OJCS KINDERGARTEN / GAN

Full of Family Fun!

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Andréa Black

As the SK kids have been busy preparing for Pesach, and since this is a time for families to come together, we have been talking a lot about our families and how each and every family is different and unique. We read stories, sang songs, and even learned how to sign the words for our family members, as well as some other words, in Sign Language (ASL)… quiz your kid and see if they can remember the signs!! You can also check out the helpful video below as well as a song that we learned to sing and sign…

The SK kids shared their favourite things to do with their family, we graphed the number of people in each child’s family, we created a secret-code glyph to show who lives at our house, and they made their own Family Portraits and “My Family Mini Books”. It was so lovely to learn a little more about the most important people in each of their lives!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Apr. 11 – Sunday, Apr. 20 – Passover Break (NO SCHOOL)

Friday, Apr. 25 – Dress Down Day for the Bibas Family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Roni in SK-B who turned 6 on April 4th

and to Leroy in SK-B who turns 6 on April 11th!

Wishing you and your families a Chag Pesach Sameach and a lovely break! We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on April 21st!

General Studies, Math, Reminders

Practicing Patterns!

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Andréa Black

For the past couple of weeks, SK has been exploring patterns. In fact, they have been so busy practicing finding the core of a pattern as well as copying, creating and extending patterns using different materials and manipulatives, that I didn’t manage to get any pictures ;( But you can check out your child’s Pattern Book that was sent home today and ask them to tell you what each pattern is. We also did a Pattern Scavenger Hunt, so you may want to encourage your child to find as many patterns as they can at your house or as you are out and about!

Here are some fun pattern videos that the kids enjoyed:

Patterns! Mini Math Movie

The Pattern Practice Song

I Got Rhythm Dance Song

They also practiced patterning on IXL which they can continue to do at home! Once your child is logged in, click on the Teacher Recommendations tab and find the various pattern activities I have assigned them. We also played Fuzzbug Patterns as a class, so I’ve linked it here if they would like to play it at home as well!!

SPRING is almost here – YAY! … but also… this time of year is very tricky as we have puddles, mud, wet grass, wind, sun, and sometimes rain or snow… This means we need the SK kids to have appropriate gear in order to enjoy their time outside.

We ask that you please send your child to school wearing either snow or splash pants, depending on the forecast, and appropriate boots as we will be trying to get outside as much as possible! Even if it is not raining, the playground will likely be wet. This will help us avoid multiple clothing changes throughout the day. We will be sending your child’s spare clothes bag home shortly to update for the warmer weather.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, Mar. 24 – Friday, Mar. 28 – La Semaine de la Francophonie

Thursday, Mar. 27 – Francofête (Parents invited from 2:30 – 3:45 pm)

Friday, Mar. 28 – Dress Down Day for the Ottawa Humane Society

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to William in SK-A who turned 6 on March 15th!

Reminders, Special Events

A Wonderful Winter Fun Day!

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Andréa Black

What a wonderful day SK had celebrating Winter Fun Day!! We started the day playing outside and then headed inside for some winter-themed activities. We visited the library where our librarian, Brigitte, read “Yetis are the Worst!” by Alex Willan and had some fun yeti games to play. Then we had some time in the gym to run around and play. After snack, we visited the Makerspace where each child created their own edible snowman. To end off the morning, we ventured outside again for a special Treasure Hunt. The kids were split into 4 teams and each team had to solve 6 clues to find a variety of outdoor locations where they could collect their team’s colour ice cube gems. Each team completed their quest and found their gems!! After lunch, we cozied up for a special movie afternoon and watched “Snow Buddies”, did some winter-themed colouring, and had some popcorn. It was really special to have the whole school to ourselves today and many kids were overheard saying, “Best Day Ever!!”… how can we not agree!!! Check out the photos below of some highlights…

Ruach Week is coming soon!! March 10th-14th will be a fun-filled week of spirit and dressing up. Please see the breakdown below for each day’s theme…. We can’t wait to see all of the creative costumes!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Mar. 7 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

Monday, Mar. 10 – Friday, Mar. 14 – Ruach Week (see above for the themes!)

