Blog Posts

The beauty of summer lies in the endless possibilities of how this precious time can be spent. Some of us use it as a time to catch up on unfinished projects or pursue tasks that were impossible to complete during the busy school year. Others are intentional about pressing pause on to-do lists and letting the stillness take over. The majority of us, however, fall somewhere in the middle, rather than an all or nothing approach to how the summer days are spent.

The beauty of summer lies in the endless possibilities of how this precious time can be spent. Some of us use it as a time to catch up on unfinished projects or pursue tasks that were impossible to complete during the busy school year. Others are intentional about pressing pause on to-do lists and letting the stillness take over. The majority of us, however, fall somewhere in the middle, rather than an all or nothing approach to how the summer days are spent.

You’ve made lots of smart choices in your life, whether it’s the choices you make surrounding course selection, your choice of high school, or the choices within your relationships, such as spending time with your parents last weekend, or helping a friend or a sibling with homework. The choices you make today can lead to happiness, a sense of calm, and future opportunities. Reading this blog while pondering summer school – another smart choice, congratulations! Thinking about “Future You” will lead to great things, no matter what your final decision is.

The beauty of summer lies in the endless possibilities of how this precious time can be spent. Some of us use it as a time to catch up on unfinished projects or pursue tasks that were impossible to complete during the busy school year. Others are intentional about pressing pause on to-do lists and letting the stillness take over. The majority of us, however, fall somewhere in the middle, rather than an all or nothing approach to how the summer days are spent.

While many students are working hard to wrap up the school year and looking forward to summer vacation, there are other students who will be continuing their learning throughout the summer months. Whether the motivation is to reach ahead, upgrade a mark, complete a prerequisite for their OSSD or create flexibility in their timetable, students have a number of options on how this can be accomplished.

While the rhythm of the traditional school year looks different across the globe, there are telltale signs in Ontario, Canada that the typical academic school year is drawing to a close. The days are getting longer. The weather is getting warmer. Summer vacation plans are on the horizon. But before students can fully embrace the dog days of summer, there are deadlines to be met, assignments to be submitted, and final assessments to be completed.

As caregivers, we have spent years anticipating our children’s needs and to set them up for success in all areas of life. Whether it was taking them to the park to practice soccer skills for an upcoming tryout, running lines late until the night to prepare our children for the school play, or helping to create study notes for the Science unit test, our commitment to supporting our children has been unwavering. And when it comes to preparing our children for post-secondary education, the sentiment is no different.

The Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) is an international assessment conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that occurs every 3 years. It’s an assessment that evaluates education systems by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science. It focuses on applying knowledge to real-life challenges rather than rote memorization.

Most students and parents understand how important it is to graduate high school, but how to get there isn’t always obvious. Ontario Virtual School (OVS) is an Ontario Ministry of Education accredited online private high school that offers students in Canada and abroad the opportunity to earn an OSSD entirely online. The OSSD earned at OVS is equivalent to an OSSD earned through a publicly funded secondary day school.

At some point or another, we’ve all had the experience of misinterpreting the tone of an email or text message. Whether it is due to lack of punctuation, a questionable word choice, poor organisation or confusing sentence structure, it can sometimes be challenging to communicate effectively through email. This is why “netiquette” is an important component of teaching and learning at Ontario Virtual School and is part of online high school success.  

In today’s digital age, technology plays an important role. Not only does it impact how students learn, but it also affects traditional teaching methods (Alenezi et al., 2023). Tools such as computers, laptops, tablets, and educational software are now commonly used both in and out of the classroom, creating new opportunities for learning and skill development. Not only do these tools help to support more interactive learning experiences, they also help personalize learning (Haleem et al., 2022). This personalized approach helps students take more responsibility for their learning and use tools that meet their specific needs.

In today’s fast-changing world, it’s not just what students know that matters, but how they think, learn, and problem-solve. In fact, the researchers behind the Institute for Habits of Mind have identified 16 habits that form the basis for the behaviours, skills, and dispositions foundational to effective thinkers. This means that students who practice and hone these skills are more likely to be prepared for unfamiliar situations and more resilient in the real world.

Burnout seems to be everywhere – in headlines, blogs and stories with titles and catch phrases scary enough to sound like movie trailers. As a student, it can feel like you’re the main character in a suspense film, standing in front of a door that you feel like you shouldn’t open. You worry that opening the door to completing high school faster, setting bigger goals or staying ambitious will unleash burnout and undo your efforts, but this isn’t how the story has to go. Burnout is real and serious, but it is not inevitable. With the right approach to your studies you don’t have to open the door to burnout to reach your academic goals.

Education is about more than just school subjects and grades; it’s about how we learn, think, and share knowledge and values across generations. At the same time, formal education plays an important role by providing structure, guidance, and opportunities for students to develop essential skills. In Canada, learning has long been highly valued, with a strong emphasis on knowledge, critical thinking, and academic achievement, which are priorities that continue to shape our education system today.

While online learning is often associated with modern technology, its roots go back much further than many realize. In 1959, the University of Illinois created PLATO, a digital computer-based learning system that introduced many principles still used today (University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering, 2020). Over 6 decades later, online education has grown drastically- online high school enrollment in Ontario increased by about 46% between 2018 and 2022 (State of the Nation, 2023). The foundational ideas of systems like PLATO remain relevant in virtual high schools in Ontario because they are effective.

So, after ample research and reading several reviews of current and former Ontario Virtual School (OVS) students you’ve decided to make the move to online learning. Welcome, we are glad you’re here! Our community of online learners and educators have undergone a similar transition and are always here to help!

The idea of the university is far from new. It dates back to the Middle Ages, when some of the world’s first centres of higher learning took shape in cities like Paris, Bologna, Montpellier, Oxford, and Salamanca. Closer to home, the oldest institution of higher learning in Canada dates back to 1663, with the Université of Laval having been founded by the Séminaire de Québec. Since that time, the desire for higher learning has flourished. Today Canada currently has 97 public universities with over 16,000 university programs to choose from. What is more, 9 Canadian universities are in the top 200 in the world, including 4 in the top 100!