Teen Sleep

I cannot even begin to explain how often I hear students frustratingly proclaim, "I'm so tired!"  It is a statement that I hear over and over again each day.  Sleep is a tough issue to tackle because it is one of the best things we can do for ourselves and yet it is also something we frequently push aside.

The research about the importance of teen's getting sleep has frequently been touted and yet, as I talk to you, it is shocking for me to realize how little sleep so many of you are getting.  Lack of sleep is not only exhausting, but it decreases your immune system, makes it more difficult to regulate your emotions, and can mimic the signs of ADHD.  

I wish it was as easy as saying you need to go to bed earlier, but for many of you, your schedules are so packed with homework, studying, jobs, sports, clubs, and other activities that it is hard to make everything fit into the window of time that you have between the end of the school day and a "reasonable" bedtime.  Additionally, many students have talked about the fact that it is hard for them to go to sleep once they eventually go to bed because their mind races, they think of "one more thing" they need to do, or they lose track of time while texting or checking social media late into the night.  And, although it isn't easy, sleep is important and it is a choice to make it a priority because the reality is that so many of you genuinely are exhausted!

I am the first to admit that I NOT a morning person and, quite honestly, I don't think I ever have been.  When my sister and I were in high school my mom set 9:00pm as our bedtime.  Every now and then we would argue that we should be allowed to have a later bedtime like all of our other friends and she would agree and say, "No problem, as soon as you can wake up in the morning without me having to say anything to you to wake up, then you can stay up later."  (FYI, my mom is really smart!)  She knew there was no way in the world we could successfully wake up without extra help because we were tired and we needed the sleep.  We couldn't argue with her because she wasn't having us go to sleep earlier as a punishment - she was trying to help us get the amount of sleep that we needed.  Later, when I was in college and was getting WAY too little sleep, I would call my mom stressed and upset and she, with all her perfect motherly wisdom, would simply say, "Stop what you are doing and go to sleep."  She knew that I was too tired to think straight and that I wasn't doing a good job with studying or homework or whatever else I might have been working on at the time because I was exhausted.  While I am certainly not your mom and in no way am I saying that 9:00pm is the right bedtime for you, I do think that most of you could benefit from getting more sleep.  

So, here is my encouragement and challenge to each of you.  Consider what 1 small thing you could do in these next few weeks to try to increase the amount of sleep you get each night.  Even if you are just getting an additional 30 minutes to an hour of sleep per night, it can make a difference.  You need to decide what you think would work for you, but a few ideas you could consider would be to stay off your phone after a certain time, start your homework earlier so you aren't up so late working on assignments, or using your time throughout the day wisely so that you can make the choice to go to bed earlier.  If you want to discuss what you are doing to help yourself get more rest or to brainstorm other strategies, please stop by and see me!

A sleep related article:

Teens need more sleep than you think

Academic Honors Night

Congratulations to all of the 332 students who were honored at tonight's Academic Honors ceremony. As a component of the award ceremony, students are presented with gold, silver, and bronze keys in recognition of their achievements in academic excellence.

Gold keys are awarded to students who have earned a cumulative GPA of a 3.5 or higher at the end of 7 full semesters. 21 of "my" students were among tonight's gold key recipients.

Silver keys are awarded to students with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA at the end of 5 full semesters. 29 of "my" students received silver keys tonight.

Bronze Keys are awarded to students with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of 3 full semesters. 27 of "my" students were presented with bronze keys.

Congratulations to each of you for your academic commitment and achievements!

Tuesday's ACT & Schedule

Tomorrow we are on a VERY different bell schedule!

Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors - you will be functioning on a late-start schedule tomorrow.  This means that you get to sleep in and relax a little bit in the morning.  If you ride a bus, your bus will pick you up 3 hours later than normal.  If you walk or drive to school, you can determine what time you want to arrive just be sure to make it to school in enough time to be able to get to your 5th period class at 12:20pm.  As I mentioned, with late start buses running 3 hours later than normal, this means that if you ride a bus that will likely mean you will arrive to school around 10:15am and you'll have that time until the start of classes to study, eat lunch, or participate in recreation time in the commons or Aux Gym.

