Kindergarten – OJCS KINDERGARTEN / GAN

Welcome to the Senior Kindergarten Blog!!

Posted on September 15, 2023September 15, 2023 by Andréa Black

Welcome parents and friends to the Senior Kindergarten Blog!!!

Moving forward, this will be your main source of communication from us at school. It is on this page that we will post important information, special events and dates, updates on what is happening in the classroom and of course, pictures!!!

It is hard to believe that we have already finished two weeks at school!! Between all of the fun activities in our class and getting to know each other and our new environment, time certainly has flown by!! Check out the pictures below to see some highlights….

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Sept. 15 – NOON DISMISSAL for Erev Rosh Hashanah (pick-up is at the front door area, not the playground)

Tuesday, Sept. 19 – Back to School Night at 7:00 pm (in person!!)

Wednesday, Sept. 20 – PHOTO DAY! Please wear a white collared uniform shirt.

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

Tuesday, Sept. 26 – OJCS Terry Fox Run

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

**If you haven’t already, please complete and return the Emergency Card that was sent home in your child’s Note Tote as soon as possible**

Wishing you all a Shana Tovah U’metukah!!

The SK Team

Kindergarten, Reminders

Dress Down Day is tomorrow!!

Posted on May 18, 2023May 18, 2023 by Andréa Black

Tomorrow, Friday, May 19th, is Dress Down Day!! This month, we are collecting tzedakah in support of The Cure Foundation for Breast Cancer. Don’t forget to bring your loonies and toonies!!

As well, we are still collecting non-perishable items for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank in honour of Shavuot. It would be wonderful if you could send any donations to school between now and May 25th! All items donated should have a visible, reliable hechsher (COR, MK, OU, etc) and please make sure to check the expiration date. Check out the poster below to see what items are needed most, but any and all donations are appreciated!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, May 19 – Dress Down Day supporting The Cure Foundation

Monday, May 22 – Victoria Day (NO SCHOOL)

Friday, May 26 – Shavuot (NO SCHOOL)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Jared who turned 6 on May 17th

and

to Ariel who turns 6 on May 24th!!

Kindergarten, Reminders

End of School Year Information

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Andréa Black

It is hard to believe that we are actually at the end of the year and I am writing this post…. What a year we have had in SK. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to share in a small snippet of your amazing kids’ lives and I look forward to watching them grow as they move up through the grades here at the OJCS!!

There is a lot going on over the next few days, so please read this entire post….

Friday, June 24th – Friday is Dress Down Day and we will be collecting tzedakah for Tewegan Housing for Aboriginal Youth in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day. Don’t forget to bring a loonie or toonie!!

Callie’s family is graciously providing a Pizza Lunch on Friday as it will be her last day of school and she will be celebrating her birthday in July. No need to pack a lunch on Friday, but please ensure that your child has plenty of snacks for the day. Todah Rabah to the Grostern family!!

Friday afternoon is the Staff vs. Grade 8 Softball Game and we will be going to watch at least part of it, weather permitting. Please make sure your child brings a hat and sunscreen to school.

Monday, June 27th – Monday will be an Under the Sea theme day in SK. Your child is invited to dress up as their favourite ocean animal or as if they are going to the beach (while still being school-appropriate, of course!). We will have some special activities throughout the day as well as a special treat in the afternoon.

Tuesday, June 28th – We will be having a full school assembly in the morning, so we ask that you drop your child off at the Front Doors between 8:30 and 8:45 am. We plan to have a snack picnic with JK, weather permitting, and a few other special activities for our last day together. Dismissal on Tuesday is at 12:00 pm.

If your child’s last day of school is going to be any day other than June 28th, please let me know as soon as possible. We have a lot to send home, so knowing in advance will be quite helpful and will save you a trip to school during the summer!

Lastly, on behalf of the SK team, I want to thank all of you for the immense support you have provided to both your children and to us, the morahs, through this wonderful Kindergarten year. It has meant so much to us to watch your children learn and grow through our time together. Thank you for sharing them with us!!

Have a fabulous summer!

Morah Andréa

Reminders

Winter Fun Day – Important Info!!

Posted on March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 by Andréa Black

Tomorrow, Thursday, March 3rd 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 of a few important things….

Please ensure that your child is dressed warmly!! Students do not need to wear uniforms – comfy, cozy clothes are encouraged (long-johns, ski socks, lots of layers, etc.). We highly recommend sending an extra set of clothes to school as it is likely they will need to change. We will be spending most of the morning outside and the forecast for tomorrow will be chilly, so please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately.

Drop-off tomorrow will be at the front door between 8:30 and 8:45; the kids will come in, drop off their stuff, use the bathroom and then get bundled up for our first block outside at 9:00.

In lieu of a movie afternoon (as advertised on the poster), SK will be celebrating 100 Day in the afternoon…. it will be an extraordinary day indeed!

Also, a friendly reminder that dismissal this Friday, March 4th is at 3:00 pm.

General Studies, Jewish Studies, Science, STEAM

Global Maker Day 2021

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Andréa Black

October 12, 2021 was #GlobalMakerDay and the Kindergarten kids certainly rose to the challenge!!

