Socratic Society

At the start of this month, 44 students were inducted into the Socratic Society. Staff members are given the opportunity to recognize students for excellence in one or more of the core Socratic values of Scholarship, Integrity, Personal Effort, Compassion, or Lifelong Learning. Students are only eligible to be selected for this honor one time during their high school career.

I had 16 students in my part of the alphabet who were honored.  A special congratulations to "my" students who were among those recognized this month! (Alphabetically): Madeline Allen, Ella Bally, Jacob Barcikowski, Will Bartram, Andrew Bickell, Reagan Bray, Luke Brown, Brooke Carter, George Coldiron, Samantha Darby, Joe Dargenio, Abby Deitrick, Brigid Dix, Jack Dougherty, Kelly Eden and Elise Elliott. I am proud of each of you!

Graduation Points

All students have the goal of earning a certain number of graduation points in addition to passing designated classes to graduate.  Students will earn these points based on the End of Course exams that you have to take each year.

There are 7 tests that contribute to the total graduation points.  Every sophomore through senior will take tests in:
- English 1
- English 2
- Math 1
- Math 2
- Biology
- US History
- Government

Students must earn a total of 18 points in all of these tests.  This is complicated a bit in that 4 of the points must come from English, 4 points from Math, and 6 points from the Science and Social Studies areas.  This allows the other 4 points to come from any of the tests together.

Most juniors have taken 6 of the 7 tests - leaving just the Government test.  You can look up on Infinite Campus where you currently stand toward reaching your goal points.  Let me assure you, I am watching these points closely!  Most students don't need to worry about the points - and for those who have retaken a test, they have typically improved their scores.  So, I don't want you to stress or be anxious about these tests, but I do want you to do your best on every end of course test.  

If you have not done well on the tests in the past and are short of the points you will need to achieve your goal points, then I do recommend that you take the test(s) again and see if you could improve your score.  (For example, some students have earned a 2 on a Math 1 test and a 1 on the Math 2 test resulting in a total of just 3 points for Math - this would be the perfect situation for the student to repeat the Math 2 test to try to earn 2 points as that would result in the student earning 4 points for Math as needed for graduation.)  I have already been meeting with students and talking to parents if you or your son/ daughter needs to be retaking a test in December.  We will also be having test preparation/ review opportunities for these students to be working with the Academic Assistants in Room 209 to get some additional focused review prior to the tests.

Additionally, please know that even if you are not able to reach the point goals on the End of Course assessments, there are still other options to successfully fulfill the testing requirement for graduation.  For example, students can achieve college readiness scores on the ACT or SAT exams.  Earning a certificate for specific in-demand careers and a designated score on the Work Keys test is also an option for completing this requirement.  

I don't tell you all of this to overwhelm you or to stress you out, but I just want to be sure that you are aware that there are options for graduation and we will work together to make sure that you WILL graduate!

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to stop in and let me know.

Holiday Help

Holidays can bring a great deal of joy and holiday spirit and this is most evident each year as I watch our school come together each year to help families in need with the “Adopt a Child” campaign (which kicks off soon).  It is heart-warming to see our student body unite to help brighten the holiday for families experiencing financial and emotional stress is one of the greatest gifts you can give and helping others is often the best way to help make you feel better too.

However, for some students it is hard to focus on trying to brighten the holiday for other families when you are worrying about what you will have for Thanksgiving dinner or how you will eat during winter break.  I hope I can suggest some resources that you (or maybe a friend of yours) could use.  


Below is a short list of places where you may be able to get help.

- One of the local churches, Worthington Presbyterian Church, is providing WKHS with all of the food for Thanksgiving meals so that we can distribute them to some of our families in need.  If you need help with a Thanksgiving meal, please contact me ASAP so that I can try to see if I can arrange for a meal for you.

-  Community Cares Backpack Program:     A group of dedicated, compassionate and incredibly thoughtful Worthington mom's do a variety of things to help our school community through the Activity Club.  One of those programs is to provide backpacks of food that students can take home with them over the weekend to add a little extra to their family's food supplies.  Every other week, we receive several backpacks that we can distribute.  If this resource is something that would be helpful for you, please let me know so that I can add you onto the list for future backpacks.  Please note that while this is provided by WKHS mom's, it is still confidential - they provide the backpacks to us and we distribute the bags to our students in need.

- WKHS Community Cares Closet:     The Activity Club also stocks a closet of toiletries and other items that any WKHS family in need can access.  There are a wide range of items available for you to take home with you including shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, soap, feminine hygeine products, lotion, deodorant, shaving cream, and more.  The closet is located in the Counseling Center and I am happy to show you where it is so that you can take whatever supplies you need.  Please note that if there are specific items you were searching for that might be out of stock when you stop by the community mom's are constantly refilling the closet and if you let me know what item you were hoping to access, I can make sure that they know it is currently out of stock and let you know once it has been added again.

