Leap Year Day

"I need more time!"

"How can I possibly get all of this done?"

"There isn't enough time to..."

I hear phrases like this all of the time from students and have had times when I have thought them myself.  The reality is that we often get overwhelmed with all of the things we need to do and it can be challenging to juggle our wants with our needs.  It's entirely possible that you wish you had more time because your schedule IS overloaded.  Sometimes we end up procrastinating on getting things done, other times we agree to help with a project when we really don't have the time for it and would have been better off saying no up front, or perhaps you just tend to underestimate the amount of time that a particular task will require.  No matter the cause, this desire for a little more time is common.

And then we reach today.  Leap day.  A day which comes around every four years - an extra day in the calendar.  (And yes, I know, technically it isn't really an extra day and it is to keep us on track with the Earth's rotation and the seasons, but still, in 2020 it is a year where we have 366 days instead of 365, so I like to think that means we have an extra day.)

Today is a gift.  It is an extra day where you can make choices about how you will use your time and what you will accomplish in these extra hours that you have been given.

But really, isn't that every day?!?  Every day is a gift.  Every day we have choices about how we will use our time and what we will accomplish.  We shouldn't waste it.  Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

So for today, that is my focus.  To stay focused on the things I can control - my attitude, my work ethic, my time management, and my outlook.  I don't want to waste the gift of today.  I hope you will embrace the gift of this extra day today and every day as well.

Try to Be Aware

It's easy to forget... sometimes we all get so caught up in our own lives that we forget that not everyone is in the same situation or feel the same way we do. How we talk about colleges is just like everything else in life and we need to approach it with sensitivity and kindness.

What do I mean?

Well, since we returned from winter break, as more and more college admissions decisions have been arriving, I have noticed that students will sometimes start announcing where they were accepted and their feelings on different schools, forgetting that other students are around. Being accepted is wonderful news and it is completely understandable that you want to shout it from the roof-tops when you have been accepted to a school, but it is also important to be sensitive to those around you and to remember that some of your friends and classmates are NOT being accepted into those very same colleges. 

Receiving a college rejection letter is hard enough, but it is even more hurtful to hear someone else proclaim, "Oh, I was accepted to ___ (insert name of college) but I would never actually go there." Particularly if the school mentioned was the one where a student was recently rejected and had been their top choice college. 

This also plays out when people are talking about colleges where they intend to apply.  Students or parents saying things such as "I would never apply to _____."  This is hard because that college is most definitely someone else's favorite school.

Please understand, in no way am I trying to dampen your excitement, but please simply try to be respectful and aware of what you say about schools and how you "rate" your own colleges. Remember, no one school is perfect for every student and every student is not right for every college- it is important to find the right fit and I sincerely believe that every student WILL be able to find the college that is right for them!

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!

Admissions Test Data

Great job to all of the juniors who took the ACT today!  Now that the test is over it's time to sit back and wait for your scores. I thought you might be interested in learning more about the past scoring trends in the nation and in Ohio for the ACT and the SAT.

Last year the average composite ACT score in Ohio was a 20.0. 

The average composite in the nation last year for the ACT was a 20.7.

A summary of Ohio's key findings is available here from ACT.

Last year the average SAT score in Ohio was an 1097.

The average SAT score in the nation last year was a 1059.

And, if you are curious about how WKHS students, compare, last year the average ACT score for graduating seniors was a 22.0 and the average SAT score was a 1229.

Tomorrow's ACT and Bell Schedule

Tomorrow we are on a VERY different bell schedule!

Freshmen, Sophomores and Seniors - you will be functioning on a late-start schedule tomorrow.  This means that you get to sleep in and relax a little bit in the morning.  If you ride a bus, your bus will pick you up 3 hours later than normal.  If you walk or drive to school, you can determine what time you want to arrive just be sure to make it to school in enough time to be able to get to your 5th period class at 12:20pm.  As I mentioned, with late start buses running 3 hours later than normal, this means that if you ride a bus that will likely mean you will arrive to school around 10:15am and you'll have that time until the start of classes to study, eat lunch, or participate in recreation time in the commons or Aux Gym.

Juniors - you will ride the bus at the normal time and arrive to school like every other day.  You will then report to your assigned testing location at 7:40am so that you can begin taking the ACT promptly at 7:45am.  The test will conclude around 11:30 and you will then have a break and a chance to grab lunch before the start of classes.

