DACC/ Linworth/ Academy

When we are talking about registration for next year, it often leads students to think about some of the other learning program partnerships that are options available to you as Kilbourne students. I am specifically thinking of the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC), Linworth, and the Worthington Academy.

It is important to remember that the Delaware Area Career Center requires students to apply and even though the priority deadline has passed, they would 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 we will meet again and we will go back in and adjust your classes to reflect your half day or full day DACC preference.

Linworth is another incredible option for some of our WKHS students. While most students who attend Linworth start there as freshmen, there are limited opportunities for older students to apply and attend. If you are interested, we need to set up a time for you to visit and interview. For current Linworth students, please register online for just the classes you will take at WKHS. As always, you will set up your Linworth schedule at Linworth on the first day of school next fall.  

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

Much like DACC and Linworth, 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, the Academy staff and the WKHS counselors 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.

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, feel free to stop and see me or you can also contact the Academy Principal, Dr. Flynn, via e-mail at sflynn@wscloud.org.

IB/ AP/ CC+ Classes

Taking rigorous classes while in high school is one of the best ways students can prepare themselves for college. At WKHS we have lots of options available for students to do this most notably honors classes along with IB, AP and CC+ courses. Through these classes, students have the opportunities to push themselves and have the potential to earn college credits while in high school by taking AP, IB and CC+ 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 students do well in those classes.) One of the options 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.  

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 who are in the IB program are among the first to talk about how much they have enjoyed the program and the small cohort of students they study with in 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.

Students must pay to take the IB exams and, depending on the level of the class, how well you performed on the test, and the college you are attending, you may be able to earn college credit for the course. It is helpful in your planning to be aware that some colleges will not grant credit for individual SL classes - only Higher Level (HL) courses.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are offered in a wide range of subject areas from core subjects like English and Science to the arts such as AP Studio Art and AP Music Theory.  These classes are designed to fulfill the college course content and the teachers are following the curriculum requirements to prepare students for the AP exam at the end of the year.  

Students must pay to take the AP exam and, depending on how you do on it and the policy of your intended college, you can earn college credit for the class.

College Credit Plus (CC+) is another rigorous option for students. The difference in a CC+ class is that students are earning the credit for the work completed across the semester instead of relying on a test at the end of the year.

It is important to realize that while CC+ is set up to be free to students, if you fail the class then you are responsible for paying for the class. Additionally, whatever grade you earn in your CC+ class that grade is on your college transcript. So, in comparison, for IB and AP classes, the grade you earn in the class doesn't have any bearing on your college transcript - you either earn the credit or not through the exams, with CC+ it is starting your college GPA. For example, if you decide to complete your Associate's Degree at CSCC and then transfer to OSU, that college GPA is going to impact your potential to be considered for particular majors or scholarships.

CC+ also requires more independent learning and follow through of students than traditional high school classes. You are moving through a full year's worth of content in a semester and you will be doing much of the work on your own time since the classes only meet 2 days per week. Students who need frequent reminders are likely not ideal candidates for CC+ classes.

There are advantages and disadvantages of all 3 rigorous course opportunities. The best news is that there isn't a bad decision about which classes to take - so think about yourself and your own areas of interest and decide what you think feels best for you.

Remember, all colleges get to set their own policies for what classes they will give students college credit for completing and what the qualifying score for AP and IB exams must be in order to earn that credit.  You can usually find th

Teacher Recommendations

One aspect of the registration process that can sometimes cause confusion for students related to selecting their classes is how to deal with teacher recommendations.

Last week, your teachers reviewed the different classes offered within their departments and made suggestions about the courses they would recommend you to take next year.  Some of the core and foreign language teachers submitted their recommendations for what class they would suggest for you to take directly into Infinite Campus.

