Looking Ahead: A Student Guide to Making Choices in High School
A Grade 8 Student Guide
During the high school years, you will explore your interests and think about your future goals. All Grade 9 courses build on the Grade 8 curriculum, and all will require you to meet rigorous standards as they prepare you for studies in the senior grades. As you prepare for Grade 9, you will have many interesting choices to make.
Choosing Your Grade 9 Courses
In disciplines such as the arts, health and physical education, and business studies, all students will take the same type of course, called an open course. In the core subjects, however, students will choose between two different types of courses: academic and applied.
What are the subjects in which you have a choice between academic and applied courses?
• Mathematics
• English
• Science
• Geography
• History
• French as a Second Language
Grade 9 and 10 Course Types
Academic courses:
• cover the essential concepts of a subject with opportunities for theoretical and abstract thinking
• these courses will be more academically challenging
Locally Developed Courses:
• students will learn the most essential concepts of a subject
• school staff generally recommend these courses for students with specific learning needs
• students may require greater teacher direction and instruction to accommodate learning needs
Applied courses:
• cover the essential concepts of a subject
• emphasis will be on the practical and concrete applications of the concepts
Open Courses:
• Students will learn concepts and skills designed to prepare for further study in the subject area
• expectations are designed and appropriate for all students
• generally the optional courses (e.g. physical education, art, etc.) are offered at the open level
How will you decide which type of course —academic or applied— is best for you?
• Your choice will depend on your strengths, your interests, and the way you learn best.
• You can choose different course types in different subjects — or the same type in all subjects.
• Academic and applied courses in Grade 9 will prepare you for both academic and applied courses in Grade 10.
• The courses you choose for Grade 10 will be linked to your future goals.
When you are part way through Grade 9, you will choose your courses for Grade 10. As long as you successfully meet the expectations in a Grade 9 applied or academic course, you can go to take either type of course in Grade 10. These courses will prepare you for Grades 11 and 12 and for what you want to do when you finish high school.
Your Grade 11 and 12 courses are the pathways to your post-secondary destination. Many of these courses will require you to have successfully completed a particular course in Grade 10 (a “prerequisite”) so you’ll have to make sure that the Grade 10 courses you want will get you into the senior courses you need.
Grade 11 and 12 Courses: Pathways to Your Destination
In Grades 11 and 12, you will be able to choose from among workplace preparation, university/college preparation, college preparation, and university preparation courses.
What if my interests change?
Over the course of your four years in high school, your interests and goals might change as you gain experience and learn about new career options. If this should happen, you will be able to change pathways by taking a transfer course. Transfer courses will allow students who are taking one type of course in Grade 10 or 11 to switch to another type in the same subject in the next grade.
Grade 11 and 12 Course Types
Workplace
• prepare students to move directly in to the workplace after high school, or be admitted into apprenticeship or training programs
• focus on employment skills and practical workplace applications
• many involve cooperative education and work experience
College
• provide the knowledge and skills required to meet the entrance requirements for most college programs
• courses focus practical applications and examine underlying theories
University/College
• prepare students to meet entrance requirements of certain university and college programs
• focus on both theory and practical applications
University
• provide the knowledge and skills needed to meet university entrance requirements
• courses emphasize theoretical aspects of subjects and consider related applications
Where can I get help making decisions?
Talk to teachers, principals, and guidance counsellors, or to your teacher adviser. Your teacher adviser will work with you and your parents to help you plan your courses, set goals, and keep track of your progress. Until you reach the age of 18, your course selections must be approved by a parent or guardian.
Guidance and Career Education: Guidance counsellors can provide students with detailed information about various careers and about the course selections that will prepare them for entry into those careers. Students will also be required to take a half-year or half semester career studies course in order to graduate. Guest speakers, representatives from colleges and universities, workplace visits, and workshops will also provide students with career information.
Special Education: A student who participates in special education programs and services in Grade 8 can continue to do so in high school. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed and maintained, based on a thorough assessment of the student’s strengths, needs, and interests. For students with disabilities who are fourteen years of age or older, the IEP will include a coordinated plan to help prepare the student for living independently in the community and to facilitate the transition to postsecondary education or the workplace.
Remedial Help: Students in Grade 8 who are not receiving special education services but need additional help to meet curriculum expectations will continue to receive remedial help in high school. For example, Grade 8 teachers may recommend that a student take a Locally Developed Course in English, Math or Science. It is very important for students and their parents to review all the services offered through the board and, with the help of their elementary and high school principals, to arrange to participate in the ones that best suit their needs. Parents of students who continue to find course work too difficult can ask for a review to determine whether special education services are needed. If they are, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed.
What courses does a typical grade 9 student take?
