Funded by the Ministry of Education, the purpose of this program is to recognize and reward student achievement in Grades 10 to 12 in a broad range of academic and non-academic areas according to Ministry Guidelines.  Ballenas receives a proportional share of the province's 9000 passport "stamps" per grade.  The amount of each scholarship "stamp" varies.  In the 2007-2008 school year, Grade 10 and 11 stamps will be worth $250, while the Grade 12 stamp will be worth $500.  These stamps can be cashed in only if the student registers in a post-secondary institute.  To be eligible, students must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants.  In addition, students in grade 10 must take 8 courses and students in grade 11 and 12 must take 7 courses.  Students in grade 12 MAY take just 6 courses, PROVIDING they forward a written request to the principal AND are taking 3 provincially examinable courses at the grade 12 level.  Grade 12 requests to proceed with only 6 courses must be forwarded to the Principal no later than 4:00pm on the last day of Term III of each school year.  How the passport is calculated also varies from year to year.  In grade 10 and 11, the stamp calculation is based on the student's best 5 course marks.  In grade 12, the best 5 marks are weighted considered, along with the Graduation Transitions Standards completion.