Back to School: Building Connections
August 15, 2022
If you had to take a guess at the key to great online education, what would you choose? Maybe the course content itself? It should be engaging, informative, and relevant. Perhaps the flexibility of the schedule? You want to be able to fit your lessons in around your busy lifestyle. Possibly the accessibility features, the reputation of the school, or the variety of courses available?
Good news! All of those answers would be correct! At Virtual High School, we’ve got all of those important ingredients, but in over 20 years of experience we’ve found that human connection is the icing on the cake. There’s a real human being involved in every interaction you have at VHS, and we’re all rooting for you to make this year your best yet. Let’s take a look at some of the services that you can expect from our positively delightful humans this fall!
Administrative Team
Ever dialled a number just to get an automated voice recording on the other end that leads nowhere? Not at Virtual High School! Our administrative team offers multiple ways for you to get in touch so that we can answer your questions promptly and knowledgeably:
- Give us a call during office hours or leave us a voicemail. We’ve even got a toll-free number for added convenience if you’re calling from outside of Canada.
- Send an email to information@virtualhighschool.com and we’ll get you directed to the appropriate department.
- Message us on our website’s live chat feature to get speedy replies.
- Hit us up on our social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
- If you’re ever visiting the Bayfield area, feel free to pop by the school to say hello. We love meeting our students in person!
What kinds of things can our administrative team help you with? We’re glad you asked!
- Fast course enrolment so you can begin within 24 hours
- Questions about our 70+ Ontario curriculum courses (including Fast Track and Upgrade options)
- Account troubleshooting and technical support
- VHS bursary and scholarship application assistance
- Communication with your high school or post-secondary institution
- Prompt midterm and final report processing
- Final exam preparation and organization
We’re ready to support you from the moment you register to the day you receive your final report card.
Guidance Services
It can be tricky to navigate your way through high school without skilled experts to help you along the way. Luckily, our guidance advisors are talented information wizards (still human, though) who know the Ontario Ministry of Education policies inside and out. Check out all of the guidance benefits you can receive at VHS:
- Get a credit counselling review of your existing Ontario high school transcript to determine how many (and which) credits you need to earn your Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).
- Set up your Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) or Ontario College Application Service (OCAS) account for university and college admissions.
- Consult an advisor on finding community involvement activities for your OSSD requirements.
- Submit your Individual Education Plan (IEP) or medical documentation to implement accommodations in your courses. We’re all about accessible online learning!
- Apply for a prerequisite waiver or equivalent credit assessment if you are mature, homeschooled, out-of-province, or international. This means you might not have to start from square one if you’ve had previous, relevant education!
Our guidance team is committed to helping you design a flexible schedule that ensures you earn your diploma at your own pace.
Teachers
The teachers at Virtual High School are definitely humans on the surface, but we suspect they might be superheroes too! Our world-class teachers are all certified and exceptionally talented in their subject areas. What do VHS teachers do?
- Answer your questions and explain the trickiest of concepts.
- Grade your assessments with speed and precision. (Psst—try a Fast Track course for 2-day grading!)
- Provide detailed feedback so that you can improve.
- Help you reach your post-secondary application deadlines.
With their help, you just might discover your own unique strengths and passions in education and life!
Student Academic Support
As educators and cool people, we believe in helping each other whenever we can. Your success is our priority, and sometimes you may find that you need a little extra support in your courses. Enter our Student Academic Support team!
- Start a live chat with a Student Academic Support (SAS) coach when you have a question about your course content. You can even upload a file or image to demonstrate your question!
- Schedule a 20-minute virtual meeting for a more in-depth discussion and explanation of a topic.
- PLUS, this service is completely FREE for VHS students!
Our academic coaches will connect with you to make you feel confident, motivated, and positive while they tackle your questions.
School Community
We’re also dedicated to ensuring that our students can make new friends and pursue different hobbies no matter where they are in the world! Our community activities aim to get students chatting about the people, places, and interests that make up their lives outside of the classroom.
- Learn about diverse cultures at a Meet-and-Greet.
- Join the student book club.
- Participate in our social media photo series and pop quizzes.
- Sit in on sample first-year lectures from some of Canada’s top universities.
- Test your knowledge at our trivia competitions.
- Attend virtual field trips and presentations at art galleries and museums.
