Charlie Brown Christmas

I am getting ready to go and see the WKHS Theater program's production of A Charlie Brown Christmas tonight and I can't wait.  In talking with some of my students who are a part of the production, they are having a great time preparing for the play.  The WKHS theater productions are always incredibly well done and I'm confident tonight's presentation will be as well.  If you have never taken the opportunity to see one of the Kilbourne plays, I encourage you to take advantage of the performances this weekend.  They will be providing shows again tomorrow and Saturday and I believe there are still tickets available so don't miss out.

Tomorrow's Bell Schedule

In Worthington Schools there is a commitment to making sure that every student has a positive learning experience.  In order to help make sure that the district is working effectively to achieve these goals, the district is asking that every student complete a district-wide survey about school culture and climate.  This survey will be done tomorrow during your 3rd period classes.  (And if you don't have a 3rd period class they will be working to find you to complete the survey.)  So, I wanted to make sure you had tomorrow's bell schedule because we are on a VERY different schedule in order to give time for the survey.

1st Period: 7:45 - 8:32

2nd Period: 8:37 - 9:24

3rd Period: 9:29 - 10:45 (you will do the survey 3rd period)

4th Period: 10:50 - 11:37

5th Period: 11:42 - 12:29

6th Period: 12:34 - 1:21

7th Period: 1:26 - 2:13

8th Period: 2:18 - 3:05

Exam Schedule

You don't need to panic about exams, but you do need to prepare for them!  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 - Wednesday, December 13th:

7:45 - 9:45: 2nd period exam
10:00 - 12:00: 5th period exam
12:00 - 1:00: Lunch
1:05 - 3:05: 8th period exam

Day Two - Thursday, December 14th:
7:45 - 9:45: 1st period exam

10:00 - 12:00: 6th period exam

12:00 - 1:00: Lunch

1:05 - 3:05: 7th period exam

Day Three - Friday, December 15th:
7:45 - 9:45: 3rd period exam

10:00 - 12:00: 4th period exam

12:00 - 1:00: NO Lunch Provided!

1:05 - 3:05: 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 3rd period prep and 4th period lunch that you do not have to come to school at all on the 15th.)

Hope that helps clarify.

Cocoa and Cram

Over the next 3 days all freshman students will be invited to participate in "Cram and Cocoa" sessions during your lunch periods.  These study strategy sessions will be held in Room 120 which is just off the Commons area and the Counseling Center.  Cocoa and Cram is provided by the Link Leaders and serves as a great opportunity for students to get a jump start on effectively preparing for exams. 

You now have just 11 days of classes to not only learn and master everything you are currently covering in class, but also to go back and study to refresh the material you have covered since August when we returned to school.

The Link Leaders have been providing these "Cram and Cocoa" sessions for the last 5 years to help every student feel successful heading into exams.  The feedback I heard from all of my students who participated in the past was that it was incredibly helpful.  I sincerely hope you will take advantage of their willingness to help you prepare!

Counselor Website

I have written about the Kilbourne Counselor website before and I mention it in posts frequently, but I still feel like it deserves frequent reminders.  When we created the counselor website we wanted to provide students and parents with an easy, one-stop place, to get as many of the resources and information answers that you regularly need.  

Have you visited www.wkhscounselors.com lately?  

We work really hard to keep the website current and so it is updated on a regular basis – often daily.  The site features information about succeeding academically, college/ career pursuits, and personal/ social information resources.  So often people ask me questions and I point them to the website for the answer because it is the easiest place to find the information over waiting until you are back at school and going and finding the paper version of the forms, etc.

Take a moment and check it out and please be sure to bookmark the site so that you can refer back to it often.  And, if there is anything that you think it should include but don’t see on the site, please let me know so that we can add it.

Of course, I have to acknowledge that none of the counselors are very website savvy and so while I have literally read a "Joomla for Dummies" book to try to help create the website, none of what you see would be possible without the expertise, know-how, dedication and countless hours of time that Mr. Estice from Phoenix Middle School (and Sasha's dad) has contributed.

Take a deep breath

Breathing is important.  Obviously you need oxygen and it happens without any thought - on average we each take about 960 breaths per hour (or 16 per minute).  And yet, it is something that we often don't do well... especially if we are stressed or upset!

When you are under a great deal of pressure, your body responds - again, without you having to think about it.  Your breathing often changes and your muscles will grow tense.  It is an automatic reaction that your body does in taking over functioning for you to prepare you to manage whatever danger is coming your way - think of it as your body going into an early "fight/ flight/ freeze" response.  But that is a challenge because your stress and frustration are not likely to need to prepare you to run from a lion or whatever other danger might have necessitated a fight, flight or freeze response and so we have to take back control over our body.

I have to acknowledge something.  I hate the concept of breathing as a stress reliever!  I. HATE. IT!  Except for the fact that it WORKS!

Even for me, when I am upset about something I often think to myself, "what would I tell my students right now" and the answer is always to slow down and take a few deep breaths.  And immediately I think again how much I hate that answer because I always feel as if the problem I am facing is too big to be solved just by a few simple breaths.  But I do it anyway because that is what I ask each of you to do and then inevitably, it helps.  And, yes, as crazy as it is, it makes me mad that it works at the same time I am grateful that it is helpful.

Controlling your breathing is really important because it assures your brain that you are not in danger and it then allows your brain to be able to have the ability to think logically and talk about what is happening "left brain" rather than just staying in "right brain" mode of emotion.

But here is the reality, you need to practice deep breathing when you are calm and relaxed to help your body know how to relax itself and calm down with deep breaths when you are stressed out.  Again, I know it seems too simplistic and you are right, it is not going to make all of your problems go away, but it will help you to manage the challenges you are facing.

Here are a few articles that can be helpful if you'd like to read more about different deep breathing strategies. 

Stress management: breathing exercises for relaxation

Relaxation techniques – breath control helps quell errant stress response

I also have lots of other breathing strategies (3/3/3, square breathing, double out, etc.) that we can practice together once we are back to school if you know that this is something you would like help focusing on to help with your emotional well-being.  I also like the breathing tool in the Virtual Hope Box app which you can download for free.

Hope your Thanksgiving vacation has been peaceful and stress free which means that you are not needing the deep breathing strategies and tips!  Looking forward to seeing you soon and hearing about your break.

Thanksgiving

I hope you and your family enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am enjoying being with my entire family gathering together at my sister's house for the holiday.  It's been busy but with lots of good memories.  

Today as I am reflecting on all that I am grateful for I wanted to be sure that you know that I am so thankful to have each of you in my life.  I am blessed to have a job I enjoy and I never forget how fortunate I am to walk alongside you in your journey through high school.  

Enjoy the rest of your break and Happy Thanksgiving!