- Worthington Resource Pantry: www.worthingtonresourcepantry.org   614-985-1766     Located at 6700 Huntley Rd., Columbus, OH 43229, the Worthington Resource Pantry provides families in our community with food and other resources of support.  Their hours are Mondays 10 - 2, Wednesdays 3 - 7, and the 3rd & 4th Saturdays of the month from 10 - 12.  

-  Dublin Food Pantry: www.dublinfoodpantry.org     If you live in the 43016 zip code you could also utilize the Dublin Food Pantry.

-  Faith Mission:      If you are in need of a free meal, please join Faith Mission at the Community Kitchen (245 N. Grant Ave.) during the following times. Breakfast: Men – 6:30 – 7:15 (8:30 – 9:30 on weekends and holidays) Women and families – 7:30 – 8:15   Lunch: Women and families – 11:30 – 12:15 Men – 12:30 – 1:30   Dinner: Women and families – 5:30 – 6:15 Men – 6:30 – 7:30  See more at: http://www.lssnetworkofhope.org/faithmission/services/  They also have a food pantry.

-  Kroger Community Pantry:
     The Kroger Community Pantry is run in partnership with Mid-Ohio Food Bank.  The Kroger Community Pantry is located at 3960 Brookham Dr., Grove City.  Current hours are on Tuesdays from 10 – 3pm, Wednesdays from 5:30 – 7:30pm, Thursdays from 11 - 2pm, Fridays from 8 – 2pm, and Saturdays from 8 – 1pm.  Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to posted closing time.  Also, because the pantry relies on volunteers to remain open, the pantry may close earlier than posted times. Please call 614-317-9487 before you arrive to hear any changes to the schedule.  https://www.midohiofoodbank.org/get-help/

-  Hands On Central Ohio: http://handsoncentralohio.org    By phone: 211
     Hands on Central Ohio is an organization dedicated to connecting those in need with resources.  Information about Thanksgiving meals for those who need them can be found at: https://211centralohio.org/MatchList.aspx?k;;0;;N;0;573603;Thanksgiving%20Meals;Thanksgiving;Partial;570443 
      And they also have information about Christmas food and gifts that can be found by clicking on Holiday/ Winter Programs at: https://211centralohio.org/Subcategory.aspx?;;0;;N;0;765534;Seasonal%20Services

-  Regular Monthly Meals:
     You may already know this because we have this resource is available year-round and is featured on the WKHS Counselor website, but several local churches provide meals to anyone in the community needing assistance.  This page highlights where and when these meals are available to families in need. 

I am fully aware that all needs are not just related to food/ toiletries.  Here are a few resources if you have additional needs.

-  Charity Newsies   http://www.charitynewsies.com/getting-help/
     Charity Newsies is an organization that provides clothing to students in need.  A parent/ legal guardian needs to arrange for the clothing to be provided, but they can provide a complete set of clothing needs for each student that qualifies and needs it.

-  Salvation Army:  Food and Toys
     Perhaps you have seen the red kettles that appear each year - these donations are used to help provide food and gifts for families in need.  Information about their Christmas assistance program is available here: http://co.salvationarmy.org/CentralOhio/christmas-assistance
     Registration for assistance will continue this week (tomorrow) and the week before Thanksgiving (Week of November 18th) and the week after Thanksgiving (week of December 2nd).  Specific details about times and locations as well as required documentation are available on the Salvation Army's website.  Once families have registered for food and toy assistance, you will then be able to pick up your toys and holiday meal the week before Christmas.  If you have questions, you can contact them at 614-358-2622.

-  2 Hands:  Specific Needs
     This online resource helps connect Ohio families in need with those who are willing and able to help.  Families indicate their specific needs on the website and then others volunteer to help meet those needs.  Information about this resource is available at: http://www.2hands.org/online-christmas-help/in-ohio.php

-  Single Parents Alliance of America
     I heard that this organization also had resources to help support individuals who qualify, but I will be honest, I am not sure what those resources include.  It is worth looking into though if you are a single parent to see if it might be of help.  http://www.spaoa.org/splash/?gclid=CPTnge_tg8kCFQktaQodF9sNpA


As always, please stop by and talk if you are having problems this holiday season. If you need food, clothing or just want to talk about some struggles you are having, my door is open for you. I hope you are able to relax and enjoy this holiday season.

Test Related Reminder

I wanted to remind you that this Friday, November 8th, is the deadline to register for the December SAT and the December ACT.

