Posted in General Studies, Reminders, Special Events, STEAM

Innovation Day & Important Reminders

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to join us for Innovation Day in KA and KB on Wednesday!!  The students worked so hard to create their flying machines and to learn about the 4 forces of flight.   They were so proud to share what they had learned and created with you.  You can watch and listen to the “What Makes Airplanes Fly?” song here and check out the pictures of the process of creating and testing their bamboo helicopters, hovercrafts, and hoop gliders below…

Yesterday, JK and SK gathered together, just like the older students at OJCS, to join the worldwide Kriyat Shema and to wish for peace for Israel and the whole world.  It was so heartwarming to hear their sweet voices singing with pride!

Just a reminder that OJCS Ruach Week starts on Monday!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, March 25th – PURIM CARNIVAL – Wear whatever costume you want!!

Tuesday, March 26th – TACKY TUESDAY

Wednesday, March 27th – WILD WEST WEDNESDAY

Thursday, March 28th – PYJAMA (and Dress Down) DAY

Friday, March 29 – NO SCHOOL (Good Friday)

Monday, April 8 – NOON DISMISSAL (Solar Eclipse)

Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)HAPPY BIRTHDAY Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)

to Frankie in SK-A who turned 6 on March 20th

and to Mika in SK-B who turned 6 on March 21st!!

Today is a bittersweet day as it is Ivri’s last day at the OJCS.  We will miss him and are sad to see him go, but we wish Ivri, Be’eri, Batel and Yehonatan the very best as they begin a new chapter in Boston and we hope that they will come visit whenever they come back to Ottawa!

Chag Purim Sameach!!

Posted in General Studies, STEAM

Tu B’Shevat-inspired Science… Phase 2

In case you have not been hearing about the progress of our little bean plants at home, here’s an update on our progress so far… After SK germinated their beans, we began to notice some changes over the last week.  At first, the beans cracked open and then the roots began to pop out and grow longer.  Over the past week, the kids have been drawing their observations as the plants have changed and we have been learning about the different parts of a plant.  Today was planting day!!!  Each child took their rooting beans and transferred them into soil… Now we are going to watch and wait to see if they sprout and grow stems, leaves and maybe even flowers!! Stay tuned for the results…

Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)HAPPY BIRTHDAY Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)

to Neta in SK-B who turns 6 on February 5th!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

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

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

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

Thursday, Feb. 15 – Winter Fun Day

Friday, Feb. 16 – PD Day – NO SCHOOL

Monday, Feb. 19 – Friday, Feb. 23 – NO SCHOOL for Family Day an

Posted in General Studies, STEAM

A little Tu B’Shevat-inspired Science…

As the SK students are learning about Tu B’Shevat in Jewish studies, we took this cross-curricular opportunity and we’ve been talking about how trees and plants grow in Science.  Today, the kids began a seed germination experiment that will allow them to observe what happens to the seeds they “planted” over the period of a week or two and, if the experiment works, what will happen when we transfer the seedlings to soil…. Check out the photos below of the beginning of our experiment and stay tuned for the results in an upcoming blog post….

This, Friday, January 26th, is Dress Down Day.  We will be collecting tzedakah in support of JNF.  Don’t forget to bring your loonies and toonies!!

As part of their Rabbi Bulka Kindness Project, the Grade 6 students have been making bracelets and will be selling them to raise money for the Magen David Adom. Each bracelet will be sold for $5. Bracelets will be sold during the first and second recesses outside of the chapel.

Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)HAPPY BIRTHDAY Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)

to Tamara in SK-B who turned 6 on January 17th!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

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

Friday, Jan. 26 – Dress Down Day

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

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

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

Posted in Chagim, STEAM

The Miracle of the Oil

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

First, we got all the kids together and 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!!

We are hoping you will all be able to join us this coming Tuesday Dec. 12th for the OJCS Family Chanukah Celebration at 6:30 pm.  There will be class performances, candle lighting, and some sweet treats to enjoy!!

For those attending, please bring your child to the SK classrooms no later than 6:30 pm and then you can go find yourselves seats in the gym.  We will bring the kids to the gym for the performance and help them find you afterwards.
We ask that each child pick their favourite colour of the rainbow (please not black, white, grey or brown) and wear entirely that colour for their performance.
If you are not planning to attend, please do let us know so that we are aware of who to expect on Tuesday evening.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

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

Tuesday, Dec. 12 – OJCS Family Chanukah Celebration @ 6:30pm

Friday, Dec. 22 – Dress Down PJ Day (more details coming soon!)

Monday, Dec. 25-Friday, Jan. 5 – WINTER BREAK!!

Monday, Jan. 8 – School Resumes

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

The SK Team

Posted in General Studies, STEAM

Global Maker Day 2023

October 17, 2023 was #GlobalMakerDay and the Senior Kindergarten kids certainly rose to the challenge!!

We started by reading the story “Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!” by Candace Fleming, in which we met Mr. McGreely who always wanted a garden.  When he finally planted one, he encountered 3 bunnies that, every night, ate all of his vegetables.   No matter what he tried, he could not keep the bunnies out of his garden!!  We stopped reading before the end and posed a challenge to the kids…. their mission was to construct something that would keep the bunnies out of their garden.  Using all of the recycled materials that we’ve been collecting (thank you so much for everything you sent in!!!), each child completed the challenge and they were super proud of what they accomplished.  The innovation and imagination in our classroom was astounding!!!  Make sure to ask your child about their creation!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Oct. 27 – Dress Down Day/3:00 pm Dismissal begins

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

Posted in General Studies, Reminders, STEAM

We Need Your Recycled Goods!