And then everyone (9th through 12th grade) will proceed to afternoon classes with the following bell schedule:
5th Period - 12:20 - 12:57
6th Period - 1:02 - 1:39
7th Period - 1:44 - 2:21
8th Period - 2:26 - 3:05

I also have a few ACT Testing reminders for the juniors:  This test is an official ACT so you are strictly bound to all of the restrictions and requirements set forth by ACT.  Testing will begin promptly at 7:45am so you will need to report to your assigned rooms by 7:40am.  Please be sure to bring your Student ID card, number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils are allowed!), and a calculator.  And I would also suggest that you bring a watch.  Cell phones are NOT allowed to be on in the testing room at all. 

Group Opportunities

This spring, the counselors will be offering a couple of group opportunities for interested students.

The first will be a grief group.  The death of someone significant in your life impacts everything.  Students will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their loved ones and do engaging activities as a way to help move forward in their grief.  This is not just a sit around and be sad experience - the goal is to provide a healing opportunity and understand the wide range of feelings present when grieving.  We will be partnering with a bereavement counselor from OhioHealth Hospice to provide the grief groups.  Members of our school community have experienced so many heartbreaking losses and we hope this will be a meaningful way to honor the lives of those you miss.

The second group opportunity is a resiliency group.  Resiliency is how we recover in the face of set-backs, how we cope when things get tough, how we overcome past hurts or disappointments so that they don't derail our present or future, and even how we view ourselves and others related to difficult experiences.  The reality is that this group would be great for everyone because we all need to hone those skills.  We will be doing a lot of practical activities as a part of this group and believe it will be empowering for participants.  

There will be limited space for each of these groups so if you are interested in participating in either opportunity, PLEASE let me know this week!  I would love to have you be a part of it.  Or, if you have more questions or want more information about either group, don't hesitate to stop by and see me so that we can discuss it.

Cinderella

I had the opportunity to attend this year's musical last night - Cinderella.  It was AWESOME!  We have such incredibly talented students and it was fun and exciting to see all of their hard work and dedication pay off.

I had many students who had roles in the show.  Those who were featured on stage included: Joclyn Blake, Gavin Crozier, Kya Angle, Rachel Barker and Ella Blanton.

While those who were showcased on the stage often get all the attention, the show wouldn't have been a success without the help of many behind the scenes.  This included: Ashley Baker, AJ D'Angelo, Alyssa Berger, Aron Berger, Andrew Chidester, Skye Bartley, Shawn Coon, and Mikey D'Angelo.  

Plus, obviously, a musical requires the incredible contributions of the many musicians in the pit orchestra including several of my students such as: Brady Cloyd, Stella Bixler, Dilara Alpay, and Avery Burns.

Congratulations to all of you on an outstanding musical!  For those of you who didn't attend last night's production, I strongly encourage you to go and see the final show tonight at 7:30pm!

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 about 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.  I also have a summary sheet that outlines lots of different career fields that often fit for people with that personality type, so if you come in to see me and let me know what your code is then I am more than happy to run that summary sheet for you!

Scholarships

As you are working on completing your financial aid paperwork it is only natural that your thoughts will turn to the overwhelming costs associated with attending college. Right about now, many seniors are so relieved to finally be done with their college applications that it can be hard to get motivated to complete scholarship applications. Several years ago I remember one student who complained all the way through his scholarship application and he ended up getting it done and submitted within hours of the deadline. As it turned out, he ended up receiving the scholarship and it was a significant scholarship (although, for the record, I believe that any scholarship received is significant as it is money that you do not have to pay on your own). Looking back, this student shared that he couldn't imagine earning that amount of money for just a couple of hours of work to complete the scholarship application.

I tell you this story to try to remind you that while I understand it can be hard to stay motivated to complete scholarship applications when only one or perhaps a handful of students will receive the scholarship award, it will be worth it if you receive a scholarship.

I also need to clarify that most money does end up coming directly from your colleges, but there are so many other places to look for scholarships and you should consider all of the options to try to help make your college experience even a little more affordable. For example, do your parent's employers offer scholarships for dependent children? What about your place of worship? If you volunteer for an organization, do they offer scholarships for their student volunteers? There are also countless scholarship search websites where you can complete personalized searches for other qualities and characteristics that would be ideal for you. If you want to see some of these sites, please check out financial aid section (under colleges) on the WKHS Counselors website.

