Academics

Academics at Huntsville High School are taken very seriously. We are proud that regardless of what pathway our students choose (University, College, Workplace); they are well-prepared and successful.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend all classes. If a students is too ill to attend class, a parent or guardian is expected to call the school attendance line 705-789-5597 with the student’s full name and the reason.

OSSLT

Check out the OSSLT Parent Presentation

The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test is administered to all students in the province in March of their Grade 10 school year. Successful completion of the test is a graduation requirement. The test is composed of reading selections with multiple-choice and open-response items, writing prompts with multiple choice writing items. The test is administered in one day in two 75-minute blocks. Accommodations can be provided to students with Individual Education Plans and special provisions are available to students new to English.

The Getting Ready Guide will help you prepare.

Try the Sample Test Materials.

The successful student’s work is characterized by:

Complexity
Big ideas, details selected to support generalizations; broad vocabulary; connects purposes, audience, and form
Variety
Range of literacy and fluency skills; navigates and adopts different types of expression; produces own ideas; syntax is that of written language where appropriate; flexibility of expression
Abstraction
Uses symbols and visualization in understanding and expression; transfers skills and prior knowledge to new situations

The unsuccessful student’s work is characterized by:

Simplicity
In ideas and sparse supporting details; in understanding and use of forms (e.g., personal essay, graphs and charts); and in vocabulary use
Repetition
The small set of ideas selected from texts or chosen for writing are used repeatedly; narrow range of skill sets for choice of vocabulary and sentence structure; syntax is often drawn from oral language
Concreteness
Focus on specifics of tasks; straight-forward purposes in reading or writing; heavy reliance on personal experience for evidence