Winter Fun Day 2025
After an initial reschedule, Winter Fun Day 2025 finally happened this week…and what a day it was! All of the students – and teachers too – had a [wintery] blast!
Senior Kindergarten started the day playing outside as fresh snow was falling, and then headed inside for some winter-themed activities. Click here to read all about their wintrer-themed day – overheard as being “the best day ever!” and see more pics.
While SK was having their fun, students in grades 1 -8 all went tubing at Le Domaine de L’Ange-Gardien in Gatineau. Special thanks to Ms. Mender for finding this great venue, and for putting the whole day together. After all the outdoor fun, everyone cozied up back at school for a relaxing afternoon of snacks and movie watching. A perfect way to wrap up a day of winter fun!
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Open in new tab Nice things at OJCS this year
We, the Junior Knesset, spotted a bunch of nice things going on in the school! Here are some positive things going around the school…
RECESS
During the cold winter days, there have been so many people working together and collaborating to make forts with each other. Earlier this year, Grade Four started a fort and let anybody join. Everyone has been so kind during recess! Grade four has been playing cops and robbers together and helping each other hide from the cops. They have been very collaborative when it was their turn to be cops or robbers. Some Grade Threes have been playing soccer together and so have some Grade Four and Fivers.
CLASS
In class, there are so many people working together and giving each other ideas. Everyone is being so motivating to each other and this helps boost their learning. During innovation day, groups have been really collaborative and getting their work done! When people were making their project for J.O.I.N, there were so many inclusive people. Groups had kids, teachers and faculty share what they want adults in our community to understand more about inclusion. We would like to say congrats to everyone who participated in J.O.I.N!
INTRAMURALS AND CLUBS
Clubs have made a welcome comeback at OJCS. After a two-year break due to Covid restrictions, the school is alive with clubs this year. Students are busy having fun during recess and lunches. Mr. C. is running a terrific intramural program for Grades 4-8.
This year the students have stepped up to lead many different clubs. Here are some of the clubs at OJCS: Magic Club, Environmental Club, Drama Club, Dance Club, Literacy Lunch, Fashion Club, Sports Club, Drawing Club, Games Club, Detective Club, Rubik’s Cube Club, Chess Club, Pokemon Club, Debate Club, Self-care Club, Origami Club, Arts and Crafts Clubs, Self-care Club. The student leaders have been amazing, and the students are loving all the clubs.
KINDNESS
The Jr. Knesset spread kindness throughout the school. They made special happy face messages for classmates to find in their desks. For Teacher Appreciation week the Jr. Knesset delivered special goody bags and thank you cards to all the teachers.
And now, a news report from the Junior Knesset:
OJCS Maccabiah Games 2021- Harry Potter Edition!
Each year, our student government works hard to plan מכביה (Maccabiah) – our school-wide colour war event. Featuring various high-energy events, Maccabi Canada athlete stories, competitions, and even trivia challenges, it is something our students and staff all look forward to. Our school-wide day of friendship and fun will take place on Friday, June 11th, 2021 and we’re gearing up for a great day! How many days until this event? Only 17!
This year, our students are excited to be sorted into the houses of Hogwarts as they prepare for Maccabiah – Harry Potter style. We can’t wait to see what sorts of high-jinks our wizards get into. Will there be potion making? A game of quidditch? A life-size game of chess to reach the Sorcerer’s Stone? Time(turners) will tell!
Though our students will represent Gryffindor (red team), Hufflepuff (orange team), Ravenclaw (blue team), or Slytherin (green team), we know that there is nothing quite as good as when we’re all rooting for the same team – in this case, OJCS. And that’s where we need your help. Our school is just $10,800 away from reaching our fundraising goal this year. That is just $60 per student! Please help support our students (current and future), by supporting our Maccabiah. Feel free to share on social media and with your friends and family:
http://bit.ly/maccabiah2021
Thank you, merci and todah rabah for your help in reaching our goals.
Want to learn more about our past Maccabiah Games? Read Dr. Mitzmacher’s blog ‘Philanthropy is a Learned Behavior: Introducing the OJCS Maccabiah Games’
Follow @The_OJCS on Twitter for event updates and pictures on Friday, June 11th!
Jesse Miller: Safely Navigating the Online World
Even before COVID-19, we’ve been living in a world where social media plays a large role in the way we communicate – for our children too! With lockdowns, school closures, and the need to physically distance, many of us have increased the amount of time we spend online, as a family and as individuals. With this has also come concerns around the amount of screen time for our children, and how to best support them as they navigate an increasingly online world. Jesse Miller of Mediated Reality, is a national social media awareness expert, and he will be holding a parent information evening on Monday, March 1st at 7:30 pm to address parental fears and minimize stress around screen time, discuss perceptions around technology addiction, and answer all your questions.
