1. Welcome to Unionville High School
General Information & Course Selection Information
for
Grade 8 Students & Parents/Guardians
Academic Year

2. Unionville High School Administration
Maureen Weaver, Principal
Joe Mancuso, Vice Principal
Lisa Perez, Vice Principal
Melissa Schmidt, Vice Principal

3. General Information About Our School
Unionville High School is a semestered school
We house one of the four intensive arts programs that the York Region District School Board offers – ARTS Unionville
UHS offers the Specialist High Skills Major program in Arts & Culture and Business

4. Diploma Requirements (O.S.S.D.) for the 4 year program
18 Compulsory Credits
12 Optional Credits
Successful completion of Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
40 hours of Community Involvement
Ontario Secondary School Diploma 4

5. 18 Compulsory Credits 4 Credits in English (1 credit per grade) 1
Credit in French as a Second Language 3
Credits in Mathematics (at least 1 in Gr. 11 or 12) 2
Credits in Science
Credit in Canadian History (grade 10)
Credit in Canadian Geography (grade 9)
Credit in the Arts
Credit in Health and Physical Education .5
Credit in Civics & .5 Credit in Career Studies (grade 10)
Plus………..

6. Compulsory Credits (cont’d)
Group 1: 1 additional credit in English, or French as a Second Language, or a Native Language, or a Native Studies , or a Classical or an International Language, or Social Sciences and the Humanities, or Canadian and World Studies, or Guidance and Career Education (including Learning Strategies), or Cooperative Education* Group 2: 1 additional credit in Health and Physical Education, or Business Studies, or the Arts (music, visual art, dance, drama), or French as a Second Language or Cooperative Education* Group 3: 1 additional credit in science (grade 11 or 12) or technological education (grades 9-12), or French as a Second Language or Computer Studies or Cooperative Education*
A maximum of 2 credits in French as a second language may count as additional compulsory credits.
A maximum of 2 credits in cooperative education may count as additional compulsory credits.

7. The Grade 10 Literacy Test
Administered in April of the grade 10 year
A test based on language and communication (reading and writing) expectations of curricula up to and including grade 9
Accommodations, deferrals and exemptions may be appropriate for some students
If a student does not meet the standard in the first attempt, schools will provide remedial support; the test will be re-administered until the student successfully completes the test or alternatively successfully completes the Grade 12 Literacy Course
OSS 3.1.4
The test is based on curriculum expectations from across the curriculum, not just English courses.
The test will serve both to determine whether students have acquired the reading and writing skills considered essential for literacy, and to provide confirmation that those students who have completed the test successfully have attained the provincial expectations for literacy. The test will identify those students who have not demonstrated the required skills and will identify areas in which these students need remediation.
We will provide remedial assistance for students who do not complete the test successfully. The assistance will be designed to help students improve their skills so that they are better prepared to retake the literacy test.
Accommodations - must be made to ensure that students who are receiving Sp. Ed. programs and who have an I.E.P. have a fair and equal opportunity to successfully complete the test; may or may not be IPRC; same accommodations as set out in the I.E.P.
Deferrals - may include students who have been identified as exceptional and students in ESL/ELD courses
Exemptions - students whose I.E.P. indicates that the student is not working towards attainment of a diploma may be exempted; should the I.E.P. be revised so as to allow the student to work towards the attainment of the diploma, then the student could take the literacy test

8. Community Involvement
A diploma requirement
Encourages civic responsibility, promotes community values and reinforces importance of volunteerism
Students can start their community service on July 1st after their Grade 8 school year
Complete 40 hours before graduation
Student responsibility to keep record of activities
Guidelines and forms will be provided to help track community involvement
A good way to explore career interests
OSS 3.1.3
Activities may be completed at any time during a student’s years in the secondary school program.
Students, in collaboration with their parents, will decide how they will complete the community involvement requirement.
May take place in a variety of settings - not-for-profit organizations, public sector institutions (hospitals), and informal settings; students may not fulfill the requirement through activities that are counted towards a credit, through paid work, or by assuming duties normally performed by a paid employee.
To be complete outside student’s normal instructional hours - can be in lunch hours, after school, on weekends or during school holidays.
Completion of the required hours must be confirmed by the organization or persons supervising the activities.