In addition, the December ACT is one of the three ACT testing dates when students have the option of ordering their test questions and answers.  This is known as Test Information Release.  If you elect to order your Test Information Release report then 3-5 weeks after the testing you will receive a copy of the mulitiple choice questions, your answers, and the correct answer key.  If you take the writing section then you will also receive the essay question and rubric along with the scores you received from your two readers.

Test Information Release is only available in the December, April and June test dates.  So, if you are testing on one of those dates I encourage you to consider taking advantage of this as a strategy you can use to better prepare for an upcoming test.

There is an additional cost of $22 to request this option of receiving your questions and answers.

If you want to learn more about ACT's Test Information Release, please visit their website here.

Also, one final reminder, tomorrow is the last day that you can register to take the Pre-ACT (practice ACT - cost is $14) and you can sign up with one of the secretaries in the front of the counseling center.

Plan Ahead

There are a lot of things that I love about my job including how there is always something to do.  As we progress into this new month I was happy to know that many of our students have successfully completed all of their college applications by the early application deadlines, but I also know that many of you are going to continue with your application efforts for November 15th, December 1st, or even January 1st deadlines.  In addition to helping students with college applications there are lots of other needs that all of you have - academic concerns, personal/ social stressors, and anything else which might be impacting your days.  I love that.  But I wanted to give you a heads up that as I looked at my calendar for this month I realized that I am going to be out and unavailable for several days this month.  

I am excited about some of these chances, but I hate that it means I won't be around in the way that I would prefer.  For example, I was selected to present at the All Ohio Counselor's Conference - a statewide conference for all counselors - this will have me out of the building on Thursday and Friday this week.  

The following week I will be unavailable for most if not all of the day on Thursday (14th) because we will be administering the Pre-ACT.  

I will be in meetings for half the day on Monday the 18th and out all day for a training on Tuesday the 19th and then I will be going on the field trip to the Delaware Area Career Center on Friday, the 22nd.  

There will be a note on my door each day and if you have an emergency you can always see another counselor, but my hope is that for things like college applications and academic progress, you can try to aim to see me on the days I am in the building.  If you stop by and I am not available, don't forget - if you leave a pass for me I will find you.  And if you just have a question that you want to e-mail to me, feel free to do that anytime.  Thanks for understanding and being flexible.

Sleep

I don't know about you, but I suspect that most of you were happy to have an extra hour of sleep last night with the time change.  The reality is that we all need to be getting more sleep, but teens especially are in need of far more sleep than you typically get in a night.

I acknowledge that this is easier said than done.  Today you all are pulled in so many different directions – homework, time with your family, sports, jobs, clubs, community service, time with your friends and perhaps even a little personal time to spend on relaxing – and so, unfortunately, sleep typically gets pushed to the back burner and becomes what you do with the little time you have remaining.  This is far from a good thing as sleep is essential to your mental, physical and emotional well-being!

I wish that it was easy to just decide that you wanted to get more sleep and be able to make it happen, but I know that isn’t always the case.  It will take a concentrated effort and a decision that you deem to be significant and worthwhile enough to adjust your sleep schedule.

Not sure if you believe me when I say that sleep is essential?   Here are some articles addressing the importance of sleep.

 

Why are teenagers so sleep deprived?

Teens and Sleep: the cost of sleep deprivation

How to help teenagers get more sleep

Most of all, I just hope you will take advantage of the fact that we have this extra hour of sleep by trying to go to bed at a good time (even just by going to sleep at your normal time when your body might be thinking that you could stay up later) when you wake up in the morning it just might not feel quite so early.  We can always hope at least...

Good Luck

I am so proud of and excited for our fall athletes who are continuing forward in post-season competition tomorrow. 

As you may have heard, Kilbourne's Girls Cross-Country team qualified for the State Championships for the first time ever!  4 of the girls running are "my" students including: Sasha Bomser, Madeline Allen, Toby Bomser, and Evelyn Ambler. 

The boys Cross-Country team didn't make it as a team, but one of "my" students, John Cuozzo, was a state qualifier and he will also be running tomorrow.

And, as if that wasn't enough, the Kilbourne Boys Soccer team has advanced to the Regional Finals tomorrow meaning that they are among the Elite 8 teams remaining.  They will play at 12:30 tomorrow at Olentangy High School against Olentangy Liberty.  Good luck to the entire team!  (I have a lot of individual athletes on the team, but I forgot to bring the roster home with me tonight and I don't want to leave anyone out by accident from going by memory.)

Also, it is November 1st so I also need to say congratulations to all of my students who hit SUBMIT on their college applications today!  I am excited that you have accomplished that step!