Plan Your Future - Student Services

 

You will select your courses using your account in myBlueprint.ca using your email address and your password. If your student account has not been activated, create an account as a new user using the activation code ‘mdhs’ and your OEN number. This number appears on the report card beside your name.

Course selection will open mid-January and will close early-February.  Return your signed course selection form to either Mr Williams or Ms. Hoffmeyer in Student Services. Do not submit your form to any other person.

All forms are identified with the date they are submitted. In cases where classes are over-subscribed, students who were late submitting their forms will be removed from the class and placed on a waiting list. In all instances, students who submit their form on time and have the necessary prerequisites for their desired courses will have priority.

There is no bonus for submitting your course selection form early – you are encouraged to take the time to make good decisions.

Make an appointment with Mr Williams if you have questions regarding this process. If your parents/guardians have questions, please contact Mr Williams at 519 348-8495, extension 217 or [email protected]

Visit myBluePrint to start or continue with your education planner.

An easy way to plan your high school career and beyond!

Apprenticeship Information

Searching for an apprenticeship requires hard work and determination. “Word of mouth” is a good way to hear about a possible job, networking from a part- time job or a co-op job is also useful, check the “classified” section of the newspaper in the town/city where you would like to find a job, or go to the local employment office. The Stratford Partners in Employment office is located at 75 Waterloo Street South, 519 272-1946, or research their services at www.partnersinemployment.on.ca

Once you have found an employer, you will need to register with the nearest apprenticeship board. The closest one to Mitchell is Waterloo at 519-571-6009. More information can be found at the Training Hotline 1-888-JOBGROW

Most apprentices go to college for part of their education. You do not need to apply to college for this training; your training consultant that you have registered with will arrange for you to go to the nearest college for the in-school portion of your training

If you are having trouble finding an employer, you may decide to look for work as a labourer in the field or with the employer you are interested in with the hope that this will make you more desirable as an apprentice in a year or so; some employers hire apprentices only from current employees not new hires. Some people decide to go to college and take a 1, 2 or 3 year college diploma/certificate program in their field of interest to become more desirable as an apprentice (this requires an application to college); Conestoga College and Fanshawe College offer a 1 year pre-technology course and Conestoga also offers multi-year co-op diploma apprenticeship programs.

College Program Information

The Ontario College Guide at www.ontariocolleges.ca is your resource for locating the colleges and programs. Print calendars are available in Student Services but the online information on the individual college websites is more up-to-date and comprehensive.

Plan a campus visit to the colleges that are your top choices – each school has March Break Open Houses or visits can be arranged at any time by phoning the liaison numbers at the college

The Ontario college application deadline is February 1, 2019 for equal consideration. Students can apply to 5 programs (maximum of 3 at any one college) and the cost is $95.00; applications will not be processed until the non-refundable payment is received. Applications are completed online and we recommend completing the application prior to the Christmas Break. Each applicant will require their OEN number for OCAS (Ontario College Application Service); you can get this from Student Services.

Need help applying?? Come and see us in Student Services.

University Program Information

www.ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca is a very useful site for locating the universities that offer the programs you want to apply to, the admission requirements for those programs and the cut-off average for last year; this website also contains information regarding scholarships, residence, campus visits and online addresses and phone numbers. Print calendars are available in Student Services but the online information is more up-to-date and comprehensive and is available on the individual university websites (web addresses and links in eINFO).

Plan campus visits to the universities that are your top choices – check out the programs available at March Break or visits can be arranged at any time by phoning the liaison numbers in eINFO.

The Ontario university application deadline is January 17, 2019. Students can apply to 3 programs for $150 and additional programs at a cost of $50/program (but choose carefully). You are restricted to a maximum of three program choices at any one university (including affiliates). Applications are completed online at www.ouac.on.ca and we recommend completing the application prior to the Christmas Break. You will need your PIN number from OUAC (Ontario University Application Centre); come and see us in Student Services.

Workplace Information

Searching for employment requires hard work and determination. In addition to completing your diploma requirements, you will need to update your resume and develop a cover letter for your employment search. “Word of mouth” is a good way to hear about a possible job, networking from a part-time job or a co-op job is also useful, check the “classified” section of the newspaper in the town/city where you would like to find a job, or go to the local employment office. The Stratford Partners in Employment office is located at 75 Waterloo Street South, 519 272-1946, or check out their services at www.partnersinemployment.on.ca

If you have taken workplace preparation courses in grades 11 and 12 and now decide you wish to apply to college, there are community colleges in Ontario (Conestoga, Lambton, Humber and Sault, to name a few) who have developed programming for students with workplace preparation courses.

Scholarships and Bursaries

Thousands of dollars in bursary and scholarship money is won every year by the students who apply. Don’t leave your search for these funds until the last minute – start now!!

Look for the ‘Scholarship Report’ in Student Services and check out the following websites:

• Scholarships Canada
• Student Awards
• School Finder
• Scholar Tree

Scholar Tree is committed to helping reduce student debt in Canada by making scholarship more accessible. Most people don’t realize how many scholarships are awarded early in the school year. ScholarTree.ca has $997,500 worth of scholarships that are currently accepting applications. Students can find which scholarships are best fit for them by signing up at ScholarTree.ca.

To help with students prepare and transition to post-secondary life we have launched the ScholarTree Blog. University students write the blog because we want the information to be as relevant to current student life as possible. The main areas of focus for the blog are:

1. Student Life: general advice and hacks
2. Scholarship Tips
3. Entrepreneurial Spotlight: stories about students starting their startup or not for profit
4. How to: tips for applying and getting into prestigious programs

Make sure to subscribe, so you don’t miss the weekly updates.

Scholar-Tree has also created an Excel personal budget template, this is a useful tool to help students plan financially for post-secondary education       https://static.scholartree.ca/resources/school_year_budget_planner.xlsx

March break is the perfect time for students to focus on applying to scholarships. March is the months where the most amount of scholarships are available to graduating students. With this in mind, we published the 6 most common mistakes we see in scholarship applications blog. These mistakes cause over 25% of scholarship applications to be disqualified from consideration. You can subscribe to the blog at the bottom of any blog so that you never miss an update.

We are still working hard to grow the different types of scholarships we have available for students. Scholarships exist for students who are interested in skill trades (millwright, industrial maintenance or engineering technician).

Mitchell District High School Graduation Awards

Mitchell District High School graduation awards are possible because of the generous continued support of individuals, organizations, businesses and industries within our community.

Students must complete the “Graduate Form” through Student Services to be eligible candidates for these awards.