Counselor Website

Have you checked out the Kilbourne Counselor website lately?  We have worked very hard to add content and keep it updated with information and resources to help our students and parents.

It isn't perfect and I can assure you that there is a reason none of us are web page designers, but it is definitely a labor of love.

I'm pretty sure there are only 2 pictures on the whole site at this time, but the content is there and although it might not look fantastic or exciting, we genuinely believe that it will be a valuable resource.  So please, take a moment to go visit the site.  The web address is www.wkhscounselors.com and bookmark the site so it is easy for you to refer back to in the future.

New Names and Faces

Can you believe we have already completed our first full week of school?  I felt like it went by in a blur, but it is fun to get another year underway.

There are a lot of new names and faces to adjust to this year!

Many of your classes have different names - Common Core English and Math has changed typical course patterns.  BESS and PESS have been replaced with Biology and Physical Science.  There were a few occasions when I slipped up and used an old course name when talking to a student new to the district and they looked at me like I was crazy.  :-)  Adjusting will be a work in progress.

We are also fortunate to have many new staff members this year.  Perhaps you have some of them in class, but if not, make sure you say hi in the halls and welcome the following teachers to the Kilbourne community.

Mr. Brown is the new dean.  He will be working primarily with the lower half of the alphabet as Mr. Schirg was hired at McCord Middle School to be an Assistant Principal.

The Special Ed Department has many new staff teachers including Ms. Scott, Ms. Koch, Mr. Sabin, and Mrs. Glesenkamp (who returns to WKHS).

Mr. Gallagher is a new Wellness for Life teacher.

The Science department added Ms. Kiehborth as a teacher and Mrs. Troutner as the Science Academic Assistant in the Teaching and Learning Center.

Mr. Zabiegala will be the choir director this year. (He better keep Come to the Water!)

Ms. Morris is the new teacher of English Language Learners for students for whom English is not their first language.

The business department now also includes Mr. Peters.  He will be helping out with credit recovery some too.

Mrs. Goodwin has joined the English department.

Mr. Jaffee will be a new Math teacher.

And last but not least, Ms. Scheetz has moved from the English department to be the new school librarian.

Every day when I pull into WKHS or even as I drive past the building I think about how fortunate I am to work in a place that I love and to have so many students and parents who make Kilbourne such a special place.  I know that each of these new staff members will feel the same and will be proud to be a Wolf!

College Admissions Tests

There are two main college admissions tests – the SAT and the ACT – that enable colleges to compare students from different schools and backgrounds. Most colleges will accept scores from either test, but it is important to double check with the college admissions office to be sure they will accept the test you plan to take. One test is not better than another - take the test that is best for both you and the school to which you are applying. And yes, you may take both tests.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) 
When people are talking about the “SAT” they are generally speaking about the SAT I test or the SAT Reasoning Test. No matter what you choose to call it, this is a 3 hour and 45 minute long test. There is a critical reading, math, and writing component to the test. Scores for each section range on a scale of 200 – 800.

SAT Subject Tests
The SAT Subject Tests are sometimes also referred to as the SAT II Achievement Tests. They are one-hour tests in specific subjects such as English, history, mathematics, or foreign languages. Some of the more competitive schools require two or three tests for first-year placement. Be sure to check to see if these tests are required (and if so, in what areas) before you sign up to take them!

The ACT Tests
The ACT tests assess specific academic abilities in English, math, reading, and science reasoning, and writing. Scores range from 1 (low) to 36 (high) for each of the four tests and for the composite. The composite is the average of the four test scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.

Submitting Your Test Scores
When you register to take your test they will ask you which schools you would like to have notified of your scores. You automatically have 4 “free” choices of colleges to be notified of your scores. It is to your benefit to take advantage of this because the colleges will consider your highest score (and disregard your lower scores) and it will cost money to send the scores to the schools after you receive your results. Nearly all schools want the ACT/ SAT directly from the testing provider rather than from WKHS.

When should I take the test?
Students usually take it in the spring of their junior year, early in their senior year or both.

When is the next test offered?
The next testing date for the SAT is October 5th. The registration deadline is September 6th.  There is another SAT scheduled for November 2nd.  The registration deadline is October 3rd.

The next testing date for the ACT is September 21st. The registration deadline is August 23rd (which is tomorrow!). There is another ACT scheduled for October 26th. The registration deadline is September 27th.

Do I need to take the writing test?
Yes. For the SAT it is a standard portion of the test. With the ACT you will need to pick if you will be taking the test with or without the writing portion. At least one of the test score reports to your college should include the writing test.