Miss Abbott's Long Weekend

I ask you to share your lives with me every day.  It isn't always easy for me to try to reciprocate and allow you to see a lot of my life, but I do have all kinds of important parts of me represented in my office to try to help in that effort.  This is because I know that sharing information about who you are is easier to do when you feel that shared connection with the other person.  So, to help in that endeavor, I wanted to share with you about the incredible long weekend I just had.

I was invited to attend the wedding of one of my former student's who had graduated in 2008.  It is the 4th wedding of a former student that I have had the honor of attending.  Honestly, I am still blown away and a little confused that even after all this time students would invite me to share in their special day as they get married.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful and the experience was so meaningful, but the weekend was about far more than just a wedding for me.

Adam, my former student who got married, is pictured in the center of this photo wearing the white shirt.  He is surrounded by 5 of his friends who were all close friends of his during high school.  They are an incredible group of young men.  They are ridiculously smart, talented, and accomplished.  After graduating from WKHS they all went their separate ways to college (USC, OSU, Notre Dame, NYU, and Dartmouth) and they have lived the last 12 years separated by many, many miles and yet they have remained close.  (In fact, all of them were groomsmen.)  I love their connection.  I love their laughter.  I love their competitiveness.  I love their compassion and thoughtfulness.  I loved being able to meet who they have picked as their significant others.  I love the young men who they have grown into who are still so much like the boys I knew.  During their senior year of high school, they had 5th period lunch together and every day I would see them for at least a few minutes.  They would always make me laugh, often teach me something new, and never fail to touch my heart.  This weekend, as I got to see them all again, just as they had when they were seniors in high school, they made me laugh and they touched my heart!  It was truly a blessing and a memorable weekend that I will cherish.
The wedding was in Arizona so, of course, I could not take a trip and not squeeze in a college visit.  I took time to visit Arizona State University and got my "Oh the Places You'll Go photo" and I hope that if you took a visit over the weekend you will be sharing your photos with me too!

Looking forward to hearing about YOUR long weekend and hoping that it was as positive and memorable as mine.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day and that you will be reminded by your family members and friends that you are important and that you matter so that today, and every day, your heart is filled with love and joy!

Please have a safe and enjoyable long weekend!

Columbus State Community College

Are you planning on attending Columbus State Community College next year after you graduate? This is a great option for a lot of students because it allows students to transition from the high school to college expectations in typically smaller classes and for a fraction of the cost. Students attending CSCC have much later deadlines for admission and so it can be easy to procrastinate on completing the application. It is an easy, online application and will not take you long to complete it so I would like to encourage you to apply sometime in this coming week.  Hop online and give the application a try and then if you have any questions, stop by to see me and I will help answer them for you.

If you are already taking classes through CSCC with College Credit Plus, you do not need to complete an application, but you do have some other steps that you still need to go through in order to make sure that CSCC knows you intend to enroll with them after graduation.  Here is a link to that information and it also features information about a scholarship that current CC+ students can be eligible to receive through CSCC.

ACT for Juniors

All students in the Class of 2021 (juniors) will be taking the ACT free of charge during the school day on Tuesday, February 25th.  Because of the extended amount of time required for students to successfully complete the ACT, the rest of the students will be on a late-start bell schedule for the day with classes beginning at 12:20pm. 

During school tomorrow, all juniors will be meeting in the auditorium during 3rd period to complete your pre-ACT registration paperwork.  One of the most important questions that you will be asked to submit while completing your forms is to indicate where you would like to have your scores sent.  All students are able to select 4 colleges where you can send your scores to free of charge.  Since this is a national college admissions test your scores can be used for admission at colleges and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of sending these free scores.

One hint - for those of you who are are planning on participating in College Credit Plus next year (if you haven't already been taking classes with that same college this year) then I would strongly suggest that you send your scores to your intended CC+ schools (CSCC, COTC or whichever campus you were planning to go to such as OSU).

Please spend a few minutes tonight thinking about where you'd like your scores sent so that you are prepared tomorrow.

Important Notes for This Week

Lots of key details for this week to toss into one email for you tonight...

Friday is the last day to for students to change a class from conventional grading (A, B, C, etc.) to Pass/ Fail grading! The forms are in the counseling center and require a parent signature. If you plan to switch a class to pass/ fail, please be sure to pick up a form and return it before Friday! Friday is also the last day that students can drop a class without an F on their transcript. This is only possible if students have above the minimum number of classes required (5 for seniors and 6 for sophomores and juniors). And yes, it is way too late to add a class. Sorry.