Juniors - you will ride the bus at the normal time and arrive to school like every other day.  You will then report to your assigned testing location at 7:40am so that you can begin taking the ACT promptly at 7:45am.  The test will conclude around 11:30 and you will then have a break and a chance to grab lunch before the start of classes.

And then everyone (9th through 12th grade) will proceed to afternoon classes with the following bell schedule:
5th Period - 12:20 - 12:57
6th Period - 1:02 - 1:39
7th Period - 1:44 - 2:21
8th Period - 2:26 - 3:05

I also have a few ACT Testing reminders for the juniors:  This test is an official ACT so you are strictly bound to all of the restrictions and requirements set forth by ACT.  Testing will begin promptly at 7:45am so you will need to report to your assigned rooms by 7:40am.  Please be sure to bring your Student ID card, number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils are allowed!), and a calculator.  And I would also suggest that you bring a watch.  Cell phones are NOT allowed to be on in the testing room at all. 

After you complete the ACT you may realize that you want/ need to sign up to repeat the ACT or to take the SAT so let me help you out with a quick reminder about the College Admissions Tests.

There are two main college admissions tests – the SAT and the ACT – these tests enable colleges to compare students from different schools and backgrounds and to predict how successful the students will be in college. Colleges accept scores from either test. One test is not better than another - take the test that is best for both you and the school to which you are applying. And yes, you may take both tests.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) 
When people are talking about the “SAT” they are generally speaking about the SAT I test or the SAT Reasoning Test. No matter what you choose to call it, this is a 3 hour and 15 minute long test. There is an evidenced based reading and writing score, a math score, and an optional essay to the test. Scores for each section range on a scale of 200 – 800.

SAT Subject Tests
The SAT Subject Tests are sometimes also referred to as the SAT II Achievement Tests. They are one-hour tests in specific subjects such as English, history, mathematics, or foreign languages. Some of the more competitive schools require two or three tests for first-year placement. Be sure to check to see if these tests are required (and if so, in what areas) before you sign up to take them!  A tip would be to take these subject tests at the same time that you are taking your AP tests in that subject so that you are able to study once and use it to maximum benefit.

The ACT Tests
The ACT tests assess specific academic abilities in English, math, reading, and science reasoning, and writing. Scores range from 1 (low) to 36 (high) for each of the four tests and for the composite. The composite is the average of the four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Submitting Your Test Scores
When you register to take your test they will ask you which schools you would like to have notified of your scores. You automatically have 4 “free” choices of colleges to be notified of your scores. It is to your benefit to take advantage of this because the colleges will consider your highest score (and disregard your lower scores) and it will cost money to send the scores to the schools after you receive your results. Nearly all schools want the ACT/ SAT directly from the testing provider rather than from WKHS.

When should I take the test?
Students usually take the tests one or more times in the second semester of their junior year, early in their senior year or both.  Tests are also now being offered in the summer which is a new addition from both ACT and SAT.

Do I need to take the writing test?
It depends on what your intended colleges are asking for.  Look at what the colleges you are considering want to see to help you make that decision.  For what it is worth, the ACT you will be taking tomorrow does NOT include the writing test.

How do I register, figure out costs, and find more information?
Visit the SAT and ACT websites. (I also have a link to the websites on the right side of the page.)

What is the high school code that the testing sites request?
The CEEB/ ACT Code number for Worthington Kilbourne High School is 365507.

And, last but certainly not least, do I *HAVE* to take the test again if I did OK the first time I took it?
Unfortunately this isn’t an easy answer. No, you don’t *have* to do anything. If you are confident in your score then relax and be done with the testing. If you are confident in your score, but know that you could do better… well, then I’d say relax (there is no testing pressure because you are confident in your score) and take the test again because statistics show that students typically improve their scores if they repeat the test. Some of you are sitting there wishing you had not read that last line… but the reality is that if you take the test and improve your score it can only help you. You can benefit in the eyes of the college if you ended up on the bubble for their admissions decision and you can benefit financially if you are applying for any scholarships that consider your test scores. If you are not confident in your scores or if you know that you can do better – then the answer is simply, yes, take it again and see if you can improve your score.

Outstanding Musical

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend this year's musical - The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  We have incredibly talented students and it was fun and exciting to see all of their hard work and dedication pay off. I had many students involved in the show.  

Those who were featured on stage included: Jocelyn Blake, Noah Estevez-Curtis and Jacob Fisher.

