Welcome to your graduating year!
Transition – Be aware that this is a year of transition for you. You are moving from high school into the next phase of your life. You may choose to go to post-secondary school next year, take a gap year, take time off, work, travel etc. It’s exciting to pursue your interests and see where they lead. Below you will find a lot of information about post-secondary institutions and other things that may be helpful to you. Also, read the newsletters and look at the page on this website about other opportunities to consider. Remember, if you’re feeling stressed, reach out for help. Like any other transition, this one involves loss and gain, grieving and anticipation.
Graduation Requirements – You must have 80 credits – 52 required credits and 28 elective credits. In grade 12, you must have 3 grade 12 electives, English 12 and Career Life Connections. You must also write a Literacy 12 assessment. See the ministry website for more specific information: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/graduation/docs/ataglance.pdf. You will find a link to information about the changing grad requirements on this page as well.
Career Life Connections – You must complete CLC in order to graduate. Mr. Yamamura has it all laid out on his site: http://elphi113.weebly.com/career-life-connections.html. Please see him for more information.
Grad Newsletters – From Oct. to May, the counsellors put out a monthly newsletter. We print hard copies and distribute them. Extras are in the counselling office. They are also posted on our google classroom which is code sykogxl.
Career and School Searches – Education Planner is a helpful website that can guide you to post-secondary programs in B.C. Search according to your topic of interest and all kinds of interesting things will come up: www.educationplanner.bc.ca. My Blueprint is a very useful tool for exploring your interests, post-secondary, and career. Work BC is a searchable database of occupations & information: http://www.workbc.ca/. Private career training institutions can be searched through: https://www.privatetraininginstitutions.gov.bc.ca/students/pti-directory. School finder is another site available online: http://www.schoolfinder.com/ as is Education Planner.org educationplanner.org (it’s different than education planner.bc). For careers related to the environment, see http://www.eco.ca. Check out this site if you’re interested in art careers: http://www.studentartguide.com/articles/art-careers-list Some more sites that try to connect education and career are below: Careers with Bachelor of Arts Degree, Science Degree, Business Degree: http://www.academicinvest.com/arts-careers, http://www.academicinvest.com/science-careers, http://www.academicinvest.com/business-careers.
Some programs and careers are open only to students who have a year or two of post-secondary studies. For example, some policing careers are open to those without university degrees, but they like to see some post-secondary and life experience. Many nursing programs do not accept students straight out of high school, but they provide certain courses they’d like you to take. Law, education, dentistry, medicine are examples of programs where you must do post-secondary first, with certain pre-requisites. Other than the prerequisites, your job is to get good marks, so study something that you’re interested in and see where it leads. If you love what you’re studying, you’re more likely to get better marks, which will help you get in to the program you want.
Trades – see our page for more info.
Grade 12 Google classroom- For post-secondary information and graduation updates please join our google classroom via this link: https://classroom.google.com/c/MTc4MTEyNDkwNDg2?cjc=hfeezca
Grad Student and Parent Meeting – October 20th via zoom (https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/64757715502?pwd=b2FIbkE4SVFoR3p0SDhkRXFVbUdudz09). This presentation will guide you through information you need for this year’s transition from high school to next year.
Shíshálh Nation Secondary Students Career Fair – TBA.
Post-Secondary Institution Morning – November 18 (2-6 PM), November 19 (3-7 PM). Take advantage of this opportunity. There will be about 23 PSIs represented including UBA, SFU, UVic, BCIT, UNBC, TRU (Thompson Rivers University), Camosun College, Canadian Armed Forces/Royal Military College, UVic, Quest University, Capilano University, UBC, Vancouver Island University, Vancouver Community College, Emily Carr, Douglas College.
Post-Secondary School Requirements & Deadlines – Check admission requirements on the school’s website & make sure you have them. Check application deadlines and make sure you apply by the deadline. Each post-secondary institution has slightly different requirements, so do not assume that you know what they require until you have actually looked on the site. Also, be aware that some post-secondary schools have deadlines about when you need to have any online courses completed in order for those courses to be considered for admission. UBC, for example,has a deadline of Dec. 1 if you would like to be considered for Entrance Scholarships or January 15 if not. UBC and SFU have significantly changed their admission requirements in the last two years, so please see their websites and visit them on our PSI day.
College Transfer – http://www.bctransferguide.ca/search/course This is a website to help you see if the course you’re taking at one college or university will transfer to another college or university. This is helpful if you plan to do one or two years at a college and then transfer to a university, for example. Colleges or smaller universities tend to have smaller class sizes, less expensive tuitions, and professors who focus on teaching over research. They often don’t have residences, however.
Applying to Post-Secondary Schools – In B.C., many schools link to applybc: https://applybc.ca/. Applybc is handy because you can apply to more than one institution through here and not have to repeat your information (for schools in BC). You need a credit card and your PEN number. Your PEN number is what identifies you to the Ministry of Education. It’s on the top of your report card – 9 digits – or we can give it to you. You might want to put it into your phone so you have it with you. If you go to your PSI’s website and click on APPLY NOW, you’ll be directed to that school’s preferred way of doing things.
