Honors Diploma

For some students, earning an Honors Diploma is an important goal. I have to be honest, this is not a factor for the colleges because the honors diploma recognition isn't granted until you graduate so colleges are not considering it when making their admissions decisions. The requirements for the honors diploma listed below are established by the state department of education.

To receive an honors diploma you need to fulfill 7 of the following 8 criteria:

- English: 4 units
- Math: 4 units (CCSS Math 3 and another higher level course)
- Science: 4 units (including two advanced level sciences)
- Social Studies: 4 units
- Foreign Language: 3 units (including at least 2 units in each language studied)
- Fine Arts: 1 unit (during high school)
- Grade Point Average: 3.5 on a 4.0 scale
- ACT/ SAT Score (excluding scores from the writing sections): 27 ACT/ 1280 SAT

One of the areas that I have noticed as a trend of some students falling short of meeting the honors diploma requirements is in Social Studies since only 3 credits are required for graduation so students won't take the full 4th credit needed. The other area where students frequently don't meet the designated standard is with the 1 credit of Fine Art.  This is because many students rely on the fine art courses they took during middle school for their graduation requirements, but those courses do not equal high school credits.  (They count for graduation, but aren't actual credits earned.)  So students who want to have that requirement met for the honors diploma would need to complete the 1 credit of fine art during the high school years. 

Don't forget, it would still be possible to earn an honors diploma if you were missing one of these, but you will need to make sure you fulfill all of the remaining criterion.

Also, I wanted to point out that these are the requirements for the most common honors diploma, but there are also honors diploma available for students participating in the IB diploma program or in a Career Tech program at the Delaware Area Career Center and the state of Ohio also has additional pathways to honors diploma including a new STEM Honors Diploma, an Arts Honors Diploma, and a Social Science & Civic Engagement Honors Diploma.  You can check them all out here.

Also, don't forget - tomorrow is the deadline to submit your course requests online!

IB and Blended Classes

I believe that one of the best aspects of academics at WKHS is the range of choices and opportunities available to our students.  There is truly an option available to try to meet the unique needs of every student.  Sometimes it is the approach to the learning which varies and that is the case with the IB program and with the blended learning courses.  I wanted to spend a few minutes reminding you about highlights related to these options so that you are aware as you are scheduling your classes.

One of the top factors colleges consider when evaluating applicants is the strength of the academic schedule students take on during high school.  (And, of course, that they do well in those classes.)  One of the options that students can consider for selecting a rigorous academic schedule that also has the benefit of providing students with a global perspective and integrated learning to make connections across courses, is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

Students who are interested in completing the full IB diploma program will have specific IB courses to take along with completing the IB exams, an extended essay, and a community action service project along with a Theory of Knowledge course.  Even if students are not sure that they want to take on the full diploma program, you can still participate in IB courses!  You can take just a handful of classes (or even just 1) if that is what appeals to you.  For example, students interested in Psychology or History might elect to take just the IB Psychology course or just the IB History course.  And there is an IB partial program that you can explore if you fall somewhere in the middle.

As an IB World School, our students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow.  Students that are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program.  If you have questions about IB I definitely encourage you to talk with students in the IB program or to Mrs. Goodwin who is the IB program coordinator.  And, of course, you can always talk to me too.

The number of Blended Courses being offered next year is growing again.  In the blended format, students will meet with the teacher for more traditional instruction, full class discussions, and other learning activities a few days a week and then the other days out of the week students will have the flexibility to take more personal responsibility for their learning by completing online assignments, engaging in digital conversations, and meeting individually or in small groups to push their learning forward.  Please note, this does NOT mean that you won't have class or academic responsibilities and expectations each day - that will be specified and explained to you at the start of the class.  As you are probably aware, Digital Art is a course that is only offered in the blended format.  This year students had the choice of selecting between regular or blended courses for AP English Languageand Contemporary Voices.   Other classes are that feature blended options include: Advanced Journalism, Science Fiction, Webpage Design, Multimedia and Advanced Multimedia.  Cultural Studies may have the option of a blended format depending on which teacher ends up with the class next year.  Blended Learning courses provide an exciting opportunity for many students, but it will not be right for all kids.  Please note that if you are choosing a class that is offered in a traditional format and a blended format the numbers are the same, but the blended course sections have a different ending to the course code so if you do want to enroll in one of the blended courses next year, be sure to select the proper code/ course.

