Old Scona Academic High School - Programs of Study

Programs of Study

Old Scona Academic offers the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) Diploma Program in addition to fulfilling the Alberta Education Curriculum. Students begin grade ten enrolled in a pre-I.B. program. During this year, students must elect to either pursue the full I.B. program, a partial I.B. program, or the basic Alberta Education Curriculum. Most OSA students enroll in partial I.B., with approximately ten to twenty students a year opting for the full I.B. program.

The Old Scona Academic Higher Level (HL) I.B. course offerings as of 2010 are English A1, European History (Route 2: Peacekeeping), Biology, and Physics. Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, French B, and Group 6 arts are offered only at the Standard Level (SL). Most courses are also offered as regular Alberta 20 and 30 level classes, for those students only taking the basic Alberta Education Curriculum or partial I.B. program.

Students who elect to undertake the full two-year I.B. program to receive an I.B. Diploma, must complete all six groups of courses, as per the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) Diploma Program. This includes Group 1: English, Group 2: Second Language (French), Group 3: Individuals and Societies (History), Group 4: Experimental Sciences (Chemistry, Biology, or Physics), Group 5: Mathematics and Computer Science, and Group 6: Arts. At least three of these groups must be completed at Higher Level (HL). In addition to these classes, I.B. program students must take the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) class, complete an extended essay, and must document a number of extra-curricular and community involvement hours known as CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) hours. Unlike other Canadian provinces, Alberta does not allow completion of the I.B. Diploma program to be used in lieu of the provincial diploma. As a result, on top of their I.B. course load, full I.B. program students must fulfill the requirements of the Alberta Education Curriculum that do not get covered by the I.B. program, such as the Career and Life Management (CALM) course, physical education, and ten credit 30-level course requirements. Additionally, many post-secondary institutions (particularly those in Alberta) will not solely use the I.B. program for acceptance (though it does provide benefits). Many, for example, require completion of Chemistry, Biology, and Physics at the 30-level. As the I.B. program only requires one of these courses for Group 4, students must take the remaining two outside of the I.B. program. These combined requirements often lead to lengthy course loads and extended class hours / homework.

As a result of these demands, most students at Old Scona Academic choose to pursue a partial I.B. program. While this does not grant the student any I.B. Diploma status, there are benefits to completing many 30-level classes in I.B. Higher Level (HL). Many post-secondary institutions will view completion of these higher level classes (with good marks), as equivalent to completing comparative introductory classes in the post-secondary level. Therefore, students can use partial I.B. to get credit for many introductory post-secondary classes like Biology and English, saving both time and tuition later on.

Because OSA is a small school, it has a limited selection of elective classes. These include choral music, instrumental music, jazz band, performing arts, drama, debate, art, theory of knowledge (which can be taken without the full IB diploma), computer applications, and computer programming. Physical education at the 20 and 30 level is not required by the Alberta Education Curriculum, but is offered as electives for students. In the past, many students have also taken second languages such as German and Japanese through external programs affiliated with Alberta Education.