you might want to pursue.  Trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up can be difficult.  It isn’t exactly realistic to think that you – 14 – 18 year old students – would know the precise career that will make you happy and fulfilled in the future.  The data on how many careers a person will hold in their lifetime is difficult to track, but most statistics indicate that on average you will have 7 different jobs in your adult working life.  It seems pretty clear to me that most of those adults never imagined changing jobs so many times and if they couldn’t predict what job they would want in their careers as adults it isn’t necessarily realistic to think that you will know exactly what you want to do when you are still in high school. 

You don’t know about fields that you haven’t been exposed to yet – how could you know if you’d like anthropology or astronomy when those are areas you haven’t studied.  That is why it is important to take opportunities to be curious, to explore, to learn, to ask questions, to observe and to find out more about anything which interests you.  Seek opportunities to shadow, interview career professionals, volunteer, or work a part time job – even if it isn’t in a field even remotely interesting to you because it will still help you to learn workforce skills.

What you can know though are the characteristics and skills that YOU possess which are YOUR strengths and could help you create happiness and fulfillment in your selected jobs.  These personal strengths do not rely on a particular job and they will cross over to any jobs that you have throughout your lifetime.

So how do you figure out your strengths?  You can always do self-reflection about what you believe to be your greatest strengths.  You can ask your family members and friends about what they believe to be your greatest strengths.  Or you could do assessments about your strengths.  Gallup has a book called Strengths Finder 2.0 which has an online assessment that allows you to complete a questionnaire and ultimately gives you your top themes about your individual strengths.  This information can then be utilized to help provide insight into the types of career fields which could work with your strengths.  Unfortunately there is a cost for the book and the assessment, but if it is an area of interest it might be worth considering.  Additionally there are free online assessments to find personal strengths such as this one.

Ultimately, I hope that you see career searching as a fun and exciting opportunity rather than a stressful task to be added to your “to do” list.  Remember, every day you are preparing yourself for your future.  You are learning and applying skills that will help you for the rest of your life like listening, organization, problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, time management, taking personal responsibility, completing quality work, meeting deadlines, working with others (including those you might not like) and so many more.  There is no doubt that you have a bright future ahead and you will be prepared no matter what (or how many) career(s) you have in the future.

Here are some additional career related articles that might interest you:

Instead of focusing on passion, focus on consistency

There is good money to be made in non-college careers

Top college majors for finding full time work

Discover 11 hot college majors that lead to jobs

Majors that pay you back

Summer School

As you are probably aware, Worthington has a summer school program every year.  Online registration for Worthington's summer school will begin next Wednesday.  Worthington Summer school will primarily be for credit recovery purposes - 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.  There will be a limited number of classes available for getting ahead in credits and those classes will have a fee associated with them.  Summer school will run from June 5-June 30th 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 worthington.k12.oh.us under the "Academics" tab.

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.


Don't forget, this week continues my craziness of individual appointments on Monday and Thursday plus being out all day on Tuesday.  So, if you have an urgent need on those days, we will have to point you to someone else or if  is not as urgent, please stop to see me on Wednesday or Friday or leave me a note and I will try to find you between all of the registration appointments.

Students of the Month

Yesterday morning was the ceremony to recognize the February Students of the Month.  Students can only receive the award of Student of the Month once in their high school career and must be nominated by WKHS faculty and staff for their academic achievement, good citizenship, and/ or service to the school and community.  4 of "my" students were among those who received this special recognition.  This included: Tamanna Afrin, Gavin Baker, Angelo DeMary, and Melanie Fisher.  Unfortunately, due to the fact that I had the sophomore registration meetings all day on Friday I wasn't able to stay until the end of the recognition ceremony to get a picture of them together, but I am very proud of what they have accomplished and the positive way they represent themselves and WKHS.

Hopefully those of you who are at the dance tonight are having a fun and safe night.  I love the fact that the recognition of "King and Queen of Hearts" is based on raising money for a good charity.  One of "my" students, Abby Souder, was among those running to try to raise the most money for a great cause selected by Kilbourne alum, Drew George.

I also wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have come in to meet with me this past week regarding your course selections.  I genuinely enjoyed the chance to talk with all of you even though it is a quick visit and I hope that you will be back to visit more in the near future.

