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.

During classes last week, your teachers reviewed the different classes offered within their departments and they also talked with you individually about the courses they would recommend for you to take next year.  Some of the core and foreign language teachers are directly submitting 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 some students who will be recommended for lots of honors or AP 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 that we suggest you start is by talking with your teacher about their recommendation and the course that 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 that they want to take a different class than the one the teacher was recommending.  I am anticipating that 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 the teachers are not trying to pressure 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 that is what I can easily fix during our individual meeting.

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 (also on the Counselor website) in order for me 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.  It would never be my recommendation that you take on a class that is more difficult than what your teachers are suggesting for you.

Time Commitments & Balance

Hopefully you are ready to request your classes online (and thanks to all those who have already done so) .  Don't forget, you need to submit your online registration by this coming Friday (February 3rd) and, if you are a junior scheduled to meet with me this week, please be sure to complete your registration before our meeting. 

When you are considering which classes you want to take it is really important to try to find a balance. You want to challenge yourself with courses that will push you and help prepare you for the future. At the same time you want to remember that it is high school and you need to be reasonable about your expectations for yourself. There is a balance that should be sought - between too many "easy" classes and too many "hard" classes. You know yourself best and what you can handle so while it may feel good to have every teacher recommend you for honors, AP, or IB classes it doesn't mean that it would be the ideal situation to load your schedule with 7 advanced classes. 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 completely understand that this can be hard to figure out the balance because you aren't at next year yet to be able to imagine what your days will feel like, but the Kilbourne staff created a Time Commitment Planning Calendar which can help you gain insight into what your intended plan will really look like.  You can find copies on the Kilbourne Counselor website - www.wkhscounselors.com - or there are hard copies available in the counseling center.  A student helped by completing a sample calendar so that you can see what a completed one looks like and that is also on the Kilbourne Counselor website.  I strongly encourage you to consider 2 of your busiest weeks and fill out the calendar so that you can have a realistic perspective for what the classes you are considering would provide a good balance for you - being both rigorous (particularly in any area of passion) and reasonable.

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

New Classes

One of the exciting aspects at registration time each year is learning about what new classes will be offered for students in the coming school year.  There are 4 new to WKHS classes for next year!

The first class is a huge change that we talked about during the registration presentation and it is the introduction of Quantitative Reasoning as a math course.  Quantitative Reasoning is another class that is equivalent to Algebra 2 and Math 3.  So after completing Math 2, students will have the choice of pursuing either Math 3 or Quantitative Reasoning.  Quantitative Reasoning is designed by the state to be a course that combines math, critical thinking, and real world problem solving.  The guiding principle for WKHS students in making the decision about which class you'd want to take would come back to the question of where do you ultimately want to end up math wise.  If you want to end up in Calculus or PreCalculus, then sticking with Math 3 is what we would recommend.  If you're thinking about potential majors for college that do not need Calculus, then you can try out the new Quantititive Reasoning class.  The state has sample lessons posted on their website as a part of the new course curriculum that I thought were really interesting such as "Are double stuffed Oreo's really double stuffed?" and "Is it better to drive farther for cheaper gas or get the more expensive gas that is nearby?"

The three other new classes are all from the Family & Consumer Science department.

Independent Living - This class is all about practical life skills.  One of the huge pluses of this course is that it also will meet your financial literacy requirements.

Foods for Fitness - This is another eating/ cooking class to go along with Global Cuisines which has been wildly popular this year.  So if you want another class to eat and think about nutrition topics, we now have another choice available to you.

Fashion & Interior Design - Want to think more about sewing, decorating and design of yourself and your environment?  This class could be what you're looking for!

It is always exciting to know that your teachers are working hard to find and develop classes that will be applicable to your life and your future.  All 4 of these classes do just that!

How Many Classes are Needed?

The online registration system is now open to students!  Log in this weekend with your parents and make your course selections so that you can check that off your to-do list.

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

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

It is important though to remember that 5 classes is the minimum required in order to be considered a Full Time student.  Being full time is critical for a wide range of reasons - insurance, child support, good driver discounts, etc.  So you will definitely not want to be looking at less than 5 classes in any semester!

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

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

In order to be eligible you must PASS at least 5 of the half credit courses each quarter. If you are signing up to take a Wellness for Life  or Theory of Knowledge course, 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.

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

AP and IB Classes

Last night I talked about College Credit Plus (CC+) classes and the special steps that students must complete if you want to sign up for those options.  However, that is NOT the only path for students to be able to take challenging classes while in high school and earn college credit for them!

Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit through AP and IB courses.  I wanted to spend a few minutes giving you highlights related to these options so that you are aware as you are scheduling your classes.

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

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

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

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, you can earn college credit for the class.

Each college gets to set their own policy for what AP or IB classes they will give students college credit for completing and what the qualifying score must be in order to earn that credit.  You can usually find this information on the college website as well as on the CollegeBoard website for AP exams.

College Credit Plus

In addition to registration starting, the College Credit Plus (CC+) information for next year has also been released for students in Worthington this week.  CC+ is an opportunity for high school students to be able to earn college credits free of charge.  The state helps to facilitate the costs of this program so they have established very specific requirements for students to complete in order to participate.  One of those requirements is that students have to attend a mandatory meeting every year - even if you have taken CC+ classes in the past.  Fortunately, this meeting requirement is still able to be fulfilled by watching a 2 part video series that is posted on the WKHS Counselor website.

With CC+ classes, there are some classes that will have WKHS teachers teaching the classes all year just like normal, but you get college credit for it.  This includes the PreCalculus and Calculus courses taught by Kilbourne's math teachers.

There are also classes taught by CSCC instructors who will come to Kilbourne and teach their courses.  These courses are different from traditional WKHS classes in that they will be taught 2 days a week for 2 periods a day.  The extra time available on the other 3 days can either be filled with another CC+ class or as time for you to work on studying and completing the work for your college class.  Below is a list of the classes that are going to be offered (depending on level of interest) and when they will run:

First Semester:
- English Composition 1: M/W
- Psychology: T/R
- Ethics: date to be determined based on other requests for students so that students can take all of their desired CC+ classes without conflict (typically T/R)

Second Semester:
- English Composition 2: M/W
- Sociology: T/R
- Government: T/R

If you are currently in AP Lang, when you take the AP Test at the end of the year, if you earn a 3 or higher then you will have earned the equivalency of the English Composition 1 class.  This would make you eligible to go straight to Comp 2.

One of the keys to understand about the CC+ classes is that this is guaranteed college credit IF you pass the class.  (So, unlike AP classes, no test to take on one specific day to try to earn the college credit.)  The credit is guaranteed for every public college in the state of Ohio.  Private colleges and out-of-state colleges all have the option of accepting or rejecting the credit just like they do with AP courses.

If you need me to help you map out how this would look for the classes you are considering, we can do this during your individual meeting or you can stop and see me to discuss the choices.  This is a great, free opportunity and with the cost of college being so expensive, every free class can help so I don't want you to miss out on the chance.  If you are even remotely considering CC+ classes next year, please be sure to watch the videos with your parents, apply to the college(s), and complete and return the intent to participate packet to the Counseling Center!

Graduation Requirements

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

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, IB History, and, for the current sophomores through seniors IB Business and 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 during 2nd period you should have received a summary sheet that shows your graduation status.  If you have lost it or if your parents want to see a copy, you can always review your progress by accessing the Worthington Portal and going to My Accounts and clicking on "Student Graduation Status."