Math – OJCS KINDERGARTEN / GAN

General Studies, Math, Reminders, Special Events

Practicing Patterns!

Posted on March 8, 2024 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 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 this weekend!

Here are some fun pattern videos that the kids enjoyed watching:

Patterns! Mini Math Movie

The Pattern Practice 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!!

There are a bunch of special events coming up through the rest of March, so check out the posters below, mark your calendars, and stay tuned for more information for each event…

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Wednesday, March 20 – Innovation Day – Class visits from 9:00-9:45

Monday, March 25 – Thursday, March 28 – Ruach Week – more details coming soon!

Friday, March 29 – NO SCHOOL (Good Friday)

General Studies, Math, Reminders, Special Events

Today is the 100th Day of School and Winter Fun Day is Coming!!

Posted on February 12, 2024 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 special 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! We spent the rest of our time together counting, measuring and comparing 100 different objects. 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 made 100 Day crowns and ended off with a 100 Day parade, counting 100 steps around the hallways and showing off our counting skills. What a day!! Check out the pictures below from our celebrations….

This Thursday, February 15th 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….

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 starting the day with drop-off outside, so please make sure they are dressed properly when they arrive at school and meet us on the red playground between 8:30 and 8:45 am.

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Ivri in SK-A who turned 6 on February 12th

to Hannah in SK-A who turns 6 on February 21st

and to Isabella in SK-A who turns 6 on February 22nd!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Thursday, Feb. 15 – Winter Fun Day

Friday, Feb. 16 – PD Day – NO SCHOOL

Monday, Feb. 19 – Friday, Feb. 23 – NO SCHOOL for Family Day and Reading Week

Friday, Mar. 1 and Friday, Mar. 8 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

General Studies, Math

Introducing IXL

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Andréa Black

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. We have just introduced IXL in the classroom and there will be a handout in your child’s backpack today that explains how to log in with your child’s login and password; if you need a reminder or have not received the handout, please contact Morah Andrea. 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.

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

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

General Studies, Jewish Studies, Math, Reading, Reminders

Highlights of the Week in SK

Posted on September 22, 2023September 22, 2023 by Andréa Black

It’s been a wonderfully busy week in SK. Here are some highlights of the week and some important reminders of upcoming events…

Both classes had their first meetings with their Grade 5 Reading Buddies this week!! Each child is paired with one or two Grade 5 students and every few weeks, we will meet in the library to read together, get to know each other, and to participate in some fun, community-building activities. Be sure to ask your child to tell you about their new buddies!!

This week has been all about a favourite fall food, APPLES!!! SK has learned about the Life Cycle of an apple, participated in a variety of apple math activities and we even did an apple taste test, comparing how 3 different kinds of apples look, smell, and taste, and of course choosing which one was our favourites; then we put the results in a graph. The favourite in SK-A was Golden Delicious and the favourite in SK-B was Red Delicious. They have also been talking about les pommes en francais…. Madame Maryse will share more about that later.

Today, JK and SK participated in a special Tashlich ceremony in preparation for Yom Kippur. We gathered in the front yard, read the story “Tashlich at Turtle Rock”, and then each child drew a picture of something they wanted to throw away from this past year. Then they balled up their drawings and threw them into the water to enter the New Year with a clean slate. Thank you to Morah Susan and Morah Jaqui for organizing this meaningful activity.

In case you missed it, the video of our SK Back to School Night presentation and the slideshow are now uploaded to the “Back to School Night Videos” tab at the top of the Blog’s main page (and linked here for easy access now)…. Apologies that Morah Jaqui’s section is not in the video, but you can review the slides provided and send any questions you may have her way. Thanks to everyone who was able to join us. Once again, if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to any of us!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, Sept. 25 – Yom Kippur (NO SCHOOL)

Tuesday, Sept. 26 – OJCS Terry Fox Run

Friday, Sept. 29 – Orange Shirt (Dress Down) Day

Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Chatima Tovah!

General Studies, Jewish Studies, Math, Reading

SK Summer Review

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Andréa Black

You thought you were done hearing from me, didn’t you?? Here’s one last post before I sign off for the summer…

When you receive your child’s report card, you may notice some suggestions and next steps to ensure your child is prepared for the start of Grade 1 in September. I’ve collected some ideas and resources that you and your child can access through the summer to avoid the “summer slide”. All of these are absolutely optional, but they are here should you wish to use them.

My Summer Workbook – a collection of review worksheets for rainy days.

LITERACY

OJCS Summer Reading Challenge

Brigitte, our wonderful librarian, has created this amazing reading challenge that even SKs can participate in with their families. Please review the document below for all of the information about which books to read and how to win your prize in September.

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Clear the Board – Summer Edition: Uses this fun bingo board to read in a variety of ways throughout the summer.

Teach Your Monster to Read This app is available for purchase on the App store ($6.99), and you can also download a desktop version that is free, though there may be some differences in the program. We used this app in class and the kids absolutely love it!! It covers everything from letters and their sounds to reading full sentences and short stories.

Kids Learn! Sight Words This app is designed for iPads and is available for free on the App store, though there are additions available for purchase. It combines fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension practice with entertaining, engaging graphics in a fun learning format.

Spelling Games for Kids This app is designed for iPads or iPhones and is available for free in the App store. It helps to hone your child’s spelling skills through a variety of games that feature over 900 words.