After listening to a Virtual Storytime with Miss Brigitte, who read “Be a Maker” by Katey Howes, we investigated different types of ramps based on one of the many challenges provided…. What ramps are on our playground? What ramps do we use everyday? Why do we need ramps? Then the kids were asked to make their own ramp using a variety of recycled materials. The innovation and imagination in our classroom was astounding!!!

In the afternoon, we shifted our Maker mindset to the Parashat Hashavuah we read last week: Noah’s Ark. Using only tin foil, the kids were asked to make an ark that could hold small toy animals and stay afloat. We then tested each ark to see how many animals they could hold without sinking…. Believe it or not, Levi’s ark held a record 49 toy animals!!

What an inspiring, incredible day!!

General Studies, Science

Let’s Talk Science…. Nifty Nests!!!

Posted on May 6, 2021 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!!

General Studies, Kindergarten, Science

Innovation Day 2021

Posted on March 25, 2021 by Andréa Black

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to join us for Innovation Day in KA and KB yesterday!! The students worked so hard to create their planet sculptures and to learn space facts and they were so proud to share what they had learned and created with you. If you were not able to join us, you can watch both KA and KB’s Solar System Presentations in the videos below…..

Today, we wrapped up our Outer Space unit by talking about stars and constellations and then the kids built their own constellations out of marshmallows and toothpicks. Their imaginations were in full gear and the different structures they created were truly stellar!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Asher A. (KA) who turns 6 on March 26th

and to Ariel (KA) who turns 6 on March 30th!!!

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and safe Passover – chag Pesach sameach from the K team!!

General Studies, Kindergarten, Science

An Out of This World Experiment!!

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Andréa Black

This week, the Kindergarten classes blasted off into a new unit all about Outer Space and we started by talking about what it would be like to visit the moon. There were a lot of great creative ideas of what it might be like to live on the moon as well as many interesting questions!! One question that was asked was “how are the craters on the moon made?” along with “is the moon made of cheese?”….. so we decided to investigate!!

We discovered that craters on the moon are made when rocks or meteorites hit the moon, creating a pit or a hole (and not because the moon is made of cheese!!) and then we did an experiment to show how that happens…. using flour and cocoa powder to create the surface of the moon, we dropped different sized rocks from different heights to see how craters are created. Check out this video to see a few of our trials:

This experiment was out of this world!! Make sure to ask your child to tell you how the moon was made or what are the different shapes the moon takes on throughout the month….. post their answer in the comments below!!

General Studies, Science

Let’s Talk Science….. Liquids, Solids and Gases

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Andréa Black

Earlier this week, the Kindergarten classes once again participated in another super fun Let’s Talk Science virtual lab with Nia and Kelvin from the University of Ottawa. This time, we were introduced to everyday liquids and solids to determine their properties. The kids used their hands and senses to explore different liquids and then poured them out to see the differences between them. Kelvin demonstrated the different densities by making a density tower with corn syrup, water and oil. We then did a cool experiment where we mixed solids with water to see whether or not they would dissolve and ended with another experiment where we mixed solids (baking powder and sugar) with water to create a gas….. the kids loved experiencing this neat reaction and it sparked some really interesting questions. A big thank you to Morah Taylor for coordinating this awesome virtual experience for the K students!!

We ended up pivoting our plans for the rest of this week due to the fact that the kids were so intrigued by this virtual lab and ended up spending most of the week inquiring about, observing and experimenting with the States of Matter. We listed different examples of each state and learned their properties through activities and songs; we experimented with mixing more solids and liquids to create gases and documented our observations. Each class built a mini snow (ice) man and then watched to see how water can actually shift from one state of matter to another (ice, water, water vapour). 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 this week!!

Move Like Matter Dance:

Matter Chatter Song:

States of Matter Song:

Of course, it was also Ruach Week which culminated in our Purim celebration. And what a week it was from 100 Day to PJ Day, Tropical Tuesday to Throwback Thursday, there was so much spirit, enthusiasm, fun and imagination – all the things we love to see in Kindergarten!!!

General Studies, Kindergarten

Celebrating Inclusion in Kindergarten

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Andréa Black

February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). It is a unified effort from Jewish organizations worldwide to raise awareness and foster acceptance and inclusion of peoples with disabilities and mental health conditions. This aligns perfectly with one of the OJCS North Stars: Each person is responsible for the other.

In the spirit of this month, we wanted share how both Kindergarten classes start their mornings. We sing O Canada, of course, but did you know that they have learned how to sing our national anthem using American Sign Language??? Check out the video below to see the kids in action….

We have also spent some time talking about what makes each of us unique and how we should celebrate these differences, but also treat everyone equally with kindness and respect. It was so amazing to have the students share their special talents and abilities during Show & Tell yesterday. Thank you so much for helping your kids to prepare and for sharing videos; we were treated to a variety of skills, from dancing, singing, and playing piano to completing mazes, building Lego creations, and everything in between. We certainly got to see what makes each of these kids shine in their own unique way!!

When we return to school after the break, it is OJCS Ruach Week!! Check out the poster below for all of the theme days and get ready to bring some ruach to our classes…..

Have a restful break and stay safe everyone!!