Greetings Parents! Today, we are looking at one of the largest changes to the Ontario Secondary System in almost 25 years! Now, while this change was met with Lecce, the Education Minister, leaving the role less than a week after announcing these changes, we do not have the luxury of avoiding what is coming! So, to everyone thinking about what has happened this fall, let’s go over the list together. It helps to have someone in your corner who knows everything about what’s coming.

Let’s start with new Graduation Requirements. It used to be that students needed 18 compulsory credits and 12 electives, but now, this is reduced to 17, with 13 electives instead. However, this may be misleading – it sounds like we have one less credit to meet in a compulsory list, which sounds great! But, in order to do this, Ontario eliminated the “Group 1, 2, 3” system, which used to be 3 sets of compulsory credits you could make up using credits from other disciplines. But all those are gone now! What replaces it is a technology credit. Anyone will do, but all students must now have at least one technology credit before graduation! The more you know!

But we should also talk about new courses created this year. Most of the Grade 9 credits in Ontario have now been updated, with entirely new Business courses and a revamped curriculum for Grade 9 Geography; things are more different than ever! The easiest way to understand this list is to look at what’s gone and what is replacing it. Let’s get into it:

Grade 9

• BBI1O – BEM1O (A new credit replacing general business with “Entrepreneurship”)
• BBI2O – BEP2O (A new credit replacing general business with “How to Launch a Business”)
• CGC1D – CGC1W (New Grade 9 Geography)
• TAS1O – New Technology Credit

Grade 10

• MPM2D – New Unit revolving around Financial Literacy
• CHV2O/GLC2O – Updated Curriculum Guidelines and Course Descriptions

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And finally, the remaining set of changes for this year refers to the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test and the Volunteer Hour rules. We are going back to the pre-pandemic rules, everyone! This means that the old loopholes students used to get out of doing lots of extra volunteer work are closing – demand for volunteer opportunities will be high this year as a result, so make sure you get something locked in soon! You also cannot avoid the test by simply taking the class version, OLC4O, instead. During the pandemic, you could skip the test and do the class right away. But not anyone! Make sure you remember, everyone – this could save you from big trouble later!

Having the knowledge and experience necessary to make the correct decisions is always a superior way to live. With Brian Campbell Consulting behind you, all of this information becomes easy to understand and interpret. We do everything you need, so all you need to do is trust us and embark upon a path of academic success for you and your family. Contact us to find out more about this or any other educational topic!