OSCA/ACOSO invites presenters to submit proposals for workshops to be considered for our 2025 Conference, LEADERSHIP STARTS HERE: Empowering Leaders, Inspiring Change.

We are seeking presenters who excel in their areas of expertise and can deliver captivating and educational presentations to inspire NEW and EXPERIENCED teachers who are involved with Guidance and Career Education and Student Success.

Summer Session: July 3 to July 31

OSCA-ACOSO is pleased to announce that they will continue to offer Part 1, Part 2 and the Specialist in Guidance and Career Education Additional Qualifications courses this summer.
Additional sessions will take place in the fall and winter. Advantages of taking the course with OSCA are the instructor is a current guidance teacher-counsellor, a one year OSCA
subscription is included ($55 value if currently not active) and a downloaded copy of Ethical Guidelines ($25) is included. As part of the OSCA subscription, participants have the opportunity to attend the fall conference at a member rate, gain access to webinars throughout the year on topics related to guidance and career education, receive the weekly OSCA News to keep up to date with
guidance/career topics, and receive the tri-annual OSCA Today, the professional magazine of the
association.

Cost: $675 plus HST.

To register: www.osca.ca - Next AQ course

Registration closes Thursday, June 19 at 11:55 p.m. This is a FIRM deadline.  

Teaching experience forms (Part 2 and Specialist) are all due no later than Friday, June 27.

Please register early to reserve your seat!

Chers collègues,

L’ACOSO est à la recherche de professionnels en orientation scolaire de partout dans la province pour mettre en valeur les initiatives remarquables mises en œuvre dans leurs écoles. Notre conférence annuelle est la meilleure occasion pour les collègues de se réunir afin de partager leurs idées et leurs pratiques exemplaires, et ainsi faire progresser l’orientation scolaire en Ontario. Le thème de cette année est né de l’appel au leadership lancé aux professionnels de l’orientation afin de mieux préparer nos élèves au marché du travail et au paysage éducatif en constante évolution. Nous aimerions vous inviter personnellement, vous nos collègues, à envisager de soumettre une proposition d’atelier pour notre conférence, afin que nous puissions découvrir les projets inspirants que vous réalisez dans vos milieux scolaires. Veuillez cliquer ici pour soumettre une proposition d’atelier avant la date limite du 23 avril.

N’hésitez pas à communiquer avec nous si vous avez des questions. Nous espérons vous voir nombreux à la conférence en novembre!

OSCA-ACOSO Anthony Di Lena Student Pathway Awards' mandate is to assist at-risk students in their journey towards success. An award is given to at-risk students who have demonstrated the exemplary ability to succeed in the face of adversity. $500.00 awards are presented to students who, in their postsecondary pursuits, are taking a pathway to apprenticeship, college, community living, university or work.

Nominated students must be graduating/or have graduated from an accredited public secondary, Catholic secondary, or inspected private secondary school, including First Nations, in the province of Ontario in the previous school year.

The deadline is Thursday, May 1, 2025 by 4:00 p.m.

The Trades Day for Guidance Teacher-Counsellors taking place on May 6 at the annual Skills Ontario Competition at the Toronto Congress Centre is quickly approaching!

Just a reminder to have your guidance counsellors register and that you may use the funding provided to all school boards for Experiential Professional Learning in the Skilled Trades for Guidance Counsellors to cover the cost of transportation, accommodation, and teacher coverage. 😊

Join and network with hundreds of guidance counsellors and career educators from across the province. Together you’ll experience a full day featuring an exciting keynote, an engaging workshop, and thoughtful panel discussions.

We look forward to seeing you!!

Ontario’s universities are excited to connect with students, educators and supporters at virtual and in-person events this year. Save the dates for these free events and help promote them to your students.

• Ontario Universities’ Information Sessions: May 22, 2025, from 5 to 7 pm (ET). This event is tailored to Grade 11 and younger students who are beginning their university research.
• Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF): Toronto, September 27-28, 2025, 9:30 am to 5 pm daily. Join us at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, for one of the largest educational fairs in North America.
• Ontario Universities’ Regional Fairs: Ontario university representatives will travel across the province this fall offering fair-style events. Individual event dates and locations are to be announced.

Learn more at ouevents.ca. 

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Les universités de l’Ontario ont très hâte de rencontrer des élèves, leurs supportrices et supporteurs et des éducatrices et éducateurs lors de nos événements virtuels et sur place de cette année. Prenez note des dates de ces événements gratuits et aidez-nous à les promouvoir auprès de vos élèves. 

