The Ontario Secondary School Literacy TestThe OSSLT - is not just in April!

Each spring all CIS Grade 10 students write the provincially mandated OSSLT. Passing this test is a graduation requirement. Students must successfully demonstrate the literacy skills they have accumulated over the primary, junior and intermediate years; although the test is administered in Grade 10 it is not a test of Grade 10 skills. Students need to demonstrate reading comprehension including interferencing and making connections. They need to write for different audiences in a newspaper report and supported opinion exercise. Here is an example of news report about CIS’ recent NGO fair:

Go, Go CIS NGO Fair

By The Grade 10 Literacy Class

HCMC - On August 22, the Canadian International School - Vietnam, CIS, hosted its annual NGO, Non-Governmental Organization, Fair with representatives from 15 different organizations. The issues included raising our awareness for animals to helping a child afford an important surgery or basic health care.

Students had the chance to walk around the CIS library to ask representatives any questions about what they could do to support the organization. One of the organizations, the Saigon Children Charity’s main goal is to ensure that young Vietnamese attend school. “We want the younger Vietnamese generation to reach the full potential of their education.”

The Animal Rescue and Care, A.R.C. representative talked about helping Vietnam become a better place for stray dogs and cats. Their organization is currently located in Thao Dien, District 2, Vietnam. There are many stray dogs and cats waiting for adoption. You can contact A.R.C via this website http://arcpets.com/contact-us.html.

With the enthusiastic participation of CIS students, the NGO Fair was very successful. Students gained knowledge and awareness, and had more opportunities to join hands to support current global issues. These types of NGO fairs are educational and could be done at every school to create more awareness.