Category: General Studies

Posted in General Studies, Jewish Studies, Making Global Connections, Ruach

A Grade One Update

Posted on by jbennett31

It’s time for another exciting update from our  classroom! Here’s a glimpse of what we’ve been up to lately:

 

 Our first graders have been exploring the world of storytelling through Reader’s Theatre. The students enjoyed practicing their lines and making a little movie of their play. What a creative process!

 One of the highlights of our recent weeks was our third Zoom call with students in Israel. It was an incredible experience as our children shared their unique superpowers, sparking laughter and joy across the screen. Guess what? We had a surprise during our event – one of our super-talented students treated us to an impromptu tap dance performance! Moreh David, who joined us during the call, added to the fun by playing a song for the children to sing. It’s heartwarming to witness how music and connection transcend physical boundaries, even in virtual settings.

 

We have been learning about energy in our science lessons, exploring its fascinating world. Recently, we conducted an energy hunt around the school premises, which was an exciting hands-on experience for our young scientists. During the hunt, they discovered that the library has the most outlets, plugs, and light switches in the school.

Coding has become a favourite activity in our classroom, thanks to our friend Botley, the robot! Our first graders have practiced their coding and problem-solving skills while unleashing creativity through interactive challenges with Botley. Their enthusiasm for STEM learning is infectious.

Recognizing the contributions of others is an integral part of our classroom culture. We decided to honour our librarian, Brigitte, as the best librarian. To show our appreciation, we crafted a book filled with heartfelt messages and presented it to her.

The children brought a burst of joy to Dr. Mitzmacher’s office as they visited to wish him an early happy birthday. With excitement bubbling in their hearts, they filled the space with laughter and well wishes. Little did they know that Dr. Mitzmacher’s office could comfortably hold exactly 21 children, a fact that added an extra layer of fun to their visit.

It was also a chance to say good-bye to Dr. Mitzmacher as well. He told us he would miss his lunch duty with 1B but that he would visit us at KBI for Kabbalat Shabbat. We joked that we should let all the Grade One parents know their children were sent to the office on Friday. 🙂

 

We created a beautiful banner for the hallway, bidding farewell to our beloved school as we eagerly anticipate the adventures awaiting us at KBI.



 

 

Posted in General Studies

For the Love of Reading

Posted on by jbennett31

 Boost Reading Homework

Boost Reading login cards will be coming home in your child’s note totes today. They are encouraged to work on Boost Reading a few times a week for approximately 10 minutes a session. Boost Reading aligns with the online reading assessments we do on Amplify Reading.

Students need to complete each activity independently. Your child can have fun playing the Boost games and improve their reading skills at the same time.

We have been doing Boost reading at school and the children enjoy playing the games. We hope they have fun at home too!

 March Magic with Novel Effect

                                       

 

1A laughed, giggled and absolutely adored The Book With No Pictures. 1B was enthralled with We are Water Protectors. They loved the accompanying soundscape with running water and crackling fire. Several students chose to read the book in a quiet corner of the class when they had a few extra minutes.

It was so much taking part in this global reading event. The children enjoyed listening to all the different books and voting for their favourite stories. Each class really loved their champion book. I love that each class connected with such different books

                                                              

                                                       The Global March Madness winner was The Day the Crayons Quit.  

 

 

                                                            ” The more you read the more you learn.” 

We love to read everyday in class! some days we read with a partner, or a small group, with the teacher or by ourselves. Would you believe that a favourite partner reading spot is under my desk reading? 😊

Looking for some great stories to listen to? Check out this link to our new Reading Library 

Posted in French, General Studies, Jewish Studies, Ruach

Ruach week in pictures :)

Posted on by jbennett31

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. The pictures below speak for themselves. Grade One enjoyed Ruach Week to the fullest.

 

    The Reading of the Megillah

 

 

A Purim Fashion Show

 We took our Fashion Show on the Road



  Visiting the Purim Carnival 

Collaborative Purim Activities

Tacky Tuesday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wild West Wednesday

We even learned to line dance!

 Pyjama Day

We must have been so cozy and sleepy that we forgot to take pictures. 🙂

 

Posted in General Studies

The latest from Grade One

Posted on by jbennett31

                             March Madness

March Madness has arrived in our classroom, and it’s not just about basketball. We’re exploring the world of books with the help of the Novel Effect app. The app creates beautiful soundscapes that play with the teacher’s voice, making story time more engaging and interactive for the students. The four brackets are Women’s History, Spring has Sprung, Guaranteed Giggles, and Award Winners – with each having its unique selection of books. The children are thoroughly enjoying the daily books and even get to vote on their favorites.