SK families, we need your recycled goods!

We are collecting items for the OJCS Global Maker Day coming up on October 17th.  We are looking for wine bottle corks, popsicle sticks, cereal/cracker boxes, toilet paper tubes, paint stir sticks, and plastic tubs/lids (think yogurt pots, sour cream tubs – clean please!)…. any items to help with our creativity.

Thank you for your help with this excited endeavour!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Tuesday, Oct. 17 – Global Maker Day

Friday, Oct. 27 – Dress Down Day/3:00 pm Dismissal begins

Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)HAPPY BIRTHDAY Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)

to Laz in SK-B who turns 5 on October 14th

and

to Liana in SK-B who turns 5 on October 18th!!

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

Posted in General Studies, STEAM

Let’s Talk Science…. Nifty Nests!

This morning, Senior Kindergarten participated in our final Let’s Talk Science lab of the year.  This time, Farah and Madalina, 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 pictures of the process:

You may have some blossoming birdwatchers on your hands now as Farah and Madalina 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 Farah and Madalina for all of the amazing sessions this year and for inspiring our little scientists!!

Posted in General Studies, Reminders, STEAM

Innovation Day is almost here!!!

This year’s INNOVATION DAY is less than 2 days away!! It is a day to celebrate STEAM here at OJCS, so make sure to join us on Thursday, March 30th at 8:45 am to see what SK has been busy exploring and learning.…. while the poster below says the day begins at 9:00 am, we are shifting slightly to not overly affect the SK’s schedule and so that anyone with older students has time to visit those classes as well.

Please bring your child to the school’s front door for drop-off (as you would on a rainy day) as close to 8:30 as possible and we ask that you wait outside the school as your child gets settled for the day.  Once the 8:45 bell rings, you are welcome to make your way to our classroom and your child will show you their individual experiments as well as the ones we did as a class and fill you in on their learning.  We will wrap up with a quick song before we send you on your way (which should be no later than 9:15).

We kindly ask that you limit visitors to no more than 2 people per child as space is limited in our classroom.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Friday, Mar. 31 – Dress Down Day: don’t forget to send in donations for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank!

Tuesday, April 4 – JK/SK Seder (sorry this event is for the kiddos only, but we will send more info soon!)

Wednesday, April 5 – Friday, April 14 – Passover Break (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, April 17 – Return to School

Posted in General Studies, STEAM

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

SK spent 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.  We even built a mini snowman and then watched to see how water can actually shift from one state of matter to another (snow, water, water vapour).  Below are some of the videos and songs we watched in class to enhance our learning and some pictures as well.

We culminated our learning by participating in another super fun Let’s Talk Science lab with Farah and Madalina from the University of Ottawa  AND we got to do our experiments in the OJCS Makerspace!!  The kids were introduced to everyday liquids and solids to determine their properties.  They 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.  Then they 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…. make sure to ask your child what they observed and learned in Science this week!!

Move Like Matter Dance:

Matter Chatter Song:

3 States of Matter Song:

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

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

Monday, Feb. 6 – Tu B’Shevat

Thursday, Feb. 16 – OJCS Winter Fun Day

Friday, Feb. 17 – PD Day (NO SCHOOL)

Monday, Feb. 20 – Friday, Feb. 24 – Family Day/Reading Week (NO SCHOOL)

Posted in General Studies, STEAM

Let’s Talk Science…. Fat, Fur, and Feathers

Today was a very exciting day in Senior Kindergarten.  We had special guests join our class and lead us in a Let’s Talk Science lab. Farah and Madalina, Science students from the University of Ottawa, led us in a discussion about how different animals get ready for winter and the SK students are already experts thanks to the many books we have read and the activities we have done in class.  They told Farah and Madalina that many animals adapt to get ready for the cold weather by eating a lot of food to gain more fat or by growing thicker fur or feathers to stay warm.  The kids asked great questions and knew a lot of answers to the questions they were asked.  Then we experimented with Fat (vegetable shortening in a baggie), Fur (faux, of course!) and Feathers to see which kept their hands the warmest when touching ice.  The students were so engaged and enthusiastic as they tried different combinations to see which would keep their hands warm…. the combo of fat and fur was the clear winner.  Thanks to Farah and Madalina for leading this special, super-fun experience!  We can’t wait to do it again in the winter!

Speaking of getting ready for winter, now that the snow has officially arrived, we thought we should clarify our Outdoor Play plan for the winter months.  We will continue having our morning drop-off and recess on the playground, so please ensure that your child comes to school dressed appropriately.  However, if it is colder than -18, with or without the windchill, we will not be venturing outdoors (we will be using the Weather Network to determine the temperature if you want to check before leaving the house).  As with rainy days, if there are no teachers on the playground after the bell rings at 8:30, please bring your child to the front door for drop-off.  While we will strive to get outside as much as possible, we will take advantage of the gym or other indoor physical activities when the weather is not cooperating.

 

Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)HAPPY BIRTHDAY Party Popper Emoji (U+1F389)

to Esti and Sari who turned 5 on November 17th!!

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

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

Thursday, Nov. 24 – Dress Down Day supporting the Ottawa Humane Society

Friday, Nov. 25 – PD DAY – NO SCHOOL