Impressive Students

To say that this post is overdue is one of the biggest understatements possible.  Below are just a few acknowledgements of some of the MANY impressive accomplishments our students achieved this spring that I know I never ended up having the chance to highlight on my blog.  :-(  The reality was, I just couldn't let it go past without recognizing you and celebrating your achievements.  Congratulations to each of the students mentioned below and also to all of the students who had equally impressive accomplishments that slipped my mind as I was typing this list tonight.

Chandler Bridges – Set school record and won OCC’s in long jump

Nia Brown – OCC Academic League Art Award

Sharon Chan, Erica Chen, Sreevaishnavi Dasaka, Robyn Du, Amy Du and Hannah Fahmy – Were all a part of the WKHS Science Olympiad Team which won 1^st place in the regional competition and qualified for the State Tournament.

Erin Dieringer and Gabrielle Dendinger – OCC Academic League Journalism Awards

Natalie Berg – 3 Honorable Mentions for photographs in the Central Ohio Regional Scholastic Art Award competition

Hannah Vincent – Appointment to the United States Naval Academy.  Hannah leaves to start her plebe summer very soon.  Good luck Hannah and thank you for your commitment and service to our country!

Lindsey Bauer – This is more of a thank you, but I am so grateful that she agreed to share her insights and knowledge with the junior students and parents as a participant on the Senior Survivor Panel.

Naomi Barker – Recipient of the Atlas Butler award

Natalie Berg and Nick Ambrozich – Inducted into the Technical National Honor Society

Sarah Adams – Dispatch Athlete of the Week for softball

Jenna Boue – Prom Queen

Bailey Andrews, Emily Dyer, Anne Dargenio, Jordan Birch – Each performed beautifully as a part of the Choir Cabaret night

Erin Dieringer and Michelle Ding – Both performed a variety of piano pieces for the staff appreciation breakfast.

And last, but certainly not least, the entire Sophomore class deserves recognition for their awesome OGT scores!

Diploma Presenter

One of my absolute favorite traditions of the WKHS commencement ceremony is the option students have to pick someone from their educational career (teacher, coach, counselor, etc.) to present them with their diploma. I was touched and humbled that 7 of "my" students selected me to be able to share in their graduation ceremony by presenting them their diplomas. There simply are no words to explain what a huge honor this was for me!  As I handed each student their diploma I was overwhelmed with how proud, excited, honored, and most of all grateful that these wonderful students have been a part of my life. 

I loved being able to give (L to R): Naomi Barker, Tosin Ademodi, Jessica DePaso, Jimmy Barbin, Raeshawn Cason, Patrick Archambeau, and Michael Dillow a hug and offer my congratulations as they graduated from high school.

To Naomi, Jimmy, Michael, Tosin, Jessica, Patrick, and Raeshawn~ Thank you for allowing me to share in your special day!  As you leave Worthington Kilbourne and head into the future, I hope you will always remember that I care about you and believe in you.  Each of you has something special to offer the world and I cannot wait to see the impact you will make.  I enjoyed getting to know you, listening to your stories, celebrating your successes, and helping as you had to deal with disappointments and difficult days.  Thank you for letting me share in your lives!  I will miss you and wish you nothing but the best in the future.  Thanks again for giving me the honor of presenting you with your diplomas – I will never forget it and I will never forget you!

Summer School

Hooray!  It is finally summer for me too!  :-)  I wanted to make sure you were aware that this summer I will still be updating my blog, but it will be less frequent than the school-year norm of 4-5 posts a week. I am guessing that I will try to post an update at least 1 or 2 times each week.

I will also be checking e-mail at school throughout the summer, but will not have access to my school voicemail so if you need to reach me for any reason this summer, e-mail is definitely the way to go.

Hope you are not bored with the start of summer. Some of you need to think about enrolling in summer school!

Summer School begins next Tuesday at Thomas Worthington High School. If you failed a class or were hoping to get ahead on a course, please be sure that you sign up right away.

If you are contemplating summer school there are a couple of pieces of information I would like you to be aware of:

1.) Sign up soon! The first session of summer school begins on Tuesday, but you should be signed up prior to that point. You register at the Worthington Education Center on Wilson Bridge Rd. Here is a link to the registration brochure.

2.) Summer school will be held at TWHS.

3.) Most classes run from 7:40am – Noon. That means that most days are like a week of school so you cannot miss a day – attendance daily is essential!