Monday, Mar. 24 – Friday, Mar. 28 – La Semaine de la Francophonie

Thursday, Mar. 27 – Francofête (Parents invited from 2:30 – 3:45 pm)

Francais, French Studies, Math

On compte jusqu’à cent – 100 day activities in French!

Posted on February 28, 2025 by mcohen23

Chers Parents,

As Morah Andréa mentioned in her lovely post this week, the children also enjoyed exploring the “100” theme in French class this week. First off, they learned how to say one hundred in French – which is cent. We also learned to count in French past 10 so that we can eventually get up to 100. We made it up to seventy, soixante – dix! Bravo, les amis!

Here are a few snapshots of our hands-on stations related to learning 100.

Counting objects to 100 — by tens This activity not only helped them to see that 10 groups of 10 makes 100, but also reinforced their ability to count out 10 objects en français! Some worked alone on this while others made it a collaborative activity.

Making 100 hole booklets – un livret de 100 trous ! This was popular!! The children had little sheets with 10 circles to punch out with a hole punch out. Great fine motor and hand strengthening activity. They also needed a lot of determination to punch out 100 holes, and they succeeded!

“100 jours d’école” dot painting

General Studies, Math, Reminders, Special Events, STEAM

SK celebrates the 100th Day of School (and other upcoming events)!

Posted on February 26, 2025February 26, 2025 by Andréa Black

Today was the 100th day of school and SK spent the day celebrating in many different ways!! We started by reading a story called “William’s 100th Day of School” and then we did a variety of special activities just like William and his class did in the book!! We did a 100 Day workout – we warmed up by running on the spot for 100 seconds and then did 10 different exercises 10 times each…. Phew!! It was a great way to work out our bodies and our minds, never mind that it helped us practice counting by 10s! Did you know that 100 marbles are heavier than 100 cotton balls? Or that 100 chain links are longer than 100 unifix cubes? SK does!! We even had 100 Day activities en francais and ended our celebrations with a 100 Day parade, counting 100 steps around the hallways and showing off our 100 Day crowns. What a day!! Check out the pictures below from our celebrations….

RESCHEDULED WINTER FUN DAY

Tuesday, March 4th is our rescheduled Winter Fun Day at OJCS… Woohoo!! We are looking forward to a fantastic fun-filled day, but we wanted to let you know about a few important things….

Please ensure that your child is dressed warmly!! Students do not need to wear uniforms – comfy, cozy clothes and layers are encouraged. We highly recommend sending an extra set of clothes, especially extra socks, to school as it will likely be wet outside and the kids will need to change. Extra mittens or gloves and snowpants if you have them would also be helpful!! Aside from our usual outdoor play periods, SK will be spending some extra time outside (weather permitting, of course) and partaking in winter-themed indoor activities as well. As per usual, we plan to start the day outside, so please make sure they are dressed properly when they arrive at school and meet us on the playground between 8:30 and 8:45 am.

RUACH WEEK

March 10th-14th is Ruach (Spirit) Week at OJCS!! We wanted to ensure that you and your child have lots of time to prepare, so please see the breakdown below for each day’s theme…. We can’t wait to see all of the creative costumes!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Feb. 28 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

Tuesday, Mar. 4 – OJCS Winter Fun Day

Friday, Mar. 7 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

Monday, Mar. 10 – Friday, Mar. 14 – Ruach Week

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Alex in SK-A who turned 6 on February 24th

and to Ittay in SK-A who turns 6 on February 28th!

Reminders, Special Events

Coming Next Week: Innovation Day and Winter Fun

Posted on February 7, 2025February 7, 2025 by Andréa Black

Next week, we have a couple of special event days at OJCS. Please check out the information below to find out everything you need to know…

INNOVATION DAY

Tuesday, February 11th is Innovation Day at OJCS. The kids in SK have been busy exploring and experimenting in preparation for your visit. Come and find out what they’ve been working on between 9:00 and 9:45. We will all meet together in KA’s class (room 128) and then we’ll split off into each classroom. If you are unable to attend, please let us know so we can plan for your child accordingly.

