Baccalaureate & Graduation Reminders

Baccalaureate service is the kickoff for graduation weekend and I absolutely LOVE it.  The ceremony is sponsored by the Activity Club and is held annually to celebrate the accomplishments of the WKHS seniors.  I love that this event honors the impact seniors have left on the school and community, and wishes them good luck as they move on in life toward the exciting activities and adventures ahead.

This year, Baccalaureate will be held in the Kilbourne Auditorium at 7:30pm tomorrow night, Friday, May 26th.

Many students are working with the Activity Club to plan this inspirational service.  I hope you enjoy the evening and all of the baby pictures!  

Sunday is the main event! The Commencement Ceremony will be at the Battelle Grand in the Greater Columbus Convention Center at noon.  (Doors open for families to enter at 11:30.)  

One of the most important details that seniors need to remember to pass along to parents after the rehearsal is which side of the stage you will be on at the commencement ceremony. Why does it matter since you will cross the whole stage?  It is because where you are seated determines which side you will march into the Battelle Grand and around until you reach your seat on that half of the center aisle. Trust me, your parents will be disappointed if they end up being on the "wrong" side and don't have a good view of your special day.

Don't forget that you need to dress up beneath your cap and gown and that you must be sure to bring your cap and gown with you to the ceremony.  You need to be there at 11:15am to check in.  Remember, our staging area is the Union Station Ball Room.

For what it is worth, don't forget to iron your gown - especially if you are just taking it out of the package today.

Perhaps the best recommendation that I can give to you and your families is to pick a place where you will meet up after the ceremony is complete.  I realize that most of you haven't been to the site of the ceremony, but after the ceremony you will want to meet with your family and friends for photos and to celebrate. I can assure you that in years past the most chaotic (worst) place to be as soon as the ceremony is over is anywhere near the bottom of the escalator because everyone who attended the graduation ceremony will be trying to leave and coming off the escalator to try to find and meet up with their families and friends. 

It is going to be a great weekend and I cannot wait to see all of you enjoying and celebrating your accomplishments of the last 4 years at WKHS.  Congratulations, I am proud of you!

You Made It!

Congratulations!  You have officially made it to the end of the 2023-24 School Year.  I still feel like we just started the semester and I blined and somehow here we are.  I hope that you are proud of how the year went and that you are pleased with how you finished the year academically.  Enjoy the end of the start of your summer and please stay safe!

Summer School Reminder

Just as a reminder, if you fail a class in high school, you have to repeat that course before you can move on to the next level.  So, for example, if you fail Math 1 then you have to take Math 1 again before you move on to Math 2.  This is particularly challenging for students who fail English or Math since those courses each require 4 credits to graduate.  If this applies to you, PLEASE be sure to sign up for Worthington Summer School ASAP!  It will be held at WKHS, it is free and transportation is available if you need it.  The way summer school registration is working this year for credit recovery, they are requiring students to use a personalized email link for signing up for Worthington Summer School.  I have sent links (at least three times) to all students who failed a first semester class.  For 2nd semester, as I begin getting confirmation that students have failed a class this semester I will send them out for this semester as well.  (Please be aware that these emails come from a "no reply" email address and are sent to both the parent and the student so either of you can use it to register.)

Additionally, back in February when we were looking at your intended courses for next year many of you reported that you would be taking classes during the summer to get-ahead in your classes/ credits.  That is completely acceptable - you just need to make sure you are taking your classes through an accredited school and then transferring that credit back to us by bringing in a copy of your transcript.  Many students have found TRECA to be a cost effective alternative, but again, it can be any accredited school.

If something has changed in your plans and you will not be taking a class that you had previously indicated you were going to complete via summer school, please stop to see me or send me an email at school to let me know that so that I can adjust your schedule for next year.  (This goes with advanced classes and for classes that you have failed.)  I want to try to get as many of these adjustments made as possible before the school year ends so that your courses will be right in August when you pick up your schedule.

Honors, AP and IB Summer Work

Students who have signed up for some of the Honors, AP, and IB classes for next year will have work to complete this summer.  These teachers have been working hard to prepare meaningful learning opportunities to help you get a jump start during the summer months.  Please pay attention to your school email because teachers are likely emailing you information about the summer assignments.  

Some of those assignments will also require you to check out a textbook for the summer so be sure to do that before you leave school Wednesday.  The teachers are working to make sure that they are conveying information about how you will complete and submit your work, when those assignments are due, information about how to access any Google/ Schoology classrooms if they are using those for the summer, what to do if you have questions or need support, etc.  We are also in the process of posting copies of the summer assignments that teachers have shared with us on the Counselor website so you can have easy access to them on the website as well in the days to come.

It is also important that all students are aware that there is a drop deadline of July 15th for all AP and IB courses.  Prior to July 15th, students can drop the classes without penalty.  After July 15th, the summer assignments are still required and the grades for the summer work will be transferred into the new class you will be joining in place of your AP/ IB course.  So, it is important not only that you know what you will need to do for next year, but it is also equally important that you start working on the assignments - at least enough to make sure you feel confident that you are going to enjoy the course - so that you will know by July 15th if you feel like you are going to need to request to change out of that class.

If you are not sure if your class will have summer work, you can always reach out directly to the teachers of that subject (or even your current teachers in that subject) to find out.

Exams & Test Anxiety

How are you feeling about final exams starting tomorrow?  It’s normal to feel a little bit nervous before and during a test. What is important is to learn how to deal with those anxieties so that they do not become overwhelming. Below are a few key strategies for managing test anxiety that might be helpful to you during exams. If this is something that you struggle with, please feel free to stop in and see me so that we can discuss additional ways to help manage your test anxieties now and in the future.