Ontario post-secondary schools use OUAC: http://www.ouac.on.ca/ouac-105/, which works the same way. Alberta’s is https://www.applyalberta.ca. If you’re applying in other places, their websites should be able to guide you through the application process, but most are online. Please note that post-secondary institutions may have separate completion deadlines for online courses, so if you are taking an online course, be sure to check with the PSI to find out when you must be done.
Transcripts and Student Transcripts Service – When you apply to post-secondary institutions, they want to see your grades. There are several ways to get your marks to the schools.
One way is to come to us and get an unofficial transcript which we will seal with the school seal and sign, making it as official as possible. You then send that off to the PSI. You may need to send them more than one transcript as you complete first semester.
Another way is self-reporting, where you list the courses you have taken and the grades you have received. They usually also ask you to upload your transcript and attach it.
The final way is the Student Transcripts Service through the Ministry of Education. First, go to the site: http://StudentTranscripts.gov.bc.ca
Next, register for a BC government account (BCeID), using your PEN number and your legal name. Follow the system prompts and register for STS. Then log in to StudentTranscriptsService using your BCeID.
Finally, go to the STS Dashboard to view transcripts, view assessment results, and order transcripts to be sent to post-secondary institutions. While you are in grade 12, you may send up to 25 transcripts for free. After high school, each transcript sent through the site costs $10. You may also see details about any provincial scholarship you have been awarded.
Language Proficiency Index Test – LPI – The LPI used to be required by most post-secondary schools in BC and was something many grade 12s wrote. In the last few years, very few schools are asking students to write the test. Elphinstone no longer hosts an LPI exam sitting. It can be written at many post-secondary institutions. More information can be found at http://www.lpitest.ca/
Scholarship and Bursary – There are many sources of scholarships and bursaries.
Ministry of Education: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/scholarships/provincial-scholarships
The Ministry of Education provides scholarships. The link above takes you directly to the ministry site where you may find specific details about these scholarships.
BC Achievement Scholarships: $1250.
BC Excellence Scholarship: $5000 scholarship. One nominee per school. You must apply to the school to be the nominee. Elphi’s nominee then applies to ministry of ed.
Pathway to Teacher Education Scholarships: $5000. For students entering teaching (20 awards in BC). See counselors if interested.
District/Authority Scholarships: $1250. We should have about 10 of these at ESS. These are for students who demonstrate ability/growth in one of the following areas and who plan to continue studies and career in the area: Indigenous languages/culture; fine arts; applied skills, physical activity, international languages, community service, technical trades and training. Portfolio presentation required. Information given in April 2020; presentations May 2020.
Check with the post-secondary institutions you are considering and see what they offer. Look on their websites and ask them when you visit or meet them at the PSI visit.
Entrance Scholarship Nominations – Any student pursuing a major entrance scholarship where Elphinstone must make a nomination MUST see us asap.
Scholarships and Bursaries for Aboriginal Students – The Irving K Barber BC Scholarship Society offers awards specific to indigenous students: https://www.ikbbc.ca/indigenous-awards/about-this-award/
The New Relationship Trust offers scholarships for indigenous students as well: http://www.newrelationshiptrust.ca/funding/for-students/
Indspire – see this website for many scholarships and bursaries for aboriginal students: https://indspire.ca.
The following site, although put out by BCIT, is mostly not specific to BCIT and has possible scholarships for aboriginal students: http://www.bcit.ca/files/finaid/pdf/externalawards/aboriginal_awards.pdf
Contact your Nation to see what scholarships and bursaries they may offer, and contact the Post-secondary Institution (and see their websites) to see what scholarships and bursaries they offer to indigenous students.
Local Scholarships and Bursaries – These are the awards given out at the graduation ceremony. Information for the local scholarships and bursaries is traditionally given out to the students in early April. Students are given two packages: donor selects & school selects. In all cases, criteria for the awards are determined by the donors. If students think they meet the criteria, they apply either to the school or directly to the donors, depending on which awards they are trying for. Some must be used the fall after you graduate, but others allow you to use them a year or two out of high school. This is decided by the donors. If you would like to get started prior to April, be a good citizen, have a resume ready, gather one or two letters of reference, and start working on your cover letter as you will need these for the packages you will send to the donors. All information has been posted to the google classroom for scholarships and bursaries. Contact Mr. Bruce if you need help with accessing the page.
Other awards – Other scholarships or bursaries are available based on affiliation, parents’ places of work, students’ places of work, unions, sports affiliations etc. To find out about these, check with your organizations. Also, the websites listed below may be of use.
The Irving K Barber British Columbia Scholarship Society: https://www.ikbbc.ca
School District 46: http://www.sd46.bc.ca/index.php/scholarships
Student Scholarships.org is a search engine of potential scholarships: http://www.studentscholarships.org/
Student Awards is another site to check: studentawards.com
Student Loans: https://studentaidbc.ca
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/education/student-financial-aid/student-loan.html