Parent/ Teacher Conferences

First, another reminder that the online registration system is now open and students have through Friday to submit their course requests!  Please log in now and sign up for the classes you want to take next year!  

Next, I wanted to make sure that all parents know that Parent/ Teacher conferences are coming up soon and the online system for parents to sign up for a time to meet with teachers opened this morning.  Conferences will be held on Thursday, February 8^th from 3:30pm - 7:40pm and Tuesday, February 13^th from 5:00pm – 9:00pm.  Each conference will be scheduled in 15 minute time blocks.  Conferences allow parents the chance to learn about your student’s classroom performance from the teachers, it allows the opportunity for you to ask questions and they provide an opportunity to build a dialogue with the teachers regarding any thoughts and concerns you might have.

Conferences will be scheduled as people sign up for them, so if you want to make sure you have times that work well for you, I strongly encourage you to register right away.

Please follow the steps below to register for a parent/ teacher conference:

•    Go to http://ptcfast.com/schools/Worthington_Kilbourne_High_School.  This will take you to the conference scheduler.
•     Click on the teacher you would like to meet with for a conference.
•     Sign up by entering your child’s last name, first name, your name and your e-mail address and then click Submit.
•     The next screen will direct you to check your e-mail inbox for a message with the subject “Select Date/ Team for Teacher Conference Now.”
•     Open the e-mail and click on the link to select a conference time.  If you do not receive an e-mail, please check your junk/ spam folder.  Please note, you MUST follow the link in the email in order to complete the sign-up process.
•     The link will take you to a Time Picker.  Available time slots will appear on this page.  If there are no available appointments that suit your schedule, please e-mail the teacher directly to set up an alternate meeting time.
•     After submitting your time slot, you will be prompted to finish, schedule another appointment for the same student or register another student.  Once you have completed your reservations, you will receive an e-mail confirming the date and time of your conferences and a link by which you can make changes to your date or time if you need to do so.

AP/ IB Classes

Students have the opportunity to push themselves with rigorous classes such as honors, AP and IB.  And, with the AP and IB courses there is also the potential of earning college credit for completing the classes and performing well on the tests at the end of the year.  I wanted to spend a few minutes giving you highlights related to these options so that you are aware as you are scheduling your classes.

One of the top factors colleges consider when evaluating applicants is the strength of the academic schedule students take on during high school.  (And, of course, that they do well in those classes.)  One of the options that students can consider for selecting a rigorous academic schedule that also has the benefit of providing students with a global perspective and integrated learning to make connections across courses, is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Students who are interested in completing the full IB diploma program will have specific IB courses to take along with completing the IB exams, an extended essay, and a community action service project along with a Theory of Knowledge course.  Even if students are not sure that they want to take on the full diploma program, you can still participate in IB courses!  You can take just a handful of classes (or even just 1) if that is what appeals to you.  For example, students interested in Psychology or History might elect to take just the IB Psychology course or just the IB History course.  

As an IB World School, our students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow.  Students that are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program and the small cohort of students who they study with in the program.  If you have questions about IB, I definitely encourage you to talk with students in the IB program or to Ms. Goodwin who is the IB program coordinator.  And, of course, you can always talk to me too.

Students must pay to take the IB exams and, depending on the level of the class, how well you performed on the test, and the college you are attending, you may be able to earn college credit for the course.  It is helpful in your planning to be aware that most colleges do not grant credit for individual SL classes - only Higher Level (HL) courses.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in a wide range of subject areas from core subjects like English and Science to the arts such as AP Studio Art and AP Music Theory.  These classes are designed to fulfill the college course content and the teachers are following the curriculum requirements to prepare students for the AP exam at the end of the year.  

Students must pay to take the AP exam and, depending on how you do on it, you can earn college credit for the class.

Each college gets to set their own policy for what AP or IB classes they will give students college credit for completing and what the qualifying score must be in order to earn that credit.  You can usually find this information on the college websites as well as on the CollegeBoard website for AP exams.

Course Selection & Balance

When you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be reasonable about your expectations for yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle so while it may feel good to have every teacher recommend you for honors, AP, or IB classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with 7 advanced classes. I get it, there are a lot of incredible classes available at WKHS, but overloading your day and burning yourself out does nothing for your love of learning or your ability to successfully complete your classes.  I cannot stress enough how much I want you to think about the rest of your commitments.  

What sports, clubs, music groups, part-time jobs, and volunteer commitments do you have?  When will you have time to relax and breathe, spend time with your family and friends and, perhaps most importantly, still get a good night's sleep each night?

I completely understand that this can be hard to figure out the balance because you aren't at next year yet to be able to imagine what your days will feel like, but the Kilbourne staff worked with students and created a Time Commitment Planning Calendar which can help you gain insight into what your intended plan will really look like.  You can find copies on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com - or there are hard copies available in the counseling center.  A student helped by completing a sample calendar so that you can see what a completed one looks like and that is also on the Kilbourne Counselor website.  I strongly encourage you to consider 2 of your busiest weeks and fill out the calendar so that you can have a realistic perspective for what the classes you are considering would provide a good balance for you - being both rigorous (particularly in any area of passion) and reasonable.

Additionally, when you are thinking about balance, don't forget that you want to have a balanced approach to your 4 years of high school.  Don't try to load up in your sophomore or junior year with the intention of taking a super easy senior year.  That isn't good either.