Music and Mood

Music has a great deal of power.  Sometimes the right song can put into words just how we are feeling when we can’t find the words to express it on our own.  Other times it can transport us to another time in our life as a vivid reminder of a person, place or significant memory.  Music can even help boost learning and memory.  Think about it – when you were little you learned how to memorize information by singing songs – like the ABC song to memorize your alphabet.

Music has a proven, physiological effect on your brain.  Music can bring comfort, relief, understanding, and enjoyment.  It can help relieve stress, reduce anxiety, celebrate successes, and build enthusiasm.  (There are so many examples of the impact that music has in our lives, but think about a big sporting event and the music playing before the start of the game… it definitely serves a purpose beyond just adding noise!)  Sometimes it is the tone, beat, or rhythm that impacts you and sometimes it will be the words of the song which help motivate and lift you up.

Research has shown that most any type of music has the potential to help lift your mood – it doesn’t have to be just soothing, classical music like people will sometimes suggest.  However, you know how songs impact you so try to keep that in mind because if you are electing to listen to sad songs then the impact of that is that it will likely take your mood down rather than bolster it up.

People often share that they enjoy listening to or performing music as a stress reliever or an escape from the moment and this is great because music is a powerful tool that anyone can use.  So how can you use music to help regulate your mood?

When you are feeling down, don’t just listen to music that matches your mood.  I will be honest, this can be tough.  If you are feeling really sad then just turning on a happy, upbeat song may annoy you and, if you’re anything like me, result in you just turning the music off completely.  So, rather than do that, make a play list of music that can help shift your mood.  Maybe start with a song or two that matches your mood when you are down and then gradually select songs that will lift you to a more positive place.  This will help you to not just get frustrated and turn it off because the transition will be more gradual.  And, if you experiment with it and find that you get to a song and it feels like a harsh jump, look at changing the song order or remove that song from your “mood enhancing” playlist completely.  I will acknowledge that it is typically better to try to create this type of a playlist in advance rather than when you actually are in need of it to help lift your mood.

Additionally, remember that music impacts you beyond just the moments that you are listening to the song.  After all, how many times later in the day or perhaps even days later do you find yourself stuck silently singing the same song to yourself over and over again.  If it is a song that encourages, uplifts and propels you forward that is much more beneficial to your mood and overall well-being.

So go, enjoy getting lost in the music and I’d love to hear what your best “go-to” upbeat and encouraging song is.

Also, here are two articles related to music that you might like:

Researchers find that this song can reduce anxiety by 65% 

The songs you listen to can change the way you see the world

DACC & Worthington Academy

Don't forget, in addition to all of the wonderful opportunities available to you at WKHS, as students, you also have choices for programs housed off-campus.

I have talked about the opportunities available at the Delaware Area Career Center in past posts, but wanted to remind students that if you are interested in learning more about DACC (such as the senior only, one-year, Pharmacy Tech program) to please visit their website -www.delawareareacc.org - and also take a field trip up to visit the programs in person.  They have additional second look visit days coming up on February 9, February 23, March 9, and March 30th.

It is important to remember though that the Delaware Area Career Center requires students to apply and the priority deadline is tomorrow, Friday, February 3rd.  So, if you are interested in applying to DACC, please get your application completed and submitted online ASAP.

For current juniors who are already enrolled as students at DACC, as long as you are in good standing with your program then you are automatically eligible to continue in your program next year.  So, when you register online you will select the 1/2 day or Full day option that you prefer and register only for the classes at WKHS that you plan on taking.

If you are a sophomore or junior who has applied to the career center then when you are completing the online course registration, you will fill out the request as if you are taking a full day at WKHS.  Later, when you find out that you have been accepted to the program of your choice, then I will go back in and adjust your classes to reflect your half day or full day DACC preference.

Worthington Academy is another application based program available to WKHS students.  The Academy is housed on the west end of Phoenix Middle School and it provides students with the opportunity to blend their learning with a mix of teacher instructed and online courses.

There is an open house for students and parents interested in learning more about the Academy on Thursday, February  9th.

Much like the DACC, students who are already attending the Academy and are in good academic standing can register for the Academy as a part of their registration process and then select only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS.  Those students who are applying for the Academy for the first time will register as if you were going to be attending classes at WKHS for the full day.  Once you are accepted to the Academy, I will go in and update your course requests so that you have the Academy and only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS in your schedule.