If you don't agree with what a teacher has recommended, you are not locked into that course. For example, we know that there are MANY students who will be recommended for LOTS of honors or AP or IB classes and not want to take all of them. This is completely appropriate and acceptable... in fact, I would say that I absolutely WANT you to prioritize and schedule a balanced load that meets your interests and goals for the future. (And your teachers and administrators want that for you too!)

The first place we suggest you start is by talking with your teacher about their recommendation and the course you would prefer to take. Since your teachers know your learning style and approach they will have important and valuable information for you and your parents to take into consideration when selecting classes. I encourage you to carefully take their recommendations into consideration - especially if they are suggesting you take an "easier" course than the one you were previously considering.

However, we also know that some students may not feel comfortable telling a teacher they want to take a different class than what the teacher was recommending. I am anticipating this could be the case if a teacher is suggesting their elective or core course and you wanted a different one and don't want to hurt the teachers feelings. I get it, but I will also remind you that your teachers should not be pressuring you into anything! This is YOUR future and YOU are the one who will be in the class and doing the work next year! So, know that I am more than happy and willing to talk to you about what courses you would like to change and make adjustments for you. If you and your parents have decided that it is not in your best interest to take a class that your teacher has recommended and you want an easier or comparable course, then we will easily fix this during our individual meeting next week.

If you have decided that you want a more difficult course than what was recommended by your teacher then you must complete the Course Override form (on the Counselor website) in order for us to change that in your schedule. Before you decide to go with a more difficult course than has been recommended, please be VERY careful in thinking through all of the possible implications of doing that because your teacher's are recommending based upon what they know about your learning AND what they know about the classes. They want to make sure that you are being recommended for classes that will help you to be successful in the future.

Financial Literacy

One of the graduation requirements is for all students to complete a Financial Literacy Course.  There are a lot of different classes that can fulfill that requirement, but this tends to make the requirement a bit confusing.

Economics and Financial Literacy - this class is a Social Studies elective course that will give you a SS elective credit and meet the financial literacy requirement.

Personal Financial Management - this class is a Business elective course that will give students an elective credit and fulfill the financial literacy requirement.

Independent Living - this is one of the Family & Consumer Science classes and it will give you an elective credit and fulfill the financial literacy requirement.

Financial Algebra - this is a year long math class that meets the financial literacy requirements while also giving you a math credit.

The cool thing about all of these classes is that they are all covering the same financial literacy standards, but the additional content and approach in the classes are different so that you can select the course which appeals most to you.

We get one more snow/ cold day tomorrow! Enjoy it and start transitioning your sleep schedule back to "school times" if you got yourself flipped around this week.

Time Commitment & Balance

Yesterday I talked about how many classes you need. And I didn't remind you that there is also the opposite side of scheduling where students want to take ALL the classes and fill their schedules up with too many difficult classes compared to what they can actually manage successfully. After all, it is really easy right now (especially when we are in the midst of multiple back-to-back snow days) to think "Oh I can manage to do it all, it will be fine." But then when you're in the midst of actually doing it you can feel like you are drowning.

So, 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. In the past I have 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 understand 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 it on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com.  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.

Enjoy tomorrow's continued Snow/ Cold day!

How Many Classes?

As you continue thinking about your courses for next year (and any subsequent years), it is important to be sure that you are taking enough classes, but you also don't want to over-extend yourself.

For most 9th, 10th and 11th graders, you will be taking 6 classes. That would leave you with room for a lunch and an off period (prep or options or early release or late arrival).

For most seniors, if you are in good standing academically, you can drop to 5 classes. Why do we give you the flexibility to drop to 5 classes? Because the process of applying to college and applying for scholarships is time consuming and we want to be sure that you can give your best to your course work and also your future plans. It is important for seniors to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required to be considered a Full Time student. Being full time is important for a range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, plus colleges definitely want to see you as a full time student. So you definitely won't go below the 5 minimum classes in any semester.

While 5 to 6 classes is the minimum per year, if students are behind on earning credits due to failing classes, then it may be necessary to plan on taking more classes during a semester or the year.