Tuesday is the Black History Month Assembly.  Two of my students, Sasha Estice and Sasha Bomser, have worked with Mrs. Glaros and the administrators to plan for this year's assembly.  WKHS is excited to welcome back a Kilbourne Grad, Kyle Strickland, who works as a Senior Legal Analyst for the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.  It should be an impactful assembly.  Please note that we will be on a 3A/ 3B assembly tomorrow and that students who are in CC+ classes during the assembly will still need to attend their college course as scheduled.  (You will be able to catch the end of the assembly after class ends.)  Below is the bell schedule for tomorrow.

1st period: 7:45 - 8:27
2nd Period: 8:32 - 9:14
3rd Period: 9:19 - 11:09
4th Period: 11:14 - 11:57
5th Period: 12:02 - 12:44
6th Period: 12:49 - 1:31
7th Period: 1:36 - 2:18
8th Period: 2:23 - 3:05

And then, for the parents, on Wednesday, February 12th, the online system to schedule Parent/ Teacher Conferences will open.  Conferences will be held on Thursday, February 20^th from 5:00pm - 9:00pm and Monday, February 24^th from 3:30pm – 7:30pm.  Each conference will be scheduled in 15 minute time blocks.  Conferences allow parents the chance to learn about your student’s classroom performance from the teachers, it allows the opportunity for you to ask questions and they provide an opportunity to build a dialogue with the teachers regarding any thoughts and concerns you might have.

Parents, if you are interested in arranging to meet with one of your son or daughter’s teachers during conferences, you should be able to sign up starting Wednesday.  Conferences will be scheduled as people sign up for them, so if you want to make sure you have times that work well for you, I strongly encourage you to register right away.

Please follow the steps below to register for a parent/ teacher conference:

•      Go to http://ptcfast.com/schools/Worthington_Kilbourne_High_School.  This will take you to the conference scheduler.
•       Click on the teacher you would like to meet with for a conference.
•       Sign up by entering your child’s last name, first name, your name and your e-mail address and then click Submit.
•     The next screen will direct you to check your e-mail inbox for a message with the subject “Select Date/ Team for Teacher Conference Now.”
•     Open the e-mail and click on the link to select a conference time.  If you do not receive an e-mail, please check your junk/ spam folder.  Please note, you MUST follow the link in the email in order to complete the sign-up process.
•      The link will take you to a Time Picker.  Available time slots will appear on this page.  If there are no available appointments that suit your schedule, please e-mail the teacher directly to set up an alternate meeting time.
•      After submitting your time slot, you will be prompted to finish, schedule another appointment for the same student or register another student.  Once you have completed your reservations, you will receive an e-mail confirming the date and time of your conferences and a link by which you can make changes to your date or time if you need to do so.

Impressive Students

Over the last few weeks we have had many impressive students be showcased for the positive contributions they make to WKHS and the community.

NyKelah Rowe was recognized by the VFW Post 2398 for winning first place for their post in the Voice of Democracy competition.

Sam English celebrated his goal of receiving an invitation to play football at Robert Morris University during Wednesday's Letter of Intent Signing Day ceremony.  This moment was a recognition of the dedication Sam has displayed when pushing himself to work hard on and off the football field.  Congratulations Sam and best wishes at RMU!

The Talent Show was another fund-raiser for the winter charity that was held this week.  I am so impressed by the incredible students who perform as I truly cannot imagine the courage that it requires to walk out on the stage.  And I also love seeing the students in the audience demonstrating their support for all of the performers.  The respect and encouragement for your peers is what makes WKHS such a special place.  I had quite a few of "my" students participate including: Austin Aldous, Chidima Anaraodo, Blair Andrews, Jacob Antolik, Matteo Chavez, Sam Cottrill, Averie Eckstein, and Nevaeh Spencer.

And last, but certainly not least, Friday morning was the ceremony to recognize the February Students of the Month.  Students are nominated by staff members in honor of the impact they are making in the classroom and beyond.  This recognition can only be given once in a student's entire high school career.  I am so proud and thankful for "my" students who were among those honored as students of the month including (left to right): Faith Falgiano and Emily Cline and, not pictured, Amyia Clark.