How do I register, figure out costs, and find more information?
Visit the SAT and ACT websites. (I also have a link to the websites on the right side of the page.)

What is the high school code that the testing sites request?
The CEEB/ ACT Code number for Worthington Kilbourne High School is 365507.

And, last but certainly not least, do I *HAVE* to take the test again when I did OK the first time I took it?
Unfortunately this isn’t an easy answer. No, you don’t *have* to do anything. If you are confident in your score then relax and be done with the testing. If you are confident in your score, but know that you could do better… well, then I’d say relax (there is no testing pressure because you are confident in your score) and take the test again. Some of you are sitting there wishing you had not read that last line… but the reality is that if you take the test and improve your score it can only help you. You can benefit in the eyes of the college if you ended up on the bubble for their admissions decision and you can benefit financially if you are applying for any scholarships that consider your test scores. If you are not confident in your scores or if you know that you can do better – then the answer is simply, yes, take it again and see if you can improve your score.

Ready? Set. Go!

I have had a chance to chat with a few seniors in the last couple of days and have realized that many of you are waiting to start working on your college applications until you get adjusted to being back to school. Please (PLEASE!) don't wait! The time to start working on your applications is now. That doesn't mean you have to have the entire application complete, but begin working on your essays, start filling out the "easier" paperwork section that requires name, address, and other basic information because it can become time-consuming, and (if you still haven't done so) put together your list of activities and experiences you have had during high school so that you can add that information to your applications easily.

And, if you still don't know which schools you will be applying to - it is definitely time to start determining your list. Get online and search for the characteristics of a school that you are looking for and, if possible, make arrangements to visit different campuses. (Of course, if you make visits to schools, don't forget to bring me a picture!)

I know that not everyone is procrastinating on working on college applications and some have even also received their acceptances!  :-)

To help all senior students and parents there will be a Senior College Information Night next Tuesday evening, August 27th, at 7:00pm.  Please plan to attend as we will be covering details you will need to know during the application process!

Last Day to Add a Class

Tomorrow (Wednesday, August 21st) is the last day for students to add a year-long or first-semester class to their schedule. This is an important deadline to pay attention to for all students. You have 6 weeks to drop a class without it appearing on your transcript, but you should only drop a class if you will still have above the minimum recommended number of courses. 

If you are intending to make a change, please make sure that you bring in the form, signed by your parents, indicating that they support your class change request no later than the end of the day tomorrow.

Back to School

Tomorrow is the 1st day of school! I am excited to see all of you and hope that you are looking forward to the start of a new year even though it means getting up early. If you are worried about the first day being awful (like the cute video clip I found), then please let me assure you that it will be a great day!

We will have a very strange bell schedule running throughout the day. 

The freshman students will start school at 7:45 and will begin the day with a lot of fun activities that the Link Crew (mentor students) will be facilitating to help them adjust to being Kilbourne Wolves.  The Link leaders have been working hard to prepare and I know they are looking forward to getting to know all of the freshmen tomorrow.  Later in the day you, like the rest of the students will briefly go to each class.

All sophomores, juniors and seniors will start school at 10:00. There will be a few group presentations and activities as well as lunch before you run through the day with very short classes – essentially there will be enough time to make sure you can find your classes, meet your teacher and classmates before moving on to the next class. 

Additionally, I know that many of you attempted to request schedule changes. The reality is that while some were possible, most were not. Remember, we cannot make teacher changes. If you requested a schedule change and I didn't call you to let you know that it wasn't possible, you can pick up your new schedule from the red trays in the middle of the counseling center. Each of the trays are identified with a counselor's name. You will see my name on the top tray and just look through the schedules in that tray to find your schedule if you still need to pick it up. This way you don't have to miss out on getting the new copy of your schedule just because I am in a meeting or trying to help another student.  Please don't forget that you still need your old schedule though because your original schedule is what will show you your locker and computer information.

Tomorrow will be a great day to kick off a wonderful year.  Be sure to get a good night's sleep! :-) 

Prepare for Success

This coming week we will start a new school year and it is important to put yourself in the best position possible to successful.

The first step is to set your goals for the year.  What are you hoping to accomplish?  What do you need to do to reach these goals?  It is often easier to dream big and quite honestly, most of you could achieve any goal that you set your mind to, but it will take dedication and commitment.

