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High School

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Life in secondary school is a big change with new people to meet, new resources to identify, and new opportunities to explore. 

Secondary Schools in Upper Grand DSB

All of UGDSB secondary schools have:

What Do I Need To Graduate?

The Ministry of Education sets the guidelines for what is required to graduate with an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and an Ontario Secondary School Certificate (OSSC). 

Through their myBlueprint accounts, students will select courses that suit their needs and interests, monitor their goals and community involvement, and, whether they already know where they want to end up or are starting from scratch, will have opportunity to personalize their high school plan. All of the course offerings available in UGDSB, along with their prerequisites, are listed in students’ myBlueprint accounts.

In order to graduate with an OSSD (Ontario Secondary School Diploma), all students are required to:

*Parents/guardians are able to opt their child out of the Online Learning Graduation Requirement. For information, visit the Ontario website here. 

In order to graduate with an OSSC (Ontario Secondary School Certificate), students are required to:

Want to know more about the difference between an OSSD and an OSSC? Reach out to the guidance counselor and/or administrator at the high school you or your student is attending to find out more. 

eLearning

To learn more about eLearning options for secondary students, including information on how to enrol in eLearning courses, please visit the UGDSB eLearning webpage. 

Destreaming

At this point, you have most likely heard the word destreaming floating around. A new question on our students’, families’, and caregivers’ minds is “What is destreaming and how will it impact our grade 9 students?” As an important part of this K-12 shift, we are committed to making work around career/life planning and pathways as transparent as possible, so that our students and their families/caregivers feel equipped with the information they need to support informed decision making. Below, we have shared a summary of work to date. We will continue to update as new information becomes available. 

As of the 2021-22 school year, Upper Grand DSB no longer offered applied, academic, and essential classes for grade 9 students. Instead, grade 9s now have the option of taking the new destreamed or single streamed courses (along with the remaining open courses). By de-streaming grade 9, we offer our students an extended opportunity to learn more about themselves, further develop their skills and strengths, and consider their pathways goals before asking them to decide on a stream that might limit their options in the future. 

Quick facts:

Where we are at:

What Do Course Codes Mean?

In high school, we use course codes that have five characters in them to help us identify each course. The first five characters are set out by the Ministry of Education and connect to curriculum courses, grade levels and types. The sixth letter, if present, is used by school boards to identify a specific characteristic of a course. 

For example: MTH1WF MTH: The first three letters tell you the SUBJECT. In this example, MTH is for math. Other subject areas include English, science, business, arts, tech etc.  1: The number indicates the GRADE LEVEL. 1 = grade 9, 2 = grade 10, 3 = grade 11, 4 = grade 12. W: In grade 9, the fifth character indicates the TYPE of course: W = destreamed, D = single streamed, L = locally developed, O = open. In later grades you might see: W = destreamed, D = academic, L = locally developed, P = applied, O = open, M = university/college, C = college prep, U = university prep, E = workplace prep

For example: MTH1WF MTH: The first three letters tell you the SUBJECT. In this example, MTH is for math. Other subject areas include English, science, business, arts, tech etc.  1: The number indicates the GRADE LEVEL. 1 = grade 9, 2 = grade 10, 3 = grade 11, 4 = grade 12. W: In grade 9, the fifth character indicates the TYPE of course: W = destreamed, D = single streamed, L = locally developed, O = open. In later grades you might see: W = destreamed, D = academic, L = locally developed, P = applied, O = open, M = university/college, C = college prep, U = university prep, E = workplace prep

Course Codes and the Connection to Postsecondary Pathways

As students get into senior grades (11 and 12), they will see 5 options of courses to select from, with 4 of them being more explicitly connected to an initial postsecondary pathway.*

*It is important to note that we say “initial” postsecondary pathway. Students looking to college, university, and some apprenticeships right after high school need to have specific academic requirements to support their admission and/or success. However, there are many programs offered by colleges, universities, employment service providers, and unions that provide opportunities for pathways to change. We highlight some of them on the Transitioning out of High School page.

Where Do I Begin with My Community Involvement Hours?

All students must complete 40 hours of community involvement in order to graduate. Although this might seem overwhelming, students can get started on their hours as early as July 1 of their grade 8 graduation year. 

Supporting Student Success

At UGDSB, we know that credit attainment is a huge part of overall success and student well-being. We offer a variety of approaches and opportunities to support our students in achieving their academic goals, including:

*Offerings at schools are different so be sure to ask the school administrator, guidance department or student success teacher what supports are in place at your school to ensure success. 

What if I would benefit from something different?

For some, there is benefit to having something different from the models that happen within our high schools. For others, extending the amount of time to get things done is required. If you think either of these might be something that is helpful for you/your student, consider:

Myblueprint Logo

Throughout secondary school, students will be invited to use their myBlueprint planner to continue to engage in pathways inquiry, select courses, document experiential learning, create resumes, budget, and set goals. In addition, they can use the tool to monitor their progress toward goals, better understand how the credits they have earned align with postsecondary plans, etc. If they are in SHSM, they can use the tool to ensure they continue to meet the requirements for their red seal. In these ways and more, the student myBlueprint account can help students and parents stay informed and better advocate for themselves in pathway planning conversations.