1. Welcome to Secondary School
Grade 8 Open House
for Students & Parents
for school year
2016/2017
You may want to change the title to the name of your school.

2. General Information about Maple High School
Semestered system - four courses per
semester, 75 minute classes
Early start – August 29, 2016 for Grade 9’s
Wide range of courses to meet needs of
individual students
Excellent teaching and administrative staff
Insert any information you want about your school:
- population
- semestered/non-semestered
- timetable
- administrators’ names
- school council members/contacts
- extracurricular opportunities
- other special aspects of your school

3. Key Goals of Student Success in Secondary Schools
Each student deserves a good outcome:
Providing new and relevant learning opportunities
Building on students’ interests and strengths
Effective transitions
Successful graduation

4. The Student Success Team
Administration Student Success Teachers
Guidance Counsellors Coop Education Teachers
Special Education Teachers Literacy Teacher
Alternative Education Teachers Classroom Teachers
Working together to support:
Student achievement
A smooth transition to secondary school
Success in secondary school
Successful transition to post-secondary

5. Creating Pathways to Success
New Education and Career/Life Planning Program
All students leave secondary school with a clear plan for their initial post-secondary destination. “Students are the architects of their lives.”
Pathways thinking and planning is embedded in all subjects areas
Each student in Grades 9-12 will create an Individual Pathways Plan (IPP) created using Career Cruising
“Creating Pathways to Success puts students at the centre of their own learning. Students are encouraged to discover themselves, explore opportunities, pursue their passions and design their personal pathways to success. It takes the whole education community (educators, administrators, students and parents), as well as the broader community to support students in this learning.”
Framework of program is based on a 4-Step Inquiry process:
Who am I?
What are my opportunities?
Who do I want to become?
What is my plan for achieving my goals?

6. Diploma Requirements (O.S.S.D.) for the 4 year program
18 Compulsory Credits
12 Optional Credits
Successful completion of Ontario School Literacy Test
40 hours of Community Involvement 6

7. 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
Credit in Canadian Geography
Credit in the Arts
Credit in Health and Physical Education .5
Credit in Civics & .5 Credit in Career Studies (grade 10)
Plus………..
4 credits in English (1 credit per grade) • The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) may be used to meet either the Grade 11 or the Grade 12 English compulsory credit requirement. • The Grade 11 Contemporary Aboriginal Voices course may be used to meet the Grade 11 English compulsory credit requirement. • For English language learners the requirement may be met through earning a maximum of 3 credits in English as a second language (ESL) or English literacy development (ELD); the fourth credit must be a Grade 12 compulsory English course.
1 credit in the arts • The Grade 9 Expressing Aboriginal Cultures course may be used to meet the compulsory credit requirement in the arts.
1 credit in French as a second language • Students who have taken Native languages in place of French as a second language in elementary school may use a Level 1 or 2 Native language course to meet the compulsory credit requirement for French as a second language.

8. Compulsory Credits (cont’d)
Plus:
Group 1: 1 additional credit in English, or French as a Second Language, or a Native Language/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, art, 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
The following conditions apply to selections from the above three groups: • A maximum of 2 credits in French as a second language may count as additional compulsory credits, 1 credit from Group 1, and 1 credit from either Group 2 or Group 3. • A maximum of 2 credits in cooperative education may count as additional compulsory credits, selected from any of Groups 1, 2, or 3.

9. The Grade 10 Literacy Test
A diploma requirement.
Administered in March 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 standard not met in first attempt, schools will provide remedial support; test is readministered until student successfully completes the test or 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

10. Community Involvement
A diploma requirement
Encourages civic responsibility, promotes community values and reinforces importance of volunteerism
Complete 40 hours before graduation
Can start in summer after grade 8
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 starting in the summer of grade 8 and 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. They may use their Individual Pathway plan to identify possible activities.
May take place in a variety of settings - businesses, 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.
Please refer to the updated guidelines for Community Involvement at

11. COURSE PATHWAY OPTIONS
IN Gr. 9 & 10
APPLIED
ACADEMIC
LOCALLY DEVELOPED
OPEN
Slide is deliberately prepared so that all courses are on same continuum. One is not better than the next. Students transition from one pathway to the next (rather than moving up or down). Course pathway differences are mainly embedded in learning style.
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) with the help of their guidance counsellor. 11

12. TYPE ENVIRONMENT LEARNER
Locally Developed
Guided approach to learning using practical examples and concrete objects.
Need additional support to build skills up to grade level.
Applied
Step by step approach using practical examples in a teacher directed environment.
Enjoys learning by doing and benefits from a structured , teacher directed setting.
Academic
(including pre-AP)
Theoretical and independent approach to learning with a focus on abstract thinking and application skills.
Enjoys learning independently and going beyond the related learning; self motivated.
Open
An opportunity to explore an area of interest for all students.
Available to all students

13. Compulsory Courses for Grade 9 Students
English
Math
Science
French
Geography
Applied or Academic
Locally Developed
These are the compulsory courses students can take in these pathways.
Physical Education is the same for all students. Classes are divided by Male and Female.

