Course choices

How do I choose?

The central question to answer before you start the choice process is "Who am I?" What interests you? What are your strengths? What skills do you want to develop? What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Not all students will have answers to all of these questions, but some of them might help you find some direction as you start to make choices about your future.

More practically, our process will help students identify what classes they need and which will serve them the best.

What courses does ISH offer?

Our courses are listed here.

Grade 10 choice process

Starting in November, grade 10 students will have a chance to learn about the requirements of the High School Diploma and IB DP and their other options before making their choices of DP choices. By February, those choices should be made.

Some presentations on courses will be made in Advisory and in grade 10 classes. Grade 11 and 12 students will also be made available for questions. There are many people with whom you can make appointments and get more information: grade 10 teachers, Diploma course teachers, the Diplomas Lead (Mark Kilmer) and the Diploma/Future Planning counsellor (Katie Allen), to name a few.

All students will have a counselling session after making the first set of choices, usually in January. We will also schedule some opportunities for you to visit grade 11 DP classes, probably in January as well.

Choices can be changed after that time, but we will not be able to accommodate all choices by that time: by March, the schedule will be set and certain combinations of courses will be impossible.

Here is a rough idea of the process:

November: intro to DP courses

late November: Grade 10 Parent Meeting: Moving from MYP to Diplomas

early December: intro choice form

January: counselling on choices, DP class visits

mid February: final round choice form due

late February: parent information docs

External applicant course choices

A student applying for admission to grade 11 can make course choices when they have been accepted. Questions about course choices are welcome during the application process, and even a set of choices can be submitted early in the process. Course choices are often an element of application interviews.

However, because we set the schedule for the following year quite early based on the choices of ISH grade 10 students, not all combinations of choices are available for external applicants. Some alternative choices might be required in these situations. As a result, the earliest possible moment for choices is the best option.