We're Moving

As you know, the Counseling Center and Administrative area has been in a bit of a construction limbo, but that is soon coming to an end! This week the new counseling center and administrative space is expected to be finished with construction and ready for us to start moving in. Obviously this is both exciting and a little bit hectic.

Although the construction is done, there are still some elements that are going to need to be finished over the weeks ahead (like getting doors for some of the counselor offices). But it is exciting that we are one step closer. They should begin moving furniture into our new spaces soon and then over the following few days we will move all of the other stuff out of the current counseling center and administrative areas and into the new spaces. We will have control over the timing of some aspects and just working to be flexible on other parts. But, I can tell you that the construction people would ideally like for us to be completely out of our current (old) space no later than Sunday because next Monday morning they want to begin demolition of our space to make way for the new library!

So why does that matter to you? Well, if you need something from me this week, you may need to be flexible about where to go to find me. If my computer is still in my old office, I will likely continue working out of that space. But once all of the technology stuff (computer and phone) are moved to the new space then that will be where you will find me... and honestly, because it has all been under construction I don't really even know how to tell you to find me there. So I anticipate we will post signs and you can always ask a secretary or other staff member and we will all figure it out together.

Remember, every step of construction progress is one step closer to construction being totally completed and that is GREAT news!

PreACT Registration

Registration for the Pre-ACT is now open!

There are a few things to know that might help you decide if you are interested in taking the Pre-ACT or not.

1. The test is open to sophomores and juniors only.

2. There is a cost to sign up for the Pre-ACT.  The charge is $19.

3. The Pre-ACT is the practice test for the ACT.  (This year, Juniors will be taking the SAT at WKHS for free in March.  If you decide you want to take the ACT instead, you will have to sign up and take that on a Saturday national test date instead.)

4. The Pre-ACT is a paper/ pencil test.  (The actual ACT is offered both paper/ pencil or digitally, but more students and more national testing sites administer it as a paper/ pencil test so that is what we are doing for the practice test too.)

5. Taking both the PSAT and the Pre-ACT is a great way for students to experience both tests and be able to compare them to see which one you like better.  If you know which test you feel more comfortable with (and which one you scored better on for the practice tests) that can help you decide which one you would want to focus your test prep on for the actual ACT/ SAT admissions tests.

6. The Pre-ACT will be offered to Kilbourne students on Wednesday, November 5th.

7. The PreACT also includes a career component to help students identify career interests and potential career fields to explore.

8. There is a LIMIT to the number of students who can take the Pre-ACT at Kilbourne on November 5th!  Space will be limited to the first 200 registrants.  (This is important because, for comparison sake, we have over 400 students signed up to take the PSAT.  So, we have half of the number of seats available for the Pre-ACT which means if you are interested in signing up you will want to register soon.)

9. Registration is completed through your MyPaymentsPlus account.

If you have any questions or need any help getting signed up for the Pre-ACT, don't hesitate to stop by and see me!

College Essays

Seniors, how is essay writing going? I have been talking to lots of students over the past few weeks about their essay topics and I want to point out that the most important goal of your essay is for admissions representatives to learn something about YOU!

So as you continue working on your essay, step back and look at your writing again – did they learn something about you that they wouldn’t have known prior to reading your essay?  I tend to frustrate students a lot when they come in with their drafts and before I even look at it I ask, "What am I going to learn about you when I read this?" If you don't have a good answer to that as you start writing then I strongly encourage you to pause and reflect before you keep writing.  You have to write with the end in mind when drafting college essays and the end is that the college admissions representative is going to learn something about you.

And then, for some more college essay insight, I read a lot of college articles and blogs and this Counselors' Corner blog post, A Word About College Essay Styles, by Patrick O'Connor jumped out at me and I loved it so much I want to share it with you as well.

A Word About College Essay Styles

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Students, you amaze me. You love to share your opinions. I know this, because you share them everywhere—Chattersnap, Gramphoto, and all the rest of those social media sites I know nothing about, other than you use them because you love to talk about yourselves.

Except when it comes to college essays. 

If I asked you for 650 words on your impressions of Permission to Dance, you’d go on for weeks. But colleges want 650 words about your favorite place in the world, and you say things like “The library. Gotta love that big dictionary.”

Permission denied.

Your college wants you to come to campus, talk with them for three hours, eat lunch, and go home. If they did admissions that way, they’d probably get great students—and by the time they were done interviewing everyone, each of those students would be 45 years old.

So you aren’t writing essays—you’re having a conversation, except you’re putting what you have to say on paper. That means you’ll want to do this:

Stop guessing. When a college asks “Name a problem you’d like to solve”, there’s no one right answer for everybody. Cure cancer? Great. The need for your mother to work three jobs? Absolutely. The squeak in your garage door? That can work, too—as long as it means something to you, and you can convey that meaning. This isn’t Algebra; you get to decide what the answer is, and why it makes sense. Put it down on paper, put the commas in the right place, and you’re good to go.