Also, when planning out your classes over the next year, be sure that you double check and make sure you'll be 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, 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 or TOK, you need to remember that these classes are only worth .25 credits per semester so they do not count in the courses needed for co-curricular eligibility.

Enjoy having another day off tomorrow and please, stay warm!

Snow Day & Registration Reminder

I absolutely LOVE snow days! I think the snow is beautiful... from the comfort of my home. :-) And, actually, I think there is nothing more joyful as a kid (and adult for that matter) than the added bonus of an unexpected day off where you don't have anywhere to go, nothing that you have to do, and you have the freedom and flexibility to spend the day doing whatever fills you with joy.

What might that look like? Sleeping in. Reading. Making/ eating yummy food. Listening to music. Cleaning your room. Checking something off your "to-do" list that has been hanging over your head for too long, but you just haven't had time to do it. Participating in a hobby - making something, building something, creating something, coloring/ drawing, playing your instrument, etc. Watching a movie. Catching up on your favorite shows. Snuggling with your pets or teaching them a new trick. Playing in the snow. Shoveling the snow for your family or your neighbors. Drinking hot chocolate. Sitting under a blanket beside a fire.

I feel like the options are endless... and wow, when I read through the list I just wrote, all of that would be a pretty incredible way to fill your bonus day off.

Perhaps you're trying to be productive and check some things off your school to-do list. I have a few reminders there for you as well...

• Register for your classes for next school year! The online registration window is now open so there is no better time to hop online and select the classes you want to take next year.
• Seniors, many of you attended the Scholarship Senior Seminar on Thursday morning, this is a great time to start working on some of those scholarship applications.
• Complete your YouScience assessment. Or, if you already did it, spend some time exploring your strengths in the aptitude section and the potential career matches in the career section. If you haven't done the YouScience brain games yet or if you are ready to look more at your results, you can get there through HelloID.
• If you're planning to participate in CC+ next year, apply to your intended college.
• Juniors, sign up for your 1:1 meeting time with your counselor. (Invitations were sent to your email, but we have links to all of the counselor appointments on the Counselor website).

Even though we have a snow day, the time to schedule your classes for next year is still this week. So please be sure that you do focus on that at some point in this coming week. Remember, next week we will meet with every Freshman and Sophomore student and we will review all of your course requests and answer any of your questions too.

Enjoy your day off tomorrow. Please stay warm, safe, and try to do something that brings you joy in your bonus day off!

Earning Credit

This week a large part of my time has been 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.

So, if you need to repeat a class, by far, most students will do that during summer school. Summer school

Grad Requirements & Reminders

I just got home from Curriculum Night and it is always so fun to see everyone exploring the options available at WKHS. Before I get into reviewing the graduation requirements, I want to remind all students and parents of 2 important events we are offering tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning, Thursday, January 22nd at 8:15am in Room 201 we will host a Senior Scholarship Seminar. This is a quick, 20 minute presentation to help get seniors moving on working on searching for scholarships.

Additionally, tomorrow evening, Thursday, January 22nd, at 7:00pm in the Auditorium we will host a College Credit Plus (CC+) presentation. This presentation is an annual requirement for all students interested in participating in CC+ classes in the upcoming school year. Please make plans to attend if you are considering taking a CC+ class next year!

Now, for graduation requirements. I know they can feel daunting for students and parents because there are so many components involved. With registration starting today, having an idea of what you need to complete for graduation is essential to selecting your classes, so I wanted to take a moment and give a quick overview of the requirements.

Basic Academic Requirements:

• 4 credits of English
• 4 credits of Math
• 3 credits of Science
• 3 credits of Social Studies
• 1/2 credit of PE (or additional elective credit if earning the PE Waiver)
• 1/2 credit of Health
• 5 credits of Electives (anything other than the classes listed above count as electives)
• 1 full year worth of Fine Art completed between grades 7-12
• Financial Literacy requirement (can be met through Personal Financial Management, Economics & Financial Literacy, Independent Living, or Financial Algebra)

Demonstrate Comptency in English and Math:
For most students this will be done by earning comptency scores of 684 or higher on the English 2 and Math 1 state End of Course tests. Students can repeat these tests as needed.

