“Critical thinking” is a term that turns up everywhere. On job listings for high-paying roles, you’ll often see a requirement that reads, “Must be able to think critically.” In university learning outcomes, you’ll often find “must apply critical thinking skills to x, y and z” as part of the curricula. Parents encourage you to “think critically” about the future. PSAs warn us to “think critically” about advertising and media. Countless online articles hawk quick-fix listicles like “10 easy steps to become a critical thinker.”

And, of course, you’ll find critical thinking front and centre in Ontario English courses. It even gets its own unit in Grade 12 U-level English.

Online learning is still in a relatively nascent stage, only gaining serious traction in the last decade (and skyrocketing in popularity over the last four years). Because of that fact, almost every student who walks through the digital doors at OES comes from a traditional brick-and-mortar school background.

These students spent their formative elementary or middle school years seated alongside peers in an educational facility. They learned at the same pace as other students. Perhaps they relied on a teacher to keep them on task. And they measured their days according to the ring of school bells – telling them when to start, when to break and when to conclude for the day. Then, they arrive at a quality Canadian online high school – and, suddenly, everything is different.

The first day of school has always solicited a mixture of excitement, nervousness and steely determination. That was true 100 years ago when kids rode the bright yellow school bus to their first day back. And it remains true in 2023, as more students return to their digital classrooms – comfortable in their own homes, but still sitting on the precipice of new scholastic challenges.

Whether you’re new to OES, or returning to the best Ontario online high school, you’ll want to show up for your first day prepared. Mentally, physically and logistically preparing for school can help you start on the right foot.

In this article, we’ve compiled a valuable checklist for students. Below, we’ve divided our list into four categories: administrative preparations, academic habits, supplies and personal well-being. If it helps, copy this checklist into the personal planner or notes app of your choosing so you can tick each box on completion.

The trees in High Park are starting to wear a few rust-coloured leaves. The occasional chilly evening forces us to reach into the back of our closet for a jacket. And whenever you turn on the radio, you’re hit with commercials for back-to-school savings. That’s right – it’s almost September again, the beginning of another traditional school year.

A school should be a community. It should be a place where students can go to feel empowered, intellectually stimulated and supported. It should be a place to share your hopes and aspirations for the future, and then see that future slowly come together as you progress through your studies. It should be a place to share knowledge (and a few jokes) with peers, receive sage advice from advisors, work through problems and develop solutions.

Every student thinks differently, learns differently and experiences their time at high school differently. Some students are happy to drive through high school in the leisurely right-hand lane, savouring every last day of their education, friend groups and semi-structured lives.

Others, meanwhile, are itching to get on with it. Armed with tenacity, eagerness and (some might say) impatience, these students want to fast-track their high school education to level up quicker, graduate quicker, and throw their university applications to the top of the pile.

There’s a common misconception among some students that high school is like a sports match; if you fail to score the first time around, there’s nothing you can do about it. This line of thinking runs contrary to the fundamental goal of education. The aim of a high school education isn’t to label you with a mark – it is to nurture you with the opportunities you require to retain information, hone essential skills and envision your personal success for the future.

“Survival” might be a strong word for working your way through summer school. Yes, there are uphill challenges with attending high school courses over the traditional summer break. (How are you expected to study when the weather’s this nice!?). But summer school also carries its fair share of advantages. It allows students to work ahead in their courses for an easier upcoming academic year, retake courses for a better grade on their transcript, and develop an effective hedge against summer learning loss.

For students, the “peak-end effect” kicks in around this time of year. These final, waning moments of the traditional school year influence how you view your past accomplishments – and set the stage for your future motivation.
Our goal in this article is to ensure that you view the past school year positively. We want you to practice constructive self-reflection. We want you to practice effective present strategies for navigating the end of the school year. And lastly, we encourage you to look bravely toward the future as you complete graduation requirements in Ontario.

As you might have gathered in your physics or chemistry courses, energy is governed by laws of thermodynamics. And the first of those laws states that energy cannot be created or destroyed – only transferred.
The same principle applies (albeit with some creative license) to your studies. You are an isolated system, possessing a finite amount of energy in the form of academic focus and stamina. You can transfer that energy to your schoolwork, and indeed you should! But you have to give yourself the time and space to regain your energy elsewhere: with friends, family, quiet time, mindful practices, sleep and extracurricular hobbies. Or else you run the risk of depleting your energy. You run the risk of burning out.