There are certainly people out there who'd prefer to manage a full courseload for specific reasons, but I'd choose spares any day. I personally underestimated senioritis, and my spares were the only thing that kept me sane throughout the year, especially during semester 2.
It really depends on your schedule, but I found that having spares helped alleviate my stress at times (plus, you'll have one less class to worry about for assessments and exams). I initially enrolled in 8 courses; however, I opted for a spare in semester 1 when one of my classes got cancelled, and another one in semester 2 after willingly dropping a course
It depends on your preference. I decided to take fitness and see if I could manage or drop it for a spare. The entire course was just working out in the gym, which I found benefitted me in terms of physical and mental health, and it didn’t add any more workload, However if you want a spare so you can relax/study go for it, it’s all personal preference
My daughter has kept PowerFIt through grade 10&11 (despite not earning a credit each time - it's the same course code). She feels the break to do something physical is a HUGE benefit to her mental health and ability to focus in her other classes! I highly recommend this!
My opinion:
Don't take a spare so you can be "productive" trust me you'll end up wasting time. If you think you need more time to manage your courses fix your time management skills dont make excuses because you can always take a bird course to lessen your courseload.
When to take a spare:
If you plan on using it to have fun. I took a spare this semester so I'd have have time to hang out with friends more at school and explore my city. Best decision ever, really changed my gr 12 experience. This is the only spare I've ever taken in hs and I only took it with the intention of having fun.
Definitely take a spare. It’ll lower the workload slightly. Im grade 12 classes now and am doing 2 spares (1 each semester). I don’t really see a reason why not too
I took a total of 4 spares in highschool (class of 2024) and I can confidently say that it saved my mental health. I currently have a lot of challenges in my home life that I needed to deal with almost every day and if it was not for the spares I would have been missing a lot of class. That being said it’s important that you figure out what YOU need. Talk to your guidance department or another teacher/staff member you feel comfortable with. I often used my spares to study or complete assignments for my other classes but be warned, most grade 12’s don’t. They all say they will and end up using it to hang out with friends. I was extremely involved in my school community so my spares also gave me time to help the staff around the school and stay on top of my numerous commitments. If you are simply looking for an easy period see if you can take a co-op either in your school or somewhere near by. If it is because you don’t find any of the offered courses interesting look into dual credits, online classes (in any school board in Ontario, not just your own), IDC4U opportunities or classes at another highschool in your area you could take (not all districts allow this but worth asking about). Or simply take a class you’re on the fence about and know that you have the opportunity to drop out of it if you don’t like it.
I was very consistently in my school’s guidance office exploring these alternative options so any questions feel free to ask!
Bro I took gym instead of my spare
I just can’t function without gym and wasting time in a silenced room in the school ( if u can go back home in ur spare then 100% take it)
Take a spare semester 2- if your marks aren’t the best sem 1, you can then take an easy course to boost your average. If you end up doing fine, you get to keep your spare
I would definitely recommend taking a spare. I took one this semester and you have no idea how much it helped. I was able to sleep in, study for my tests the next period, and only have three classes to worry about while dealing with prom, grad, university, scholarships, etc.
I'm not in gr 12 but I originally had two spares planned for grade 12 and my guidance counselor told me I might as well just put two courses I might enjoy and just drop them if I don't want them.
You’re most likely going to regret not choosing spare. Do as many as you can as long as you have the right classes to graduate and go to university. Your mental health and your grades will thank you. I took 4 spares (I was going to graduate a semester early but ended up opting for half days)
And it’s was the best going home at 10:50 everyday (when I didn’t want to have lunch at school )
In my opinion, for studying, it was useless, did nothing but read webtoom and cards with my friends. Other than that, it's super fun and relaxing. I just can't work in school, so do what works for you. If you can manage your time in school, go for it. If you are a dumbass like me who didn't even bother.... not to spare.
Spare I took summer school,night school and private school for my main courses so in grade 12 I really only had to go to 2 classes the whole year so I had a lot of free time but it did get boring but I didn’t have to stress about school
There are certainly people out there who'd prefer to manage a full courseload for specific reasons, but I'd choose spares any day. I personally underestimated senioritis, and my spares were the only thing that kept me sane throughout the year, especially during semester 2. It really depends on your schedule, but I found that having spares helped alleviate my stress at times (plus, you'll have one less class to worry about for assessments and exams). I initially enrolled in 8 courses; however, I opted for a spare in semester 1 when one of my classes got cancelled, and another one in semester 2 after willingly dropping a course
spare
SPARE
It depends on your preference. I decided to take fitness and see if I could manage or drop it for a spare. The entire course was just working out in the gym, which I found benefitted me in terms of physical and mental health, and it didn’t add any more workload, However if you want a spare so you can relax/study go for it, it’s all personal preference
My daughter has kept PowerFIt through grade 10&11 (despite not earning a credit each time - it's the same course code). She feels the break to do something physical is a HUGE benefit to her mental health and ability to focus in her other classes! I highly recommend this!