WINTER FUN DAY

Thursday, February 13th is Winter Fun Day at OJCS… Woohoo!! We are looking forward to a fantastic fun-filled day, but we wanted to let you know about a few important things….

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Tuesday, Feb. 11 – Innovation Day – 9:00-9:45 am in the SK classrooms

Thursday, Feb. 13 – OJCS Winter Fun Day (more information coming soon!)

Friday, Feb. 14 – PD Day (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, Feb. 17 – Friday, Feb. 21 – Family Day/Reading Week (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, Feb. 24 – School Resumes

Tuesday, Feb. 25 – 100th Day of School

Friday, Feb. 28 and Friday, Mar. 7 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

General Studies, Math

Introducing IXL

Posted on January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 by Andréa Black

As mentioned to you in your child’s report card and during our conferences, we have just introduced IXL to the students in class and it can be used as a resource that can be accessed at home to practice math skills. This week, the SK kids had the opportunity to try it out and we wanted to share a bit more with you about what it is and how you can access it at home, should you or your child wish…

IXL Online Math Forum

IXL is an online forum that provides diagnostics of learning skills, promotes review, mastery and extensions of skills through practice, as well as providing students, teachers, and parents valuable information on student’s progress through grade data points. The program can be accessed through either the link above or by downloading the app for Apple or Android products, though it tends to work better through the website.

Generally, when accessing IXL, the kids will be accessing activities under the Teacher Recommendations tab. I will be updating these activities regularly based on what we are practicing at school. There is also the Diagnostic Arena which will continuously update your child’s levels based on the activities they complete.

We will continue to use this program in class, but practice time at home is also encouraged! However, please ensure that your child is working on this as independently as possible. If a teacher or parent helps out, especially during the Diagnostic process, the recommendations and next steps will be biased and not as authentic for the students to monitor their own growth, be confident in their abilities as well as provide authentic feedback to the teacher on his or her personalized math journey. For a more in-depth tutorial on how to set up the program for your child as well as highlights of the program, check out these past blog posts from our Math specialist, Mrs. Cleveland:

IXL: Online Math Forum for Personalized Learning

IXL: Four Highlights to Understand

How Do I Login to IXL?

Follow the link below or download the app.

https://ca.ixl.com/signin/ojcs

Username: [firstnamelastname] – all lowercase, no spaces, no dashes (ie. andreablack). Use your child’s full first and last names as they are registered with the school. If using the website or app, you may have to add “@ojcs” after your child’s username and then it should save that login automatically.

Password: math123

Please comment on this post or feel free to reach out via email if you have any questions!!

Innovation Day is Coming Soon!!

Tuesday, February 11th is Innovation Day at OJCS. The kids in SK will be busy exploring and experimenting in preparation for your visit. Come and find out what they’ve been working on between 9:00 and 9:45. We will all meet together in KA’s class (room 128) and then we’ll split off into each classroom.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Fridays (starting on February 7) – 3:00 pm Dismissal

Tuesday, Feb. 11 – Innovation Day – 9:00-9:45 am in the SK classrooms

Thursday, Feb. 13 – OJCS Winter Fun Day (more information coming soon!)

Friday, Feb. 14 – PD Day (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, Feb. 17 – Friday, Feb. 21 – Family Day/Reading Week (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, Feb. 24 – School Resumes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Livia in SK-A who turns 6 on February 2nd

and to Mila in SK-A who turns 6 on February 4th!

Francais, French Resources, French Studies, Next Steps

Fun French activities (books, music and games) to do at home with your child

Posted on January 29, 2025January 29, 2025 by mcohen23

Dear Parents,

I’m sharing today some ideas of things you can do to bring French alive in your home and to support your child in becoming more familiar, comfortable and connected to the French language and culture. At this point, it’s all about exposure.

1. Consider borrowing a few books in French to look at together at home: It can be a simple vocabulary book related to the seasons, the colors, animals, or maybe a story that they already know in English that has been translated into French. For example, The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (La Chenille qui fait des trous) or Red is Best by Kathy Stinson (Le Rouge c’est bien mieux).