DACC and Worthington Academy

Don't forget, in addition to all of the wonderful opportunities available to you at WKHS, as students, you also have choices for programs housed off-campus.

I have talked about the opportunities available at the Delaware Area Career Center in past posts, but wanted to remind students that if you are interested in learning more about DACC (such as the senior only, one-year, Pharmacy Tech program) to please visit their website -www.delawareareacc.org - and also take a field trip up to visit the programs in person.  They have additional second look visit days coming up in February and March.

It is important to remember though that the Delaware Area Career Center requires students to apply and even though the priority deadline has passed, they assure us that they still welcome your application.  So, if you are interested in applying to DACC, please get your application completed and submitted online ASAP.

For current juniors who are already enrolled as students at DACC, as long as you are in good standing with your program then you are automatically eligible to continue in your program next year.  So, when you register online you will select the 1/2 day or Full day option that you prefer and register only for the classes at WKHS that you plan on taking.
If you are a sophomore or junior who has applied to the career center then when you are completing the online course registration, you will fill out the request as if you are taking a full day at WKHS.  Later, when you find out that you have been accepted to the program of your choice, then I will go back in and adjust your classes to reflect your half day or full day DACC preference.

Worthington Academy is another application based program available to WKHS students.  The Academy is housed on the west end of Phoenix Middle School and it provides students with the opportunity to blend their learning with a mix of teacher instructed and online courses.

There are open houses for students and parents interested in learning more about the Academy on Thursday, February 7th at 7pm and on Saturday, February 9th at 10am.

Much like the DACC, students who are already attending the Academy and are in good academic standing can register for the Academy as a part of their registration process and then select only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS.  Those students who are applying for the Academy for the first time will register as if you were going to be attending classes at WKHS for the full day.  Once you are accepted to the Academy, I will go in and update your course requests so that you have the Academy and only the classes you plan on taking at WKHS in your schedule.

The deadline to apply to the Worthington Academy is April 5th and students will be notified of their admission standing in early May.  Please know that there are limited seats available at the Academy, so if you are interested in applying you want to get your application in as soon as possible.

If you have questions about the Worthington Academy, I definitely encourage you to attend one of the open houses!  You can also contact the Academy Principal, Mr. Schirg, via e-mail at aschirg@wscloud.org.

Registration Anxiety

Based upon the overwhelming number of e-mails and voicemail messages from parents, not to mention all of you who are stopping down trying to see me, I know there is a lot of concern about registering for classes. The very first step I would like each of you to take is to PAUSE, take a deep breath and relax!  I know that it can seem stressful, but I promise we will get through this together!  This is a very hectic time of year for me dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that I am aware of the anxiety and I will be able to help you make it through the registration process.

Let me try to put your mind at ease on a few issues. Yes, you do need to register online by Friday (the 1st). I will also be double checking all of your classes and meeting with every student individually. We will be able to make any changes that are determined to be necessary at the time of our meeting or throughout the month.

Some people are hoping to set up appointments in addition to the individual meetings. I promise that I am more than happy to meet with you and we will work to find a time that is convenient, but it doesn't need to be before you register online because I can still go into the system and make changes to class requests throughout this month. So please go ahead and register with your best guess on classes that you would like to take and then when we are able to meet if changes are needed I can make them at that time.

I hope that eases your mind a little bit to know that it is not completely locked in stone after you submit your requests online! I am here to help you, but I do beg for you to try to be patient with me as having more than 350 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time.

Also, speaking of anxiety, don't forget that this Thursday evening is the showing of the movie Angst.  This will be held in the TWHS Audiorium at 6:30pm and I hope you will join us for this important opportunity to address this major mental health issue.

Important Reminders

I hope you had a great weekend.  We have a busy week ahead and I wanted to give you all a few reminders about steps you need to take.

1. Register online.  The registration system is currently open and waiting for you to submit your course requests.  Don't forget, you must register by Friday.  And, if you are a junior with a 1:1 appointment with me tomorrow or Tuesday, don't forget that you must have submitted your requests before our meeting.

2.  Teacher recommendations.  Please continue to seek input from your teachers about what classes they would suggest for you to take next year.  Have them sign your recommendation form and be sure to save that to bring it to me during our individual meeting.

3.  Cap and Gown orders.  Seniors need to order their cap and gowns for the commencement ceremony by Thursday, January 31st.  You will place your orders on their website.

