In grade 9, students select between 3 (French Immersion Students) and 4 (English stream students) from the following elective/optional subject courses:
Note: ALL grade 9 students will take grade 9 math all year and will earn 2 credits - Grade 9 Math and Grade 9 Transitional Math.
Art Department:
Dramatic Arts / Arts dramatiques (Offered in both English and French Immersion)
1 Credit course
Prerequisite: none
Materials: none
Cost: $0
Description:
Drama is a creative and interactive course where students explore the fundamentals of theatre and performance. It involves acting exercises, scene work, improvisation, script analysis and rehearsal practices. Students learn about various aspects of theater, including voice projection, movement, character development, and emotional expression. This course includes in class performances. Goals of the course include helping students develop confidence, stage presence, and storytelling and public speaking skills.
Arts dramatiques est un cours créatif et interactif où les élèves explorent les bases de l’art dramatique et de la performance. Il comprend des exercices d’interprétation, du travail sur des scènes, de l’improvisation, l’analyse de textes et des pratiques de répétition. Les élèves apprennent divers aspects du théâtre, y compris la projection de la voix, le mouvement, le développement des personnages et l’expression des émotions. Ce cours inclut des performances en classe. Les objectifs du cours sont d’aider les élèves à développer leur confiance, leur présence sur scène ainsi que leurs compétences en narration et en prise de parole en public.
Technical Theatre
1 credit course
Prerequisite: none
Materials: none
Cost: $0
Description:
This is not a performance course. This is an introductory course on backstage theatre production. Students will focus on the production aspects of theatre; Lighting, Sound, Stage Construction, Set Painting, House Management, Marketing, Stage Management, and Backstage Crew positions. Students will learn the various stages and equipment used in professional theatres today as well as the many careers in the theatrical arts and the structures of Canadian Professional theatre. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the history of technical theatre and develop skills in conflict resolution, team and individual strategies for success, expectations on the job as well as a general understanding of workplace practices in any career of their choice.
Theatre Production (Morden Collegiate Theatre Troupe)
1 credit course
Prerequisite: Audition with course instructor.
Materials: None
Cost: $0
Note: This class will meet outside of the school day in both semesters, until the completion of the show in the Spring
This is a practical course involving the rehearsal and production of theatre and a show. The course will include rehearsal techniques, script analysis and practical experience in design, technical theatre and stage management. The course will culminate in a public performance. The course will be taught in our state of the art, flexible theatre space. This course will be supported by our technicians and design teams from our Backstage Theatre class.
Concert Band
1 credit courses
Prerequisite: Completing a Grade 8 Band Course is highly recommended.
Materials: Band instrument
Cost: Potential instrument rental $140-$200 per year.
Description:
Through this four year program, students will explore music through group performance on wind and percussion instruments. Students in band will study high quality wind band literature and be held to a high, yet attainable standard of performance. Students will learn performance skills, musical notation, music theory, music history, and the proper playing mechanics of their instrument. Emphasis will be placed on the ability to communicate fluently and expressively with the musical language.
Concerts, festivals, trips, and retreats are considered a part of each course, and it is an expectation that all band students participate in these.
For those students who do not own their instrument, rentals can be coordinated through the band teacher*.
*Financial assistance is available to any student who may be interested in taking courses with associated costs or fees. Please contact the office for more information.
Jazz Band
1 credit courses
Prerequisite: Completing a Grade 8 Band Course is highly recommended.
Materials: Band Instrument
Cost: Potential instrument rental $140-$200 per year.
Description:
The Grade 9 Jazz Band course provides an enrichment opportunity for students wanting to learn about jazz and perform in a smaller group setting. Students in the course will learn various idioms of the jazz language and various jazz styles (swing, ballad, rock, latin). They will also learn jazz forms, jazz chords, jazz scales, and improvisation. Similar to concert band, the ability to communicate fluently and expressively using the jazz language will be emphasized.
Concerts, festivals, trips, and retreats are considered a part of Junior Jazz Band, and it is an expectation that all students participate in these.
For those students who do not own their instrument, rentals can be coordinated through the band teacher*.
*Financial assistance is available to any student who may be interested in taking courses with associated costs or fees. Please see the office for more information.
