The Outward Bound courses that offer the Leadership and Peer Support High School Credit provides more than 110 hours of instruction and qualifies you for a Grade 11 Guidance credit. It is based on the Leadership and Peer Support course guideline. This credit is offered as part of the Ontario Secondary School (OSS) curriculum guidelines. Students from outside the province may receive the credit at the discretion of their high school principal.

GOALS OF THE COURSE

The focus of this course is to help students discover and develop their own leadership qualities and prepare them to act in leadership roles in their schools or communities. Through a greater sense of self, their connection and responsibilities to other people, students will be invited to develop their personal leadership style and vision. This course is very much a group experience, and students are taught interpersonal skills in conflict resolution, feedback, communication, group facilitation and peer leadership. Students will be given opportunities to refine their decision-making, conflict-resolution and interpersonal skills, with a view to enhancing relationships with others. This clearly complements Outward Bound Canada’s Mission: "Ignite the Human Spirit, Invite Self-Discovery and Inspire Human Potential" by promoting self-reliance, care and respect for others, responsibility to the community, and concern for the environment. Students will also take part in a leadership experience through the service component of this program, utilizing some of the skills they have learned through their experience to deliver a program to younger students.

The three strands that the course is based on are as follows:

• Personal Knowledge & Management Skills
• Interpersonal Knowledge & Skills
• Exploration of Opportunities

Your Outward Bound course will be a learning experience composed of challenging activities and skills-training taught by professional instructors. The majority of each course is spent in the outdoors. For the purposes of the high school credit, it is our expectation that you come to the course prepared to contribute to the learning process and to your own growth and learning in the four areas described above. Be prepared to set goals in each of these areas and to share and discuss your progress with your instructors.

Instructors will assess students based on the following: participation and contribution to the learning process, participation in group activities, ability to get along with others and assist in the decision-making process, communication skills, self-management skills, peer leadership, ability to set and reach goals, acceptance of personal and group responsibility, and ability to maintain a positive attitude and a state of physical and mental/emotional well-being throughout the course. Students are expected to keep a journal of their experiences while on course, which is also used as an evaluative tool. Each student will be evaluated individually on his or her own progress throughout the course and a final written course evaluation, based on the provincial curriculum expectations, will be filled out by the instructors for each student.

At the end of your course, and after your final personal interview with your instructors, you will have a good idea of your final course mark. You will receive a final written evaluation form and grade from your instructors. Seventy percent of the final grade for the course will be based on ongoing assessments and evaluations conducted throughout the course. Thirty percent of the final grade for the course will be based on a final learning product/performance/presentation suitable to the course content and administered towards the end of the course. Your final mark will be sent to your high school the November following your course.