9. COURSE TYPES IN GRADES 9 AND 10 APPLIED ACADEMIC OPEN
LOCALLY DEVELOPED
Slide is deliberately prepared so that all courses are on same continuum. One is not better than the next. Students do not drop down to a pathway or move up. Rather, they transition.
Students must consider which pathway is appropriate for their learning style.
They should rely on their Grade 8 teachers who have a good understanding of their learning style
Students do not need to take all of one pathway – they can, for example, take applied math, and academic English (depending on their interests and learning style).
Students can also transition from one course pathway to another (i.e. locally developed to applied, applied to academic or academic to applied) 9

10. TYPE APPROACH ABILITY APPLIED
Step by step approach to learning using theory and practical examples.
ACADEMIC
Theoretical and independent approach to learning with a focus on critical thinking skills
LOCALLY DEVELOPED
Guided approach to learning using practical examples and concrete objects.
OPEN
An opportunity to explore an area of interest for all students
ABILITY
Working at or above grade level
Working below grade level in Math, English or Science
Available to all students
APPLIED – Hands on. Assignments/work divided into chunks. Smaller groupings
ACADEMIC – Students are able to take on larger tasks. Can be more resourceful on their own and can chunk out their work on their own.
Locally developed – Small groups. Curriculum is tailored to student needs. 10

11. Course Pathways Applied or Academic Locally Developed English Math
French
Science
Geography
History
Applied or Academic
Locally Developed
Course Pathways
These are the compulsory courses students can take in these pathways.

12. Optional Courses For Grade 9 Students At Unionville High School
Technological Studies
Exploring Technologies
TIJ1O1
Exploring Computer Technology
TEJ1O1
Business Studies
Information and Communication Technology in Business
BTT101
The Arts
Dance
ATC101
Dramatic Arts
ADA101
Music
Band, Instrumental, Woodwinds, Repertoire, Choral
Visual Arts
AVI101
Family Studies
Exploring Family Studies
HIF101
Two choices in grade 9. Three choices in grade 10. Many more choices in grades 11 & 12

13. Making the Choice…
Parents and students will select courses in collaboration with elementary school teachers, guidance counselors, student success teachers and administrators
It is important that students do an honest self assessment, matching their ability with their interests and aptitudes
Remember that initial decisions made in grade 8 are not “final” decisions. There are many pathways to the destination your child dreams of!
Keeping in mind that both Applied and Academic courses are equally rigorous and both course pathways prepare the student for the next level of high school, decisions need to be based on the best style of learning for the student and on interests, not on ability.
Emphasize that being able to choose between two course types and two different approaches to learning should be based on which course will provide the student with better chances for SUCCESS in gr. 9.

14. UNDERSTANDING THE COURSE CODE
ENG 1 P 1
SUBJECT
GRADE
COURSE TYPE
FOR IN SCHOOL USE
Eng = English
1 = Grade 9
2 = Grade 10
3 = Grade 11
4 = Grade 12
The fifth character (P in this example) refers to the type of course
P = Applied
D = Academic
L = Locally Developed
O = Open
E = Workplace
C = College
M = University/College
U = University
The sixth character (1 in this example) is for in school use
M = Arts Unionville

15. STUDENT TIMETABLE SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 Period 1 ENG1D1-02 (English)
Home Room
8:30 – 8:35
SEMESTER 1
SEMESTER 2
Period 1
8:35 – 9:50
ENG1D1-02
(English)
303
BTT101-03
(Business)
319
Period 2
9:54 –11:09
PPL108-01
(Physical Ed)
108
CGC1D1-02 (Geography)
349
Period 3
11:13 – 12:28
Lunch/AMI101
132
Period 4
12:32 – 1:47
SNC1D1-05
(Science)
328
FSF1D1-02
(French)
232
Period 5
1:51 – 3:06
ADA101-01
(Drama)
134
MFM1P1-03
(Math)
243
ASP
3:10 – 4:30
AMR101
(Music)

16. To Access On-line Course Selection:

17. On-line Course Selection
Go to
Scroll down to the bottom left
Click on CAREER CRUISING – SECONDARY COURSE SELECTION

18. Then Click On ……….

19. Students are directed to sign into the site with the district assigned account. The portfolio username for student is york-xxxxxxxxx where xxxxxxxxx is the StudentID (Trillium Student Number). When logging in for the first time the password will be the student’s birth date using the format mmddyyyy. The student can then change the password.
Using the unique Username and Password allows York Region students to maintain their Portfolio of career research and course planning throughout their high school journey.
This will guide them to the course p[lanner where they select their courses.

20. Click on Course Planner

22. Questions ?????????