Concert Choir
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: pencil
Cost: $0
Description:
Singing is the primary focus of this course. Class time will be spent rehearsing repertoire. We will sing music from many musical genres through which we will improve vocal technique, breath control, vocal blend, balance, tone and expression. Music theory and music history are regular components of our study. Performances at school and community events occur throughout the semester.
Vocal Jazz Choir (highly recommended to take Concert choir along with Vocal Jazz)
1 credit courses
Prerequisite: none, students are highly recommended to take Concert Choir alongside vocal jazz class.
Materials: none
Cost: $0
Description:
Vocal Jazz is a performance-based course. Class time is spent rehearsing and studying jazz and contemporary styles of music. The repertoire for this course will encompass different genres of jazz and will have varied levels of difficulty. Throughout the course we will study jazz history and theory, with a focus on appropriate blend, balance, vocal color and microphone technique. There may be a need for independent practice outside of class time. Travel and festival attendance are a regular part of the course.
Visual Arts
1 credit course
Prerequisite: none
Materials: 2B, 4B, 6B pencils, an eraser and a standard sized thick sketchbook
Cost: $15
Description:
This course is for students who love to draw and for those who want to learn to draw!
VAR10S covers the basics of drawing including the creation of 3D space using linear and atmospheric perspective, foreshortening and light and shadow. Students will learn how to draw architectural forms and landscapes. They will also learn to draw realistic facial features and human proportions. They will apply these skills, plus the knowledge they have gained from the study of art history and composition to technical and creative projects. Students will experiment with a variety of drawing media as well as watercolour. Students will learn to discuss and analyze art in class critiques. All major projects will be displayed at the Artstravaganza in June.
VAR10S provides foundational skills for VAR20S, VAR30S and VAR40S.
*Financial assistance is available to any student who may be interested in taking courses with associated costs or fees. Please contact the MCI office or the VAR10S teacher for more information.
Business and Career Education:
Business Innovations
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: None
Cost: $0
Description:
Interested in starting your own business one day and being your own boss? You should be. Employing about 70% of the private sector workforce, Canada has nearly 1.3 million small businesses, which is about 99.8% of all businesses in the country. Business Innovations in an introductory course which offers you the opportunity to explore business related topics such as economics, entrepreneurship, marketing, technology, and finance.
Career Education
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: None
Cost: $0
Description:
The Grade 9 Career Development course will help students acquire and apply knowledge and skills to make appropriate decisions for life, work and for the essential post-secondary education/training that is required in today’s economy. Students will explore a variety of concepts and skills to prepare them for their future career. This course will focus upon potential occupations and will demonstrate employability skills, building a positive self-image, creating attainable career goals, managing financial information and financial management of earnings and expenditures and developing skills to ensure success within interviews and the job application process.
Information & Communication Technology & Applying information & Communication Technology
1 credit from two half-credit courses
Prerequisite: None
Materials: None
Cost: $0
Description:
The purpose of this course is to reinforce and extend the ICT knowledge, attitudes, and skills acquired by students in Early and Middle Years. The course further prepares students to use ICT to learn and demonstrate their learning in all Senior Years courses. Course outcomes include: creating and properly formatting documents; efficiently organizing data and storing files; developing a basic understanding of computer programming and animation; creating effective presentations; and communicating information via picture and sound. Students learn how to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Krita, Photoshop, and DaVinci Resolve. Overall, ICT15F provides students with foundational technological skills that they can use in their academic and personal life going forward.
Home Economics:
Textiles Art and Design
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: Fabric and matching thread (Amount TBD based on size)
Cost: $20.00
Description:
In this hands-on course, students will explore textiles through both traditional and contemporary techniques, learning hand and machine sewing to create functional and artistic pieces. A key project involves designing and constructing a custom hoodie, where students choose their own fabric to reflect personal style. Throughout the course, students will experiment with various textile arts and develop their own design style while examining fashion’s impact on consumer choices and social dynamics. The course also covers citizenship, sustainability, and the ethical challenges within the textile industry, such as environmental and social issues. This course emphasizes creativity, problem-solving, and responsible practices, providing a solid foundation in textile design and sewing.