There are a range of other options for how comptency can be demonstrated, but testing is the clearest path. If you need other options, I will be working with you to identify what pathway would work and be a viable option for you in the future.

Show Readiness by earning 2 Seals:
There are 12 seals (9 state seals and 3 local seals) that students can try to earn.
All students must earn 2 seals and one of those two seals must be a state seal
If you visit the counselor website and look at the graduation requirements page there is a link to information about all of the seals. As you click on each seal you will be able to see the specific information about what is required to try to earn that seal.

Today you also received a copy of your transcript. If you or your parents want to see it now or at any other point in time, you can always review your progress by accessing Infinite Campus.

Tomorrow & Registration

Tomorrow kicks off the process for registering for classes for next school year. You will be on a very different bell schedule and then, tomorrow night, you and your parents are invited to WKHS for Curriculum Night as a chance to get more information about the various programs and opportunities available to students.

Here is tomorrow's bell schedule:

• 1st period- 8:40 - 9:20
• 2nd period- 9:25 - 10:50**
• 3rd period- 10:55 - 11:35
• 4th period- 11:40 - 12:20
• 5th period- 12:25 - 1:05
• 6th period- 1:10 - 1:50
• 7th period- 1:55 - 2:35
• 8th period- 2:40 - 3:20

** As you can see - 2nd period is very long and that is because we will be holding class assemblies for the current freshmen, sophomore and junior students to pass along information about course registration and important information you need to know to successfully select your classes.

I recognize that it feels too early to be making decisions about what you're going to take next year when students are still settling 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 we will help you through it. This is a very hectic time of year for us dealing with far more than registration, but I want to reassure you that we are 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 the meeting 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 starting on Friday. The deadline to submit your requests is Friday, January 30th. Counselors 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 21st: Registration materials distributed
• Wednesday, January 21st: Curriculum Night at 7:00pm – you and your parents can come to talk with the teachers and learn more about the different options available to you;
• Between now and the end of February: Individual meetings with juniors and parents as scheduled
• Friday, January 30th: Deadline to submit online course requests
• Monday, February 2nd and Tuesday, February 3rd: Individual meetings with all freshmen students during Modern World History classes
• Wednesday, February 4th and Thursday, February 5th: Individual meetings with all sophomore students during English classes
• Friday, February 27th: Counselor deadlines 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. As you talk about the classes and what your teacher recommends they may enter that information into IC for you so that you don't have to worry about signing up for those classes as they will already be on the list for you.

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 us know if you need help finding a teacher during one of their off periods.) Don't forget that your teacher in the same department will also be able to share a lot of insight with you about the classes options within their department even if they aren't the one who teaches it.

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. The online window for students will open this Friday (January 23rd at 4pm.) 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.

Freshmen and sophomores will be meeting with us individually during your History or English classes. Juniors, you will have individual meeting times. You should have received an invitation to set up our time to meet via email so use the link to select your own meeting time during an off period that works best for you. Please be aware that some of the appointment slots for juniors 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 slides 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, the counselors are here to help you, but I please be patient because having more than 300 students makes it hard to get to everyone all at the same time... and we ultimately have until February 27th to get everything determined and finalized.

Institutional Priorities

In my last post I wrote about dealing with deferrals and it had me thinking a lot about how colleges decide on which students they will accept or reject (or defer). There are factors you absolutely know and control - your grades, the rigor of your classes, your ACT/ SAT test scores, but there are also factors you don't have any control over which can play a large role in an admissions decision and those are their institutional priorities.