Tell a story. Remember the time you told your best friend about the first concert you went to, or the best pizza you ever ate? You were on fire at the end of the story, genuinely excited at the chance to share part of your life with them. That’s how you should feel once you’re done writing a college essay. This isn’t a speech you give to thousands of people; it’s a story that means something to you, and you’re telling it to someone who really wants to hear it. Save the speech; tell the tale.

Head or heart? Some students think the key to a great essay is to pack it with facts that make you sound like a brainiac, while others say the college will only beg you to come if they need a whole box of tissues to get through your essay. Life is a little of both, and so are college essays. Show the colleges what you think about, and why it means something to you. This will let them know you’re past the drama and trauma of teenagehood, and eager to embrace the tasks of becoming a thoughtful, caring adult.

Answer the question. If the college asks “Who do you admire?” and they still don’t know your answer once they’ve read your essay, you’ve given them one more reason to reject you. Ducking the question may work in Washington, but it doesn’t play well in admissions offices. If they want to know, you need to tell them.

Your goal is to write an essay that sounds so much like a conversation, they’ll be surprised you aren’t in the room with them when they’re finished reading it.

Kind of like Gramphoto. But with words.

Homecoming Week

Student council coordinates spirit week themes for the entire week leading up to the homecoming football game on Friday night and the dance on Saturday.  This is a great way that students can support Kilbourne and show your school spirit.

Monday - PJ Day (because you didn't really want to get dressed up in real clothes on a Monday, right?)

Tuesday - Adam Sandler Day

Wednesday - Pink Out Day

Thursday - Jersey/ College Day

Friday - USA Day

It is important to remember that your attire for all of these days is still required to abide by the requirements of the student dress code.

In addition to the spirit themed dress, this week will also feature:

- Friday afternoon will feature a Pep Rally.  In order to allow for the whole school to participate in the afternoon pep rally, we will have a modified bell schedule for Friday.

- Friday night is, of course, the football game and will include the introduction of the Homecoming Court at 6:40pm.

- Dance out in the Stadium on Saturday night.

Clearly, it will be a BUSY and Fun-Filled week ahead.  I hope you will make the most of embracing the energy and excitement of the high school festivities.

Congratulations

Every year when juniors take the PSAT they are also being considered for academic recognition and scholarships because the PSAT is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. This year 2 of "my" students received high levels of recognition and deserve to be celebrated.

John Battle was named a National Merit Semifinalist and Joe Adrian was recognized as a Commended Scholar.

Congratulations to John and Joe for these academic recognitions! I am proud of you both.

Careers in Healthcare

Are you interested in pursuing a career in healthcare? Is it something you have thought about, but don't know a ton about beyond your desire to work in a medical field and help people? A lot of students end up in that place and so they default to thinking that they want to be a doctor or a nurse. Both of which are incredible professions, but there are SO MANY more options that you can choose from.

The Cleveland Clinic has created the Cleveland Clinic Connected Career Rounds which are cool videos (or live sessions) that students can watch to learn more about different healthcare related careers. I have watched several of them and they are really well done. In the videos you will see a range of different people who work in a select aspect of healthcare and how they all work together for the good of a patient. Information about their career path, education requirements, and job growth is all included in each presentation.

Check out their website for more information: https://healthcareedu.ccf.org/course/view.php?id=542

Additionally, I know that some students are VERY focused on wanting to become a doctor in the future. Did you know that there are some programs that are known as "Early Assurance Programs" where you can be accepted (assuming you maintain strong grades in college) to med school as a high school student? 

Ohio University has an EAP program where you can attend and complete your undergraduate degree at 1 of 7 different colleges with the assurance of being able to be accepted into the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

This is a highly competitive program. Students that are interested can learn more here: https://www.ohio.edu/medicine/med-admissions/apply/eap 

Parent Lunch & Learn

Parents, the WKHS Counselors will be kicking off our quarterly Lunch & Learn series this Friday over zoom and we hope you will join us!  

For each Lunch & Learn session we will share information about a specific topic for 15-20 minutes and allow 10-15 minutes to address any questions you have about the topic so that in just 30 short minutes of your time, parents/ guardians will walk away more aware about that topic and hope it impacts their kids.

Each lunch and learn session will run from 12-12:30pm over zoom so that parents can grab their lunch to eat while tuning in to learn about the topic of the month.  We will post the zoom link on the Counselor website the day of the workshop and it will also be emailed to all WKHS parents.

This Friday's topic is discussing the new ACT/ SAT.  This will be a great session for parents wanting to learn more about the college admissions tests and for creating a testing plan for students.

I hope to see you online Friday, September 26th at noon for this year's series kick-off.