Emotions

I was talking with a student earlier this week about emotions and we ended up chatting about the movie Inside Out.  (Hence the photo)  If you haven't seen the movie, I would recommend it.

But, my purpose of this blog post is to remind you that you are more than your emotions!  It is so easy to get caught up in thinking that how we feel is who we are and nothing can be further from the truth.  For example, try to notice when you say things such as, "I am sad" or "I am angry."  When we use that language it tends to lock us into that emotion as being who we are and not just how we feel.  So how can we reframe that?  We can shift it back to our feelings by sahing things such as, "I feel sad" or "I feel angry."  This sounds like a small change, but it creates a big shift in our mindset which can really help.

Struggling with big emotions can be overwhelming and you don't ever have to face them alone.  Remember that I am here to listen and care when every emotion you are experiencing comes to visit.  Just know that while the emotions come, they will also go... even though it can be hard to know when that will happen.  You matter and how you feel matters!

Demonstrated Interest

Did you know colleges track every contact and interaction you have with them?  For colleges, they typically refer to this as your demonstrated interest.  They want to know that you are genuinely interested in their college and that applying to their school is something you have investigated and feel like it would be a good fit. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that you should call a school multiple times a week - that would definitely get on their nerves, but they want students who are truly interested. You can show that by meeting with their admissions representatives when they come to WKHS (visits are happening daily now) or by attending their community gathers sponsored in the Columbus area, stopping by their tables at college fairs, participating in "optional" interviews and essays, and visiting their campus.

Just because you have clearly demonstrated your interest in a college will not be what gets you accepted to their school, but since colleges are always trying to predict who it is that will ultimately attend their university out of those they accept, it works to your advantage to be sure that the college will be a good fit - not only because it demonstrates your interest, but also - and more importantly - because it will enable you to be confident that this is a school which fits your needs and goals in what you were hoping for in a college campus community and in your collegiate home. 

Also, a final reminder that tomorrow night at 7pm is the virtual Planning for College Information night for Junior students and parents.  The zoom link will be emailed home tomorrow morning and will also be posted on the Counselor Website.

Should I submit my scores?

One of the most challenging questions for many students applying to college this year has been, "Should I submit my test scores?"  And the reason this is a difficult question to answer is because it depends.  During the educational sessions and meetings with colleges their guidance to helping you answer that question is to ask back, "Will this test score contribute to the strength of my application?"  

So how do you figure that out?  You need to look at every college you are applying to closely.  You need to double check their requirements for admission and for your intended major.  You also should review what their scholarship situation looks like regarding evaluating students with and without test scores. (For example, many colleges will grant scholarships to students with a certain GPA and test score, but to qualify for a scholarship without a test score the GPA requirement is higher meaning that some students might qualify for scholarships if they submit their test scores, but wouldn't if they don't.  And you have to look at that for your situation in particular.)  

Every college will have data shared on their middle 50% for test scores.  The middle 50% designates the range of students who are in their average pool of accepted students.  That does mean that 25% of their accepted students have scores that are above that range as well as an additional 25% who have scores below that range.  If you are in their middle 50% then you can, typically, feel confident that your scores will help contribute to your application.

Please realize that this means that you might be applying test optional to one college and with test scores to another and this is ok.  If you have questions about test optional and submitting test scores, don't hesitate to stop and see me.

Welcome to Worthington

Each year we are lucky enough to welcome students who are moving into the WKHS area as new students.  Last Thursday we hosted a welcome breakfast to make sure that all of our new students knew how thankful we are to have them at Kilbourne.  It was fun to hear a little bit about the schools where students have attended previously and the things that they like about WKHS already... for example, the food and snack bar are definite favorites compared to their old schools.  In the counseling center we have a map posted with a push-pin marking where the new students had lived prior to coming to Worthington which included 7 countries and many different states across the US.  Kilbourne is better because of each student who walks our halls and I hope you will join me in welcoming these new students if you see them in your classes or lunch periods.

Class Drop & Pass/ Fail deadline

I wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that the last date to drop a 1st semester course without having it appear on your transcript is coming up on Wednesday, September 28th. That is also the last date to submit a request to have a 1st semester class graded on a pass/ fail scale instead of the standard scoring. Please make sure that your requests for these options are turned into the counseling center before the school day ends on Wednesday!

Homecoming Dance

This was a fun week of Homecoming festivities and it will be topped off tonight with the dance.  A special congratulations to my 2 students who were among the 3 students recognized as Homecoming Royalty - Bilal Chaudhry and Cee Costello!

I know that having a dance out on the football stadium is a lot of fun.  As you get all dressed up ahead of the dance, I hope you enjoy the time with your friends taking pictures and going out for dinner.  Most of all, please stay safe and make good choices!  

I will be at the dance so if you have any problems, don't hesitate to let me know.  I can't wait to see everyone all dressed up tonight!  Please stop and say hi.

Career Club

The Career Exploration Club kicks off this week and this is a club that will meet during lunch periods to give students the chance to join and be a part of a club even if you don't have transportation to be able to participate in after-school clubs.

As a part of this club you will have the opportunity to learn about different careers directly from guest presenters.  The speakers will share insights into what a typical day is like in their job, what they like most/ least about their job, the education required to be able to have this job, and they will answer any questions you have as well.

The club will meet once a month.  The upcoming dates are: September 22nd, October 27th, November 9th, and December 8th.

While we would eventually like to figure a way to make the club accessible during all 4 lunch periods, for now, we will only have the group meeting twice during 4th period and 5th period lunches which are the biggest lunch periods.  So, if you have lunch, prep, options, or learning center during 4th or 5th period then this club will work for you!

The presentations from the speakers will only take half of your period so you will still hve plenty of time to eat.  The 4th period presentation will start at 11:40 and last for 20 minutes until the end of the period.  And the 5th period presentation will start right at the start of the period at 12:05 and be done 20 minutes later at 12:25.

The reality is that every career discussed won't be a good fit for every student, but the more you learn about different careers, the easier it will become to identify jobs that you do NOT want in your future which can ultimately help guide you to the right profession.  

Examples of some of our upcoming speakers already lined up include a Project Manager and Dental Hygienist.

I hope you will plan to join the club by coming to meet with us Tomorrow (Thursday) in the Auditorium!  Everyone is welcome!