Colleges have their own needs, goals and priorities. Those who work in the offices of admission work tirelessly to try to build an incoming freshman class that meets the identified priorities (think talents, qualities, and preferences) of their respective colleges. Some of those might be mission driven and others may be based on needs identified on a shifting basis based upon the students on their campus. But here is the challenge with institutional priorities... you can't influence them. So I would encourage you to let go of that element of stress and focus on the areas you can control. And, if you get a rejection to a college after doing everything "right" know that it likely has less to do with something you are lacking and more to do with the college's institutional priorities and some other students being a better fit for those goals.

Here is a list of some common examples of institutional priorities that a particular college admissions office may receive as a target from their college leadership team:

• Recruited athletes
• Artists, Musicians, Thespians
• Underrepresented backgrounds
• First generation college students
• Geographic diversity (they like to say things like "we have students from all 50 states")
• Academic stars
• College level research with a faculty recommendation
• Major academic competition and scholarship winners
• Students applying to under-enrolled or new academic programs
• Students with special talents
• Faculty and staff children
• Legacies (parent attended the college)
• Development potential (possible future financial donors)
• Gender (males are often rarer at liberal arts colleges and women can be rarer at STEM colleges)

It is important to realize that all of these are not going to be priorities at every college. Additionally, even if you fall into one or more of these categories and it is a priority at the college where you are applying, if you don't have the academic qualifications, you're not going to automatically end up getting admitted to the school.

I hope you had a great lo

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 can often be 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 be 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.

If I were trying to simplify the process, then I would suggest that you review the information communicated by the admissions office and follow their instructions. If they tell you that there are limits on what you can do, follow those. If they don't specify any guidelines, it may be beneficial to reach out and talk to the admissions rep who covers our school to learn more about where you stand and what they would like for you to do to be a more "ideal" candidate.

Almost every college who defers you will allow you to submit a letter of continued interest. This is where you will communicate any updates and information you can share with the admissions staff. In particular, let them know that of any new experiences that you have had or recent accomplishments they weren't previously aware of when you first applied. Updating them on your new activities and accomplishments through concrete examples and, when possible data, 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.

The counselors have also sent an updated copy of your transcript to all of the colleges who require a mid-year transcript through Common App, but if you applied in a different format or it is a school that doesn't require a mid-year transcript, then I'd suggest you requesting to have one of your updated transcripts sent.

Additionally, 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.

You may also be able to consider other outreach efforts to communicate your strengths with the admissions office such as an additional teacher recommendation letter.  (But only do this if they will be sharing new information in their letter that wasn't already addressed in other parts of your application.) Or an additional college visit to the campus.

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.

Searching for Scholarships

Seniors, we will be hosting a Senior Seminar on Searching for Scholarships. The workshop will take place on Thursday, January 22nd from 8:15am - 8:35am in Room 201.

This short, 20-minute presentation will be packed with information to help you explore options to be able to maximize your scholarship search process. The ultimate goal is for you to be able to make college as affordable as possible.

We are only offering 1 session of this and so we are asking for students to please RSVP if you plan on attending because space is limited. Here is the link to RSVP.

We look forward to seeing you at the Senior Scholarship Seminar next week!

College Credit Plus Night

The College Credit Plus (CC+) program is an opportunity for high school students to take college courses while still enrolled in high school. Students have the option of completing courses on a college campus, online, or at WKHS. College classes at WKHS include both classes that are taught by WKHS teachers who are eligible to serve as adjunct faculty at colleges and classes where CSCC instructors are coming to Kilbourne to teach our students.

Classes that we anticipate being taught at WKHS (dependent on enough students enrolling in them) include: Pre-Calculus, Calculus 1, English Composition 1, English Composition 2, English Literature, Intro to Psychology, Intro to Sociology, Intro to American Government, and Ethics.

There are a lot of details involved in participating in the CC+ program and students must complete and submit the paperwork before April 1st to indicate their intent to participate in the CC+ program in the following school year.  CC+ is also available for students to take classes during the summer in addition to during the school year.