2. Listen to music in French: Below are 6 songs some of which your children are already familiar with that you could add to your playlist!

Angèle Arsenault – Luc va à l’école – Jacqueline Lemay – Edith Butler – “C’est la récréation”

As-Tu Connu Pipo Pipo

Pirouette, cacahuète – Il était un petit homme

La neige tombe sur mon nez❄️DES COMPTINES ET DES SIGNES❄️Comptine signée pour les enfants❄️Hiver❄️

And, other great classic French songs:

Sur le pont d’Avignon – Les Amis de Boubi (Comptines pour enfants)

Alouette | Easy French Song for Kids

3. Play some online activities and games:

https://www.digitaldialects.com/French.htm – here is a great resource to review vocabulary (colors, fruit and vegetables, numbers, etc). Your child can listen to the audio and repeat the word. They can also play some fun and simple games!

https://coucou.telequebec.tv – this is a child-friendly French language site with games, storytelling and educational programming. It has been specifically designed for preschool age children.

So there you have it, some simple, fun and accessible activities to try with your children. Enjoy, amusez-vous!

Maryse

General Studies, STEAM

Snow and the 3 States of Matter

Posted on January 24, 2025 by Andréa Black

It’s been a whirlwind since our return from the Winter Break in SK. We started the new year talking a lot about snow and snowmen (snowpeople?), reading and sequencing stories, and crafting as well. This led to discussions about how snow is really frozen water and these discussions led to our exploring and inquiring, observing and experimenting with the States of Matter. We listed different examples of each state and learned their properties through activities and songs; the kids used their hands and senses to explore different liquids, like water, oil and corn syrup, and then poured them out to see the differences between them; we did crafts that mixed solids (crayons and salt) and liquids (liquid watercolours) to see how they would interact; we experimented with mixing more solids and liquids to create gases and documented our observations; we even brought snow inside our classroom and then watched to see how water can actually shift from one state of matter to another (snow, water, water vapour) and made a snow volcano. Below are some of the videos and songs we watched in class to enhance our learning and some pictures as well… make sure to ask your child what they observed and learned in Science over the past few weeks!!

Move Like Matter Dance:

Matter Chatter Song:

3 States of Matter Song:

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Jan. 24 – Dress Down Day for CHEO

Thursday, Feb. 1 – NOON DISMISSAL for P/T Conferences

Friday, Feb. 2 – NO SCHOOL for P/T Conferences

Fridays (starting on February 7) – 3:00 pm Dismissal

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Liora in SK-A who turned 6 on January 2nd

and to Caleb in SK-B who turned 6 on January 5th!

Chagim, Chanukah, General Studies, Jewish Studies, Reminders, STEAM

The Miracle of the Oil

Posted on December 19, 2024 by Andréa Black

Our Chanukah celebrations in SK took on a Science spin this week as both classes experimented and created with one of the symbols of this chag – oil!!

First, we did an experiment with water, oil, and food colouring. Be sure to ask your child if the water and oil mixed together or stayed separate and what happened to the food colouring…. feel free to put their responses in a comment on this post!

Then they had the opportunity to craft a Kad Shemen (oil jug) using liquid watercolours, oil, and eyedroppers. Once again, they got to see the magic the oil created. Check out the pictures below for the results of our oil and water experimentation!!

Tomorrow, Friday, December 20th, is a special Pyjama Dress Down Day. We will be collecting tzedakah in support of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. The kids are welcome to wear their jammies to school (though we ask they wear warm pyjamas or have an extra layer as we will still be going outside for recesses) and we ask that they bring a stuffy for a special Show & Share activity. Please ensure that whatever they bring, it fits in their backpack!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Fridays (from now until early March) – 2:00 pm Dismissal

Friday, Dec. 20 – Dress Down PJ Day (details above!)

Monday, Dec. 23-Friday, Jan. 3 – WINTER BREAK!!

Monday, Jan. 6 – School Resumes

Wishing you and your families a Chanukah filled with laughter, love and light… Chag Sameach!!

The SK Team