Senioritis

Senioritis - it's a term I hear often around my office and while I understand that it can be a challenge to continue motivating yourself to finish your high school career strong, it is important!

Last week I received a printout of the PAGES of students that have either a D or an F in their 3rd quarter classes. This is particularly a concern for seniors as it can jeopardize graduation (a very real fear for many) and it can also jeopardize your college future. For example, remember, that the colleges reserve the right to revoke your acceptance if the grades you are earning are not on pace with what they expected at the time of your application. They can also place you on academic probation and take back scholarship offers. Obviously, these would not be good scenarios, but it does happen.

So, while the improved weather, senior tag, and "fun" days like Arts in Action and the upcoming field trip to Cedar Point may make it hard to focus on the day to day responsibilities of meeting your classroom expectations it is very important!

Summer School

Information about summer school was distributed in homerooms along with the rest of your registration materials back in January. Feedback from the summer school directors has been that classes such as Phys Ed and Speech are filling up quickly. If you are planning on taking one of these classes during summer school, please be sure that you apply right away so that you don’t end up closed out of the class.

If you failed a class during the 1st semester, you need to discuss signing up for summer school with your parents. The success rates for students who take summer school is very strong because you are only asked to focus on one subject at a time and it is a more relaxed environment. Remember, if you did not earn credit for a semester of a required class, you must retake the class in order to graduate.

This year summer school will be held at Thomas Worthington High School and most courses cost around $200. (Students on the free and reduced lunch program are allowed to attend for $50.)

If you have lost your summer school registration brochure, please stop in the Counseling Center and pick one up from the center island area in the middle of the Counseling Center.

Diploma Presenters

A reminder to all seniors - if you plan on asking someone to present you with your diploma at graduation - the deadline for submitting your presenter request form to the co-curricular office is Friday, April 13th. I love the fact that you all have this opportunity as a way to make graduation an even more memorable experience. If you do not select someone to give you your diploma, an administrator from central office or a school board member will present your diploma to you.

Also, there are several boxes of caps and gowns that have been delivered and are waiting for you to pick up in the co-curricular office. If you have not picked up your cap and gown, please stop in and see Mrs. Jacobs or Ms. Casto.

Student Body Debates & Local Scholarship Reminder

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will be on a 3A/ 3B bell schedule in order to allow for a debate among the candidates for Student Body President and Vice President. All students in grades 9 - 11 will spend part of the time during 3rd period class in the auditorium listening to the debates between the candidates. The candidates will debate twice so that everyone in grades 9 - 11 have the opportunity to hear the discussion.

Seniors do not vote in this election (since you will be college students by the time these candidates will take their positions.) As a result the seniors will have a guest speaker about personal safety in the main gym while the underclassmen listen to the debate.

In case you want/ need the bell schedule for tomorrow it is as follows:
1st: 7:45 - 8:27
2nd: 8:32 - 9:14
3rd: 9:19 - 11:09 (Remember, this will be split by class and you will spend either the first or second half of the time in your regular class and the other half of the time will be in the appropriate assembly)
4th: 11:14 - 11:57
5th: 12:02 - 12:44
6th: 12:49 - 1:31
7th: 1:36 - 2:08
8th: 2:13 - 3:05


For the Seniors, I also wanted to remind you that you are running out of time to complete the local scholarships. The deadline for submitting your local scholarship applications is the end of the school day on Thursday, April 12th. Please be sure to review your applications and make sure that you have all of the required pieces ready to be turned in by Thursday. Hopefully if you needed recommendation letters for your applications you have already requested those as it will be difficult (if not impossible) for teachers to write letters in one night for you.

Credit Flexibility

This Thursday night, April 12th, at 7:00pm we will hold a meeting to share information about the options available to students through credit flexibility.

The State of Ohio passed legislation that changes how students can earn units of high school credit. Students are now able to earn credit based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of or in combination with completing hours of classroom instruction. Students can customize aspects of their learning around their interests and needs. It encourages student self-direction and motivates learners to develop new skills and fulfill their potential. Examples of credit flexibility opportunities include, but are not limited to, independent study, online learning, and demonstration of course proficiency.

I hope that all students and parents interested in learning more about credit flexibility will join us Thursday night in Room 207.

The end of Spring Break

I don't know about you, but I am shocked that Spring Break is now over. It seems hard to believe that the entire week is over already, but I hope you enjoyed the time off and that you had a relaxing and enjoyable break. I am looking forward to seeing all of you and hearing about how you spent your week. I will be honest though, since I am not a morning person, I am definitely NOT looking forward to getting up bright and early tomorrow morning. Of course, you have the added advantage of having a late-start day tomorrow which means that you don't start 1st period until 9:10... a pretty nice way to ease back into school.

Crisis Communication

Recently our school has had it's share if troublesome moments and crisis situations, so, I decided this was an appropriate time to review the importance of communicating when crisis situations occur. It is important, as a school counselor, to be aware of any major incidents that impact students from the school as soon as possible so that we can help prepare an appropriate response to support the student body. For the record, I tend to check my e-mails over weekends, holidays, and the summer for any critical incidents, but I do not check my school voicemail, so the best way to pass along important timely news is e-mail. If you hear about a situation that might require immediate attention outside of regular school hours, please don't hesitate to let me know by e-mail. Obviously, my hope is that this information is never needed and that we will not face any crisis situations in the future, but I also know that it is better safe than sorry.