Complementary Courses
Option courses are an exciting part of the Junior High experience and offer students the opportunity to take part in new experiences and explore interests. As we prepare for the upcoming school year, we would like to invite parents of NEW students to review possible option courses for your child and discuss which ones would be the best fit.
Please note that some of our options are full year and others run for a single semester. While we make every effort to provide students with their top choices, requests will be determined based on available course offerings.
Incoming Grade 6 students who do not attend any of our catchment feeder schools (ie. Pollard Meadows, Crawford Plains, Daly Grove) are asked to print the Option selection form (below) and return it to the school office. Forms can be returned by email to tdbaker@epsb.ca, or during office hours, 8:00 - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
We have provided a brief description of option courses on the option selection forms which are attached. Please contact us if you have any questions at:
Fine Arts and Career and Technology Foundations (CTF)
In addition to French, our students can choose to take a wide range of options as they complete their timetable with courses from areas of personal interest or to develop new skills to help them in school or be successful contributing members of the community. Some of the options we offer our students include:
Art: Students use a variety of media, including pencil crayon, markers, collage, oil pastel, watercolours, tempera paint and clay while developing and applying an understanding of the Elements of Design (line, value, texture, shape, space, form and colour). By focusing on building fundamental skills, students can complete their art projects with confidence.
Construction: is a project based introduction to safe work habits, tools, materials, duties and responsibilities in a typical industrial woodworking shop. Students explore career possibilities, dynamic problem solving, design vocabulary, working in teams and individually, while making expressive functional objects for their own personal use.
Drama: Students develop the "social skills" aspect of their personalities by focusing on the development of creativity, spontaneity and imagination. Skills such as speech, movement, improvisation will enable the student to develop both self-identity and an understanding of the individual's role within the group creative process. Outcomes also include basic theatre studies and technical theatre.
Extra Math: Students have the opportunity to improve basic number sense (numeracy) skills through learning and practicing math using many various educational techniques. While students will have some direct instruction and worksheets, much of the extra learning is through exploring math related games, projects, and websites that are designed to increase numeracy in students.
Fashions: Students develop an understanding of clothing, fashion icons and couturiers within the context of society. They will learn the process of handling and styling hair with confidence and how to analyze skin and perform basic facial skin care practices. In addition, students will learn basic theatrical make-up techniques including gore makeup and basic everyday makeup techniques.
Foods: Students explore the world of food through cooking, baking and tasting of various foods. Students also study careers in foods and nutrition and examine the benefits of healthy eating, food choices and meal planning, while studying Canada's Food Guide. Students learn safety, sanitation and management of equipment in food preparation while developing confidence, creativity, management and problem solving skills to make meal planning and food preparation enjoyable.
Forensics: Students dissect crime scenes through focusing on analyzing handwriting samples, differentiating colours of hair samples, natural and man-made fibres, blood typing with synthetic samples, and collecting and comparing fingerprint samples. Students will be participating in two projects, including a dog-napping mystery and a real 1800s murder mystery.
Leadership 9: Students will be responsible for organizing school activities, events and communications while learning different examples and ways of leadership and developing organizational skills. The leadership program at T. D. Baker is about enhancing student and staff daily life and making our school community a better place.
Guitar: Students develop an understanding of reading music and tablature, the basics of playing the acoustic guitar and a variety of in-class activities to reinforce their learning.
Outdoor Ed: Students will go beyond the school walls to explore what they can do outdoors. Through various outdoor activities, they will develop skill, judgment and confidence in taking care of their environment. Through understanding basic ecological processes, students will appreciate the natural world and life in all its forms.
3D Printing: Students use computer programs to develop and design plans for three-dimensional objects to be printed on the 3D printer. Students will use Tinkercad to create their three-dimensional object, save it in the necessary format, and then print it. Students will create a variety of objects including a cell phone case and a small city.
Visual Communication: Students learn how to handle a computer appropriately as well as how to use the computer using proper netiquette. Students will explore websites, blogs, and fonts while learning how to touch type and gain accuracy and speed while doing so. Finally, students will learn about different Google applications and how to write a few lines of code.