Get ready for High School – Course selection starts in January
December 20, 2023
GUELPH, ON – Getting ready for high school is an exciting time for grade 8 students and their families. Did you know that course selection for incoming grade 9s happens in January?
Here’s some important information for grade 8 students and their parents/guardians:
- All course selection for incoming grade 9s happens in January – regardless of school or program
- If the student is going to a different school board for high school – check in with that school board to learn about their important dates and expectations
- If your child is new to the UGDSB, please check with the school you will be attending for their registration processes, course calendars, and course selection sheets
- All grade 8 students will be provided time during school hours in January to go through the course selection process in myBlueprint with their teacher/school staff
- While students are invited to explore course options with parents/guardians outside of school, courses should not be submitted in myBlueprint until your child has reviewed selection with staff during school hours.
Grade 9 courses are either destreamed, single streamed, or open, to provide all students with the same learning experience in grade 9 and help prepare students for a wide variety of career pathways. Locally developed compulsory credit course options are available for students who require an additional measure of flexibility and support in order to meet the compulsory credit requirements in English, mathematics, and science for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma or Ontario Secondary School Certificate. Parents/guardians who have students who might be considering locally developed programming are encouraged to connect with the principal at their elementary school.
As part of the course selection process, students will be selecting a total of eight courses. There are five compulsory courses for grade 9 students which are:
- English (ENL1W – De-streamed)
- Math (MTH1W – De-streamed)
- Science (SNC1W – De-streamed)
- French (FSF1D – Single Streamed)
- Geography (CGC1W – De-streamed)
Please note that If your child is looking for options of courses taught in the French language to satisfy French Immersion requirements, they will be looking for an “F” at the end of the course code.
Students have up to three elective courses in grade 9 – options might include arts, business, social sciences, phys. ed., etc. depending on the school and program. There is a new mandatory tech credit that students must take in grade 9 or 10. If they are hoping to take this credit in grade 9 as one of their elective credits, they can select any grade 9 “T” course code offered at their high school e.g. TAS1O or TGJ1O to fulfill this requirement.
All students entering grade 9 in 2024-25 will need to consider how eLearning options will fit into their requirements for graduation. Students looking for eLearning course options will find them in myBlueprint identified by a ‘Z’ at the end of the course code (e.g. GLS1OZ). To learn more about online learning in Upper Grand, including how to opt out of this requirement, click here.
Parents/guardians can get their own myBlueprint accounts if they would find it helpful to help support conversations with their child/ren leading up to course selection.
More information will be made available to parents/guardians from their child’s elementary school and/or the secondary school your child/ren is planning to attend.
To learn more about starting high school, please visit the UGDSB Pathways website.
Categories: Board News for Elementary • News Tags: Career Pathways • pathways