Friday's Fun

Arts in Action is an annual tradition where we celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the WKHS students in your artistic pursuits.  Everywhere I turned on Friday it was exciting to see and hear all of the talent which you have worked so hard to develop.  Below are a few pictures of some of my students participating in the 2012 Arts in Action.

Cassie Barrett competing in the Pottery Throwdown - she was champion 2 years in a row!

Jacob Bloom competes in the Pottery Throwdown Competition

 Mariah Minichello with the teapot and cups she had created that were on display.

  Hannah Vincent shows off her face paint.

On Friday evening I had the chance to attend the Kilbourne Theater production of The Nerd.  This show featured many seniors including one of my students, Josh Cook.  The show was funny and everyone involved did a great job.  It was a wonderful evening and was the perfect way to wrap up an art-filled day of fun.

Senior Recognition Night

Tonight was the Senior Recognition Night - a time when graduating seniors are honored for the contributions and awards they have received over the last four years of high school.  In addition, tonight also celebrated the scholarships that the seniors have been awarded.  This is such a special evening to celebrate your accomplishments.  I am proud of you and was grateful to be able to participate in your evening of well-deserved recognition!

With so many of “my” students being honored tonight there was no way that I could try to get the entire group together for a picture, but I was able to grab this group of students who happened to be near one another during the post-ceremony reception.  Back Row (L to R): Cole Doran, Keeler Callahan, Riley Brehm, and Nick Bortolani  Front Row (L to R): Josh Cook, Hunter Atha, Carly Cameron and Meredith Schram

Congratulations to everyone honored tonight! 

College Athletics

Athletics are a major aspect in the lives of many high school students.  When sports are so much a part of your identity it can be hard to imagine never playing the sport(s) you love again in the future.  Luckily, you don’t have to walk away from your sports completely when you head to college.  Some students will participate at the varsity level in college while others will elect to participate on club or intramural teams.  No matter what level of sports you decide to pursue in college, try to remember that you need to embrace your passions and build upon your hobbies as they help bring balance to your life and that will help to reduce your stress.

While there are definitely advantages of college sports, it is important to realize that simply because you are going to continue participating in athletics, it does not mean that you will receive athletic scholarships.

These two posts provide great insight into some of the facts related to The Odds of Getting an Athletic Scholarship

Part 1

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-odds-of-getting-an-athletic-scholarship-2

Part 2

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/the-odds-of-getting-an-athletic-scholarship-part-ii

You don’t have to give up your dreams of college sports, but remember that it is important to keep everything in perspective.  If you have any questions about your plans for collegiate athletic participation, please stop by so that we can discuss it.

Senior Details

For seniors everything is winding down... well, actually, everything but graduation parties which are just beginning.  :-)

At this point in time you are hopefully finishing up your school projects and are prepared for your final exams and any other remaining academic requirements since you only have a few days left. I wanted to make sure that you had taken care of some of the other last minute details...

* Finish strong: If you are not doing well in your classes, please make sure you do everything that you need to do to pass your classes with the highest grades possible. Above all, please make sure that you pass all of your classes that are requirements for graduation!

* Final Transcript: As I mentioned in my last post, when you graduate from WKHS and move on to college the college will want a copy of your final transcript showing your 2nd semester grades and the fact that you did graduate. As is always the case we cannot release your records without your express written permission. So, it is essential that you complete one of the yellow transcript release card and turn it in with $1.00 to one of the secretaries in the counseling center so that we can mail your transcript to your college.

* Fees/ Fines: Some students still have outstanding fees and fines that you owe to the school. It may be a very small fee for an overdue library book or it could be a much larger fee for a lost textbook, but either way, please make sure that all of your debt is paid so that you will be able to participate in the commencement ceremony.

* Textbook/ Library Book Returns: You will need to turn in all of your textbooks as well as any library books that you still have. The book room will be open for you to return your textbooks after you have finished with your exams and are done with your books.

* Scholarship Thank You's: If you received a scholarship, don't forget the importance of writing a thank you note to the individual, group or organization who is providing you with the scholarship. This article provides good information and suggestions as you write your scholarship thank you.

* Stop by and see me: Selfishly, I would like to also add this to your list as I would love to have a few more minutes with you while you are still in high school. And, for those of you who still haven't given me a senior picture, I will remind you again that I would love to have one! :-)

Final Transcripts

Every senior student that is planning on attending a 2-year or 4-year college next year needs to make sure that you have requested a copy of your final transcript. As was the process when you applied to college earlier this year, you must sign off on the transcript release card in order to grant us permission to send your transcript. After you have stopped in to see me and completed your transcript release form, you will take the card and $1.00 to Mrs. Hoyt.  She will then hold your request card and this summer, after all grades have been submitted, she will mail your transcript directly to your selected college.

Madness of the Schedule

Last week the WKHS administration officially "locked" the master schedule into place and handed it over to the counselors. What this means is that they have determined what time of day and in which room each class will meet during the school day for next year to try to meet the most student requests possible. They ran all of your requests through the computer to obtain as high of a match rate as possible. 

And now, the "fun" part starts. Unfortunately, everyone's schedule requests do not work exactly like we had hoped. As counselors we are now going through each schedule that didn't match by hand to try to figure out if there is a solution and what possible options we can use to make a schedule fit together. I have already spent countless hours pouring over schedules and still have a long ways to go. Needless to say I have a lot of work to do and will likely have to continue calling down some of you to talk about back up choices based upon the conflicts in your schedule. This is never easy and I know it is disappointing when you don't get all of the classes that you wanted, so I promise that I am doing the best I can to make everything work together.

All students are STRONGLY encouraged to take at least 5 classes each semester plus the 2 PE classes. This would mean that if a student took the minimum recommended courses that he/ she would graduate from high school with 20.5 credits. If you are considering a 4-year college, we STRONGLY encourage you to take MORE than the 5 course minimum. The goal of working with recommendations as opposed to requirements is that we do not want to force students into courses that he/she hates and would therefore perform poorly in because of this lack of interest. We would rather you utilize your extra time in meaningful ways such as community service, clubs or organizations of interest, athletics, or a part-time job - all of which will add meaning to your college application. Plus, students that are sitting in classes that they do not want to be taking are preventing other students from taking the same class that is of significant interest to them.

I also know that as I continue calling down students to talk about their conflicts everyone else wants to stop by and find out where their classes fall during the day and I am BEGGING you to wait a few more days before we start looking at your classes. And to answer some of the questions that I hear every year at this time, no, I am sorry you can not have a copy of your schedule and no, it is not set in stone, so even though it might look perfect to you now, I can't guarantee that it will be exactly the same next year when we start up again. Thanks for your patience!

Time is Running Out

Seniors have just 11 days remaining and underclassmen have 15 days (including exam days) before summer break.

Obviously that means every moment counts if you are not doing well in your classes and you are trying to pull off a passing grade for the semester.

For the current juniors (soon to be seniors) don't forget that if you need a teacher recommendation letter this is the ideal time to ask a teacher to write a letter for you so that they have the entire summer to work on the letter. You will need to provide them with some basic information about yourself and I strongly encourage you to complete the "Teacher Recommendation Request" form which can be downloaded from the WKHS Counselors website. Please be respectful of the time required to write rec letters and if you are applying to schools that do not need recommendation letters, do not waste a teacher's time by asking one of them to write a letter for you. (If you are uncertain about which schools need letters, please look it up or feel free to stop in and see me and I will help you determine if a letter is needed.  As a general rule of thumb, the public colleges in Ohio do not need recommendation letters.)

Even though the weather is improving and summer is approaching, please focus on making the most of each day and preparing for the future.