If you are struggling to find that balance, please talk to your parents about the classes you are considering and stop by to see me so that we can discuss it too.  I am emphasizing balance first because my plan is to talk about some of the rigorous course opportunities in the days ahead and I want the importance of balance to be the foundational thought you have before anything else!

National College Fair

I have been spot-checking some schedules today and love how many of my students already have their course requests in and done!  Great job being on top of things!  Don't forget, the online registration is now open and ready for you to submit your requests so that you can get the classes you want to take next year!

On a non-scheduling note, next weekend, WKHS students have the opportunity to attend and participate in a National College Fair.  This event, sponsored by the National Association of College Admissions Counseling, is FREE to attend.  It will be held on Saturday, February 3rd, from 1:00-4:00pm at the Ohio Expo Center- Kasich Hall.

Admissions reps from hundreds of colleges will be available to speak one-to-one with students and parents about the college admissions process, including paying for college, admissions requirements, activities on campus and more.  The fair also features information on gap year and pre-college summer programming.

Students who plan to attend should register for the National College Fair online at: https://www.nacacattend.org/24GreaterColumbus and this website also has more information to help you make the most of your time at the college fair.

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to learn more about colleges and finding the schools that will the best fit for you.

• Saturday, February 3rd
• 1:00-4:00pm
• Ohio Expo Center- Kasich Hall

Register Online

Just a quick reminder to all WKHS students, the online registration is now OPEN for you to log into Infinite Campus and submit your course requests.

Don't forget, you will want to search for courses using the course NUMBER from your course selection sheet (and not the course name).

If you need a reminder on how to submit your registration requests, we have screenshots with the step by step directions on the Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com

Be sure to fill your day to reach the 100% of units selected.  That means you will need to include lunch for both semesters and, if you want an off period, a prep/ options/ early release or late arrival for each semester.

Remember that you must select 3 alternate courses that you would want to take if your desired classes will not work in the way you had hoped.

Teacher Recommendations

One aspect of the registration process that can sometimes cause confusion for students related to selecting their classes is how to deal with teacher recommendations.

During classes, your teachers will be reviewing the different classes offered within their departments as well as talking with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year.  Some of the core and foreign language teachers are directly submitting their recommendations for what class they would suggest for you to take directly into Infinite Campus.

If you don't agree with what a teacher has recommended, you are not locked into that course.  For example, we know that there are MANY students who will be recommended for lots of honors or AP classes and not want to take all of them.  This is completely appropriate and acceptable... in fact, I would say that I absolutely WANT you to prioritize and schedule a balanced load that meets your interests and goals for the future.  (And your teachers and administrators want that for you too!)

The first place that we suggest you start is by talking with your teacher about their recommendation and the course that you would prefer to take.  Since your teachers know your learning style and approach they will have important and valuable information for you and your parents to take into consideration when selecting classes.  I encourage you to carefully take their recommendations into consideration - especially if they are suggesting you take an "easier" course than the one you were previously considering.

However, we also know that some students may not feel comfortable telling a teacher that they want to take a different class than the one the teacher was recommending.  I am anticipating that this could be the case if a teacher is suggesting their elective or core course and you wanted a different one and don't want to hurt the teachers feelings.  I get it, but I will also remind you that the teachers should NOT be pressuring you into anything!  This is YOUR future and YOU are the one who will be in the class and doing the work next year!  So, know that I am more than happy and willing to talk to you about what courses you would like to change and make adjustments for you.  If you and your parents have decided that it is not in your best interest to take a class that your teacher has recommended and you want an easier or comparable course, then that is what I can easily fix during our individual meeting or you can send me an email or drop by my office and I can make those adjustments.

If you have decided that you want a more difficult course than what was recommended by your teacher then you must complete the Course Override form (on the Counselor website) in order for me to change that in your schedule.  Before you decide to go with a more difficult course than has been recommended, please be VERY careful in thinking through all of the possible implications of doing that because your teacher's are recommending based upon what they know about your learning AND what they know about the classes.  They want to make sure that you are being recommended for classes that will help you to be successful in the future.

Number of Classes

As you start thinking about your courses for next year (and any subsequent years), it is important to be sure that you are taking enough classes, but you also don't want to over-extend yourself.

For most 9th, 10th and 11th graders, you will be taking 6 classes.  That would leave you with room for a lunch and an off period (prep or options or early release or late arrival).

For most seniors, if you are in good standing academically, you can drop to 5 classes.  Why do we give you the flexibility to drop to 5 classes?  Because the process of applying to college and applying for scholarships is time consuming and we want to be sure that you can give your best to your course work and also your future plans.  It is important for seniors to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required to be considered a Full Time student.  Being full time is important for a range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, plus colleges definitely want to see you as a full time student.  So you definitely won't go below the 5 minimum classes in any semester.

While 5 to 6 classes is the minimum per year, if students are behind on earning credits due to failing classes, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes during a semester or the year.

Also, when planning out your classes over the next year, be sure that you double check and make sure you'll be taking enough classes to be eligible to participate in athletics and other co-curricular activities.  (Remember, any school sponsored activity that involves competition requires you to be eligible.  So this includes band, choir groups, Mock Trial, In the Know, etc.)  

In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter.  IF you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life course or TOK, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits per semester so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.  

If you have any questions about eligibility, please stop in the co-curricular office or stop to see me for additional clarification.