4.  Curriculum night.  This evening provides a great chance for parents as well as students to come to hear more in depth information directly from the teachers who teach particular courses.  This evening event will take place tomorrow night, Monday, January 28th, starting at 7:30pm.

Balance

Hopefully you are ready to request your classes online (and thanks to all those who have already done so) .  Don't forget, you need to submit your online registration by next Friday (February 1st) and, if you are a junior scheduled to meet with me Monday or Tuesday, please be sure to complete your registration before our meeting. 

When you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be reasonable about your expectations for yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle so while it may feel good to have every teacher recommend you for honors, AP, or IB classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with 7 advanced classes. This week I even had students stop by proclaiming a plan to take 8 classes by skipping their lunch period.  I get it, there are a lot of incredible classes available at WKHS, but overloading your day and burning yourself out does nothing for your love of learning or your ability to successfully complete your classes.  I cannot stress enough how much I want you to think about the rest of your commitments.  

What sports, clubs, music groups, part-time jobs, and volunteer commitments do you have?  When will you have time to relax and breathe, spend time with your family and friends and, perhaps most importantly, still get a good night's sleep each night?

I completely understand that this can be hard to figure out the balance because you aren't at next year yet to be able to imagine what your days will feel like, but the Kilbourne staff created a Time Commitment Planning Calendar which can help you gain insight into what your intended plan will really look like.  You can find copies on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com - or there are hard copies available in the counseling center.  A student helped by completing a sample calendar so that you can see what a completed one looks like and that is also on the Kilbourne Counselor website.  I strongly encourage you to consider 2 of your busiest weeks and fill out the calendar so that you can have a realistic perspective for what the classes you are considering would provide a good balance for you - being both rigorous (particularly in any area of passion) and reasonable.

If you are struggling to find that balance, please talk to your parents about the classes you are considering and stop down to see me so that we can discuss it too.

How Many Classes & PE Waiver

"How many classes should I take?" It is a common question that students are asking and, in all honesty, the answer depends.

A general rule of thumb for students planning to attend college is that all freshman, sophomore, and junior students should plan to take at least 6 classes each semester. All seniors that are on track for meeting their graduation requirements can decrease the total number of courses each semester due to the demands of other requirements such as college and scholarship applications, but should still plan to take at least 5 classes each semester.

It is important though to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required in order to be considered a Full Time student and is what is required for all WKHS students.  Don't forget - being full time is critical for a wide range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, etc.

If students are behind on earning their credits, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes during a semester or the year.  In order to progress forward with your class, all freshman students must earn at least 5.0 credits to be classified as a sophomore. All sophomore students must earn at least 10.0 credits to be classified as a junior. And, to be classified as a senior, students must earn at least 15.0 credits. (Remember, most students will graduate with more than the 20 credits required!)

Also, please be sure that you double check and make sure you are taking enough classes to be eligible to participate in athletics and other co-curricular activities. (Remember, any school sponsored activity that involves competition requires you to be eligible. So this includes band, choir groups, Mock Trial, In the Know, Dance Team, etc.)

In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter. If you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life course, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.

If you have questions about eligibility, please stop in the co-curricular office or to see me for additional clarification.

Somewhat related to eligibility - the PE waiver provides the opportunity for students to waive having PE as a required class for graduation.  This option is available to students participating in high school athletics including cheerleading and marching band.  (For ease of explaining and writing this, when I refer to sports or athletics throughout this post, please know that it also includes marching band.)  All students must still earn the full 20 credits to graduate from high school, this waiver would simply mean that what has typically been required (1/2 credit of Physical Education) would not need to be included in the 20 credits earned.

The option to utilize a PE waiver is open to any current student (as well as all future, incoming Kilbourne students).  Please be aware that athletic participation during your senior year does not count toward the waiver.

In order to utilize the waiver, students must successfully complete two full seasons of athletics.  This can be 2 different sports in one year, it could be 1 sport over two years, or even 1 sport one year and another sport the other year.  So, for example, if I participate in both football and basketball in the same year, I could apply for the waiver.  If I participate in football as a sophomore and again as a junior, I could apply for the waiver.  If I participate in football as a sophomore and track as a junior, I could apply for the waiver.

In order to have your sport counted as one which can be used for the waiver, it must be an approved high school sport.  This means that your club sport participation, like club soccer or club volleyball, is not included in the waiver eligibility.  Also, dance team and the competition cheer team are all club teams and not high school sponsored athletics and so they are not eligible for the waiver option.  Additionally, team managers and statisticians cannot count their involvement as a season toward the waiver.

