NEWS

Important Message for Families of current Grade 9-10 Students

June 3, 2022

The Saanich School District and SIDES are fully supportive of the BC Ministry of Education’s recent announcement of a mandatory graduation requirement focusing on Indigenous content. This requirement will be in place for all students set to graduate in 2024 and beyond.

Starting on September 6, 2022, SIDES will be offering two Indigenous-focused courses - Contemporary Indigenous Studies 12 and English First Peoples 12.  Both of these courses will satisfy the Indigenous content graduation requirement, as well as more traditional graduation requirements (e.g., English First Peoples 12 satisfies the English 12 requirement).  Next year's Grade 11 students (and all subsequent graduation classes) must successfully complete one of these courses at some point before graduation.  Cross-enrolled students can also take one of these SIDES courses to satisfy this graduation requirement. 

We are excited about the opportunities these courses will provide all students.  Please note that students are able to take multiple courses focused on Indigenous content if they choose.

Please do not hesitate to contact a SIDES counsellor if you have any questions.