The English program in Grades 9 to 12 includes compulsory courses and optional courses. The compulsory courses emphasize strong core competencies in listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing. Students choose between course types on the basis of their interests, achievement, and post-secondary goals.
NEW for September 2020
Grade 11 English: Aboriginal Voices (NBE3U/C/E)
The Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School community is pleased to announce that effective September 2020 we will be offering a new Grade 11 English curriculum, inspired by Indigenous voices and focused on contemporary literature. These mandatory Grade 11 English courses will explore the themes, forms, and stylistic elements of a variety of literary, informational, graphic, oral, cultural and media text forms emerging from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures in Canada and will reflect our Catholic Graduate Expectations and Catholic Social Teachings. "English: Contemporary Aboriginal Voices" NBE3U/C/E will be offered at all levels (university, college and workplace preparation) to fulfill the mandatory requirement for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and are recognized by all post-secondary institutions.
Strands in the English program
The English program focuses on four strands:
1. Oral Communication
2. Reading and Literature Studies
3. Writing
4. Media Studies
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
All students must meet a literacy requirement in order to graduate high school. In Grade 10, students will write the Ontario Secondary School Literary Test. Students who do not pass the OSSLT on the first attempt can meet the literacy requirement either by rewriting and passing the test or by successfully completing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC). The credit earned for this course may be used to meet the Grade 11 or Grade 12 compulsory credit requirement in English.
