Academic Courses

Guiding Principles:

This chart should be used as a guideline. Check the box that best describes the student’s habits then use the results to assist you in selecting their pathway. The student’s abilities and efforts should be examined for each subject area. What may be true in English may not be true for math.

Generally, if a student has obtained marks in the high seventies or above in grade 8, the recommendation would be to take academic courses in grade 9. If lack of academic effort and success is a concern in grade 8, the academic courses with their accelerated pace and increased depth of material covered may not be the appropriate choice.

Course Types

Academic Courses

• Develop students’ knowledge and skills through the study of theory and abstract problems

• Focus on the essential concepts of a subject and explore related concepts as well.

• Course materials are taught at an accelerated pace.

Open Courses

• Designed to broaden students’ knowledge and skills in subjects that reflect their interests.

• One level of study for all students.

Course Selection

Students may:

• Take a combination of Academic, Applied, and open courses

• In most cases, change between Academic and Applied when moving from grade 9 to grade 10. Math is an exception to the rule (Grade 9 applied to grade 10 academic requires a reach ahead summer school course.

Alternately, a student can take MPM1D > MPM2D in their grade 10 year.)

When selecting courses, students and parents are encouraged to consider:

• Academic abilities (grade 8 marks and teacher comments)

• Interests

• Work habits

• Organizational skills

• Learning styles

This year, our school starts with de-streaming. That means Northern offers Grade 9 Academic courses in the mainstream (English, Math, Science, and Geography. That being said the students will take Academic grade 9 courses (English, Math, Science, Geography, French, and Languages). The rest of the courses are open. Please see course selections sheet for the details. But we do offer Grade 10, 11, and 12 Applied courses in D/HH Dept.