Students must complete a "full season" in order to have the sport count which is considered from the first practice through the last event or banquet.  If a student is "cut" from a team, quits, or has an athletic/ activity code violation which requires them to forfeit 50% or more of the season, then that season would not be able to be used to meet the two-season requirement.  If you were to get hurt, the injury will not eliminate the option of having the season count if the principal, coach and athletic director concede that the student actively participated and made contributions in spite of the injury.

Many students asked if it could be a partial waiver because they had already completed one of the PE required courses and would only have 1 season of sport eligibility and the answer is no, there is no ability to mix and match.  If you have already completed a PE course, you can still utilize the waiver to eliminate PE as a required course, but you must complete 2 seasons of sports in order to apply for the waiver.  The bottom line is that 0 seasons of sports = needs PE/ doesn't meet the waiver eligibility requirement, 1 season of sport = needs PE/ doesn't meet the waiver eligibility requirement, and 2 seasons of sports = meets the waiver eligibility requirement and therefore doesn't need PE classes.

The district has developed a system to track your athletic participation automatically and that happens at the end of each school year.  Even though it should catch your sports automatically, it never hurts to double check at the end of the year to make sure your waiver appears on your transcript.

 

Graduation Requirements

When picking out your classes it is helpful to start with the end goal in mind - Graduation! It is important to be aware of the graduation requirements as you plan your course selection.  And if you can't remember what classes you have already completed, please check out your transcript on Infinite Campus - it has now been updated with your 1st semester grades!  (You can find it in the Reports section.)

Below is the list of the courses required in order to graduate.  (In addition to these classes, you will also have the testing component to fulfill, but let's focus on classes for today.)

- 4 credits of English: the place where this can sometimes get confusing is senior year when students get to select what classes they want to take to fulfill this 4th credit requirement.  You can either take one of the year long classes (AP Literature, IB English, or Contemporary Voices) or if you are taking two electives then you will need to make sure the English elective classes that you select fall into two separate categories and that you get one which fulfills the English Reading component and one that fulfills the English Writing component.  They are marked on the course selection sheet for your reference.

- 4 credits of Math: this must include passing Math 3.  So, for some students that will be Math 1A, Math 1B, Math 2, and Math 3.  Others will fulfill the requirements by taking Math 1, Math 2, Math 3, and then their 4th credit of Math through Financial Algebra, Transitions to College Math or Pre-Calculus.

- 3 credits of Science

- 3 credits of Social Studies: this must include Government

- 1/2 credit of Health

- 1/2 credit of Physical Education: this can be met through 2 semesters of PE classes - each worth 1/4 credit or if students plan to use the PE waiver then this requirement can be substituted for 1/2 credit of any other elective.

- 5 credits of Elective: Any classes beyond those meeting the above requirements will fall into the category of meeting elective credits.  So, for example, if you take 4 credits of Science (which most of you should plan on doing) then the extra science credit will count as an elective credit.

- When planning your classes you need to be sure that you have fulfilled your other course requirements related to Fine Art and Financial Literacy.  The fine art requirement can be met between the grades of 7-12 and all students must pass 1 full year of fine art courses.  (This can include art, music, or theater.)  For the Financial Literacy requirement, students can meet this component through Personal Financial Management (a business elective course), Economics & Financial Literacy (a Social Studies elective course), Financial Algebra (a 4th year math course), or through the IB History courses.

To help you in keeping these requirements straight, we provided you with a check sheet with today's registration packet.  One side of the sheet allows you to check off the classes you have already passed.  When I fill out this sheet I also put a dot in the places where students are currently taking classes so that I know those requirements will be met this semester.  And then it helps you to see what the remaining requirements are for you.  Once you know what your remaining graduation requirements are you can use the other side of the paper to plan out how you will be filling the 8 periods of your day each year.  (And for those of you who are older and don't have that many years left you can just leave the extra years blank or you can use it to experiment between different options of what you are considering.)

Registering for the 2019-2020 School Year

Tomorrow kicks off the process for registering for classes for next school year.  You will be on an extended homeroom schedule.  (Seniors will have a class meeting since you won’t be picking HS classes for next year!)  