In order to explain all of the details of the program and to provide you with the forms necessary, ALL students and parents interested in participating in this program must plan to attend the Academic Options night which will be held on Wednesday, January 22nd at 7:00pm in the WKHS auditorium.  This will be a joint meeting for all of the students and parents in Worthington. Every college in a 30 mile radius is invited to participate in the meeting.  

One thing that is important for students and parents to realize is that this presentation is a state requirement that you must participate in an information session. As a result, please see me if you are unable to attend this meeting so we can explore other options for sessions being provided at local colleges which you can attend if you can't make it to the Worthington meeting. Let me stress this again - this is a mandatory meeting for any students who want to participate in CC+ next year!

Credit Flexibility is another program we will highlight during the Academic Options night.  Credit flexibility allows students to earn credit based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of, or in combination with, completing hours of classroom instruction. Students are able to customize aspects of their learning around their interests and needs. It encourages student self-direction and motivates learners to develop new skills and fulfill their potential. Examples of credit flexibility opportunities include, but are not limited to, independent study, online learning, and demonstration of course proficiency.

If you have any interest in learning more about College Credit Plus and Credit Flexibility, please plan to join us January 22nd!

Parent Lunch & Learn: Registration

The WKHS Counselors will be hosting our next Lunch and Learn Series for parents this Friday, January 16th.  This session will provide information about the upcoming Course Registration/ Selection Process.

As a reminder, the lunch and learns are brief presentations on a particular topic over zoom during lunch time so that parents/ guardians can join and listen in from home or work while eating their lunch.  The goal is that the presentation will take about 15 minutes and then that will give about 15 minutes for any other questions that families might have that we could address as a whole group.  We are excited about this opportunity to leverage technology and to meet families where they are so that you can get the most up to date information that we can share with you.

The session will begin at noon on Friday, January 16th.  The zoom link will be emailed to all parents and we will also post it on the Counselor Website on Friday morning.

We know the idea of making sure that your son/ daughter is selecting the right courses for next year can feel overwhelming, so I hope you will make plans to join us online over zoom so we can help introduce you to the process as well as review the requirements your son/ daughter must meet in order to graduate as that is always the fundamental core of course selection.

Report Cards & 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 "Portal Login" button at the top of the page. You will then see a "Parent Account Recovery" option just below the login button. 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 student's 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.

Counselors will be reviewing all of your grades for the semester and completing credit checks for all of our students so that we 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, we will upload your updated transcript automatically this coming 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 request for your updated transcript being sent to the specific colleges using the online transcript request form on the Counselor Website.

Students of the Month

Congratulations to all of the students who were recognized during Friday morning’s ceremony as WKHS January Students of the Month!

The recognition as a Student of the Month is something that students can only earn once in their high school career. Students are nominated by staff members for the positive contributions they make to our school and community. Students are celebrated for being Confident Communicators, Adaptable Leaders, Critical Thinkers, Responsible Collaborators, and Resilient Learners – all of the characteristics that make up Worthington’s foundational beliefs of a Portrait of a Learner.

The students who were honored as Students of the Month included: Chelsea Afriyie, Aya Ahmed, Muneira Alhajahmad, Diego Alvarez Valencia, Kaitlyn Bradshaw, Gavin Brown, Mason Cost, Abby Day, Ruan De Oliveira, Rosemarie Ezzo, Emily Guarderas Gavilan, Ayza Haque, Hunter Hsu, Yewon (Sophia) Lee, Brady McCarty, Jan Perez, Ivy Pope, Red Tenboer, Mia Williams, and Max Ziskin.

Congratulations to each of you and thank you for the positive difference you make at WKHS!

Crisis/ 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 or text a crisis/ suicide hotline and there will be someone on the other end ready and willing to talk to you who can help brainstorm next steps.  The number to reach out to is super easy to remember - all you have to do is dial 988 and you will be connected to a counselor who can help.

