Meet The Teacher Night

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, August 23rd, is this year's PTO Meet the Teacher Night. This is a night when your parents can come through school, follow your schedule, and meet all of your teachers. Meet the Teacher part of the evening will be over by 9pm. Each class will be 10 minutes in length and yes, your parents will have the same 5 minute passing time that you have during the day. (Hopefully they won't get lost and be late or else they could end up with lots of tardies!) :-)

Here is the schedule for the evening:

Welcome & Introduction in WKHS Auditorium by Principal, Aric Thomas: 6:45pm
1st period - 7:00 - 7:10
2nd period - 7:15 - 7:25
3rd period - 7:30 - 7:40
4th period - 7:45 - 7:55
5th period - 8:00 - 8:10
6th period - 8:15 - 8:25
7th period - 8:30 - 8:40
8th period - 8:45 - 8:55

Please make sure you give your parents a screenshot copy of your schedule or at least write down the room numbers for all of your classes so they know where they are heading for the evening!  Of course, parents, if your son/ daughter forget to give you a copy of their schedule, you can also print it off off on Infinite Campus.  We will not have schedules available to hand out so this is a really important step for families to make the most of Meet the Teacher Night!

Please make sure your parents know about this evening because I know many of them will want to attend and they usually like putting a face with a name so that if you are talking about a test in Mr. ____'s class or an assignment for Mrs. ____'s class they will be able to keep it straight.

Picture Make-Up Day

WKHS is committed to making sure that we have an updated photo for every student this school year.  This is also really important to you as a student because your digital id (with your photo) will be required to gain entry into Worthington sporting events for free.

All students who did not have their picture taken during schedule pick up days will have the opportunity to have your picture taken tomorrow, Tuesday, August 22nd, during the lunch periods.  Please listen to the announcements and follow the signs during your lunch period so that you can have your photo taken.

Last Day to Change Schedules

Do you feel ready for a 5 day week of school?  I am excited to start feeling like life settles down into more of a routine with all of you being established in your classes for the year.  Along those lines, I want to make sure that you all understand that tomorrow (Monday) is the last day to add a class for the first semester.  So, after tomorrow, you won't be able to drop and add something else into your day until we reach semester break at the end of December.  As a result, it is really important that you make sure you see me or email me tomorrow if you are wanting to drop/ add something in your schedule.  

Digital ID's

One of the big changes for the 2023-24 school year is that Worthington Kilbourne students will no longer have the traditional plastic ID cards.  Starting this year you will receive a digital ID that you can save to your phone or other device.

You will need your Digital ID to check into school if you arrive late or to gain free entry to home sporting events throughout the year.

If you didn't get your picture taken during schedule pick up days, please be sure to have your photo taken next Tuesday, August 22nd, during your lunch period.

It's a School Night!

Can you believe summer is over?  Tonight is a school night which means you are going to have to try to go to bed at a decent time so that you can function during the day tomorrow.  I hope you enjoyed your last day of summer vacation and are getting excited about coming back to school. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again!

The freshmen students had their first day in the building today and they seemed to enjoy finding their way around. I'm sure that it was a bit scary for them, but tomorrow will probably be even more intimidating. Little do they know that all of you are, in fact, quite nice and helpful. (At least you have always been nice and helpful to me so I am confident it will be the same to the poor freshmen who are lost around the building.)  Throughout the day today I was BEYOND impressed with the Link Leaders who made the day fun, meaningful and welcoming to the 9th graders.  Thank you Link Leaders for your service and commitment.  You set an incredible example for the Class of 2027 of what it means to be a part of our Pack. 

As we return to school tomorrow, I wanted to remind those of you who are taking College Credit Plus (CC+) classes through Columbus State (this includes English and Psychology) that while your classes are listed on your WKHS schedule, they don't actually start until August 28th.  English meets on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Psychology meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  So, for those classes you have a little longer until they start.  

The CC+ classes through COTC  (which are your CC+ math classes) all begin tomorrow like regular classes as they are taught by your WKHS teachers.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the morning.  Sleep well!

Common App Workshop Reminder

We had a great first Common App Workshop last Thursday and I wanted to remind all seniors that tomorrow, Monday, August 14th at 1:00pm in Room 207 is the last Common App Workshop opportunity!  Please be sure to bring your laptop or chromebook so that you can work on your application as we walk through Common App together.  It is also helpful if you have created your account before the workshop.

Because I have been focused on all things Common App lately, I thought you might be interested in the summary about essays that were submitted on Common App last year.  

• 27% used topic of your choice
• 22% wrote about adversity
• 21% focused on growth
• 19% shared about a background, identity or talent
• 6% highlighted intellectual curiosity
• 3% talked about gratitude
• 3% addressed when they had challenged an idea

This is particularly interesting data since the Common App essay prompts have continued to be the same for this year.  If you are wanting more information about the Common App essays, you can visit their website as they have information in both English and Spanish about approaching the essays.

Common App

The Common Application (better known as Common App) went live today for the Class of 2024!  Why does that matter?  Because for seniors, it means it is time to start applying to college!  

Common App is a website that over 1,000 colleges use to allow students to fill out one application that will then be sent to multiple colleges.  If you are applying to 4-year schools it is worth your time to explore Common App and see if the colleges you are considering use it.  There are 29 new colleges who have joined Common App this year including Ohio Dominican and Youngstown State from Ohio.

Because the vast majority of our students will apply using Common App we have learned a lot of the common questions students have when filling out their application and frequent errors you will want to be sure to avoid.  To help share that information with our students, the counselors will be hosting 2 Common App workshops so that you can pick the date/ time that best meets your schedule.

The workshops will be held on Thursday, August 10th at 11:00am and on Monday, August 14th at 1:00pm. Both sessions will take place in Room 207 and students will need to bring your Chromebook or laptop with you because you will be working on your actual application during our time together.

I am hopeful that ALL of my seniors who plan on applying to college will be at one of the workshops.  It will truly help you get a huge jumpstart on your applications!  (Last year, one of the students who came to the workshop said she was forced to come by her mom and she felt she didn't need it because she had already started working on her Common App and then found several things she didn't know or hadn't answered accurately... so I promise it will be worth your time!)