Thank you all for the positive impact you are creating at Kilbourne and beyond!

King and Queen of Hearts

I love the King and Queen of Hearts tradition. As you are aware, tonight is the Winter Formal and I hope you all have a wonderful and safe time this evening.  Tonight the King and Queen of Hearts will also be announced. In order to be crowned as the King and Queen of Hearts, the nominated students have spent the last few weeks raising money for the selected winter charity. The male and female students who raised the most money will be the individuals crowned.  How awesome that we, as a school, celebrate the goodness of volunteering your time, energy and effort to raise money for a good cause.  Several of "my" students were among the group working to raise money as King and Queen of Heart candidates - good luck and congratulations to (alphabetically): Will Alban, Sasha Bomser, and Lindsey Buterbaugh.

Plan ahead for next weekend

I want you to plan ahead for next weekend so that you can take advantage of the fact that we have a long weekend coming up.  For many students this is the perfect opportunity to make a college visit.  Many colleges will host special visit days on Monday because they know that high school students are off and so they often plan days that will allow students to learn more about the different programs and opportunities that are available on campus.  No matter if you are trying to decide what colleges you might want to apply to in the future or if you are a senior trying to decide which of the many schools you applied to will be your future home, I hope you will try to take advantage of the long weekend and make visits.

If you are going to make a visit on a college campus, please make sure to take a picture somewhere on campus for me! For the record, the picture can be anywhere on campus, but I would like you in the picture!  So, pick out a pretty place on campus, find a cool sign announcing the college's name, or snap a picture in front of the building that houses your major where you anticipate spending most of your time in the future.

If you have no idea what colleges you might be interested in for the future, you can still make use of the long weekend to start exploring colleges.  You can, of course, begin your search online and try to find colleges that fit your interests, but more often than not, students tell me that they don't know what they want in a college.  If that is you, then perhaps starting your college search by exploring some nearby campuses would be a valuable use of your time.  As you walk around the campus, people watch and listen to the presentations by the college admissions representatives, you will begin to gain insight into various aspects of college life.  From these impressions you will be able to start forming an impression of what you like and what you don't like.  These views will be extremely valuable to you as you start narrowing your college search.

And finally, a reminder that students should be the one to call the admissions offices to set up the college visits rather than having your parents do this for you.  Remember, you are trying to show the colleges that YOU are interested in their college and that you are mature and responsible enough to take this level of initiative.

Dealing with Deferrals

One of the realities of the college admission process is that not every student will be accepted to every college. The waiting game is often one of the more frustrating aspects. With family members and friends consistently asking, "Where are you going to college?" the uncertainty present with each "I don't know" response can quickly become overwhelming.

Sometimes, even when you hear back from the college, the answer still leaves you wondering where you stand. That is the case with a deferral. A deferral is not a "yes" and it is not a "no." It is what a college will do when they need more time to make a decision on your application.

So, what should you do if you are deferred?One of the first steps should be to stop in and see me so that we can talk about the college decision and develop a game-plan for your next steps.  Your first step would be to read carefully the information that they sent to you along with the deferral decision.  What steps do they indicate they want you to follow?  Do exactly what they ask!

If there isn't information about what they want you to do then you still have options of next steps.  You can consider calling the admissions office to talk directly with the admissions officer who is in charge of our region. Talk to him/ her about where you stand and what they would like for you to do to be a more "ideal" candidate.

Draft a letter with any updates and information that you can share with the admissions staff. In particular, let them know that of any new experiences that you have had or recent accomplishments that they weren't previously aware of when you first applied. Updating them on your new activities and accomplishments is important because it is your effort to help give the college a reason to select you and add your application to the "accepted" pile. 

Send them an updated copy of your transcript. (If you applied through Common App I have already done this for you, but if your school is not one that used Common App then you would need to fill out the online transcript request form to request an updated transcript be mailed.)

If you re-took your ACT or SAT exams and haven't forwarded your most recent scores to the college, request for the scores to be sent directly to the college of your choice.

Consider other outreach efforts to communicate your strengths with the admissions office such as an additional teacher recommendation letter.

Although no one likes to be deferred, remember that this is not the end of the world and there is still plenty of time to communicate your strengths to the admissions committee so that you will hopefully be accepted to their school.

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.

Awesome Opportunities

Worthington will be home to two awesome event opportunities this month that you won't want to miss.

