OSSD Curriculum

Higher Standards - The Islamic Alternative

Requirements for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma are as follows and the Ottawa Islamic School, being an accredited Ontario Secondary school , follows, and works by, the procedures demanded by Ontario Ministry of Education before students are recommended for acquiring the OSSD:

Requirement to Earn a High School Diploma .

In order to earn a high school diploma from the OIS, a student must complete:

1. 30 credits, 18 of which are compulsory and 12 optional

2. 40 hours of community involvement activities

3. The grade 10 high school literacy test

A) 30 - Credits Requirements
A credit is granted to a student by the principal on successful completion of a course that is scheduled for a minimum of 110 hours. The 30 credits requirement to earn a diploma includes successful completion of 18 compulsory courses and 12 optional courses

The 18 Compulsory Courses are:

4 English: a credit per grade

1 French as second language

3 Mathematics, at least one in grade 11or 12

2 Science
1 Grade 9-12 Technological Education

1 Canadian Geography

1 Canadian History

1 Arts

1 Health and Physical Education

1 additional credit in English or a Third Language or Social Sciences and Humanities, or Canadian and World Studies.

0.5 Civics

0.5 Career Studies

1 additional credit in science (grade 11 or 12) or technological education (grade 9 or 10)

The 12 elective course can be chosen from any courses the school offers.

B ) 40 - Hour community Involvement Activities
The policy on the 40-hour community activities requirement which is the second condition to be met before a student earns the OSSD, is based on the provincial document ?Ontario Secondary Schools Grades 9 to 12, program and Diploma requirements, 1999? and ?Policy/program memorandum NO. 124a?. Students can complete the requirement on their own pace and schedule stretching through all of the four years of high school. The Ottawa Islamic school outlines for the students and parents which activities are acceptable for the requirement and which are not. The school also encourages its students to minimize the number of hours they do in one site or community setting and rather have a broader exposure to the wider Canadian communities and institutions while doing their community activity hours. Only a limited number of hours may be done at the home school, the OIS

The school uses the same forms designed by the Ministry and particularly adopted the model created by the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, the ?completion of activities form?. Students can complete this requirement doing activities which do not include the following which are sanctioned by the ministry as ?ineligible? activities. This list of activities include any activity that:

is a requirement of a class or course in which the student is enrolled (e.g., cooperative education portion of a course, job shadowing, work experience);

takes place during the time allotted for the instructional program on a school day. However, an activity that takes place during the student?s lunch breaks or ?spare? periods is permissible;

takes place in a logging or mining environment, if the student is under sixteen years of age;

takes place in a factory, if the student is under fifteen years of age;

takes place in a workplace other than a factory, if the student is under fourteen years of age and is not accompanied by an adult;

would normally be performed for wages by a person in the workplace;

involves the operation of a vehicle, power tools, or scaffolding;

involves the administration of any type or form of medication or medical procedure to other persons;

involves handling of substances classed as ?designated substances? under the Occupational Health and Safety Act;

requires the knowledge of a tradesperson whose trade is regulated by the provincial government;

involves banking or the handling of securities, or the handling of jewellery, works of art, antiques, or other valuables;

consists of duties normally performed in the home (i.e., daily chores) or personal recreational activities;

involves activities for a court-ordered program (e.g., community-service program for young offenders, probationary program).

Any other activity that the principal designates as ineligible will be added to this list. Students under the age of 18 will have their parents sign the form for completion of the activities signed. A list of ?eligible activities? activities are listed on the back of the forms that the Ottawa Islamic School uses and any activity not included in either the eligible or ineligible activities will have to be submitted to the principal in the ?Planned activity form? for reviewing its eligibility.

C) The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
As part of the tripartite requirement for successfully attaining Ontario Secondary School Diploma; the other two being a total of 30 credits through the four years, and a 40-hour community related work, a test of reading and writing skills will be conducted in grade 10. This is a provincial test and is based on the provincial curriculum for all grades and subject areas up to and including grade 9. This 2007/2008 academic year?s OSSLT will be administered on October 27 and 28 at the independent study room next to the principal?s office. Students must pass both reading and writing components of the test before or at their third eligibility administration time or complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course designed to help students who failed the OSSLT at least twice meet the requirements for graduation.

For students with special needs, policies and guidelines will be provided to accommodate their situations. All policies that the school develops will be based on the guidelines of ?the guide for administering the Ontario secondary school literacy test? of the year the test is administered. Everything from preparing and informing students to the safety, security and confidentiality of the test proceedings will be based on these guidelines from the guide book issued by the ministry?s Educational Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) to be used for the October 2008 administration.

Policies on substitutions for the compulsory courses

In order to allow flexibility in designing a student?s program and to ensure that all students can qualify for the Secondary School diploma, substitutions may be made for a limited number of compulsory credit courses using courses from the remaining courses offered by the school that meet the requirements for compulsory credits. For example, 3 ESL or ELD credit courses could be used by students who enter the Ontario Secondary School System at any grade level, in place of three of four English courses needed to earn the OSSD diploma. Likewise, students who take contemporary Aboriginal Authors (Grade 11), which is described in the Secondary Curriculum policy document for native studies, may use the credit earned for this course to meet the grade 11 English compulsory credit requirements

Islamic Studies