Here is tomorrow's bell schedule:

1st period- 7:45 - 8:32
2nd period- 8:37 - 9:24
Homeroom- 9:29 - 9:53
3rd period- 9:58 - 10:45
4th period- 10:50 - 11:37
5th period- 11:42 - 12:29
6th period- 12:34 - 1:21
7th period- 1:26 - 2:13
8th period- 2:18 - 3:05

I recognize that it feels too early to be making these decisions when you are just a few weeks into the new semester, but the time it takes to be able to take your requests and then build a master schedule that will meet your needs is very complex.

One of the most common reactions for students (and parents) as soon as they hear that it is registration time is to panic.  So please, right now, before you even receive your registration information, pause, take a deep breath and relax!  Thinking about the future can feel overwhelming, but I promise that I will help you through it.  This is a very hectic time of year for me dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that I am aware of the anxiety and we will get through it together.

So, let me give you a quick glimpse of what these next few weeks will include.  Tomorrow will be homeroom where you’ll get the details of what you need to do to register for your classes.  You will submit your course selections online through Infinite Campus in the next week.  The deadline to submit your requests is Friday, February 1st.  I will meet with every student individually to review your requests.  We will still be able to make adjustments to your requests at that time so if you are uncertain about something, go ahead and make your best guess on what you are thinking and then we will talk about it when we meet together.

Here are some of the key dates you’ll need to know about:

-          Wednesday, January 23rd: Registration materials distributed and online registration begins

-          Monday, January 28^th: Curriculum Night at 7:30pm – you and your parents can come to talk with the teachers and learn more about the different options available to you; 

-          Between January 28th and February 11th: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled

-          Friday, February 1st: Deadline to submit online course requests

-          Monday, February 4th: Individual meetings with all freshmen students during Science classes

-          Tuesday, February 5th: Individual meetings with all sophomore students during English classes

-          Friday, February 15^th: My deadline to be able to make any adjustments in the online system

Over the next few days, during classes, your teachers will be reviewing the different classes offered within their departments as well as talking with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year.  You will be getting a form signed indicating your teacher recommendations and  you will also have your parent sign the form so that they verify you have had the chance to review the input from the teachers about what they would suggest for you to take.  You will turn in this form to me during our individual meeting.  You will have a course selection sheet to help guide you in the different options available and you can use that sheet to make notes about your thoughts on what interests you and then you can highlight to help select your classes that you will then enter online.  If you would like to hear more in depth information directly from the teachers who teach particular courses, please set up a time to talk to the teacher or come to meet with them during Curriculum Night.  (Let me know if you need help finding a teacher during one of their off periods.)

After you have determined which courses you would like to take, please talk it over with your parents and then login and register on Infinite Campus.  When you submit your course requests on Infinite Campus they will be saved automatically.  You will need to be sure to submit 3 alternates.  I will only use those to replace classes if your first choice selections are absolutely not possible.  After you have submitted your requests online, you will print out your request summary sheet and have your parents sign it.  You MUST bring this signed form back with you to our individual meeting along with the teacher recommendation form.

Freshmen and sophomores will be meeting with me individually during your Science or English classes.  I will be honest, there are a few periods when I have WAY too many students to meet with during your class period.  So, as a result, I will have to bump some of your meetings to an off period on the same day so that I can give everyone the individual time you deserve.  Unless you receive a pass from me indicating a different period, please anticipate that you will come during your Science or English class period.  As a reminder, freshmen, you will come on Monday, February 4th during Science classes and Sophomores, you will meet with me on Tuesday, February 5th during English classes.  Juniors, you will have individual meeting times assigned to you.  I will be distributing passes for when your assigned time is tomorrow during homeroom.  This will be your only pass so please don’t lose your appointment slip because this will be your only reminder and your pass if you need to leave class.  Please be aware that some of your appointments will be before the online registration window closes, but you must submit your requests online before our meeting!

Also, just in case you lose any of your forms, we will have extra copies posted, along with the video from tomorrow’s presentation and the Course Planning Handbook all available for students and parents to access on the Kilbourne Counselor website – www.wkhscounselors.com – and as of tomorrow we will have it on the home page for your convenience.

Once again, I am here to help you, but I do beg for you to try to be patient with me as having more than 300 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time.

Angst

Anxiety disorders are real, treatable, and we need to talk about them!  On January 31st Worthington Schools will be hosting a showing of the movie Angst.  This IndieFlix documentary movie will be shown at Thomas Worthington High School auditorium beginning at 6:30pm.  After the hour long movie, there will be a panel discussion including the opportunity for questions about anxiety to be answered.

