Posted in Jewish Studies, Kindergarten

HaChofesh HaGadol (החופש הגדול)

Posted on by Morah Shira

Can you believe it? We have made it through this crazy, wonderful year of Kindergarten!

It’s time to celebrate and have fun…hooray for hachofesh hagadol!

Next time you come to school it will be for Kita Alef!

If you are looking to brush up on your Hebrew skills this summer, you can visit JiTap where I have assigned level 2 of the alef-bet for practice and Hebrew reading preparation. If you are looking to practice writing, you can visit the distance calendar and check out our letter of the week slideshows with pictures and words with the Hebrew vocabulary we covered this year.

Wishing you all an amazing summer!

Morah Shira & the Kindergarten Team

Posted in Kindergarten, Reminders

OJCS Maccabiah Games 2021

Posted on by Andréa Black
Maccabiah (colour war) – Harry Potter style is in just 16 days! Though the students will represent Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, we know that there is nothing quite as good as when we’re all rooting for the same team – in this case OJCS. And that’s where we need your help. Our school is just $10,800 away from reaching our fundraising goal this year. That is just $60 per student! Please help support our students (current and future), by supporting our Maccabiah.
Over $900k in scholarship funds was awarded for the 20/21 school year and the funds we raise for this fun, ruach-filled day go directly to support those efforts. Please feel free to share the link below with family and friends to help your child fundraise. Thank you!  Merci! Todah Rabah for your help in reaching our goals!
Just a reminder, all of the Kindergarten kids are on the Green Team – Slytherin, so start looking for your green clothes to wear on June 11th.  We can’t wait to show everyone how smart, sneaky and superior Slytherins can be!!!
Posted in Jewish Studies, Kindergarten, Shavuot

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

Posted on by Morah Shira

Can you believe that we are approaching the end of the year, and this is the last Jewish Holiday we will celebrate together?

Shavuot has 4 different names

  1. Chag Shavuot (Festival of weeks) – We celebrate 7 weeks after Pesach on the 50th day of the omer.
  2. Chag Ha Bikurim (Festival of the first fruits) – The first fruits (shivat ha minim: dates, pomegranates, olives, wheat, barley, grapes, and figs) were brought to the Temple as gifts to G-d
  3. Chag HaKatzir (Festival of the 1st spring harvest) – Wheat and barley are harvested at this time.
  4. Chag Matan Torah (Festival of the giving of the Torah) – God gave Moses the Torah for him to pass to the people of Israel.

We celebrate by going to synagogue to hear the 10 Commandments, having festive meals of dairy foods and fruits, staying up all night to learn the Torah, reading the Book of Ruth, singing, and dancing.

As mentioned, here is the recipe and video tutorial with Masterchef Morah Sigal to make a no-bake cheesecake!

 

 

If you are looking for some activities to help celebrate Shavuot over the long weekend (or during our asynchronous periods) check out this  Choice Board for songs, videos, crafts and more.

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

The Kindergarten Team 

Posted in General Studies, Kindergarten, Science

Let’s Talk Science…. Nifty Nests!!!

Posted on by Andréa Black

Yesterday, KA & KB participated in our final Let’s Talk Science virtual lab of the year.  This time, Nia and Kelvin (Science students from the University of Ottawa) introduced the topic of nests to the kids and we were astounded by their ideas and observations as they discussed what kinds of animals build nests and what materials they use to build them.  Then we played a Guess the Nest game and even though some of the questions were really tricky, these super-smart kids got most of them right!!  To wrap-up our learning, the kids were tasked with building their own bird’s nest out of the materials they were provided, but with the extra challenge of using a clothespin (to simulate a bird’s beak) instead of their hands.  Check out some of the nifty nests created:

You may have some blossoming birdwatchers on your hands now as Nia and Kelvin challenged the kids to look for birds’ nests around their neighbourhoods or to build an outdoor next and see if any creatures make it their home….. If your child finds or builds any nests, please share the photos in the comments!!

I want to send a huge thank you to Nia and Kelvin for all of the amazing virtual labs this year and for inspiring our little scientists.  A big thank you as well to Morah Taylor for coordinating these amazing virtual experiences for our K students this year!!