While those who were showcased on the stage often get all the attention, the show wouldn't have been a success without the help of many behind the scenes.  This included: Dylan Buford, Sami Fink, Harley Davidson, Taysia Curry, Ayman Al-Adhami, and Mikey D'Angelo.

And, of course, a musical wouldn't be possible without music and my students who were a part of the Pit Orchestra included: Maxim Estevez-Curtis, Madeline Allen, Kurt Boker, Katie Coppel, and Brady Cloyd.

Congratulations to all of you on an outstanding musical!

Congratulations and Good Luck

In swimming and diving only the top 24 individuals for each event qualify for the state championships which are being held this weekend. Haley Banner is one of those individuals. Congratulations on making it to States and Good Luck this weekend! 

Academic Assistants

Perhaps I am the only one counting down, but in case you are wondering we have just 11 more school days left in the quarter.  This is critical for those of you who need to be eligible for sports in the spring quarter.  If you are not where you'd like to be, please make sure that you are working with your teachers in any of the subjects you are struggling with and also remember to take advantage of the opportunity to work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching & Learning Center!  

WKHS is incredibly fortunate to have the support of four outstanding academic assistants.  If you have never been into the Teaching and Learning Center for help, it is time to make a visit.  Ms. Elliott is the English academic assistant, Mrs. Lee focuses on Science, Mr. Wood takes care of Social Studies and Mr. Freisner works with Math.  The Teaching and Learning Center is housed in Room 209.  Students can drop by before school, during lunch, prep or options to get extra help on assignments or for assistance in studying for upcoming tests.  

This room provides a more structured environment so you can be certain that you will be able to find a quiet place to study and get your work done.  When you walk into the Teaching and Learning Center you can sit at any of the tables in the room if you want to work independently, but if you need help in a particular subject you can also just go and sit at the table with the academic assistant responsible for that subject area.  

And, as if this wasn't enough, the academic assistant's are also outstanding resources for helping students to get organized, to stay on top of assignments and to assist you in making plans for completing projects in a timely manner.  They are an unbelievable asset to the students at WKHS and you are missing out if you are not taking advantage of their free help!  I consistently see the significant difference in grades for those students who are working with teachers and academic assistants to get caught up vs those who try to manage it on their own.

What grade do you deserve?

How are you doing in your classes?  Are you getting the grades you think you deserve?  Pause for a second and really think about that... when you think about your grades, are they in alignment with what you believe you have earned?

This tends to be a hard question for many students.  Some of you will reflect on that question and say, "No!" And quickly cite examples like the tests are too hard, the teacher demands too much homework be completed, or I work hard and do everything I am asked and it still doesn't result in a good grade. 

Other students will reflect on this question and say, "Yes!"  Their answers may include statements such as I work hard and it pays off or I learn what I need to pull off the grades I am earning. 

And probably the majority of students would answer, "I don't know."  Perhaps you know that you are not fully applying yourself to your school work every day so maybe you could do better if you tried harder, but you feel like you are doing "good enough" and are struggling to decide if putting forth the additional work would result in a marked improvement or not.  Interestingly, I would actually say that my guess is these students who don't know if their grades are what they deserve or not are in the best position to try to make a change.

If you automatically take the victim role line of thinking that it is too hard or believe you are not good enough then you're already in a position where you likely believe that nothing you do can make it better.  (For the record, I do not believe this is true... ever!)  For those of you who are thinking that you're getting the grades you earn then part of me says "Great!  Keep after it" and part of me says I hope you are not just settling for "good enough."  But the rest of you - it's time to try some new things.  Rather than just going through the motions and hoping for the best, you can take control and own your own learning!  Push yourself to understand the material being covered in class.  Try to consider how the concepts being taught apply to the rest of your world.  Use your experiences of studying, time management and work completion as practice for your futures because in college and some day, when you are "old" and working in your selected careers, you will always still be learning new concepts, trying new things, juggling commitments and responsibilities and you have to be able to take responsibility to put forth your best effort.

So, I'd like to clarify, it is a lot less important to me what the exact letter grade you earn ends up being.  What is important to me is that you are giving your best effort and that you are learning and growing!  When you are trying your best and seeking help when you need it then I will always be happy because you don't have to be THE best as long as you are doing YOUR best!