Even if anxiety is not something you struggle with, I suspect there is someone in your life - family member, friend, or peer - who does experience anxiety at times.  This movie is a great chance to further develop your understanding for yourself and others.  I hope you will make time to attend this movie event!

Students of the Month

Congratulations to the 15 students who were honored Friday morning as Students of the Month. Kilbourne students can only be selected to receive this recognition once in their high school career.

A special congratulations to "my" students who were honored. This includes Left to Right: Haley Banner, Alex Ehlers, Katie Bartlett and not pictured: Ava Cattunar, Asa Compton, and Sutton Evans.  I'm proud of you all!

Thinking about the Future

Sometimes students will talk about being stressed, overwhelmed or worried when thinking about the future and trying to decide what they want to be when they grow up.  I get it, but I have to admit – this kind of makes me sad.  I think that the process of exploring potential careers for your future should be fun and exciting.  It should provide you with the chance to learn more about yourself – what you like, what you don’t like, what you are interested in learning more about, and how you can contribute to make the world a better place in big or small ways.

Yes, I realize that this all sounds like pressure and that is not what I intend.  Let me be clear – I am not asking you to decide today what you will do for the rest of your life.  I’m just hoping that you take a big deep breath, relax and do some career exploration.  Even a little bit now while you are in high school can help give you insights into possible fields to investigate.

Some students have done a Myers Briggs personality test and the codes of your personality can be connected with potential career fields.  If you have never taken a Myers Briggs type test, today is the day!  This website provides a free version of the test.  It takes 12 minutes to complete… what are you waiting for?  In case it entices you to complete the test, the results will not only tell you about potential career paths you might like it will also highlight some of your strengths and weaknesses, styles of interactions and needs with others, and work habits.  Plus, once you have your Myers Briggs code type (it will be 4 letters) you can do a Google search to find information about top careers for your personality type and that will result in much more detailed, specific career related information.

If a personality test seems too abstract for a career interest inventory, then I also have another free career test that you might like.  This is a quick 56 question test where you indicate how much or how little you are interested in various areas.  It isn’t the “prettiest” site, but the information is good – when you get to the results page just scroll down below the video to see what it indicates as being your results.

After you have done either or both of these tests I hope that you will save or print your results and bring them in so that we can talk about them and what you think based upon your own interests for your future and if you agree or disagree with the results.  And yes, it is ok to disagree… a quick simple test online cannot replace your own thoughts, feelings, interests, and insights!

Junior Students and Parents

Each year as we begin the process for registering for next year's classes, I offer up the opportunity to meet for a 30 minute time block with every junior student and his/ her parents, if the parents are interested in joining us. I have set aside several days for these individual junior meetings - Monday, January 28th (3:30pm - 6:30pm), Tuesday, January 29th (9:30am-6:00pm), Thursday, February 7th (7:30am - 7:00pm), Friday, February 8th (7:30pm - 5:00pm),  and Monday, February 11th (7:30am - 6:00pm). 

They will be hectic days with back-to-back meetings, but I love the chance to meet with you and your parents to talk about the classes you have selected for your senior year and what your plans are for life after high school. I sent an e-mail out to your parents earlier this week, so talk it over with them and pick out a date and time that will work well with your schedule so that we can set up a meeting time.  If I haven't heard back from your family about setting up a meeting before January 23rd, I will assign you a time for us to meet.  

One thing to be aware of is that you will need to complete your online registration before our meeting so if you want to wait until after Curriculum Night (January 28th) then please pick a later meeting date!  You're going to be a senior soon and it is exciting - this meeting will help kick that off!

Report Cards and Mid-Year Transcripts

I feel relatively confident that most students know how to access infinite campus to check your grades, but parents may not be looking at progress as consistently.  In part this may be because they are allowing you to take responsibility for your own learning and watching as you develop independence while still in high school and part of it is that your parents are busy and infinite campus can be “out of sight, out of mind”. 

Parents, with the first semester now over, I strongly encourage you to log in to Infinite Campus and see your son or daughter’s first semester grades.  We do not mail report cards home, so this is the only way to be able to access the report cards.

If parents do not know their username and password, please go to www.worthington.k12.oh.us and click on the login button in the top right corner.  The next screen will ask for the login information and it provides an option to enter your e-mail address if you do not know your username and password.  Please note that your email address must match the one the district has in your student’s profile.  Once you submit your e-mail address, computer services will soon e-mail you with your username and password.