We will be sure to share the book that is declared champion.

 

 

                                    Innovation Day

Students are keeping busy with their projects for Innovation Day. They are really putting in the effort, collaborating and designing their projects to make them the best they can be. Building something from scratch can be a real challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity to learn new skills and collaborate with others.

 

                                     Special Guest

 

Today we had a special guest visit our class. She also happens to be a mom of two students in our classes. We learned how the how Canada helps refugees. We even got special little bags from one of her trips. It was a very special way to end the week.

                                                   

 

 

 

                                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in General Studies, Jewish Studies, Ruach

A Week full of Ruach

Posted on by jbennett31

What a week in Grade One! The students loved celebrating the 100th day of school on Monday. They wrote 100 words in Hebrew and French words. They even counted by 10s to 100 in all three languages. The children visited different stations throughout the day. They built a tower with 100 cups, made a 100th-day hat, and created 100th monsters. The day ended with 100th-day stories and a freezie treat.

On Tuesday, Let’s Talk Science visited Grade One for a workshop on structures. The children learnt about natural and man-made structures. They were challenged to make houses for the Three Little Pigs with straws, sticks, and wooden blocks. The workshop had all the students engaged and building.

 

JNF visited on Wednesday morning, and the children had the opportunity to learn about different parts of Israel with a beautiful parachute. The children played a collaborative parachute game while reviewing different places in Israel.

Winter Fun ended the week perfectly. The children were so excited to ride a school bus for the first time and go tubing. The location was perfect, the weather was great and everyone had fun.

Posted in General Studies

The latest news from 1A & 1B

Posted on by jbennett31

 

  Tu B’Shevat

Grades 1-3 spent the afternoon working on special activities together. The children were split into mixed age groups for the afternoon. They loved travelling to different classrooms to work at each station. #We Learn Better Together

 

In honour of Tu B”Shevat, Brigitte read a wonderful book. Everyone loved it!

Both classes also got together to plant some salvia seeds from JNF. The seeds were attached inside the top of a pencil. It was funny to put the pencil into a cup of soil.

 

 

 

 

The children said good bye to Morah Andy last week.  They each made a special page for a special class book for Morah Andy. She took time to look at each page and read the messages the children wrote.


 

The children enjoyed a second Zoom call with children from different parts of Israel. They took turns presenting slides they made about their favourite foods. Our next Zoom call will take place on February 27th.

This week we read a story called Mimi’s Dream House. After reading the story the children were asked to draw their perfect dream house. The children let their imaginations run wild. They wrote about their dream houses and displayed them in the class.The students loved this type of writing.

 


 

It is so much fun to watch the students read each other’s work.

Kiran has been helping out in Grade One and SK classes on Mondays and Tuesdays over the last month and a half. He is a student at Algonquin College, and he is a natural fit in the SK and Gr.1. We will be sad to say goodbye to him this Tuesday.

1A and 1B recited a poem at the Rosh Chodesh Assembly this morning. They did a great job!

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER! 

(Poem for Rosh Chodesh Adar)

Kitah Alef is a special place,

See the big smile on each face.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

Hebrew, French, English and the Arts

We learn Judaics to fill our hearts.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

Adding and subtracting is challenging but fun,

11 + 10 is 21.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

We play games, sing a song,

Lots of fun all year long.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

Books to read, poems to say,

Learning new things everyday.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

Reading, writing, spelling too. 

So much to learn, much to do.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

We work as partners, small groups or a team

In our classroom, outside and in the gym

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

1A & 1B are the best team,

Every day our teachers beam.

WE LEARN BETTER TOGETHER!

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in General Studies, Grade 1 Reading

Happy Hanukkah!

Posted on by jbennett31

The children had a great week getting ready for Hanukkah. They made beautiful chanukiahs with Morah Andy. Morah Ada and the classes got into the spirit by making spinning dreidels, lego chanukiahs, and dreidel snowflakes

Grade 1 and 2 lit the candles virtually with schools from all over Canada and Israeli through our Etzbah Hagalil Partnership!

                                     Kitah Alef Shabbat

Both 1A and 1B love celebrating Shabbat together each Friday.

 

 

 Reading

 

What is Amplify reading?

Amplify is the new reading platform (the umbrella company) that the OJCS purchased licenses for this year to use as a pilot project to enhance our current reading programs. We bought three programs for our school through Amplify, each explained below.