14. French as an Official Language
French is one of Canada’s official languages
French is recognized and valued as an integral component of Ontario’s educational system
The vision of the French program in Ontario is that students will communicate and interact with growing confidence in French
French is a compulsory subject, mandatory from Grades 4 to 9. Students are encouraged to study French in Grades 10 to 12.
Grade 9 French is now offered at the open level for students who are new or have less than 600 hours of instruction in French

15. Global Leaders of Excellence in Academics at Maple
GLEAM
Global Leaders of Excellence in Academics at Maple
Gifted Program – for students with a “Gifted” identification through an IPRC
English, Math, Science, Geography
Advanced Placement Preparation – for students interested in beginning to prepare to write the Advanced Placement exams in Grade 12
Application is required – due by January 29, 2016

16. Elective Courses for Grade 9 Students
Technological Studies
Exploring Technologies
Exploring Hairstyling & Aesthetics
Business Studies
The Arts
Visual Arts
Drama
Music
Learning Strategies
Family Studies
Two choices in grade 9. Three choices in grade 10. Many more choices in grades 11 & 12

17. 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.
Students often choose a combination of course types to support different learning interests and styles.
Remember that initial decisions made in grade 8 are not “final” decisions. There are many pathways to the destination your child dreams of!
OSS 5.3
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.

18. Secondary School Planning
Important to know:
how the student learns best
the student’s interests
the diploma requirements to graduate
the prerequisites for courses
what experiential learning opportunities are available
the admission requirements for postsecondary opportunities (college, apprenticeship, university, workplace)

19. Programs that Support Postsecondary Planning
Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)
Exploring Opportunities Program (EOP)
Co-operative Education
Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP)
Dual Credit Program
Students may take advantage of these opportunities beginning in Grade 11.

20. Apprenticeship Postsecondary Pathway
learn through ‘in-school’ and ‘on-the-job’ education and training in a skilled trade
over 150 skilled trades from which to choose from!
skilled trades are in high demand and offer a rewarding educational and career path.
can apply to apprenticeship after graduation, OR you can get a head start on apprenticeship while in secondary school through Co-operative Education and OYAP.
More info:
Really good short video on how apprenticeship works:

21. College Post-Secondary Pathway
College programs provide a valuable combination of academic and practical/technical skills training for a specific career
Over 1000 programs to choose from including: Business Administration, Biomedical Technology, Computer Animation, Engineering Technology, Paramedic, Social Services, Specialized Arts Programs
Every college offers Diplomas, Advanced Diplomas, Certificates and Bachelor Degrees

22. University  College Postsecondary Pathway
Many agreements between colleges and universities allow students to:
earn both a degree and a diploma in four years;
complete a full college diploma and then continue into later years of a university degree;
complete a general college diploma or certificate and then continue to a university program;
transfer between college programs, university programs, from college to university and from university to college.

23. University Postsecondary Pathway
University programs provide theoretical and some practical training
In general, there are 3 main types of programs at most universities:
Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
Business/Commerce

24. Workplace Postsecondary Pathway
Many entry-level job opportunities for students who have completed their OSSD and have workplace experience
Students who are fast tracking into the workforce/ community directly after high school should:
work with Guidance, Student Success Teacher, Personal Alternative Education Teacher, Classroom Teachers, Employment Centre to create a personal portfolio to present to potential employers
take advantage of any experiential opportunities in high school.

25. The ultimate goal…..WORK!
Apprenticeship
College
High School
Work
Work
University
As interests, skills and aptitudes develop and
mature, there will be many opportunities to re-chart
your journey
Private Training
International
Travel/Educ’n

26. Remember…. Course and Postsecondary Pathways
are changeable and flexible.
As interests, skills and aptitudes develop and
mature, there will be many opportunities to
re-chart your journey.

27. Programs for Students at Risk of Not Meeting Diploma Requirements
Credit Salvaging or Recovery
Individualized pathway planning (i.e. change of course or program choices)
Pathway programs (SHSM, Co-op, EOP, OYAP, Dual Credit).
Personalized Alternative Education
Development of an Individual Education Plan
Early Leavers Re-engagement Strategy
Parents and students need to be involved in discussions with elementary teachers and secondary teachers/Student Success Team, to make appropriate program decisions for students.

28. Students Receiving Special Education Support
Students who require special education support and services will receive this support according to the needs outlined in their I.E.P. Some may be:
modified curriculum expectations
alternative learning expectations
accommodations to the learning environment; monitoring/in-class resourcing
methods to review student’s progress
student transition plan to postsecondary education, work and/or community living

29. ESL Support Programs
ESL courses are provided to help students develop proficiency in English.
Students are assessed for their level of English proficiency in order to be placed in appropriate classes.
Courses are developed from the curriculum policy documents.
OSS 7.3.1
Learning opportunities to enable students to develop facility in English are to be integrated into the curriculum in all subject areas.
For those who may enter an English-language school without the level of proficiency in English required for success.
Maximum of 3 credits towards the 4 compulsory English credits required for graduation. The remaining compulsory credit must be earned at the Gr. 11 or 12 level.

30. Reporting Student Achievement
Standard provincial report card:
Documents achievement in every subject in the form of a percentage grade
Comments on strengths, areas for improvement, and next steps in each subject area
Separates reporting section for attendance and evaluating the student’s learning skills (i.e. homework, initiative, teamwork, etc.)
Summarizes graduation requirements including status of Gr. 10 Literacy test and community involvement

31. Accessing Career Cruising for Course Selection

32.
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36. Elementary Course Selection Dates
Course Selection Presentations will take place at the beginning of January 2016.
Registration Form – due to Grade 8 teacher on January 29th.
Transfer Request Forms due with Registration Form on January 29th.
Career Cruising Course Selections submitted by February 22nd.
Verification Forms sent to schools mid-March.

40. Thank you for your attention……
Please enjoy the rest of your evening
here at
Maple High School!