The online report-cards allow parents and students to assess the progress on an ongoing basis.  As we begin the second semester this is a great opportunity for parents to ask themselves questions related to your kids grades.  Are your son/ daughter's grades what you had expected?  Are you pleased?  Does your son or daughter need more structure or support to help them develop new skills for studying or preparing for classes? If your student is struggling to be successful one of my top suggestions is to talk to your student and to the teachers!  Teachers have a good perspective on where kids stand in their class.  They can help clarify on concepts that students are missing, areas for improvement, and they can provide concrete suggestions for how your son/ daughter can make changes to find success in their classes.

I will be reviewing all of your grades for the semester and completing credit checks for all of my students so that I can be sure you are staying on track.  It is still beneficial for you and your parents to keep track of your progress as well.

Additionally, for current seniors, now that you are half way through the year, many colleges will want to get mid-year reports of your transcript.  For all of the colleges on Common App, I will upload your updated transcript automatically this week.  If you applied through a different means other than the Common App website and your colleges want mid-year reports then you will need to come into the counseling center to see Mrs. McDaniel to request for your updated transcript being sent to the specific colleges.

Military Options

Are you interested in learning more about the military and the different careers and opportunities that they can provide for the future?  There are a couple of great opportunities coming up for our students to participate in - both which will be hosted at TWHS. 

A Military Information Night will be held tomorrow night, Wednesday, January 16th, at 6:30pm in the TWHS library all students and parents are invited to meet with the military recruiters.  The recruiters from all of the different branches who work with our schools will be there to present information about their opportunities and then to meet with you 1:1 after the presentation.

Additionally, on the morning of January 26th, students are able to take the ASVAB - a career placement test through the military.  Please understand that taking this test does NOT commit you to joining the military or making the military as your career - it is simply to give you options that could be available to you for the future.  In fact, many students will elect to take the ASVAB to help get additional career insight without planning to go into the military.  If you are interested in taking the ASVAB, please stop to see me and I will get you signed up.  This is, again, a free opportunity.

ACT/ SAT Test Preparation

Preparing for the ACT and SAT can feel daunting at times.  As you are probably aware, juniors will take the ACT for free once in February and, if you are planning to go to a 4-year college in the future, you should plan on taking the ACT/ SAT at least one or two more times between now and September.  In order to best help prepare for the tests, students often ask me how they should study for the ACT and SAT tests. 

The organizations that facilitate the ACT and SAT frequently explain that the best preparation for the tests is to challenge yourself by taking on a rigorous curriculum during high school.  So, the reality is that every day, with every class you take, you are preparing for these exams.  However, that doesn’t mean that additional preparation wouldn’t be helpful.

I know that all juniors had the free opportunity to participate in Dr. Sanpath's test prep boot camp experience prior to taking the PSAT.  Dr. Sampath of PrepAccelerator will be offering another group training – this time over 2 days for interested students.  The session will be held at TWHS on February 3^rd and February 10^th.  The cost for this training is $125.  Checks can be made payable to Worthington Schools and turned into Mrs. Focht in the Counseling Center by January 30^th if you are interested in registering.

Many students have realized that group test prep doesn't always work for them and they need more individual support and assistance to prepare for the tests.  There are many different tutors available in the Central Ohio area who are committed to helping students prepare for the tests.  We have featured their information on the Counselor Website and it is attached.  Please know that these links include both individual and group test prep providers.

There are also free options - including reviewing your Pre-ACT results, looking at sample questions online and on the ACT/ SAT websites and Khan Academy.

Many students will elect to take the test once and see how they do on it before signing up for test prep and that is certainly an acceptable option as well, but no matter what, I hope you will make every effort to show what you know on the ACT and SAT when you take them.

Long Weekends

Next weekend is Martin Luther King, Jr. day making it a long-weekend and in February you will have a long weekend for President's day.  These are two great opportunities for students and parents to make visits to college campuses. 

In fact, many colleges will host special visit days for students on these long weekends knowing that prospective students won't have to miss classes in order to visit their schools. 

Plan ahead now and arrange to set up a time to see the campuses that interest you most.  Perhaps it will be the first time you have been to a campus that sounds appealing to you or maybe it will be a chance to go back and explore a college for which you have recently been accepted.  There are so many aspects to learn about a college when you are on the actual campus that you cannot fully know by reading about a school online or learning from the experiences of others. 

