1. Course Selection Information Session Course Selection Information Session Mrs. Pam Doyle (Surnames A to G) Mr. John Blakeney(Surnames H to M) Ms. Susan Noiles (Surnames N to Z)

2. Graduation Requirements In order to graduate in Nova Scotia, students are required to have achieved the following:  English 10, 11 and 12  Two credits in Math  Two credits in Science  Two “other” credits in Math, and/or Science, and/or Technology  One fine arts credit (art, music, drama or dance)

3. Graduation Requirements  One Canadian content course (Mi’kmaq Studies 10 or Canadian History 11 or African Canadian Studies 11)  One credit in Global Geography 12, Global History 12 or Global Politics 12  One credit in physical education Students must achieve a total of 18 credits of which no more than seven may be at the grade 10 level and at least five must be at the grade 12 level.

4. French Immersion To receive the French Immersion certificate, students must complete 9 courses in French Immersion subjects. Students must complete at least 2 courses each year. Your student would have taken 4 or 5 French Immersion courses in grade 10 and will be taking either 2 or 3 French Immersion courses in grade 11 and grade 12. (This minimizes course conflict in grades 11 and 12.)

5. Advanced Placement Starting in fall 2014, we will be offering Advanced Placement courses. Successful completion of an AP course and the international exam gives a student advanced standing in that university course. Advanced placement will begin this fall with the offering of Calculus 12. Other courses will be added over the next few years.

6. Meaning of Course Codes Course codes are based on level of academic content. AC – Academic – acceptable for admission to any post-secondary school (depending on program) AD – Advanced – in-depth content for the student who really loves this subject and is prepared for a possibly increased work load. Accepted for admission to any post-secondary school. OP – Open – course may be acceptable for admission depending on the program. GR – Graduation – course is acceptable for graduation and acceptable for any program requiring a high school diploma for admission.

7. Transcript Information  A transcript is a document issued by the school which contains all courses taken in grades 10 to 12, pass or fail.  If a course is repeated, both marks remain on the transcript. (According to transcript policy, NS Department of Education)

8. English Options Grade 11 -  Advanced English 11 (AD)  English 11 (AC)  English/Communications 11 (GR) Grade 12 –  Advanced English 12 (AD)  English 12 (AC)  English/Communications 12 (GR)

9. Math Options Grade 11 and 12 Math 11Math 12 Math 11 + Pre Calculus 11PreCalc 12 (Calc 12) Math At Work 11Math Fnd 12 Math Essentials 11

10. Science Options Grade 11 –  Biology 11 (AC)  Biology 11 Advanced (AD)  Human Biology 11 (GR)  Chemistry 11 (AC)  Chemistry 11 Advanced (AD)  Physics 11 (AC)  Physics 11 Advanced (AD)  Oceans 11 (AC)

11. Science Options Grade 12 –  Biology 12 (AC)  Biology 12 Advanced (AD)  Astronomy 12 (AC)  Chemistry 12 (AC)  Chemistry 12 Advanced (AD)  Physics 12 (AC)  Physics 12 Advanced (AD)  Food Science 12 (AC)  Geology 12 (AC)

12. Social Studies Options Requirements for graduation - Global Geography 12, Global History 12, or Global Politics 12  African Canadian Studies 11 (AC)  Canadian History 11 (AC)  Comparative World Religions 12 (AC)  Economics 11 (AC) and Economics 12 (AC)  Law 12 (AC)  Political Science 12 (AC)  Sociology 12 (AC)

13. Languages French – Core 11 (AC) OR French – Core 12 (AC)

14. Fine Arts Options Grade 11 -  Visual Art 11 (AC)  Drama 11 (AC)  Dance 11 (AC)  Music 11 (AC) Grade 12 -  Visual Art 12 (AC)  Drama 12 (AC)  Music 12 (AC)

15. Physical Education Options Grade 11 -  Physical Education 11 (OP)  Fitness Leadership 11 (AC)  Physically Active Living 11 (OP)  Yoga 11 (OP)  Martial Arts 11 (OP) Grade 12 -  Physical Education 12 (OP)  Physical Education Leadership 12 (AC)

16. Business Course Options  Accounting 11 (AC)  Accounting 12 (AC)  Applied Broadcast Journalism 12 (AC)  Business Management 12 (AC)  Entrepreneurship 12 (AC)  Tourism 11 (AC)

17. Technology Options  Communication Technology 11  Communication Technology 12  Design 11  Production Technology 11  Production Technology 12  Film and Video Production 12  Math for the Workplace 12

18. Elective Choices  Child Studies 11 (OP)  Co-operative Education 11 (AC)  Co-operative Education 12 (AC)

19. Making Wise Choices When selecting courses:  Read the course selection handbook carefully.  Carefully consider your strengths.  Talk to students already in courses you are interested in.  Consult with teachers.  Look at textbooks.  E-mail questions to your counsellors, Mrs. Doyle, Mr. Blakeney and Ms. Noiles.

20. Making Wise Choices Please Note: Students will be held to their choices for the duration of the school year. Do not select courses as an experiment. Students select courses for the full year. Changing courses for 2014-15 is not possible after mid-April of this year. Also, repeating a course during the same year is not possible.

21. Things to Consider A course required for university admission must be above a specific mark established by the university. If a specific course is required for admission, the post- secondary program will build on knowledge from that course, for example, Math. This course will be a major part of the program so it should involve the student’s strengths. Some post-secondary programs are highly competitive and students with averages higher than the minimum are accepted. Minimum marks do not guarantee admission. Both grade 11 and 12 marks will affect post-secondary admission.

22. Post-Secondary Concerns Achieving the requirements for graduation does not ensure that the student has the specific credits required for admission to a post-secondary program of his or her choice. * Each student must determine the admission requirements for the program he or she wishes to pursue at the post-secondary level.

23. Exploring Your Options If your student is starting the process of deciding what he or she wants to do after completing high school, we suggest spending some time with the computer program Career Cruising©, a program to help students explore career options.

24. Career Cruising© Features of the program:  interest inventories to explore likes, learning styles, work personality, etc.  links to the majority of post-secondary institutions in Canada and the United States  ability to search for programs province by province  and much more……

25. Career Cruising© To access the program, please e- mail your child’s counsellor to receive login and password information.

26. Process for Course Selection Parent/guardian information session Video presentation to students Portal closes and selections reviewed by counsellors. Individual meetings with all students, with changes being made if necessary Changes can be made until April 1

27. Course Selection If you have any further questions, please send enquiries by e-mail to Mrs. Doyle, Mr. Blakeney, and Ms. Noiles at: pamdoyle@hrsb.capamdoyle@hrsb.ca (A to G) jblakeney@hrsb.cajblakeney@hrsb.ca (H to M) snoiles@hrsb.ca (N to Z)snoiles@hrsb.ca

28. Questions?