Pathways Presentation A PARENT’S GUIDE : Making decisions about course selection for grade 8 students transitioning to secondary school Welcome to the Simcoe County District School Board’s Pathway Course Selection Parent Guide. This guide is designed to provide you with the secondary school background information you require to support decisions about the types of programs available to best suit your child’s learning needs.

Ontario Secondary School Diploma Graduation Requirements Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD Requirements) ) 18 Compulsories 12 Electives 40 Hours of Community Service Successfully complete the Grade 10 Literacy Test As your child begins their journey through high school they will need to complete 18 compulsory courses and 12 elective courses to accumulate the credits they need for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma The student will work on 8 credits per year until grade 12 when there will be some flexible timetabling considerations for the types of courses your child is pursuing. In addition, all students must earn 40 hours of community involvement hours. This accumulation can start in the summer immediately after grade 8 and we encourage students to complete their hours early because student life in grade 11 and 12 can get very busy with school and personal obligations. Finally, all students must successfully complete the Grade 10 Literacy test. Next let’s look at course codes.

Understanding Course Codes Each course code has 3 significant components Course Title Prefix Year of Study Type of Course ENG 2 D 16 different beginnings that identify the subject 1= grade 9 2= grade 10 3= grade 11 4= grade12 D= Academic L= Locally Developed O= Open P=Applied All courses in secondary school have a 6 digit code associated with them that is a unique identifier. The first three letters identify the discipline, for example ENG is for English, however there are others that may not be as obvious. For example anything starting with H is for humanities commonly known as social science and all Technology codes start with a T. The other significant digits are the ones that represent the grade and the type of course as academic, locally developed, open or applied. We’ll take a look at the difference between these types in a moment. The 6th digit of the code may vary and is an identifier specific to the school board

Grade 9 Compulsory Courses Elective Courses Art, Music or Drama Business Family Studies Latin Learning Strategies Physical education Technology: Hairstyling, Communications, Construction/ Manufacturing, Transportation English French Geography Mathematics Science Students in grade 9 usually take 5 compulsory courses as identified on the left along with three electives from various disciplines. Each of the compulsory courses require the student to select the type of course content they want to study, the choices being the applied, academic, or locally developed content. If your son or daughter is currently working with the support of an Individual Education Plan consult with the special education resource teacher at your elementary school about additional transition information.

What type of course should we choose? How are they different? Compulsory courses are offered as: Academic Applied Locally Developed Elective Courses are typically ‘Open’ allowing students to experience an area of interest. Let’s review the various types of program content available to your student in the compulsory courses

Locally Developed Pathway most essential concepts of a subject skills are developed through concrete practical tasks real-life applications of content For students who… have gaps in their learning benefit from greater teacher direction, more one-on-one support, and smaller classes have difficulty meeting grade 8 expectations or are working on modified expectations Locally developed content boasts small class sizes and greater teacher support to allow for the development of knowledge and skills that lead to greater independence and life long learning. Students focus on the foundational skills that will support them in all areas of their high school career. Students will demonstrate and relate their learning with practical applications tied to real life experiences. Locally developed content will support ongoing skill acquisition for students who have experienced difficulty with the grade 8 expectations. If your child’s Individual Education Plan supports MODIFIED greade 8 expectations please consult twith the student’s special education teacher about this course content. The development of various competencies in locally developed programming can lead students to pathway transitions that include some applied programming.

Applied Pathway For students who… explores essential concepts of a subject knowledge and skills are developed through practical applications real-life and some theoretical applications of content For students who… benefit from moderate pacing with teacher direction Prefer a moderate workload (some homework completion is required) Are working on grade 8 expectations with achievement below the provincial standard Applied programming develops the concrete knowledge and skills of students through practical applications that demonstrate the essential concepts of specific subject material. Students will be challenged by moderate pacing and homework expectations to support in-class learning activities. Students learn through manipulation of content with the support of visual or kinesthetic aids, and the demonstration of the relationship between the learning and everyday life. Teacher direction is key to student support as they develop 21st century learning skills and engage in life long-learning.