• Séances d’information des universités de l’Ontario : 22 mai 2025, de 17 h à 19 h (HE). Cet événement s’adresse aux élèves de 11e année et moins qui amorcent leurs recherches sur les universités.
• Foire des universités de l’Ontario (FUO) : Toronto, 27-28 septembre 2025, de 9 h 30 à 17 h, tous les jours. Soyez des nôtres dans l’édifice Sud du Palais des congrès du Toronto métropolitain, à l’occasion de l’une des plus grandes foires de l’éducation en Amérique du Nord.
• Foires régionales des universités de l’Ontario : Des représentantes et représentants des universités de l’Ontario parcourront la province cet automne et y proposeront des événements de type « foire ». Les dates et lieux des événements individuels seront annoncés plus tard. 

Pour en savoir plus, consultez le site ouevents.ca.

Don’t worry if you missed the equal consideration date (ECD). There are still so many programs available for you to start this September.

There are many programs that remain open after ECD, as well as programs that start at different times of the year. Use our ‘Find a Program’ tool to see open programs and access information on when to apply. Dive into your interests and start something new this fall!

Do you want to impact Ontario students’ educational experience? Are you a student in an Ontario school? Will you be in Grades 7–12 during the 2025–2026 school year?

If yes, please consider submitting an application to be a member of Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) Student Engagement Committee!

The Student Engagement Committee provides feedback and advice to help EQAO better understand the experiences of students. For example, the 2023 -2024 committee members helped EQAO improve the online assessments.
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Veux-tu avoir un impact sur l’expérience éducative des élèves de l’Ontario? Es-tu élève d’une école en Ontario? Seras-tu inscrite ou inscrit dans une classe de la 7e à la 12e année au cours de l’année scolaire 2025-2026?

Si oui, pense à soumettre ta candidature pour devenir membre du Comité d’engagement des élèves de l’Office de la qualité et de la responsabilité en éducation (OQRE).

Le Comité d’engagement des élèves fait des commentaires et donne des conseils pour aider l’OQRE à mieux comprendre les expériences des élèves. Par exemple, les membres du comité 2023-2024 ont aidé l’OQRE à améliorer les tests en ligne.

This year’s report takes a fresh approach, designed to meet the urgent resilience crisis our students are facing. We explore the science behind the challenges—and offer potential solutions to help get our kids back on track.

Responding to a strong demand for computing graduates in Canada and a changing technology landscape, Randy Connolly, Janet Miller and Faith-Michael Uzoka of Mount Royal University have released the third edition of the CERIC guide Computing Careers & Disciplines: A Quick Guide for Prospective Students and Career Advisors. They will host this FREE webinar and provide you with an overview of the new guide and of the main computing disciplines as defined by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) as well as emerging specializations. It will help academic advisors and career counsellors in supporting students to make sense of the maze of computing disciplines and post-secondary options.

Date: May 6, 2025 / 6 mai 2025
Event Time: 3:30 - 4:30 PM EST / 15h30 - 16h30 heure de l'est
Contact CBoC Contact: Jennifer Fane (fane@conferenceboard.ca)

Differences in educational practices, student responsibilities, and accommodation processes between K-12 and post-secondary systems create challenges for neurodivergent students transitioning to higher education.
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Les différences dans les pratiques éducatives, les responsabilités des étudiants et les processus d'accommodement entre les systèmes K-12 et post-secondaires créent des défis pour les étudiants neurodivergents qui font la transition vers l'enseignement supérieur.

Economic theory and evidence tell us that the more educated a society is, the more productive its economy will be. Countries or regions with highly educated people will attract advanced industries, generate more savings and investment and create entirely new economic sectors.

That promise is not yet fulfilled in Canada. Despite having one of the world’s highest rates of postsecondary education and a steady rise in postsecondary attainment over the past quarter century, economic performance, including productivity, is lagging. Too many graduates have advanced degrees that don’t deliver an advanced economic return. Not enough employers can build teams with the right skill sets. Too often, students don’t know how their programs line up with the labour market. And our international students continue to struggle to gain productive work in a fast-changing economy.

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Forms are to be submitted no later than Friday, September 12, 2025 by 4:00 p.m.

The Ontario School Counsellors’ Association has a long standing tradition (over 40 years) of recognizing and awarding those who stand out in the field of Guidance and Career Education. OSCA recognizes individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution to Guidance and Career Education in Ontario. We can say with confidence that our past award winners have helped thousands find their pathways to successful futures!