4.) The classes are just 3 weeks in length. The first session runs from June 11th to June 28th. The second session runs from July 8th to July 25th.

5.) Most courses cost around $200. (Students on the free and reduced lunch program are allowed to attend for $50.)

6.) The first session of summer school correlates with the 1st session of the school year. So, if you failed a 1st semester of a course, then you would want to attend the 1st session of summer school.

7.) The second session of summer school correlates with the 2nd session of the school year. So, if you failed a 2nd semester of a course, then you would want to attend the 2nd session of summer school.

8.) There are some traditional classroom options with Worthington Summer School and also Worthington Online Summer School Credit Recovery. (Even if choosing the online option you still have to come to summer school daily and complete your work on the computers at the school.)

9.) One advantage of the online option is that students can take a semester class that they failed in a “different” session time. (This is very important to remember if you failed two classes during the same semester!) So, for example, if you failed both US History and BESS during the 2nd semester, then I would recommend that you sign up to take US History via Worthington online credit recovery during the 1st session of summer school and take BESS during the 2nd session of summer school.

10.) Students who failed one or more sections of the OGT may elect to re-take up to two sections of the OGT this summer. You must complete 10 hours of tutoring prior to taking the test though so it is important to log your hours so that you can take the test.  The OGT testing will take place at WKHS during the week of June 17^th.  There will be a OGT test-prep boot camp experience to allow you to gain your required 10 hours of tutoring beginning next week at WKHS.  If you failed one or more sections of the OGT, please take advantage of this free opportunity.

People frequently ask if they have to take summer school through Worthington and the answer is no.  You can complete your summer school through any accredited school.  This means that you can use surrounding districts or online programs.  Many students have used TRECA summer school.  If you decide to use a different school for summer school please be sure that you are signing up for summer school (for example, instead of searching "TRECA" search "Summer School TRECA"), make sure that they are accredited, and make sure you bring in a copy of your transcript after you complete the course so that we can add it to your Worthington transcript.

Good Luck!

Yesterday the Kilbourne Girls Lacrosse team earned an impressive victory in the state semi-finals game, winning 17-14!  Congratulations girls!  It was exciting to watch.  They started down by 5 goals before rallying back to tie the game at 8-8 at halftime.  They never lost their composure and as a result of their victory they move on to the state championship game!

The girls lacrosse team competes for the state championship TODAY at 3:30pm at Thomas Worthington High School!  I hope everyone will come out and support them as they strive to bring home their first ever state championship!

Good luck to the entire Kilbourne girls lacrosse team and especially to Miriam, Grace, Maggie and Addy.  I am so excited for you and I hope you enjoy every moment of competing in the State Championship!  Good Luck and Go Wolves!

Good Luck!

Today the Varsity Girls Lacrosse team will compete in the State Final Four Tournament games!  Game time is 5:15 at Thomas Worthington High School and I hope to see many of you there supporting the lady wolves.  Good luck to the entire team, but especially to "my" students who will be competing - (L to R): Maggie Baumgardner, Addy Boyles, Miriam Bassani, and Grace Cameron!

School's Out

Congratulations! You have successfully completed another school year. I hope exams went well and that your grades for the 2nd semester will be strong. Teachers will be in the building tomorrow working on finalizing grades and I will still be working through part of next week. Have I mentioned lately how jealous I am that you get to sleep in and enjoy your summer vacation already? :-)

Words of Wisdom

Over the last few weeks seniors (now graduates) have spent time talking about their thoughts and feelings related to high school.  There was a great deal of similarity in what I have heard from all of you.  I heard often that it was hard to believe how fast the last 4 years had gone.  You are ready to move on to the next stages of your lives and there is excitement about finishing high school, but for many of you there was also a bitter-sweet feeling about leaving your friends and the familiarity of high school behind.

As you spend time over the next few weeks reflecting back on your high school career, please consider passing along some of your words of wisdom.  You have created a positive impression and many of the younger students look up to and admire you.  I'm sure you can remember some of the older students who made an impression on your life and this is your opportunity to pass along the gift of your wisdom to those who will continue in high school.  Let the younger students know what you are glad you did, what you wish you would have done differently, and other suggestions and tips for being successful and making the most of their high school years.  As you share your insights, you may never fully realize the difference that you have made, but you can be sure that your legacy will continue to make a positive impact in the years ahead.

Tomorrow are the last 2 exams for everyone - good luck and please finish strong!