Many of you are also spending the weekend searching for new school supplies.  As you buy your folders, binders, and notebooks pause for a moment to think about what organization system tends to work best for you.  Are you a "stuffer" who just stuffs papers into whatever happens to be available?  If so, folders are probably best for you. (Try to get thicker folders that can hold up to a lot of papers.)  If you are the type of person who wants to be able to combine notes from class with notes that you take from the book, you might gravitate toward a binder with loose-leaf paper rather than a spiral notebook. Whatever system you select, make sure it is one that will work for you.

Preparing for success is probably most closely connected to having an organization system for tracking your assignments.  Perhaps you bought a planner at schedule pick up day.  (The typo is a bit embarrassing, but I am sad to admit that it took me a while to even notice it.)  It doesn't matter to me what type of an organization system you have selected, but it is essential that you pick something and commit yourself to using it.

This will be a great year!  I hope you are looking forward to getting started (even though it means that summer is over) and if you need help with setting reasonable goals or with organization, please don't hesitate to stop in and see me.

Change is Constant

There are always changes - even with the best of intentions or when trying to plan well in advance.  As a school, we try very hard to notify students and parents of as many dates and deadlines at the beginning of the year as possible so that as you are filling in your calendars for the year you will be able to schedule around important dates and deadlines.

Unfortunately, we don't always get it right.

In the newsletter that we sent home with the summer mailing it featured the date for the Open House - when your parents have the chance to come into the school and follow your schedule to meet your teachers.  It is a very valuable evening and an important one for them to have on their calendars.  Sadly, we gave the wrong date!  :-(  Please make sure you adjust your calendars to reflect the fact that the Open House (also known as "Meet the Teacher" night) has been moved to Wednesday, September 11th.

Another change has occurred with the online fee payment.  I had mentioned this great new opportunity for parents to be able to pay your fees online in a recent blog post.  It was supposed to go into effect on August 1st, but there was a glitch in the system and the online fee payment option is not working right now.  Dr. Bowers wrote about this problem on his blog so I am going to point you there for more details.  It sounds like for now, you will have another year of paying fees the "old" way with a check on schedule pick up day... so please, remember to bring the check with you as each year students forget and have to run back home and start in the line all over again.  ;-)

I'd love to think these are the only changes coming my way, but my least favorite part of every school year is the panic that comes with students wanting to make changes to their schedules... we will all take a deep breath, smile, and somehow will make it through.

The Common App

The Common Application is a centralized application that students can complete for over 480 different colleges and as of today it is now updated and released for the Class of 2014 to begin working on their applications. The colleges that participate in this application commit to treating applications received through the Common App with the same consideration as if students had applied through the institutions individual application. This will generally mean that you have to spend less time filling out all of the basic information about yourself and can mean that you have fewer essays to write (but maybe not).

On the common app there is 1 essay that must be completed for all colleges, but you do have a choice about what essay to pick from a list or prompts.  I wrote about those prompts last month - you can check out that post again here.

Then, the "tricky" part of it all is that many of the schools will also have supplements required which are other questions of their own that they want students to complete. Sometimes it is just simple questions that weren't covered on the common app, but would have been if you had applied through their individual application, but often times it includes short or long answer essays. Be aware and be prepared for that when completing your application. 

Not all schools use the common app - there are 18 Ohio schools which will utilize the common application this year, but as you are getting ready to start applications for the schools you are considering it is worth your time to look and see if more than one school from your list uses the common app.

I have spent the last few hours playing around on the Common App website and the new format will be pretty straight forward for you to use.  A few things I want to make sure you are aware of to help as you are completing your application...

- After you have selected your colleges and added them to your list you will see specific questions (the supplements specific to that school) and some of them are updated now, but others haven't been posted yet so you may have to check back.

- It will ask you questions about me and so you will want to be sure that you spell my name and e-mail address right or else I won't receive the e-mail to complete your school forms.  (Brianna Abbott, Title: School Counselor, E-mail: babbott@worthington.k12.oh.us, Phone: 614-450-6490)

-  There is a section about testing and it will ask if tests are required for graduation.  Your answer is "yes" as you are required to pass the Ohio Graduation Tests.  You will need to provide the information off of your transcript regarding your OGT scores.

-  I strongly encourage you to make a complete list of your activities and honors BEFORE attempting to fill out the Common App.  For example, you will need to give a total number of your honors before you start naming them.  If you haven't developed that resume list then you'll have a tough time filling it out.

-  As you are working on each area there is a panel on the right side of the page titled "Help Center" and I found it very helpful as I was going through the different areas.  Some of the typical questions kids have asked me in the past as they are completing the Common App are now answered in the help center.

-  You will have to indicate your class size - for the Class of 2014, it is 312.