Additionally, 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 in addition to the 988 number. And, for the record - you can text to 988. To contact the crisis text line you can 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!

DACC Application Reminder

I wanted to remind all sophomore and junior students who are interested in the Delaware Area Career Center that the priority application deadline is THIS FRIDAY!

The application is online and available for you to complete now: https://www.delawareareacc.org/o/dacchs/page/high-school-admissions

Remember, this is a competitive process to be accepted, but one of the best steps you can do for yourself is to apply by Friday so that you get the optimal level of consideration for one of their spots.

If you have any questions about DACC and their application, feel free to stop and see me!

Tomorrow's Alumni Day Schedule

Did today feel tiring to you? Perhaps it is just me being old, but wow, I am exhausted after our first day back. I hope you had a good day though.

Tomorrow we are welcoming back a small group of alumni to share their perspectives, insights and experiences with students and so we will be on a different bell schedule. The alumni presentation will take place in the auditorium during a 2A/ 2B schedule. This schedule is below for your reference.

1st period: 8:40-9:19

2nd period and assembly: 9:24 - 10:56

3rd period: 11:01 - 11:40

4th period: 11:45 - 12:24

5th period: 12:29 - 1:08

6th period: 1:13 - 1:52

7th period: 1:57 - 2:36

8th period: 2:41 - 3:20

Happy New Year

** First, I want to remind anyone reading this blog site that I have discontinued the automatic email posts coming from this site. You can sign up to have the posts sent to you automatically from the new blog site - www.wkhscounselors.wordpress.com. I have written and sent 3,951 blog posts since launching this site... which is pretty crazy. I appreciate all of the students and families as well as colleagues who have followed along the way. The new site is simply a way for all WKHS students and families to gather the information and not just "my" families. So please, join us there. And know that I appreciate you still coming back to read the updates.**

Happy New Year! 2026... I wonder how many times I will write 2025 out of habit and if that will continue beyond the month of January. (History would tell me that the answer will be I'll write the wrong date often and far into the year...) But here we are, ready to roll with the 2nd semester and a full 5 day week to get us right back into things.

I hope that you had a restful break and that you're feeling ready to be back at school... or at least ready to see your friends, teachers and classmates again! I haven't been awake even remotely close to "school time" throughout all of break so I am anticipating that waking up in the morning will be rough. I suspect I'm not alone in that concern.

One of the exciting aspects about returning to school tomorrow that I am looking forward to is seeing the new library space and the new Student Services office area - both of which are expected to be back up and running tomorrow. I think those areas being open is going to make our school seem WAY less like a construction zone than it has in the past. I believe that the athletic training room, sports lockers, and music wing addition are the big spaces that the construction teams will be continuing to work on in the 2nd semester - so that is a much smaller area of impact than what we have seen previously. Yay!

In addition to checking out the new spaces of the school, be sure to check Infinite Campus to see which of your semester long classes have changed and where you'll be going for all of the new classes. I know that there is always a lot of uncertainty about how much you will or will not like your classes or the timing of your lunch period and who you will know in the classes or in your lunches. Just try to go into tomorrow with an open mind and hopefully you'll find that you love your schedule. If you don't, remember that you will need to do a schedule change form. These forms are available on the Counselor Website for you to download or you can pick up a form from the front of the Counseling Center - it is on the black shelves to the left of the front entrance near the secretaries. Those forms are required for any year-long classes that you are going to drop and any other significant changes that you are trying to make.

Seniors, remember, you need to think VERY hard about making any schedule changes that could be seen by the colleges as changing your level of rigor from your application. The colleges asked for your senior year schedule because the classes you are taking matter to them. If you decide that you are going to change your schedule, please be sure to double check with each of the colleges to let them know about your planned schedule change and confirm with them that it will not negatively impact your admissions decision BEFORE you make a change to your schedule.

Looking forward to seeing you all and hearing both about your break and what you're hoping for in the new year!