A HITCHHIKER'S

GUIDE TO
GRADUATION

DON'T PANIC!! By Avi Levin

Based on Materials from the Ministry of Education

Includes:

Graduation, UBC, and UW requirements

Course List sorted by requirement
Information on AP/IB, Independent Studies, Grad Transitions, and Course Challenge

WARNING!!! Information subject to change. Many of the theoretical combinations in this book are
not practically possible, or will mess you up in college. Make sure to consult with others.
Let's start with the basics.

The 2006 class. were split on what subjects to take. They ended up with a suits-nobody compromise.
Us, the 2007, class, got stuck in a number of departments:

– We didn't know that there was a provincial exam (PrEx) for English Literature, so we didn't take it.
– We were told we needed four PrExs in Grade 12. In fact, that's what UBC wants. However, only
one of us was taking UBC seriously, so in May, one of us dropped Math. In the end, we should
have looked at what we probably needed.
– We didn't know until may that we had two more courses than we needed to graduate.

At eh beginning of May, this all fell down on our heads. We made the same mistakes that they laughed
at us for making last year - and it seemed like it would continue forever (no offense to Grade 11 – I
think they'll do fine.)

This happened for several reasons. None of us had clear goals of what we wanted to do, and each year
builds off the next. No one, or nothing, at the school, is dedicated to doing this for the students – with
fifty of us, there are plenty of other things to worry about. So if you don't check yourself, people will
make mistakes, or do a standard set to play it safe.

This booklet is meant to give you all of the information you need to start planning your own schedule.
You should start as soon as Grade 9 – You don't have many choices next year, but you'll have more
when class sizes go up, and you should always be able to pick your elective.

Some basics.

In British Columbia, high school is Grades 10-12. (School districts may add more grades, but they do
not affect graduation.) There is only one type of high school diploma, known as the Dogwood. To do it,
you need to do certain things, outlined below with things PTI requires as a Jewish school:

Grade 10 Grade 11 or 12 Grade 11 Grade 12 Any Grade/Other

Judaic Studies Science Judaic Studies Language Arts PE
Hebrew Language Social Studies Language Arts Judaic Studies Fine Arts/Applied Skills
Math Math Two other Graduation Transitions
courses
Science One other course
Social Studies
Language Arts
Planning

In addition, colleges have their own requirements. To give two examples, UBC and SFU not only
require a diploma, they also require four provincial exam courses in Grade 12 and a language in Grade
11, and the sciences require even more. American universities are generally easier; University of
Washington just requires a diploma, although you may have to take extra math in college. Check before
you plan.
A couple of things to keep in mind:

– You can keep on taking Hebrew 11 and Hebrew 12 to add on credits and PE 11 to help with your
Graduation Transitions, and you're good to to!
– However, if you want to attend UBC, SFU, and many other colleges (but not UW) you will need to
take four courses with exams in Grade 12, instead of just two secular subjects.
– Don't take a course offered in Grade 11 and 12 that you need in just one in Grade 12. You'll be
missing stuff you need in between.
– The more courses you take in high school, the less you will have to take in university to start your
degree.

Within the requirements, there are a few ways to get credits:

Provincially Examinable Courses: You'll have to take at least five of these courses (eight for UBC or
SFU). These courses are the most impressive regular courses, are the most useful for college, and are
the easiest to transfer. However, the course is less flexible, part of the course has to be taught for the
exam, and the exams are hard. Exam courses are marked in bold in Appendix A.

Regular Courses: Most likely, the rest of your courses will be these normal ones, no more and no less.
A complete list of these can be found in Appendix A.

AP/IB Courses (11/12): AP (and its harder cousin, IB) are like international courses (especially IB) and
are treated by the Ministry as full courses - in fact, they can be taken instead of provincial exams. They
are recognized worldwide, and they can even count as college credit at most schools if you do well.
However, the courses are not tailored to BC students and are more of a challenge. They have been
omitted from Appendix A, but may be found in the Course Information for the Graduation Program
booklet.