Food & Nutrition
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: None
Cost: $25
Description:
Do you enjoy watching cooking competitions on TV and wishing you had the skillset to cook that well? If so, you need to begin with a foundational knowledge of safety in a kitchen, an understanding of basic cooking and baking tools, and recognize the purpose of ingredients and their functions in a recipe. It’s also valuable as a living human in society to understand the fundamentals of nutrients and their basic functions in the body. The course is a combination of theoretical assignments in the classroom, as well as hands-on practical cooking labs where students develop and practice their skills in the kitchen setting.
Language Arts:
English as an Additional Language
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None. Courses and levels are determined according to the EAL Acquisition stages.
Description:
EAL Literacy courses are classes that support all levels of English learners. The three focus areas of this course are developing everyday vocabulary, building community, and developing English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
French (NOT a French Immersion class)
1 credit course
Prerequisite: Grade 8 French
Materials: None
Cost: $0
Description:
Over the four years of coursework, students will be expected to communicate orally and interact spontaneously. They will listen in order to understand the communicated message. Students will plan and write coherent texts to communicate the message. Students will read a variety of texts, for various purposes, and demonstrate understanding orally, in writing or visually. They will demonstrate a general knowledge of Francophone cultures and apply knowledge of Francophone cultures to interactions with others.
The focus of class time will be oral communication then reading and writing. Students are assessed according to message, fluency and accuracy.
Reading is Thinking
*this course does not count as an English course for graduation requirements.
Prerequisite: none
Materials: basic materials + dictionary
Cost: $0
Description:
This course is taught in conjunction with the grade 9 English Language Arts class and is for students who have historically struggled in their English classes in middle school. This course emphasizes the key reading, writing, oral communication and thinking skills students need to be successful in their learning across high school curriculums. In particular students will read and respond to a variety of narrative and expository forms from a variety of content areas. The course activities will help develop confidence, and self-esteem when interacting with a variety of written and visual texts across curriculums.
Other:
Hockey Skills Academy
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: Full set of hockey equipment
Costs: Approximately $250
Description:
The Morden Collegiate Hockey Skills Academy is open to all students, regardless of experience or ability. The goal of the program is to help students improve their hockey skills, fitness, and game knowledge while promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. The academy focuses on individual technical skill development, making it accessible for both beginners and those currently playing hockey. It is not intended to develop professional or international-caliber athletes, but to offer a welcoming environment for students to explore the sport.
Students will gain knowledge in various aspects of hockey, including fitness training, on-ice skill development, nutrition, sport psychology, and the importance of respect and fair play. The academy provides students with opportunities to enhance their personal skills and gives them a well-rounded view of the sport. By focusing on technical and personal development, the program aims to help students reach their full potential as athletes, coaches, managers, or officials.
Additionally, the academy fosters the development of important soft skills like teamwork, leadership, peer relations, and problem-solving. The program is designed to encourage students to improve both on and off the ice. Equipment pickup is the responsibility of students and parents, with storage options available upon arrangement with the teacher. Financial assistance is available for students facing costs or fees. For more details, students can visit the Hockey Canada website for skill development models and drills:
https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/hockey-programs/players/essentials
Transitional Math
This course is taught together with grade 9 math to all grade 9 students at Morden Collegiate.
Transitional Math offers additional practice in Mathematical concepts such as investigations in algebra, additional focus on fractions, whole numbers, decimals and concepts and language within trigonometry, algebraic expressions, multiplying monomial and poluynomials, one and two step linear equations, and interpreting line graphs. Students will also work on money management and problem-solving measurements of perimeter and areas, as well as use of percent, ratio, scale, and proportions in real life contexts. Transitional math also offers grade 9 math teachers timet o focus on Learning to Learn skills such as persistence in learning, flexibility in thinking, and checking for accuracy and precision to name a few.
Woodworking Technology
1 credit course
Prerequisite: None
Materials: Tape Measure, Safety Glasses, Calculator, Pencils, White Art Eraser and drawing compass.
Cost: $25.00
Description:
Students should have an interest in developing their skills in the areas of drafting, design, and basic furniture construction. The course will explore these areas through in-class lectures and assignments, as well as through individual project work. Student projects include Toolbox, Step Stool, Bookcase and CNC Personalized Sign.
There may be additional cost associated with this course.
Financial assistance is available to any student who may be interested in taking courses with associated costs or fees. Please contact the office for more information.