The deadline to apply to the Worthington Academy is April 3rd and students will be notified of their admission standing by May 1st.  Please know that there are limited seats available at the Academy, so if you are interested in applying you want to get your application in as soon as possible.

If you have questions about the Worthington Academy, I definitely encourage you to attend the open house!  You can also contact the Academy Principal, Mr. Schirg, via e-mail at aschirg@wscloud.org.

Earning Credit

Over the past week a large part of my time was trying to explain to students about how you earn credits in high school.  It is a valuable reminder for everyone.

High school is different than elementary and middle school.  In middle school, you take classes and each year you move on to the next grade and take all the classes for that grade.  In high school, you must earn credits for specified classes and the way you earn credit is by passing each semester of the class. 

So, for example, all students must earn 4 credits of English to graduate.  When you pass both semesters of English 1 during your freshman year, you move on to English 2 during your sophomore year.  If, unfortunately, you failed one of the semesters of English 1 then you are going to have to make that up before you can progress on to English 2.  Students who failed a semester will be able to make up the course either by repeating the class in summer school, repeating the class through credit recovery or repeating the class by retaking it during your sophomore year.  The bottom line is that you must REPEAT the class in some format.

Some classes (like English) have pre-requisites that students must meet in order to move on to the next level.  Other classes, like Science and Social Studies, do not have pre-requisites to move on to the next level so we will allow you to move from Physical Science to Biology or from World History to US History without first repeating the freshman year class.  Don’t misunderstand though, you will have to repeat the class at some point, but if you are not making it up during summer school, then you will likely be taking a freshman year class during your junior year.

As you are filling out your graduation requirements checklist you will notice that there are two lines next to each course - those are to represent each semester.  So, if you are a sophomore in Math 2 who had passed both semesters of Math 1 last year you get to place two check marks in the two slots next to Math 1, and if you passed Math 2 during 1st semester you can check off the first slot next to Math 2.  You can manage current classes in any way you want, but personally, I prefer to put a dot in those spots so that I know students are currently taking those classes and then, at the end of the year, when you have passed that class I change it over to a check mark as being successfully completed.

In order to earn sophomore status, students must have earned at least 5 credits.  To become a junior you will need 10 credits.  To be classified as a senior, you must have earned at least 15 credits.

If you have any questions about where you stand with the credits you have earned or what still remains, please don’t hesitate to stop by and see me.

Academic Options- College Credit Plus & Credit Flex

In addition to the wide range of courses that we have available here at WKHS, there are other academic options available to our students.

The College Credit Plus (CC+) program is an opportunity for high school students to take college courses while still enrolled in high school. Students have the option of completing courses on a college campus, online, or at WKHS.  

College classes at WKHS include both classes that are taught by WKHS teachers who are eligible to serve as adjunct faculty at colleges and classes where CSCC instructors are coming to Kilbourne to teach our students.

Classes being taught at WKHS by Kilbourne teachers include: Pre-Calculus, Calculus 1, Calculus 2, Intro to Business, and Intro to Programming Logic.

Classes anticipated being taught at WKHS by CSCC teachers include: English Composition 1, English Composition 2, Intro to Psychology, Intro to Sociology, Intro to American Government, Ethics, African American History, Classical Mythology, Physical Geology, and Art History 1.

There are a lot of details involved in participating in the CC+ program and students must complete and submit the paperwork before April 1st to indicate their intent to participate in the CC+ program in the following school year.  One new aspect about CC+ is the fact that students are now eligible to take classes during the summer in addition to during the school year.

In order to explain all of the details of the program and to provide you with the forms necessary, ALL students and parents interested in participating in this program must plan to attend the Academic Options night on Thursday, February 9th at 7:00pm in the WKHS auditorium.  This will be a joint meeting for all of the students and parents in Worthington.  Every college in a 30 mile radius was invited to participate in the meeting.  So far we have received confirmations that Columbus State Community College, the Ohio State University, Central Ohio Technical College, and Otterbein will attend to share the opportunities available through CC+ with their college.  Please see me if you are unable to attend this meeting as it is mandatory that you attend one and there are other options being provided at local colleges which you can attend if you can't make it to the Worthington meeting.

Credit Flexibility is another program we will highlight during the Academic Options night.  Credit flexibility allows students to earn credit based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of, or in combination with, completing hours of classroom instruction. Students are 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.

If you have any interest in learning more about College Credit Plus and Credit Flexibility, please plan to join us on Thursday, February 9th!