Academic Level For students who… learning essential concepts of a subject and exploring related materials and ideas emphasis on theory and abstract thinking as a basis for future inquiry and problem solving For students who… enjoy thinking, problem solving, researching and reflecting benefit from pacing that is faster regularly complete homework are self motivated learners meet or exceed grade 8 expectations Academic content starts with theory, the understanding of a system of ideas intended to explain something. Programming uses content and theory to enrich learning by developing the abstract thinking skills of students. The content is designed to develop the ability of students to conceptualize or generalize, understanding that each concept can have multiple meanings. Programming that develops abstract thinkers helps students to see patterns beyond the obvious or “outside of the box” and problem solve in creative ways. It also allows for the exploration of ‘big ideas’ related to the content through comparison, hypothesizing and research related to subject content. The work is more demanding and regular homework completion expectations are emphasized. Student in academic programming typically are capable of demonstrating provincial standards in grade 8.

Open Content and programming… Designed to prepare students for further study in particular subject areas Enrich student’s educational experience Expectations are designed, differentiated and appropriate for all students Allows for entry into grade 10 areas of interest without previous experience (eg. a student does not need to have the grade 9 course to be able to explore the grade 10)

Choosing Courses for Student Success Successful course selection is a match between the expectations of high school and the current abilities of the student Your child’s learning skills and work habits, as assessed on the report card should be an indicator of the type of learner they are and the strengths and concerns they may have as they move toward becoming independent learners. Potential ability that is not demonstrated is not always the best indicator for where the child is at for their current learning needs. Matching the type of course content to the learning skills and work habits will provide your child with the confidence to build their independence and self reliance so that they may change their pathway down the road. Consult your student’s grade 8 teacher about your child’s abilities and learning style! They are the current ‘expert’

Different Pathways for Different Courses Not all courses are required to be the same pathway. Eg: A student may take academic English and applied mathematics based on their personal strengths and learning styles. Post-secondary pathways are not what they used to be! Teaching our children about decision making and choices is part of the process of becoming independent and self reliant. It is important to realize that pathways can change along the way as your child matures and learns about their interests and abilities. Parents and students who decide later in high school what kind of path they want to pursue can rest assured that there are many different ways to get where they want to be. It may mean making choices like taking an additional course to fill knowledge gaps, either through transfer courses, summer school or night school, but there is always an opportunity to redirect a pathway.

Math Pathways MCV4U Calculus and Vectors Grade 12 University MAP4C Foundations for College Mathematics Grade 12 College MDM4U Mathematics of Data Management MFM2P Foundations of Mathematics Grade 10 Applied MPM1D Principles of Mathematics Grade 9 Academic MCF3M Functions & Applications Grade 11 U/C MHF4U Advanced Functions MPM2D Grade 10 Academic MCR3U Functions Grade 11 University MEL4E Mathematics for Work and Everyday Life Grade 12 Workplace MEL3E MAT1L Mathematics Grade 9 LDCC MFM1P Grade 9 Applied MAT2L Grade 10 LDCC MBF3C Grade 11 College MCT4C Mathematics for College Technology 2 week transfer course MPM 1DH (0.5 cr.) offered at summer school The math pathways chart provides an excellent demonstration of how the choice of a course in grade 9 can lead to a different destination as the student moves through their high school experience. As one can see from this slide the math pathways for academic lead to grade 12 university courses, applied courses lead to grade 12 college courses and locally developed courses lead to grade 12 workplace courses. However, the important thing to note is that there is an ability to move between the pathways at various stages of the child’s math experience in high school. As the student becomes more confident in their math skills or as they plan for specific destinations they may realize their goals require them to change pathways. Those who start in applied courses can move to the academic stream at either the end of grade 9, by participating in a transfer credit that will have the student learn the math skills that were not in the applied course, or after grade 10 they can move to the University/College math credit in grade 11 leading them toward one of the university destination math courses that may meet their prerequisite requirements for a university program. In either case the personal motivation of the student along with independence, time management, self regulation, and self advocacy will be important for the student as they change pathways. Similar changes can also be made in other subjects. Consult with your child’s current teachers and/or the secondary guidance department at your school to learn more about the pathway options available to your child.

Helping Students with Course Selection There are many supports along the way, including: Guidance / Special Education Student Success Grade 8 Teacher myBlueprint.ca for pathway investigation BNC Course Calendar available on the BNC Website There are a few important points to consider before you make final decisions about the type of course content your child will study within the compulsory courses of their grade 9 year. …

Ready to Choose Courses? Use the Early Success at North hand-out for course descriptions. Complete the paper Option Sheet and submit it to the Grade 8 Teacher by January 18th. Input your courses online by January 30th (to be done at school). We encourage students to make their choices based on the current information available. If circumstances change before September, we will do our best to change their course selection, whether it be a specific course or a pathway change. We are here to help!