Graduation Transitions: This is not really a course, but is one of your required 20. It starts immediately
upon entering Grade 10 and runs through they summer until graduation. replaces the Graduation
Portfolio after complaints that it was too bureaucratic and poorly implemented. To get credits for it,
you have to:
• Get 80 hours of exercise besides PE 10 and develop a healthy living plan (Easy o knock off with PE
11)
• Work or volunteer for at least 30 hours and describe it (Get a summer job)
• Develop and present a plan for what you will do after high school. (You do this anyways)

A couple of other options are available, but rarely used:

Independent Directed Studies (11/12): As long as it falls within an existing course, you may get credit
for supervised self-study. First, you need to prove that you are capable of independent learning. Then,
with the help of a teacher, you have to develop a rough course outline. Then, you get credits for the
course at about one credit (¼ of a course) every 30 hours/2½ months. This is great for a detailed
research project (e.g. studying World War I for History 12), or if you already know half a course and
just want to learn the other half. Remember that you need four credits of IDS for it to count as a course.
¾ of a course won't help you.

Course Challenge: Anyone is entitled to challenge any course if they can prove they know it, especially
if the course is not offered by the school. First, you must prove you know the basics of the course, most
easily done by showing previous work or getting an 80 on a basic exam. Then you have to get a 50 on a
regular exam (or the provincial, when required). In practice, this is rarely done, except to challenge a
language course when English is a second language. Risks include failing and/or being unprepared for
next year. However, it takes almost no time of yours – just a couple of afternoons.

Here are a couple of extreme amples to put this into context:

Grade 12 Judaic English Principles Chemistry Physics Graduation

Studies of Math Transitions
Grade 11 Judaic Hebrew English Principles Chemistry Social Physics Drama:
Studies of Math Studies Film and
TV
Grade 10 Judaic Hebrew English Principles Science Social Planning Phys Ed
Studies of Math Studies
Table 1: This is what you need to go into math/science at UBC.

Grade 12 Judaic Hebrew Commun- Drama: Film Graduation

Studies ications and TV Transitions
Grade 11 Judaic Hebrew Commun- Essentials of Applications Civic PE for
Studies ications Math of Physics Studies GradTrans
Grade 10 Judaic Hebrew English Essentials of Science Social PE Planning
Studies Math Studies
Table 2: This is the least you can do to get a diploma.

Note the different types of Math and Language Arts. There are three types of math – Essentials,
Applications, and Principles. The first is not for college. The second is for the arts. The third is for the
sciences. In the same way, Communications is English for people not planning to go to college. You'll
probably want to keep your options open and stick to the best options.

This package is just a rough outline – don't forget to check their website and consult people.

Knowledge is power – use it wisely!

Glad to help,
AviLevin
APPENDIX A
COURSES BY GRAD REQUIREMENT
(bold denotes courses with provincial exams)

Language Arts 10, 11, and 1

English 10/11/12
Communications 11/12

Math 10 and 11 or 12
Applications of Mathematics 10/11/12
Essentials of Mathematics 10/11/12
Principles of Mathematics 10/11/12
Calculus 12

Science 10 and 11 or 12
Science 10
Earth Science 11
Science & Technology 11
Forests 11/12
Physics 11/12
Agriculture 11/12
Applications of Physics 11/12
Biology 11/12
Chemistry 11/12
Geology 12

