Course Selection: How to Select Courses for Next Year
Course selection is a very important process schools undertake to provide students with the courses they need for a well-rounded education, the courses they need to meet the Graduation Requirements in BC, and to try to provide an educational program that values student choice and interests.
Please plan carefully and select your courses with care – the selections you make during the course selection process in the Winter determine what courses run at the school, how many teachers are needed for each subject, and most importantly, what courses you are likely to have in your schedule next year.
While we do our best to help students who change their minds after course selection has been completed, it is not always possible for students to make changes to the courses they are assigned to later on. This is why it is critical to take time now to carefully consider what courses you would like to take next year.
Students will be asked to submit two kinds of course selections:
- Primary Requests: These are the required courses that a student must have in their schedule (eg. core academic courses that all students in the grade must complete) and the elective courses that a student would like to take.
- Alternate Requests: These are courses that a student would be willing to take instead of their primary elective choices (eg. these are ‘backup’ choices).
The school administration will make every effort to give students their Primary requests, but if it is not possible to create a suitable schedule for a student or a particular course is full or not able to run, alternate requests will be used to fill a student’s schedule.
The school timetable is built using MyEducation BC (MyED). Students will be making their selections on the Course Selection Form in MyED, and should know their Login ID and Password to successfully complete course selection.
The course selection process will be slightly different depending on a student’s grade:
| Student Grade Next Year | Process |
| 8 | Almost all incoming grade 8 students take the same courses in Grade 8. Some students take Support classes (Learning Support, English Language Learner support, etc.) in place of French 8 – NDSS works with a student’s elementary school and with parents to determine if this is appropriate for a student. No selections in MyED are necessary. |
| 9 | Students going into grade 9 will have MyED course selection sessions in the computer lab with their counselor and administrator to select courses in mid-February. Students are asked to make sure they know their MyED login ID and password so they can log into MyED. After school help sessions will be available in early March for any students absent when the counselor and administrator meet with their class. |
| 10-12 | Students going into grade 10 through 12 will be asked to log into MyED in late February to make their selections. Students should know their MyED login ID and password to access the system. Like last year, students going into these grades will be asked to complete course selection on their own. After school help sessions will be available in early March for any students who are having trouble logging in or making their selections. |
NOTE: Students in Inclusive Learning Programs will receive assistance with their course selections regardless of their grade level.