Long Weekend Ahead

Can you believe we made it to our first long weekend of the school year with Monday being Labor Day?  I am looking forward to the extra day to sleep in because the adjustment to getting up and being functioning in the mornings has been tough.

Some of you may elect to make use of the bonus day off of school by going to visit colleges.  If you are going to explore a campus nearby or far away, please be sure to take a picture for the "Oh the Places You'll Go" board.  I am excited to see your pictures and hear about your visits!

Because I Said I Would

I love the concept of the "because I said I would" cards that Mr. Thomas introduced to our school last Friday.  Did you get your cards today?  Have you been thinking of what promises you are making to yourself and who you are going to select to help hold you accountable for them?

Mr. Thomas had shared that concept and video with some of our staff earlier this summer and since then I have hought of that phrase "because I said I would" often.  Sometimes I think it to myself - I need to follow through on whatever because I had said that I was going to and other times I find myself thinking, UGH, I said I was going to do something and still haven't.  At least in my world, I think that sometimes I have good intentions, but following through is harder.  And that is why I like the cards so much.

I just got cards for the first time today too.  I am excited about it.  I believe that being held accountable for following through on the commitments I make is important.  Nothing is more important to me than all of you and so my commitments and my promise cards will likely be focused primarily on interactions and follow up and follow through where you are concerned.  And, if you ever need me to help be the one to hold you accountable by hanging onto your promise card until you have achieved whatever small or large goals you are striving toward, know that I am willing to do that for you.

I can't help but believe that if we are a school that is dedicated on saying what we mean and following through on what we say that we are going to be a powerful force all year!  We are definitely going to develop trust and accountability within our school and that level of honesty and bravery from being vulnerable enough to say here is something I'm aiming for and working to achieve is incredible.  I hope you are excited about it too.  And I hope that we can keep the momentum and promise cards moving forward all year.

Office Worker Volunteer Opportunity

Now that the school year is underway and I feel like we are all getting into the "typical" routine, I want to make sure you all know about a volunteer opportunity that students can take advantage of during the school day within the comfortable walls of WKHS.  We have office workers volunteer their time to help out in the counseling/ administrative offices. Our office workers each year have been amazing!  They helped run passes, update the bulletin board, put together packets or whatever else was needed.  Some days were busier than others and so there were days when they didn't have to do much of anything to help us other than be available.  We do have an application process to be selected as an office worker, but if you are interested, we'd love to have you!  And selfishly, I'd love to have more of "my" students helping as office workers because it is a nice treat to see you each day.  Students with a period of academic prep or options in their schedule would be eligible to apply.  (You would no longer have prep or options if you chose to work in the office.)  You will accumulate community service hours as an office worker.  Applications are available in the front of the counseling center.  No more than 2 students will be selected for each period of the day.  Please apply soon if you are interested so that we don't miss out on the opportunity to have you involved!

Also, don't forget, due to the craziness of the power outage today the homeroom that was previously scheduled will now be tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Schedule

Tomorrow we will have the first homeroom of the year.  One important thing to be aware of is that for most students, your homeroom has CHANGED from what was on your schedule that you received on schedule pick up day.

Please be sure to log into Infinite Campus to check for your new homeroom location.  There will also be signs posted to instruct you about where you will find your new homeroom.  Please be sure to check the signs or IC so that you know where to go at the end of 2nd period tomorrow.

During homeroom all students will be asked to complete a Counselor Connection form.  At first glance they probably look the same, but I promise you the questions are different each year.  I really enjoy reading through them each fall and learning a little more about you so I ask that you please be honest in sharing your insight on these forms.

Also, during homeroom you will get your first "because I said I would cards" as highlighted in last Friday's assembly.

Here is the bell schedule for tomorrow:

1st Period: 7:45 - 8:32
2nd Period: 8:37 - 9:24
Homeroom: 9:29 - 9:53
3rd Period: 9:58 - 10:45
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

Common App - Updated Change

Thanks to all of the senior students and parents who came out to the College Information Night tonight.  I hope you left feeling more confident about your next steps and what all you need to be working on over the next few months as you apply to college.

One component that I mentioned tonight that is a CHANGE from what I had previously mentioned on my blog is that Common App now does have a way for your to indicate that you are taking college classes at a college as a Dual Enrollment student - meaning that you are both a high school and a college student.  If you are taking College Credit Plus (CC+) classes through Columbus State, COTC, OSU, or Sinclair Community college you will need to list all of these colleges on your application as being colleges.  Then in the options you will select that they are Dual Enrollment classes.  My hope is that the college systems are all set up to recognize this information so that they don't ask you for your college transcripts until the end of the year.  (That was a problem a few years ago which is why they had eliminated this component for dual enrolled students, but it is back - probably because so many students across the state are taking CC+ classes.)

Please note that this is a change from what I had said on August 1st.  We just found this out for sure that colleges did want to try to get your CC+ college names at a meeting on Friday.  As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come and see me!

Confidentiality & Reminders

It is very important to me that I work to earn your trust every day. During high school there are times when you may wonder if there is anyone who cares and is willing to listen to what you are going through and I want to remind you that I care and I am here for you. Please remember that what you say to me is confidential between us unless you are a risk to yourself or someone else in which case I am required to report it.

If you want to meet with me - just drop by my office! That is honestly the BEST way to meet with me. You don't need to schedule an appointment in advance. I'm generally around before and after school as well as during your lunch or academic prep/ option periods for you to stop in and chat. You don't need a big reason to come down and say Hi. I am happy to see you even if you just wanted to tell me how well or how poorly you did on a test that day. If I am busy meeting with another student or parent - you can stop back down or leave a pass for me. If I don't know who you are and you have left a pass that leads me to search for you in the commons please try to help me out and let me know that "you" are the student. (I know, not always easy, but if you left a pass and I haven't tracked you down that day or the following day, chances are I can't find 

Don't forget I have candy and toys in my office - so it is always worth just stopping by to say hello. :-) And for the upperclassmen, come check out the ways my office has changed since last year.  (Unlike the other counselors I'm still in the same physical office space, but there are still changes I can't wait for you to see.)

And, on a different topic, seniors, don't forget, tomorrow night is Senior College Information Night for you and your parents.  The meeting starts at 7pm in the WKHS Auditorium!  See you then.

Also, a general reminder that tomorrow all of the CSCC college credit plus classes begin.  Hopefully you completed your online orientation and logged into blackboard.  Your instructors are looking forward to meeting you tomorrow and/ or Tuesday (depending on which classes you are taking).

Class Rank

When completing college applications you will find that most colleges will ask “What is your class rank?” and if they can’t get you to give them an exact rank they might also ask you for a percentile ranking. (Some schools may not ask you and may ask on the counselor form that I am required to complete for you.) The official answer is “We Do Not Rank.”

That is what I write on all of the forms that I complete for you and what you should indicate on your application – UNLESS you are one of the students with a grade point average of a 4.0 or higher for your high school career. If you have greater than a 4.0, then you are automatically ranked #1 in the class. (So yes, that would mean that there are multiple Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores ranked first in their respective class.)

As you already know, WKHS is an academically competitive high school and we would not want a class ranking to hurt you in any way. For example, a GPA at WKHS might rank in the top 20% , but at a less competitive school the same GPA might rank in the top 5 or 10%. So, unless you have a 4.0 or better, do yourself a favor and write “Do Not Rank” when completing your applications.