Social Studies 10 and 11 or 12

Social Studies 10
Civic Studies 11
Social Studies 11
BC First Nations Studies 12

Applied Skills/Fine Arts 10, 11, 12

Business Education 10:
Business Communications
Entrepreneurship
Finance and Economics
General/Marketing
Home Economics 10:
Family Studies
Foods
General
Textiles
Information Technology 10
Technology Education 10:
Drafting and Design
Electronics/General
Mechanic
Metalwork
Woodwork
Computer Certification 10/11/12
Applied Skills 11/11A/B
Basic Military Qualification 11
Boating 11A/B
Business Computer Applications 11
Fine Arts and Applied Skills 11
4-H 11/12
Accounting 11/12
Automotive Technology
11/12
12: Automotive Electricity and Electronics
12: Body Repair and Finish
12: Engine and Drive Train
Cafeteria Training 11/12
Carpentry and Joinery
11/12
12: Cabinet Construction
12: CNC Wood Processes
12: Furniture Construction
12: Residential Construction
12: Woodcraft Products
Cook Training Level One 11A/B/C/12A/B/C
Drafting and Design
11/12
12: Advanced Design
12: Architecture and Habitat Design
12: Engineering and Mechanical Drafting
12: Technical Visualization
Electronics
11/12
12: Analog Systems
12: Digital Systems
12: Robotics
Family Studies 11/12
First Aid 11/12
Fitness Leader 11/12
Food Studies 11/12
Human Services 11A/B/C/12A/B/C
Industrial Design 11/12
Marketing 11/12
Metal Fabrication and Machining
11/12
12: Advanced Fabrication
12: Advanced Machining
12: Advanced Welding
12: Art Metal and Jewellery
12: CNC Processes
12: Forging and Foundry
12: Sheet Metal
Textile Studies 11/12
Tourism 11/12
Welding 11A/B/C/12A/B/C
Advanced Wood Products Manufacturing: Woodlinks 12
Auto Service Technician Level One 12A/B/C/D
Business Information Management 12
Carpentry Level One 12A/B/C
Data Management 12
Economics 12
Entrepreneurship 12
Financial Accounting 12
Management Innovation 12
Medic First Aid 12
-------------------------------------------------
Visual Arts 10:
Ceramics and Sculpture
Drawing and Painting
General
Media Arts
Dance 10:
Choreography
General
Performance
Drama 10:
General
Theatre Performance
Theatre Production
Music 10:
Concert Band
Concert Choir
General
Guitar
Jazz Band
Orchestral Strings
Vocal Jazz
Beaux-Arts 11/11A /B
Fine Arts 11/11A/B
Art Foundations 11/12
Choral Music 11/12:
Concert Choir
Vocal Jazz
Dance 11/12:
Choreography
Performance
Drama: Film and Television 11/12
Highland Dancing 11/12
Music: Composition and Technology 11/12
Studio Arts 11/12:
Ceramics and Sculpture
Drawing and Painting
Fabric and Fibre
Printmaking and Graphic Design
Theatre Performance 11/12:
Acting
Directing and Script Development
Theatre Production
11
12: Technical Theatre/
12: Theatre Management
Visual Arts: Media Arts 11/12

OTHER COURSES/ELECTIVES

Agriculture 10
Independent Directed Studies 11A/B/C/12A/B/C
Metal Fabrication and Machining (FNASK) 11/12
Physical Education 11/12
Comparative Civilizations 12
English Literature 12
Geography 12
History 12
Law 12
Technical and Professional Communications 12
Writing 12
Arabic 10/11/12
German 10/11/12
Heiltsuk 10/11/12
French 10/11/12
Italian 10/11/12
Japanese 10/11/12
Korean 10/11/12
Mandarin Chinese 10/11/12
Okanagan 10/11/12
Punjabi 10/11/12
Secwepemctsin 10/11/12
Shashishalhem 10/11/12 (Sechelt Language)
Sim’alga Nisga’a 10/11/12
Sm’algyax 10/11/12
Spanish 10/11/12
Tsek'ene 10/11/12
Upper St’át’imcets 10/11/12
American Sign Language 10/11/12
Introductory American Sign Language 11
Introductory Arabic 11
Introductory German 11
Introductory Heiltsuk 11
Introductory Italian 11
Introductory Japanese 11
Introductory Korean 11
Introductory Mandarin 11
Introductory Okanagan 11
Introductory Punjabi 11
Introductory Secwepemctsin 11
Introductory Shashishalhem 11 (Sechelt Language)
Introductory Sim’algaxhl Nisga’a 11
Introductory Sm’algyax 11
Introductory Spanish 11
Introductory Upper St’át’imcets 11
Introductory Tsek'ene 11

APPENDIX B
REFERENCES

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/graduation/related_docs.htm
The documents page. Start detailed research here. Use what I did:
Handbook of Procedures for the Graduation Program
The Graduation Program 2004
2007/08 Graduation Program Examination Schedule
Program Guide for Graduation Transitions: Response Draft
Course Information for the Graduation Program: Grade 10, 11 and 12 Courses
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/graduation/
For graduation requirements and exam dates
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/irp.htm
For curriculum packages – if you wonder what a course is like, look here
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/graduation/courseinfo/
For available courses in BC
http://tinyurl.com/2dyz5l
The website is awful to navigate – try this homepage instead, or google your query.

This document will be hosted on scribd.com – search for “Grade 12 BC Graduation”.

© Avi Levin. This document is released under a CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 license, available at
http://www.creativecommons.org.