 

1. mClass – DIBELS 8 assessment 

2. Boost Reading (K-3)

3. Boost Close Reading (Gr. 4-8)

Why did we choose Amplify? 

This program aligns with the ‘Science of Reading’. The Science of Reading research shows the need for students to have word recognition skills (such as phonemic awareness, decoding skills through phonics, and reading fluency) and language comprehension (including knowledge of vocabulary, morphology, and syntax) to read and comprehend text. 

1. mClass is the system that allows us to run the DIBELS 8 Assessment with all of our students in Grades K-3. 

What is DIBELS?

DIBELS ® (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) is a set of procedures and measures that assesses the acquisition of literacy skills. They are short (one-minute) fluency measures used throughout the year to monitor the development of early literacy and reading skills. In Grade One, the DIBELS 8 assesses different skills, such as letter names, phonemic awareness, letter sounds, decoding, word reading, reading accuracy, and reading fluency. The classroom teacher does the assessment individually with each child.

Results of these assessments help us identify who is below, at, or above grade level in each skill. We can tailor our instruction in small groups and resource support accordingly. 

2. Boost Reading is the reading program license we purchased for students K-5. Boost Reading is a literacy acceleration and remediation program that uses adaptive technology to deliver personalized learning instruction for K-5 students. The engaging world of Boost Reading adapts to each unique reader. 

Can my child use this program at home?

Yes, please! Boost Reading adapts to your child’s needs, so you don’t need to, and you should NOT assist them with their learning. Once they log in, they’re ready to start using the program. Some students will begin with a placement activity that helps the program match them to the best content. To ensure the most accurate placement, students must complete each activity independently. Your child can have fun playing the Boost games and improve their reading skills.

Posted in General Studies, Jewish Studies, Ruach

A peek into Grade One

Posted on by jbennett31

On Tuesday, the Grade One classes took part in a Let’s Talk Science workshop called the Tree of Life. Science students from the University of Ottawa taught us about the different characteristics of animals. We then had fun sorting and classifying the plastic animals. This was the perfect introduction to an upcoming research project about animals in the winter.

We also had the chance to make our own Tree of Life.

In a unit on Data Management we have been making graphs and interpreting the data. Corn seems to be the favourite vegetable in Grade One. Cherries are a favourite fruit in 1B while 1A seems to prefer peaches.

 

 

The children are very excited to visit the Scholastic Book Fair next week. The flyer with some of the featured books came home in the note totes yesterday. 1A and 1B will visit the Book Fair on Thursday December 7th.

Save the date for our Family Chanukah Celebration. We have already started to practice the song we will be singing. It is a terrific one.

Posted in French, General Studies, Jewish Studies

Special days in Grade One

Posted on by jbennett31

Global Maker Day

This past Tuesday was Global Maker Day 2023. The students loved taking part in a day full of collaboration and creativity with schools from around the world. 

1A and 1B loved using their design thinking skills on Global Maker Day. There were four different STEM challenges to choose from: make a monster, a game, a new playground, or build a 3D school model. Special thanks to everyone who sent in all the recycled materials. There was more than enough cardboard and containers for the building.

There was a buzz in the room as the students chose their groups and started to brainstorm. With materials and tape in hand, the building began, and absolutely everyone was engaged and having so much fun.

Morah Ada and I were amazed at all the different building that was going on in the class. The students collaborated as they tested and adapted the designs to meet with success. Students presented their STEM challenges to the class. They were so proud of their final products. Global Maker Day was a success. We were inspired to be innovators, problem-solvers and share our work globally. 

A visit with Ottawa Firefighters

The JK, SK, and Grade One classes had special visit yesterday afternoon. A group of Ottawa firefighters from our local Station 23 came to talk about fire safety with the children. Firefighters discussed their roles as community helpers. The students also learned about making fire exit plans at home.

The children were excited to go outside and get an up close look at a real firetruck and learn about all the gear firefighters need to use.

One of the firefighters just happened to be the father of a SK student, which made the visit extra special.

 

 

 

 

Posted in General Studies

Reading homework begins today. Hooray!

Posted on by jbennett31

                                                                           English Reading Homework

Your child will be bringing home a book to read tonight. The children are so excited!The book bag should be in their note tote. Your child should read the book and then record the title on the reading sheet (great printing practice). Please return the book tomorrow so your child can get a new book.

Happy Reading!

 

 

If for some reason the note tote does not find its way home tonight you can read a story online with this link