1. What do OCDSB Secondary Secondary Schools have to offer? Pathways, Supports, and Opportunities

2. High School Considerations Many parents and students focus primarily on location, but what else should we consider? What are some reasons that could make staying in the public system for high school better for your children and why?

3. OCDSB advantages More elective opportunities DELF No compulsory fees International Certificate Program Special Education and Student Success models Emphasis on transition support

4. 50% more electives: To graduate with OSSD students need 18 compulsory credits + 12 electives In Catholic system, Religion Class = 4 credits, reducing the true number of elective choices from 12 to 8 This means more opportunities for breadth of study in OCDSB

5. D.E.L.F. The D.E.L.F. is the Diplôme d’étude en langue française Globally recognized program to assess French language, only offered in OCDSB Significant advantage for students looking for part-time, summer, or permanent work that requires French language proficiency

6. No compulsory fees OCDSB has made commitment to follow the Ministry of Education directive on ensuring there is no cost to access the curriculum. No course fees, no lab fees, no shop fees, no cost Outdoor Education, and so on. Some costs for voluntary activities such as field trips and extra-curricular programs (athletics, clubs, AP, etc)

7. International Certificate Program The International Certificate Program (I.C.P.) creates more globally awareness student citizens and links students with potential travel opportunities I.C.P. is another opportunity for students to demonstrate self-selected enrichment to post-secondary and employers Participants earn the certificate by: Studying an international language; taking internationally-focused classes; understanding global issues; participating in an internationally focused project of their choice, and more. Again, this is only available in OCDSB

8. Special Education Model Special Education programs are in place in all school boards, but each board does things slightly differently OCDSB offers special education support within every community school along with the opportunity to access even greater levels of support and specialized programming in our two adaptive sites (Sir Guy Carleton and Ottawa Technical Secondary School)

9. Student Success Model The Student Success program is an initiative from the Ministry of Education that is in place in all school boards Credit Recovery/Rescue OCDSB offers extensive ongoing credit intervention or rescue during a course, along with credit recovery after an unsuccesful course Also support for ILCs (independent learning courses) and on-line courses for all students

10. Transition Supports Focused on creating positive transitions for our students moving from grade 8 to grade 9 LINK crew program, which matches trained senior student leaders with the incoming grade 9 students Grade 8 preparation/visits includes tours for students, open house for parents, secondary guidance teachers to feeder school for option selection support, and more….

11. SCHS Advantages Facilities Transportation Focus on well-being and nutrition SHSM programs Wide selection of elective programs Cooperative education, Dual-Credit programs, and other links to post- secondary

12. Facilities New buildings look nice on the outside, but aren’t always an advantage… Traditional buildings (older like us!) have spaces such as auto shop, theatres, wood shop, art rooms, etc. that are typically built on a much bigger scale in the older buildings than in new facilities

13. Transportation While some parents and students may look at the need to take a yellow school bus as a negative, the fact is that school buses are the safest mode of transportation for getting children back and forth to school (source: NHSTA).

14. Well-being and nutrition SCHS has made a significant investment in new fitness facilities and a new foods laboratory (kitchen!) Our very popular Foods and Nutrition program provides an opportunity to learn valuable and practical facts and skills Our new “cross-fit” style facility and full spinning studio supports student interest in personal fitness

15. SHSM programs SHSM programs (manufacturing, house building, digital information technology, health and wellness) offer Red Seal diploma and additional certifications for students recognized within industry We are also planning on introducing a fifth SHSM program in Transportation technology (Auto) next year.

16. SCHS elective programs We have a very strong Music program, with for-credit band as well as guitar and instrumental music courses at all levels Our very popular and successful Dance program is the largest in the West end Our other arts programs include Drama, Performance Drama, Visual Arts, and Painting and Drawing courses

17. SCHS elective programs In addition to Auto, Wood, and Communication Technology courses, we also offer Manufacturing Technology and Computer Engineering courses. Outdoor Education and Personal Fitness courses complement the traditional Physical Education opportunities We also run a SPARK program that pairs fitness with English

18. Coop Education Our extensive Cooperative Education program connects our students with one of our many very supportive community partners to provide half or full day opportunities to learn on the job Dual-credit programs offer some of our students the opportunity to obtain college credits while in high school