Page 50 - Ontario Schools: Kindergarten to Grade 12

48 OntariO SchOOlS,
Kindergarten tO grade 12
School boards must ensure that Grade 8 students and their parents have access to this information before decisions regarding program and/or school selection have to be made every year.
5.3 Secondary Schools
5.3.1 The School Program and Course Calendar
Each secondary school will publish annually a school program and course cal- endar in print or electronic form that provides students and their parents with detailed and up-to-date information on diploma requirements, programs, and courses available both in the school and in the board. A board may choose to publish individual calendars for each of its secondary schools or one board-wide calendar that provides specific information for each secondary school.
The program and course calendar must provide information about the following:
The School
✦✦ the importance and value of completing a secondary education and the school’s commitment to reach every student to help him or her achieve a successful outcome from the secondary school experience
✦✦ the requirement to remain in secondary school until the student has reached the age of eighteen or obtained an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD)
✦✦ the school’s overall goals and philosophy
✦✦ school organization, including the school’s terms, reporting periods,
and timetable organization
✦✦ the school’s expectations regarding students’ responsibilities, achievement,
and attendance
✦✦ the school’s Code of Conduct and the board’s Safe Schools policy
Diploma and Certificates
✦✦ the requirements for the OSSD, including:
✧✦ ✧✦ ✧✦
✧✦ ✧✦
compulsory credit requirements
optional credit requirements
the provincial secondary school literacy requirement, including:
✶✦ the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
✶✦ the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course
✶✦ the adjudication process
✶✦ accommodations, special provisions, deferrals, and exemptions the community involvement requirements and procedures substitution policy for compulsory credit requirements