Tag: Shavuot

Posted in Chagim, Jewish Studies, Reminders, Shavuot

Post-Shavuot post and other reminders…

Posted on by Andréa Black

We hope everyone had a Chag Sameach and a lovely weekend!!  Did you know that SK performed in the Shavuot assembly last Thursday??  Their Grade 5 Reading Buddies taught them a Shavuot song and dance over our last few meetings and they performed it together.  Here’s a video of the performance:

The chag may be over, but you can still try out the yummy recipes we collected for our OJCS Shavuot Recipe Book at home!!

We also had another special treat last Thursday…. no, not the yummy Menchie’s (although that was special too!!), but Amelia and Isadora’s aunt Melanie, who was visiting from New York, treated the JK, SK and Grade 1 classes to a special performance of her show “Opera Mouse”!! The kids absolutely loved the singing and the puppets.  A huge thank you to Melanie for sharing her talents with us!!

With the weather getting warmer and summer creeping closer, a reminder that hats and sunscreen are highly encouraged for our recess/outdoor time.  If you are sending sunscreen to school, please ensure that your child is able to apply it independently (sprays or roll-ons are really helpful!).

Just a reminder about the OJCS Maccabiah Games coming up this Friday, June 2nd!!  The teams are listed below and your child should come to school wearing their team colour and ready to show their RUACH!!!

 

Posted in Chagim, Jewish Studies, Reminders, Shavuot

Shavuot Celebrations are tomorrow and Maccabiah Games are coming soon!!

Posted on by Andréa Black

Just a reminder that we will be celebrating Shavuot tomorrow at school.  We are asking that all students wear their white uniform shirts.

Also, tomorrow will be the last day that we are collecting non-perishable foods and other items for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank, so please make sure to send in any donations you may have and a big thank you for those that have already.

Yesterday’s Rosh Chodesh assembly ended with a surprise – the 2023 Maccabiah break!!  The Maccabiah Games is a colour-war styled day where the school is divided into 4 teams to complete activities, sports, cheers, etc… all while following the OJCS North Star of RUACH (spirit)!! This year’s Maccabiah Games are taking place on Friday, June 2nd. The theme is Fairy Tales and the teams are Blue Cinderella, Green Peter Pan, Red Little Red Hiding Hood and Orange Goldilocks.  Students are encouraged to dress in their team colours and to be as creative as they can to get ruach points for their team!!

The SKs are divided into the following teams:

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, May 26 – Shavuot (NO SCHOOL)

Friday, June 2 – Maccabiah Games

Posted in Chagim, General Studies, Jewish Studies, Reminders

Mapping Out Our World….

Posted on by Andréa Black

Over the last little while, Senior Kindergarten has been exploring maps and how we use them to find our way around.  We have compared maps and globes, discovered how symbols can help us to read maps through a variety of in-class activities, and learned about the Cardinal Directions, North, East, South and West.  Many of you may remember using “Never Eat Shredded Wheat” to help recall the different directions, but the SK kids have an updated version, so make sure to ask them about it!!!  They have also been discovering our place in the world, from the city we live in to our province, country and continent and exploring different kinds of houses around the world as well as their own homes.  Last Friday, they put their practice to use as they followed a map and directional clues to complete a Scavenger Hunt around the school.  They worked together to find and decipher the 8 clues and received a special sweet treat as their treasure at the end.  Way to go, SK!!

Today, we marked Lag Ba’Omer, the 33rd day between Pesach and Shavuot, where it is traditional to go on hikes, have picnics and bonfires, and other celebrations.  Along with Junior Kindergarten, this morning we enjoyed a special picnic outside with our own version of pareve “s’mores” while listening to a Lag Ba’Omer story and having a singalong with Moreh Saar on guitar.  We have also been talking this week about ways we can show Ahavat Yisrael, or love, kindness and respect for others.

We will continue to count the days of the Omer until Shavuot, which is coming up in a few weeks!!  In honour of Shavuot, we are collecting non-perishable items for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank until May 25th.  It would be wonderful if you could send any donations between now and then to school!!  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:

Monday, May 15 – OJCS Generations Day (please ask guests who will be joining virtually to make sure they have some paper, pencils and markers ready on Monday morning)

Friday, May 19 – Dress Down Day supporting The Cure

Monday, May 22 – Victoria Day (NO SCHOOL)

Friday, May 26 – Shavuot (NO SCHOOL)

Posted in Chagim, Reminders, Shavuot

Shavuot Celebrations tomorrow!!

Posted on by Andréa Black

Just a reminder that we will be celebrating Shavuot tomorrow at school.  As such, we are asking that all students wear their white uniform shirts.

Also, tomorrow will be the last day that we are collecting non-perishable foods and other items for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank, so please make sure to send in any donations you may have and a big thank you for those that have already.

Don’t forget, there is no school on Monday, June 6.  Chag sameach and have a wonderful long weekend!!

Posted in Chagim, Jewish Studies

!!אֵשׁ אֵשׁ מְדוּרָה, לָג בָּעֹמֶר הִנֵּה בָּא

Posted on by Andréa Black

Senior Kindergarten has been busy counting (b’Ivrit, of course!!) the Sephirat ha’Omer, or the 49 days between the second night of Pesach and Shavuot. Today, we marked Lag Ba’Omer, the 33rd day, where it is traditional to go on hikes, have picnics and bonfires, and other celebrations.

While we intended to have a special picnic outside, we did not let the rainy weather stop our Ruach!! Along with Junior Kindergarten, we enjoyed a version of pareve “s’mores” while listening to stories from the Torah this afternoon.  We have also talked about ways we can show Ahavat Yisrael, or love, kindness and respect for others, and of course we crafted bonfires in a variety of ways as we got ready for this chag.

 

Here is a song that we have enjoyed singing as we prepared for Lag Ba’Omer.  You may want to add it to your celebrations at home:

We will continue to count the days of the Omer until Shavuot, which is coming up in a few weeks!!  In honour of Shavuot, we are collecting non-perishable items for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank until June 3rd.  It would be wonderful if you could send any donations between now and then to school!!  All items donated should have a visible, reliable hechsher (COR, MK, OU, etc) and please make sure to check the expiration date.  In particular, they are requesting donations of canned tuna or salmon, toilet paper, ketchup, mustard, boxes of tissues, paper towels, tomato paste, chickpeas, and brown rice, but all donations are appreciated!!

Just a reminder that there is no school on Monday, May 23rd for Victoria Day.  Wishing you all a Chag Sameach and a wonderful long weekend!!

Posted in Jewish Studies, 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 Jewish Studies

פּירות (Fruit)

Posted on by Morah Shira

Our new vocabulary unit is all about fruit – פּירות (perot)

On Shavuot, people brought the first fruits of the field  בּיכורים (bikkurim) to the temple to offer thanks to G-d.

Please watch and listen to the following slideshow to learn the names of the fruits in Hebrew. Then go to Flipgrid and in Hebrew…tell me your favourite fruit:

…הַפְּרִי הָאָהוּב עָלַי הוּא