Welcome to the world of English study in high school! The English Department provides students with a wide range of knowledge and skills they can apply in all their courses. Students can expect to explore diverse fictional texts, including poetry, short stories, novels, and plays, as well as nonfiction texts like news articles, editorials, and blogs. Our department encourages students to pursue texts that engage their interests as they develop their skills. Every course, in every stream, from grade 9 through grade 12, enables students to hone their communication and critical thinking skills. These skills are not only essential for success in English but also other courses and outside of school.

Oral Communication presents an opportunity to listen to others and absorb meaning; it is also a chance to build one’s confidence and persuasiveness when doing any kind of public speaking. Students can expect to participate in a variety of presentation formats, including guided seminars, podcasts, and vlogs.

Balancing out oral communication will be reading and literature study. Our department teaches from a diverse array of texts which reflect the diverse identities of our students. English courses build on the foundation of reading built in elementary school to create thoughtful readers. Students will be able to read between the lines, make inferences, and understand texts of greater complexity as they advance through the English program. These texts could be as long as a novel or as brief as a few lines of poetry. Every course requires reading, whether its texts are word problems or scientific studies; English builds a strong competency in reading that applies in every context. To practically apply their reading skills, students get an abundance of practice refining their writing skills too. Beyond grammar mechanics and vocabulary, students will develop sophisticated structures in their writing to set them apart from others. English teachers place a lot of emphasis on writing skills because we know how many situations require a good writer – in and out of school. In the 21st century, literacy means being able to interpret texts from a variety of mediums. Consequently, English courses feature a focus on media studies so that students have a chance to think critically about audio, visual, and online texts. They are also given opportunities to demonstrate their understanding by creating media texts of their own.

Our graduates report great success post-secondary with the strategies and tools they learn from their time in TSS English classes. We are excited for you to start your journey in English and look forward to meeting you!