Posted in alef bet, Jewish Studies

Letter Resh

Posted on by Morah Shira

Shavua Tov Yeadim!

Our Hebrew letter of the week is…Resh!

It will help you to remember the letter resh if you think of it like the Hebrew “R” only the “rrr” sound it makes is more in your throat like this:

Now stand up and make the letter resh with your body:

 

This is how we print the letter resh:

 

Now let’s practice on paper:

Here is your work for the letter resh. Remember that you can work on it at your own pace.

When you are done, please take a picture and send it to s.waldman@theojcs.ca

To learn more about the letter resh, play this week’s assigned alef-bet game on JiTap: Resh rushes to be Rosh

 

Posted in Jewish Studies

Salat Israeli סלט ישׁראלי

Posted on by Morah Shira

This week we will celebrate Israel’s 73rd birthday!

This special day is called Yom Ha’Atzmaut.

One of the special foods that people eat in Israel is Israeli salad. I know we eat salad here too, but in Israel, they make it a special way. They chop up the vegetables into tiny cubes and dress them very simply with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. It is healthy and delicious!

Here is the vocabulary for the salad in Hebrew:

Now that you know the words, we can sing one of my favourite songs together.

These are the actions:

  1. Make the rhythm on your lap, clap twice for “salat”
  2. Pretend to chop using one hand as the cutting board and the other as a knife “nachtoch ha yirakot”
  3. Wave your right hand inward “agvaniah” left hand “melafefone.
  4. Put both hands together at the elbows, joining fingertips to make a heart for “chasa”.
  5. Make a circle shape with your two fingers “ve’ gam tzon”
  6. Stick arms out in front then rub your fists on your eyes like you are crying “bazal…wahhh”
  7. Repeat rhythm and clapping
  8. Pretend to pour oil from your thumb “nosif shemen”
  9. Turn both hands like you are squeezing lemon halves “limon”
  10. Use pointer fingers to show salt falling “me’at melach”
  11. Clap “salat tayim, salat bari” put hands out as an offering “ze tov” thumbs to chest “labriut she’li”

Here are my boys (much younger in Israel) demonstrating and teaching me!

I hope you love this song as much as I do!

Morah Shira

 

Posted in alef bet, Jewish Studies, Kindergarten

Tzadi

Posted on by Morah Shira

Welcome back! We hope you all had a wonderful Pesach break!

This week we will be learning a new letter…

The letter Tzadi

Let’s make the letter Tzadi with our bodies:

This is how to print the letter Tzadi:

Now it is your turn …take your luach (hand) and etzbah ha’kesem (magic finger) and practice 3 times:

 

This is how to print it on paper.

I used a marker so you can see but you can use a pencil at home.

Here is your written work for the week. Click on the arrow to print. Remember to take your time and do your best work.

Tzadi is in words like:

tzevah- colour

etz- tree

etzbah- finger

betzah- egg

tzahov- yellow

 

There is also a Tzadi sofit. We print it differently when it is at the end of a word. It looks like a backwards y.

***Please note that there is a mistake in the print out. The word etzbah (finger) begins with an aleph, not an ayin.

 

 

Posted in Jewish Studies, Kindergarten, Passover, Uncategorized

Our Seders & Caught Being Kind

Posted on by Morah Shira

I am so proud of the work, learning and enthusiasm of our Kindergarten students.

Not only did they blow us away during our model seders (as I’m sure they will at home for the real ones), but they have shown amazing growth in social skills during our Caught Being Kind initiative.

What does it mean to be caught being kind?

It is when students are noticed by their peers or a teacher doing what is right, helping a friend, being extra polite, being a leader, and going the extra mile to make someone else feel good.

Here in Kindergarten, we have been caught in many ways including helping zip our friends’ coats, giving compliments, helping to clean up after an activity, making cards, pictures, or necklaces for our classmates and teachers, following our classroom rules and showing exemplary behaviour.

Students were acknowledged both in the moment and at the end of the week with a special visit from Mrs. Gordon. She presented them with a golden heart and certificate of kindness.

Kol Ha’Kavod Yelladim!