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Although specific course offerings may vary from school to school, most students will take 6 compulsory credits and 2 optional credits in grade 9. Information about the specific courses offered in each subject area (compulsory and optional) is available through the school guidance office, school calendar, and at information night. |
Compulsory credits: • English • Mathematics • Science • Geography • French as a Second Language • Physical Education |
Optional Credits(2): • Arts and/or • Business and/or • Technology |
“Public Education creates a dynamic environment for learning which prepares students to face a changing world as life long learners and informed responsible citizens.” |
(Limestone District School Board Statement of Beliefs) |
High School Diploma Requirements:
Compulsory Credits (total of 18) • 4 credits in English (1/grade) • 1 credit in French as a second language •
3 credits in mathematics (at least 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12) • 2 credits in science • 1 credit in Canadian history • 1 credit in Canadian geography • 1 credit in the arts (music, art, drama, or dance) • 1 credit in health and physical education • credit in civics and credit in career studies (grade 10)
Plus: • 1 credit in English, or French as a second language, or a Native language, or a classical or international language, or a social science, or Canadian and world studies or guidance and career education, or cooperative education* • 1 additional credit in health and physical education, or business studies, or the arts, or cooperative education* • 1 additional credit in science (Grade 11 or 12) or technological education (Grades 9-12), or cooperative education*
* A maximum of 2 credits in cooperative education can count as compulsory credits. A maximum of 3 credits in English as a second language (ESL) or English literacy development (ELD) may be counted towards the 4 compulsory credits in English, but the fourth must be a credit earned for a Grade 12 compulsory English course. May include up to four credits achieved through approved Dual Credit courses.
Optional Credits (total of 12) • in addition to the 18 compulsory credits • students have to earn 12 optional credits in courses of their choice, selected from the full list of courses available in the school • allow students to build an educational
program that suits their individual interests, and meets university, college, apprenticeship or work requirements
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Cooperative Education/Workplace Experiences Courses in various disciplines and short term workplace placements may be offered through the cooperative education program, which can benefit all students, whatever their postsecondary destination.
The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program enables students in Grades 11 and 12 to complete their high school diploma while starting their apprenticeship training.
Literacy Requirements for Graduation • students must successfully complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) or pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) in order to earn a diploma • the OSSLT is written in March of the Grade 10 year • students who do not pass the test receive extra help to prepare them for retesting
Community Involvement Activities • all students must complete 40 hours of unpaid community involvement activities in order to graduate • students can choose their own community involvement activities, within guidelines • students are responsible for
fulfilling this requirement on their own time, and for keeping a record of their activities on a form supplied by the school |
Some Terms You Should Know
Course codes: A five-character identification code in which the first three characters refer to the subject, the fourth character refers to the grade or level, and the fifth character refers to the type of course. Course codes are given in the school course calendar for all courses offered by the school.
Credit: A credit is granted when a course of at least 110 hours is completed successfully.
Ontario Student Record (OSR): An official record for each student, which contains: achievement results, credits earned and diploma requirements completed, and other information important to the education of the student. Students and their parents (if the student is not an adult) may examine the contents of the OSR. These records are protected by the Education Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Ontario Student Transcript (OST): The student’s official record of credits earned and other graduation requirements completed. It is part of the Ontario Student Record. Copies of the transcript are available to students and graduates. In Grades 9 and 10, only successfully completed courses will be recorded on the student transcript. If a student withdraws from or fails to successfully complete a Grade 9 or 10 course, no entry will be made on the transcript. In Grades 11 and 12, all courses taken by the student, whether successfully completed or not, will be recorded on the transcript. If a student withdraws from a Grade 11 or 12 course before a specified time, the withdrawal will not be recorded. A student’s final result on the Grade 10 Test of Reading and Writing, as well as confirmation that the student has
completed the community involvement requirement, will also be included in the student transcript.
Prerequisite courses: Courses that students are required to take before they can enrol in certain courses in Grades 11 and 12. When choosing courses in Grades 10 and 11, students should examine the school course calendar carefully and select the prerequisites that will allow them to pursue the courses they want to take in the higher grades.
School course calendar: An annual course calendar, which describes the courses offered by the school in the coming year. The calendar also provides information on school policies; sets out expectations about students’ responsibilities, achievement, and attendance; and outlines
the school’s code of student behaviour.
Semestered schools: Semestered schools are schools that offer courses on a half-year basis. Students normally earn four credits in the first semester, from September to January, and another four credits in the second semester, from February to June.
Where Do I Go From Here?
Talk to the people closest to you:
Your parent or guardians and your Grade 8 teachers are your allies and they know you best. Ask them for advice.
Attend an information night:
Most high schools and elementary schools will host an information night about the Grade 9 program. You will learn about what is expected from you as a high school student, as well as about the many opportunities that will be available to you during the next four years.
Tour your local high school:
A tour is a great way to see education in action. Many schools offer planned tours for new students, which may include sitting in on Grade 9 classes.
Check out your local high school’s website:
Visit our website at and follow the links to the school website of your choice. You can find out about the school’s programs, the staff, important dates and events at the school, and school policies and procedures.
Adapted from “Stepping Up: Your Guide to Ontario’s New Standards for Ontario” (Ministry of Education and Training, Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 1998)
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