MATH

IXL – You can go back to this blog post in case your child has not already been accessing IXL at home. They can continue working through the Teacher Suggested Skills or they can access the Diagnostic Arena to tailor activities to their skill level. As a reminder, here is how to login:

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

Username: [firstnamelastname] – all lowercase, no spaces (ie. andreablack)

Password: math123

MathGames.com – This site has a lot of free options without having to sign up (though that could be an option as well) that can be divided up by grade level or by skills.

Check out Mrs. Cleveland’s amazing Mindful Math Resource page for more ideas and activities (please double-check the grade level as this page includes resources for K-8).

SCIENCE

20 Outdoor Science Experiments – Turn your backyard into a Science lab with some of these ideas.

After building bird’s nests with Let’s Talk Science, there may be some budding ornithologists out there…. Your child can document the different birds they find in this printable Bird Book.

Find and draw all of the beautiful plants you find this summer in this Plant Observation Journal.

HEBREW

My Jewish Games.com has some fun free games to practice vocabulary.

Here is a Padlet that has a variety of Hebrew stories that kids can listen to and if you can read Hebrew, there are some activity suggestions under each story as well.

Practice Hebrew vocabulary and listen/watch short stories found at this Learning Channel for Kids playlist.

HAVE THE BEST SUMMER AND HAPPY REVIEWING!!!

General Studies, Math, Reminders

SK Measures Up!

Posted on June 21, 2023June 21, 2023 by Andréa Black

Over the last few weeks, SK students have been busy investigating and exploring the concept of measurement!! We started by using non-standard units of measurement to measure and compare the length, height, and width of different objects found around our classroom. We even had a special Measurement Hunt where the kids chose different objects around the room to measure with their chosen unit of measurement (cubes, legos, paperclips, shoes, etc.) and then they documented their findings in a chart. We also had the opportunity to try measuring with rulers and many students were able to find the measurements quite accurately!! We also explored others types of measurement such as weight, capacity and temperature; through sensory and hands-on experiments, the kids compared a variety of objects and determined if they were heavy or light, empty or full, hot or cold, and so on. Check out the photos below….

This Friday, June 23rd is our last Dress Down Day of the year! We will be following the JKs lead and collecting tzedakah for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Don’t forget your loonies and toonies!! That afternoon, we will be joining the whole school to watch the Grade 8s vs Staff Baseball Game. Please ensure that your child has a hat and is dressed appropriately for the weather as we will spending a good part of the afternoon outside!

Next Tuesday, June 27th, by popular request, SK will be having a special Pyjama Day to celebrate the end of our year together. The kids can come to school in their summer cozies, bring their stuffies, and we will have a special treat!!

As we wrap up our year in SK, we will be sending home the kids’ work and other things at school between now and next Wednesday. If you know that your child will be ending the year a few days early, please let us know so that we can ensure that everything gets where it needs to go!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, June 23 – Dress Down Day for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation

Tuesday, June 27 – SK Pyjama Day

Wednesday, June 28 – Last Day of School (NOON DISMISSAL)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Jacob K who turns 6 on June 21st

and to Morah Dawn who celebrates on June 29th!!

General Studies, Math, Reminders

SK celebrates 100 Day!!

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Andréa Black

Yesterday 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 special 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! Mr. Ebbs had a special 100 Day colouring project for the class and we spent the rest of the morning counting, measuring and comparing 100 different objects. 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 day 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….

Don’t forget, we are still looking for prizes for our Purim Carnival, so if you have any unused or unwanted toys at home, please send them into school before next Tuesday!

Another reminder that next week is Ruach Week at OJCS!! Check out each day’s theme below….

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Mar. 3 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

March 6 – 10 – Ruach Week

Friday, March 10 – 3:00 pm Dismissal

Thursday, March 16 – 2:00 pm Dismissal/PT Interviews

Friday, March 17 – PD Day (NO SCHOOL)/PT Interviews

General Studies, Math

Introducing IXL

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Andréa Black

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. We have just introduced IXL in the classroom and there will be a handout in your child’s backpack today that explains how to log in with your child’s login and password; if you need a reminder or have not received the handout, please contact Morah Andrea. We will continue to use this program in class, but practice time at home is also encouraged! 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 blog posts from our Math specialist, Mrs. Cleveland:

IXL: Online Math Forum for Personalized Learning

IXL: Four Highlights to Understand

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

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

Thursday, Dec. 8 & Friday, Dec. 9 – Parent-Teacher Interviews (2:00 Dismissal on Thursday and NO SCHOOL on Friday)

Tuesday, Dec. 20 @ 6:30 pm – OJCS Family Chanukah Celebration

Friday, Dec. 23 – Pyjama/Dress Down Day

General Studies, Math, Reminders

Introducing IXL

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Andréa Black

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. We have just introduced IXL in the classroom and there will be a handout in your child’s backpack today that explains how to log in with your child’s login and password; if you need a reminder or have not received the handout, please contact Morah Andrea. We will continue to use this program in class, but practice time at home is also encouraged! 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 blog posts from our Math specialist, Mrs. Cleveland:

IXL: Online Math Forum for Personalized Learning

IXL: Four Highlights to Understand

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

This Friday, Dec. 17th is a special Pyjama Dress Down Day for the ALS Society of Canada as chosen by Grade 6…. Don’t forget to bring a loonie or toonie for tzedakah!!

Dismissal this Friday is at 2:00 pm.

Don’t forget to let us know if you need to pick up your Rapid Antigen Testing kit before we send them home on Friday. We hope everyone has a wonderful winter break and we look forward to seeing you all back at school on Monday, January 3, 2022.

The SK Team