Course Electives: What You Need to Know
by Caitlin Croskery and Archer Malloch
February 22, 2022
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As students progress through high school, the number of elective courses increase while the amount of mandatory courses decrease. In Grade 9, students have two elective slots—usually an arts elective for one and either Business and Technology for the other. In Grade 10, the options increase slightly to three elective slots. The major change occurs in Grade 11, where only English and Math credits are required. Lastly, Grade 12 sees that reduce to only the former. The variety of options can pose quite the challenge as it comes time for course selection this and every February.
This article will outline the experience of taking various courses in the senior grades to help students find their pathway with both post-secondary pursuits and genuine interest in mind. A Q&A section can be found below with frequently asked questions. For those searching for more information, helpful resources for instructions on the process of course selection, accessing Xello, and course descriptions have been linked at the end.
Students’ Opinions on Electives
Popular Electives
Film Studies (AWR4M):
“Oh, it was a lot of fun,” said Sydney Dupuis, a student who took the Film Studies course in the first semester. She explained that there were many assignments about the history of film as well as more recent movies. One of the notable tasks was to choose a movie and use all the skills learned to do an in-depth analysis of it—from cinematography to script writing to conventions of film.
The course is an excellent choice for those passionate about film or even those who simply want to investigate something new in their final year. Unlike other grade 12 courses, the prerequisite list requires only the compulsory English credit from the previous year, so it is open to everyone interested.
Anthropology (HSP3U/C):
Introduction to Anthropology is a course comprising three segments: psychology, sociology, and predictably, anthropology. One main benefit of adding it to a timetable is that it is also available as a French Immersion credit in grade 11, which are few and far between in the senior grades.
Evie Geen, a student who took the course ahead during her grade 10 year, found that it was a great introduction to all three subjects. There were fun documentaries and fascinating topics that held the class’s attention for the long periods of last year. In her words: “It was a wonderful course. Just don’t do it in grade ten.” She also mentions that the final interview, though daunting, isn’t as impossible as it seems.
Law (CLU/CLN):
“Initially, there is an assumption that [law] will be very difficult because of the stereotype of the discipline,” explains Delaney Dye, a grade 11 student who took the course last semester, “but it’s actually not that bad.” She found it to be easier than she expected and generally engaging. There was a heavier focus on actual laws rather than the psychological factor—but luckily for her, the grade 12 course that follows has a greater emphasis on such topics. Her favourite project in the course was litigation, specifically when she had to defend against a classmate who was “suing” her. At JMSS, Understanding Canadian Law and Canadian and International Law are the grade 11 and 12 electives offered.
Sciences
One of the major differences in the senior grades is the division of sciences. The science courses taken previously include a unit or two from each discipline, taught back-to-back with connections drawn between them and previous years. Instead, the senior Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Environmental Science courses offer a more in-depth look into their respective subjects—complete with theory work, calculations, and experiments. The choice of sciences is particularly important not only for interest but in preparation for post-secondary pursuits. Many programs require specific sciences at the university or college level, or ask for a student to take one or two of those available. It is at this point that students may want to browse the programs offered in their field of interest to ensure that all prerequisite requirements are met.
Chemistry (SCH):
Chemistry is the course that is perhaps the most similar to its grade 9 and 10 equivalent. Atomic theory provides the foundation for further investigation into the structure of elements and compounds and how they react with each other. The hands-on labs offer an opportunity to see the theory in action as well as the practical applications of the science. Some engaging experiments include combustion labs and live titrations.
Grade 11 studies of chemical trends, reactions and solubility, while grade 12 advances more into organic chemistry and chemical systems.
Additionally, something to be aware of is the surprising amount of math that sneaks its way in as the course goes on. It is fairly manageable—not nearly to the scale of Physics or an actual math course—but nevertheless present.
Biology (SBI):
Biology is the most theory-based science course compared to the others, with investigation of biological systems, evolution, genetic processes, and function of plants and animals as its main units.
Evie Geen, a grade 11 student who took biology in the fall, says that she found the course to be very interesting. Despite the fact that she is not planning on pursuing a career in the sciences, she still “plans on taking the course next year” in grade 12. Her favourite assignment was a group project involving digestive system diagrams where discussion and collaboration were an important part of the process.
Physics (SPH):
Physics is the final science included in the “big three” offered at JMSS. Its foundations rely heavily on math skills learned in the junior grades and beyond as the courses progress. These formulas and principles are then applied to actual situations with context, often modelled with graphs or visualisations. This includes investigations of current and developing technologies as well as the more subtle impacts on day-to-day life.