This is a workshop that shouldn’t be missed! Mr. Miller will also be speaking to our students (4-8) during the day on March 1st, so the evening is encouraged for parents only.
Please register here for this incredible event, or click the link in the flyer below.
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OJCS Chanukah Celebrations
The Chanukah celebrations continue @The_OJCS!
Today our grade 2 classes and Hillel Lodge met virtually for a Chanukah program. Our grade 2 classes shared Chanukah trivia with our Hillel Lodge friends, followed by a Chanukah song-a-long. A big thank you to Morah Batya for coordinating the special event with Hillel Lodge.
The hallways are doors are full of Chanukah cheer too! Classes are participating in a Chanukah door decorating contest and the willing door will be announced on Thursday.
Lastly, please join us for our OJCS school Chanukah celebration on Tuesday, December 15th from 7:00-8:00 PM. Click here to watch the live stream and see what the classes have been working hard to prepare for you! Hope to see you there!
A Week of Camp Ruach
We had a week filled with ruach thanks to Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa. A big thank you to CBB Associate Director Jill Doctor and Assistant Director Marnie Gontovnik for leading things on the CBB side of things and planning the different activities for our students.
On Wednesday, students in grades 4-5 participated in a Hannukah-themed scavenger hunt. Teams (made of in-person and distance learners!) worked together to complete various tasks like building a 3D menorah and spotting the differences between two maps of CBB.
On Thursday, our K-3 students joined a virtual and interactive theatre experience hosted by Main Stages in NYC!
Today wrapped up with our Middle School Escape Room. Here was the fun escape room storyline.
UH OH! HAVE YOU LOOKED OUTSIDE!?
It’s Friday, December 11th at 11am! OJCS just got hit with 12 feet of snow! WOW – how are you going to go home to celebrate the second night of Hanukkah with your family?!
You’re in luck – Hanukkah Harry is here to save the day! He can get you the tools you need to escape, but first, you need to work together with your OJCS family to show the true spirit of Hanukkah.
You have been put into groups based on your strengths, personality and determination to overcome these tasks. You will be faced with many challenges along the way, but we believe that you and your team will be able to conquer them no problem! I hope you came prepared with your WINNING attitude!
In order to escape, Hanukkah Harry has left a trail of clues for you to follow online. Each clue will give you a tool to use in order to escape the building. You will need all 6 tools in order to successfully escape and go home to your families. However, Hanukkah Harry wanted to make it a little more challenging. You will need to unscramble each clue that comes your way to find out what tool it is!
Please hurry, the second night of Hanukkah is about to start and your family is waiting!
All of the students did escape so you can expect them all home for the second evening of Hanukkah!
You can read and see more about the ruach activities on Dr.Mitzmacher’s blog post today.
Happy Hanukkah to all our OJCS faculty, families, and students!
CBB is Coming to OJCS!
This is an exciting week at OJCS! Not only is it the Scholastic book fair and the first night of Chanukah, but we also have CBB coming to OJCS (virtually!). With the weather getting grey and colder, why not bring some camp-style ruach to our building from Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa. Have a look below to see the exciting events happening this week.
OJCS Virtual Scholastic Book Fair
We are thrilled to continue with our beloved OJCS Scholastic Book Fair, just this year it will be virtual style! It also means that you can shop from the comfort of your own couch and still be supporting the school as 20% of the sale proceeds are donated back to the school. The book fair runs from November 30th to December 11th.
Some other highlights of our book fair:
- There is free shipping to your home with a minimum $ order.
- There is even more selection this year with over 450 book titles, with 150 being in French.
- Check out our virtual teacher wishlists below. You can click on each teacher’s name in the book spine to open up their wishlist. We just ask that you indicate when you have purchased a book.
- Check out the OJCS Facebook page to see videos from OJCS faculty sharing their book suggestions.
Happy shopping and reading!
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OJCS Maccabiah Games
By: Jenny, Knesset Communications
Guess what’s coming on Friday, June 5th? It’s the OJCS Maccabiah Games! Even under these circumstances, we still want to have a super fun day (#RUACH) filled with different games and activities. Of course, this year will be different than the others, but maybe for the better! We will be playing some different missions on the GooseChase app! There are even special messages for OJCS students from Maccabi Canada athletes and we welcome Lianne Laing as our keynote speaker for our opening ceremonies. As every other year has done, we will be raising money for our school and our fundraising goal is $15,000; however this year there is a twist! The amount of money we raise will be doubled by a generous donor.
Knesset is trying very hard to make this Maccabiah as fun as it can be! We ask of you to have a positive mindset, and get ready for some virtual fun! Can’t wait to see you then! Share your Maccabiah adventures during the day using our event hashtags: #OJCSMaccabiah #4Teams1Heart #ApartTogether