The first is a National Girls & Women in Sports Day event on Wednesday, February 5th at 7pm at TWHS.  This event will feature special guest, Kate Fagan, who is an ESPN On-Air Personality and the Author of What Made Maddy Run.  I have previously written about the fact that every parent should read this book and now you have the chance to see and hear from the author in person.  Doors will open at 6:30pm.

The second event is Soroptimist's Dream It, Be It: Balancing Your Stress program on Saturday, February 29th at WEC.  This event is for 9th - 12th grade girls and will run from 10-2 with lunch provided.  The purpose is to help girls grow to be strong, successful and happy by providing professional role models and resources to live your dreams.  The day will include topics like mindful eating, journaling, exercise, hands-on projects, self care stations, and opportunities to learn to balance your stress.  Advance registration is required.  Please visit: www.surveymonkey.com/r/7PH66N9

I love the way that the greater Worthington community is seeking opportunities to celebrate, enhance, and improve the lives of our students through unique events such as these.  I hope you will consider participating in one or both!

Super Bowl & Registration Meeting Reminders

Are you getting ready to watch the Super Bowl?  There will be a lot of attention on the 53 players on each team.  They are the stars of the game, but there are so many other people who are involved in making sure that each individual and each team is ready to excel at the highest levels.  This is how it works with lots of different career fields.  Even school.  You, as students, are the stars!  Your opportunity to show off all that you know in class every day takes perseverance, dedication, focus, and daily work beyond just showing up hoping to excel on the day of a test or exam.  The athletes who will be on the field have to put in lots of time outside of Sunday game-days just like you need to do every day.  Hopefully you also recognize that there are lots of people who surround you to help support and encourage you to achieve at your highest possible levels.  Your teachers, parents, and coaches are at the fore-front of that list, but remember that there are others, including me, who are here cheering you on and believing in you too.  (And, it's true, you won't get a Super Bowl trophy, but your work will end with a high school diploma and lots of opportunities for the future so that's certainly just as rewarding.)

Over the next few days I will have the chance to meet with every freshman and every sophomore student and my junior meetings will continue as well.  I have worked this weekend to review all of your selections to be prepared for our meetings together.  They will be insanely busy days and my time with each student will be very quick, but in spite of how brief our time together may be, I love the chance to be able to spend some time with you reviewing your plan and hopefully encouraging you to push yourself to achieve at your own highest level!  

As a reminder - Freshmen: You meet with me tomorrow (Monday) so bring your signed registration forms with you!  Sophomores: You are up on Tuesday and also need to bring your forms too!

So, while it won’t be as entertaining and fun as the Super Bowl, the week will be busy.  If you’re wanting to stop by for a visit to catch up and talk more than the super quick registration related conversations, then please aim for Wednesday or Friday because while those days are still busy, they are not completely booked as the rest of the week.

Summer School

Worthington summer school registration is now open!  It will primarily be for credit recovery purposes - meaning that if you had failed a class you can take the class over again in Worthington's summer school.  Credit recovery courses will be free of charge.  There will be a limited number of classes available for getting ahead in credits and those classes will have a fee associated with them.  Summer school will run from June 1st -June 26th and free transportation will be available to students who need it.  Registration is completely online on the district website along with tons more information about summer school - check it out at worthington.k12.oh.us under the "Academics" tab.

Some students and parents have had questions related to taking summer classes through a different school district or through Online schools.  The basic answer is yes, you are allowed to take classes through any accredited school.  Please be sure that they are accredited before you sign up for their classes.  After you have completed your course, they will give you a transcript and you will need to provide that to us at WKHS so that we can transfer your credit.  

As these courses are not coordinated or run by Worthington, I don't have a lot of details about various options, but a Google search for "online summer school" has been successful for students in the past.  (Some students also search for their intended course name to help make sure their search return gives them schools that offer that class.)  You can select any accredited program that works best for you - so look at their costs, learning experiences, expectations, and determine what seems to be the best fit for what you are seeking.

My top tip is to make sure you are signing up for their summer school classes because I do know that in the past students found there was a significant difference in the cost if they were taking a class online during summer school vs. taking a class online during the school year.  The school we have received the most transcripts from each year is TRECA, so that is one option to consider, but it is definitely not the only one out there.

We gave summer school information in the 2nd page of your registration packet so you can use that as an additional reference.