Grade 11 has units such as kinematics, forces, and sound, while grade 12 delves further into the more specific aspects of the subject like magnetic fields, quantum mechanics and more.
Though grade 10 math is not a prerequisite for Physics, it is recommended that students have an adequate understanding of the concepts in order to smoothly transition into the science course.
Environmental Science (SVN3M):
Though most students tend towards Chemistry, Biology, and Physics, Environmental Science is also an option. It differs slightly as it is only available as a mixed course with fewer sections running each year.
Material covered will include the impacts of humans on the environment (such as climate change and its consequences on our planet) and vice-versa—including industrial and economical challenges we face and other issues in various facets of society.
Tactile Electives
Co-operative Education (1CO):
Co-op is a course that explores a student’s career of interest in a workplace setting, but instead of being paid in money, the student is paid in credits to graduate. It is a combination of both classroom learning and actual on-the-job experience. Students in grade 11 can take a half-day course (worth 2 credits at the end of the semester), and grade 12 students have the choice between the same thing or a full-day course (worth 4 credits at the end of the semester). It is a great opportunity to get some workplace experience in a student’s field of interest to get them ready for their desired post-secondary career.
Peer-tutoring (GPP3O):
After a couple years of inactivity as a result of the pandemic, the peer-tutoring course will be back up and running again next year! Taking this elective essentially gives a grade 11 or 12 student the role of student-teacher in a younger class of their choice. The student will help the teacher with activities varying on the type of course, and possibly even with student instruction. In order to select a course to peer-tutor for, the interested student must first contact the teacher of said course and have their agreement. If a student is interested in working with children in their future, this course is designated to help prepare them for it.
Q&A
When is this year’s course selection due?
You must submit your courses on Xello by March 4th. That’s still two weeks away, so there’s plenty of time. Remember, only submit your courses when you are 100% sure that they’re the ones you want to do, because it’s unlikely that changes will be made after submission, while also being inconvenient for our guidance counsellors.
Will Drama not be running next year?
It’s true. Drama courses may not run next year if not enough students choose to take them. However, that’s actually the case with every elective offered at JMSS. If only five students wanted to take Communications Technology in grade 10 for example, the course would not run that year and those students would be assigned a different course as a replacement (that’s the purpose of choosing an alternate course).
Is Earth and Space Science offered at JMSS?
Unfortunately, no. The course was offered very rarely in previous years at the school, and it was rather unpopular at those times, so to save teachers time and to save students difficult choices it was removed from the course list.
Worried about not being able to get your French Certificate?
In order to obtain a French Certificate at the end of high school, you need to take the four academic French language courses for grades 9-12 as well as six additional courses taught in French (that would regularly be taught in English). At JMSS, most of these additional French courses are available in grade 9 and 10 (Geography, History, Science, etc), with only Anthropology being available in French in grade 11. If you are going into grade 11 in need of more than one additional French course credit but have only Anthropology available to you, don’t worry. You can plan online courses for next year when they become available this spring, which usually include a variety of courses (including additional French courses). However, you should still select your courses for next year as if you weren’t going to be taking any online, and then apply in the spring for however many french courses you need to take in order to get your French Certificate. You will then be scheduled to take that course in the following year, and will be able to replace whichever course you prefer with the online one depending on which semester it’s for. Work for online courses like these are entirely asynchronous, and you can spend the period working in the library or in Student Services. If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, then summer school is also an option.
Is graduating with extra credits good to do?
There are two sides to this question. On one hand, it’s never a bad idea to leave places empty on Xello and use them as spare periods if you’re already at the required 30 credits. Being the last and most significant grade of high school, grade 12 is a demanding and busy time for students, so for some people, the less extra work, the better. On the other hand, universities will usually look at a student’s best six course marks from grade 12 of high school when considering their application, so if a student were to only take six courses in grade 12, then the university would see them no matter what. For this reason, some students may be inclined to take seven or the full eight courses in grade 12 so that they can have their six best marks considered of the seven or eight. Ultimately, it depends on your plans after high school and what you think is best for you.
Helpful Links for Course Selection
OCDSB Student Portal (to access Xello)
Grade 10 Course Selection Presentation
Grade 11 Course Selection Presentation
Grade 12 Course Selection Presentation
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