I hope you make the most of the long weekends ahead of us and, of course, let me remind you that I'd like a picture of you somewhere on campus for the "Oh the Places You'll Go" board.

Earning Credit

This week a large part of my time was trying to explain to students about how you earn credits in high school.  It is a valuable reminder for everyone.

High school is different than elementary and middle school.  In middle school, you take classes and each year you move on to the next grade and take all the classes for that grade.  In high school, you must earn credits for specified classes and the way you earn credit is by passing each semester of the class. 

So, for example, all students must earn 4 credits of English to graduate.  When you pass both semesters of English 1 during your freshman year, you move on to English 2 during your sophomore year.  If, unfortunately, you failed one of the semesters of English 1 then you are going to have to make that particular semester up before you can progress on to English 2.  Students who failed a semester will be able to make up the course either by repeating the class in summer school, repeating the class through credit recovery or repeating the class by retaking it during your sophomore year.  The bottom line is that you must REPEAT the class in some format.

Some classes (like English) have pre-requisites that students must meet in order to move on to the next level.  Other classes, like Science and Social Studies, do not have pre-requisites to move on to the next level so we will potentially allow you to move from Physical Science to Biology or from World History to US History without first repeating the freshman year class.  Don’t misunderstand though, you will still have to repeat the class at some point, but if you are not making it up during summer school, then you will likely be taking a freshman year class during your junior year.

In order to earn sophomore status, students must have earned at least 5 credits.  To become a junior you will need 10 credits.  To be classified as a senior, you must have earned at least 15 credits.

If you have any questions about where you stand with the credits you have earned or what still remains, please don’t hesitate to stop by and see me.

February ACT Registration Reminder

The February ACT tests always tends to generate a lot of questions.

Juniors - you will be taking the ACT, free of charge during the school day on February 20th.  You do not have to register for that test - we will do it for you.  This is the ONLY test that you get for free and for which we will register you.  All of the other times that you repeat or attempt the ACT you will register for yourself on ACT's website.

Sophomores - if you are planning to participate in College Credit Plus as a junior then, as you heard last night, you should consider signing up to take an ACT early - as in February or April to try to see if you can get the qualifying college readiness benchmarks.  TODAY is the registration deadline for the February 9th ACT.  So, if you are hoping to take that test, please, be sure to go and register right away so that you don't miss your opportunity.

To answer some of the common questions...
- No, sophomores are not eligible to take the February 20th ACT with the juniors.
- No, sophomores who do not plan on participating in College Credit Plus do not need to take the ACT this early.
- Yes, the junior test does count for a "normal" ACT and the scores will be valid for the colleges.
- Yes, if you are taking the test next month you should begin familiarizing yourself with the test questions and what to expect... but do NOT stress about it!

Also, since both boys & girls basketball takes on TWHS tonight, I have to say GO WOLVES!

Suicide Prevention Lines

There are times when we can feel overwhelmed, lonely, stressed, sad and hopeless.  All of these emotions are normal to experience, but when they happen to come all at the same time it can be very challenging and leave people feeling lost and desperate.

Perhaps you or someone you know have had times with that type of darkness and possibly even experienced suicidal thoughts.  It is important to know that there is ALWAYS help available!  Reaching out for support is a critical step in helping to give yourself the hope that you will not always feel the way you might be feeling right now.

If you are having suicidal thoughts while at school, I hope you will come to tell me or share that information with another adult that you trust.  If you are away from school, I hope that you will reach out to your parents or some other adult who your trust.  But I know that sometimes the people closest to us can miss the level of pain we are experiencing and so I'd like to remind you that you can always call a suicide hotline and there will be someone on the other end ready and willing to talk to you who can help brainstorm next steps.  As you can see in the graphic, the national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255.

Additionally, over the last few years, in recognition of how much our society has grown to depend on text messaging as a means of communication, there is also a crisis text line where you can reach out for help and support.  To contact the crisis text line you would send a message to 741741.  You can send them any message to get the conversation started.  And I know that it can be hard to even know where to start so remember, you can always reach out even with just one word such as "4hope" (which helps connect you to someone in Ohio) or even "help or hello" and before you know it you will be communicating via text with someone else who understands what you are experiencing and is ready and able to help you.

The most important reminder I would like to leave you with is that YOU MATTER!  You are not alone - there is always someone who would like to have the opportunity to talk with you and to help you.  If you are having thoughts of suicide, PLEASE, reach out for help today!