FAQ

Where is the program location?

930 Western Counties Rd, London, ON N6C 4R3

What costs are involved?

Costs are generally covered through the Outdoor Education Funding grant provided to TVDSB by the Ministry of Education.

What type of equipment would I need?

The only thing you need is personal clothing appropriate for the outdoors. This includes sturdy shoes and boots, rain gear and cold weather clothing (back to snow pants!). We'll provide the rest!

is transportation to westminster ponds provided?

Students who can travel from within the City of London can opt-in for fully funded LTC bus tickets in order to use public transportation. At this time students travelling from outside of London will be required to provide their own transportation to London, but would be able to opt-in to public transit tickets to navigate within London.

I don't consider myself an 'environmental activist', is that ok?

Absolutely! We're looking for students who are looking for an opportunity to learn about their community, who will consider how to make it better, and then put those ideas into action. If you're looking for some hands-on learning opportunities with local environmental professionals, you're in the right place. If you do consider yourself an 'environmental activist', we've got space for you too!

It sounds like there are a lot of field trips, will those costs come up through the course?

During the course, we will take part in a number of local field trips. Some past examples include working with environmental professionals such as Upper Thames River Conservation Authority on stewardship projects, ReForest London on renaturalizations, Thames Talbot Land Trust on Citizen Science opportunities, the City of London at community garden sites, and alongside our Environmental Educators at the London Environmental Education Centre leading groups of elementary students. We believe there is a lot to learn, explore and enjoy within Thames Valley. There will not be additional field trip fees collected during the course.

I already have a credit in one of the courses, can i substitute a credit?

Only Civics/Carreers can be substituted. Commonly students enter the H3-ELP program after taking Civics/Careers, or English in summer school. This credit can be replaced with a credit for SVN 3E (Environmental Science).

what about grades?

Students will be assessed on an ongoing basis and in a variety of ways in order to provide opportunities to demonstrate the full range of their learning. Report cards will be the same as at their school, and will be completed on the same timeline as any other secondary school.

We will not have a final exam as a culminating task, but rather students will create final projects that communicate their learning in the courses. As in any course, a breakdown of summative assessment tasks will be communicated to students in the project at the beginning of the semester.

Some descriptive feedback tools will include co-creation of assessment rubrics, descriptive feedback from peers, and feedback from our community partners. Some self-assessment tools will include reflection journals with guided questions and student-teacher conferences. Descriptive feedback and self-assessment will be used as learning tools for students to achieve the learning goals.

Students will write the OSSLT (Grade 10 Literacy test) as part of their normal routine at Westminster Ponds.

What Happens with the osslt? (Grade 10 Literacy test)

Students attending H3-ELP will write the literacy test at Sir Wilfrid Laurier SS with their peers in H3-ELP. There will be opportunity each semester if you missed the opportunity to write at your home school.

What if i'm on an iep and need learning accomodations?

Your IEP will be shared with your teachers and your accomodations will be met just like in any of your other courses. Since you are with the same teacher all day, every day, there will be more opportunity and time available to meet individual learning needs of all students!

My friend and I want to attend the same semester / Can i request a semester?

We try to balance the experiences of those that apply to the program based on their application so that students can be exposed to new perspectives during their time in H3-ELP. We cannot guarantee that semester requests can be met unless it is an academic accomodation provided to us by your school guidance counsellor. (For example: if Grade 10 Applied Mathematics is only available during second semester at your home school, we would adjust so that you could be enrolled in semester 1 H3-ELP if possible).

FAQ