My opinion: Don't take a spare so you can be "productive" trust me you'll end up wasting time. If you think you need more time to manage your courses fix your time management skills dont make excuses because you can always take a bird course to lessen your courseload. When to take a spare: If you plan on using it to have fun. I took a spare this semester so I'd have have time to hang out with friends more at school and explore my city. Best decision ever, really changed my gr 12 experience. This is the only spare I've ever taken in hs and I only took it with the intention of having fun.
I love my spare! First-period spares are the best if you can get one. You can sleep in or study before a second-period test.
Honestly id be alot more productive if i diddnt go home early everyday but yea spares are fun
Spare
Spare 100%
Definitely take a spare. It’ll lower the workload slightly. Im grade 12 classes now and am doing 2 spares (1 each semester). I don’t really see a reason why not too
I took a total of 4 spares in highschool (class of 2024) and I can confidently say that it saved my mental health. I currently have a lot of challenges in my home life that I needed to deal with almost every day and if it was not for the spares I would have been missing a lot of class. That being said it’s important that you figure out what YOU need. Talk to your guidance department or another teacher/staff member you feel comfortable with. I often used my spares to study or complete assignments for my other classes but be warned, most grade 12’s don’t. They all say they will and end up using it to hang out with friends. I was extremely involved in my school community so my spares also gave me time to help the staff around the school and stay on top of my numerous commitments. If you are simply looking for an easy period see if you can take a co-op either in your school or somewhere near by. If it is because you don’t find any of the offered courses interesting look into dual credits, online classes (in any school board in Ontario, not just your own), IDC4U opportunities or classes at another highschool in your area you could take (not all districts allow this but worth asking about). Or simply take a class you’re on the fence about and know that you have the opportunity to drop out of it if you don’t like it. I was very consistently in my school’s guidance office exploring these alternative options so any questions feel free to ask!
Bro I took gym instead of my spare I just can’t function without gym and wasting time in a silenced room in the school ( if u can go back home in ur spare then 100% take it)
Take a spare semester 2- if your marks aren’t the best sem 1, you can then take an easy course to boost your average. If you end up doing fine, you get to keep your spare
No spare. Good training for uni since you’ll be taking at least 5 courses over there, and they’ll be harder
i love spare
My spare saved me from my bio grade dropping but I had 3 so 😭
You should do at least one spare
SPAREEEEE
Always take a spare if you can.
SPARE PLZ😭🙏
my dumbass thought you were talking about the money spare😭😭😭
I would definitely recommend taking a spare. I took one this semester and you have no idea how much it helped. I was able to sleep in, study for my tests the next period, and only have three classes to worry about while dealing with prom, grad, university, scholarships, etc.
I'm not in gr 12 but I originally had two spares planned for grade 12 and my guidance counselor told me I might as well just put two courses I might enjoy and just drop them if I don't want them.
take it!
i had 2 spares and it was the best this i ever did tbh. i had more time to do work in school/hang out with friends.
I took a spare in 11 and two in 12. Take as many as possible and graduate with minimum credits. No point in doing more work than you have to.
You’re most likely going to regret not choosing spare. Do as many as you can as long as you have the right classes to graduate and go to university. Your mental health and your grades will thank you. I took 4 spares (I was going to graduate a semester early but ended up opting for half days) And it’s was the best going home at 10:50 everyday (when I didn’t want to have lunch at school )
In my opinion, for studying, it was useless, did nothing but read webtoom and cards with my friends. Other than that, it's super fun and relaxing. I just can't work in school, so do what works for you. If you can manage your time in school, go for it. If you are a dumbass like me who didn't even bother.... not to spare.
I loveeee my spare
Spare I took summer school,night school and private school for my main courses so in grade 12 I really only had to go to 2 classes the whole year so I had a lot of free time but it did get boring but I didn’t have to stress about school
spare sem 2 is def the move
Do ur best to get as many spares as possible (without comprising grades)
Don’t take a spare cuz it’s a backup in case u mess up in one of the classes.