- Study. Being prepared is the single most effective way to help manage test anxiety. If you are confident that you know the material and have put forth your best effort to be prepared for the test, then you can relax and do the best you can.

o Learn from past quizzes and tests

o Ask the teacher for suggestions on how to best prepare for the upcoming test

o Don’t cram – that only adds to the stress and pressure of trying to “squeeze” everything in

o There are lots of study strategies available that can help students and I have a variety of ideas, so if you are interested, stop by and see me and we can talk about different techniques you can try to implement for various classes.  There are also tips featured on the WKHS Counselor website.

- Stay Positive. Being confident and entering the test with a positive attitude will help you to achieve success. There are lots of strategies people use to help maintain a positive outlook –visualization (imaging yourself doing well on the test) and positive self-talk (we all talk to ourselves so instead of thinking that you are going to fail the test replace that self-talk with positive comments such as “I am prepared” or “this test will allow me to show how much I have learned”). Sometimes it is important to stay away from other people who tend to express their negative outlooks and opinions going into a test… those people who will just stress you out more with their panic about the test.

- Take care of yourself. I *know* that you hate hearing things like this (and yes, I acknowledge that at times this can be a hypocritical statement for me to make), but it is important to take care of yourself. Get plenty of sleep so that you are well rested and mentally alert for the test. Eat a healthy meal (breakfast/ lunch) because you don’t want to be sitting in class focusing on food or listening to your stomach growl and you also don’t want to be coming down off a sugar or caffeine high and be dragging the rest of the testing period. Allowing yourself time to exercise is also important as it is a physical release of stress and can reinvigorate you for studying as you prepare for the test.

- Be a “smart” test taker. Don’t panic! Read the directions carefully. Take a deep breath to relax. Answer the questions to the best of your ability and if you don’t know an answer, skip the question to return to it later and continue on to other questions that you are more confident in answering. Budget your time, but don’t rush to be the first finished – this is not a race. Stay focused. (Focus on answering the question – don’t allow yourself to get off track and worry about your grade or how others are doing – just continue to refocus on answering the next question.) If you start to become overwhelmed with anxiety during the test, take a few slow deep breaths, relax your muscles and remember that you are in control of dealing with these feelings so just take it one step at a time.

- After you are finished, give yourself a short break from thinking about the test, but also don’t forget to consider what worked well and what could have gone better and then make changes accordingly for the future. If you were able to manage your anxiety effectively then you can continue practicing these skills for future tests. If some of the strategies were not effective, then you can try to adjust and adopt new strategies to help manage the anxiety.

Remember, it is also important to keep the test in perspective. It is actually quite rare that a single test will make or break you. (And yes, this even includes the End of Course Exams/ SAT/ ACT tests because you can always repeat these tests again in the future.) Good luck on your exams!

Don't forget - tomorrow you have 1st, 4th, and 7th period exams.

Seniors & Careers

Obviously one of the purposes of high school is to help prepare students for whatever comes next for them after high school is over.  For some students that will mean directly entering a career field.  For others it will involve going to college before pursuing a desired career.  And yet others may elect to enter the military either as their career or as a component related to their career.  But no matter the path, careers are part of your ultimate goal when you leave high school.

To support students in the exploration of future career goals Kilbourne has a range of opportunities and options that students can engage in to learn more about various jobs.  This week I was able to talk with some of my students who took full advantage of some of these opportunities.

Alex Beyke was one of the students who participated in the Worthingon Industries Workforce Experience program.  His internship lasted the entire semester with Worthington Enterprises and, on Monday, he was officially informed that they will be hiring him full time after graduation.  This is an awesome opportunity and a direct reflection of Alex's hard work and dependability this semester.

Senior project is another opportunity where seniors can spend their last month of high school completing an internship in a field of their choice with community partners serving as mentors.  I had 9 students take advantage including:

• Itzel Alarcon Escamilla: Nursing
• Yasmeen Amesh: Financial Planning
• Haley Aminaka: Police Department
• Lily Banner: Dosimetry
• Jack Bialecki: Real Estate Property Management
• JaLiyah Boatman: Nursing
• Tai Crump: HVAC
• Marissa Dolciato: Education
• Thalia Weis: Sales

One of the coolest aspects was to learn that several of these students received job offers as a result of their internship experiences.  When we talk about the positive difference that you make this outcome is certainly proof of how impressive you are and the impact you have on those around you.

Congratulations to all of my students who participated in all of the internship experiences as a component of your career exploration.  I am proud of you!

Seniors, don't forget - graduation practice is a REQUIRMENT and it is at 9am tomorrow, Friday, May 17th in the Auditorium.  You do not need to dress up or wear your cap and gown.  It will be an exciting moment to prepare for the upcoming festivities of graduation.

A Letter to my Seniors

Dear Seniors,

Today, as you walked out of the doors at Kilbourne, you marked the end of a huge journey that you have been on for the last 13 years.  Yes, of course, you will be back on Friday morning for graduation rehearsal (don't forget you have to be in the auditorium at 9am).  But studying, doing homework, taking notes during classes, seeing all of the same kids in the halls day after day - those moments have now come to a close.

To say that I am proud of you is such an understatment.  You started high school with virtual learning and blue/ green days.  You demonstrated your ability to be resilient as you adjusted and adapted in so many ways over the last 4 years.  You learned and grew, building friendships, supporting teammates, and accomplishing goals in the classroom, on the athletic fields, and through clubs and artistic endeavors.

Several seniors took the time to stop by my office for one last time before leaving and there were more smiles than tears (although there were definitely both).  And all I could think as each student left my office was, "thank you."  I am so grateful to each student who has been willing to share in their lives with me.  I truly know that I am a better person because of you all.

Enjoy the joy and celebration of being FINISHED with high school!

Congratulations!  Love, Miss Abbott