Author: jbennett31

Grade Three Update

jbennett31 / / General Studies

We have been busy learning, working, and having fun in Grade Three. Our Class Representative Elections took place a few weeks ago. I was pleased to see so many children throw their hats into the ring and run for the positions. It makes me smile to know that students want a chance to be leaders this year.


Eye-catching old-school posters adorned the classroom walls. The speeches were terrific. The candidates discussed their desire to listen to their classmates’ ideas and make this school year the best. It was the sweetest morning listening to every candidate.


All of the students who ran for class representatives should be very proud of themselves. I was moved and impressed with the leadership shown on Election Day. It is safe to say our classes will be well represented by Jonah and Nate this year. They have already been to their first Knesset meeting, virtually of course. Our alternate reps are ready and willing to step in if our representatives cannot attend a meeting.


 

Knowing so many students would like the opportunity to take on leadership roles in Grade 3 makes me smile. Now I need to make sure additional leadership opportunities happen. I know that this group of students is ready for the challenge. I have a feeling it is going to be a great year.

We had a special Zoom call with students in Israel. They made a special presentation on Israel for us and we made a special presentation on Canada for them. We had a chance to ask each other questions. We talked about our favourite foods, sports, and hobbies. We were happy to see that we had so much in common with each other. The teacher Gali Lev Ari was surprised to learn that some of our students are from Israel. We cannot wait to meet our new friends again. This is just the beginning of our year-long friendship project. 

Here is the link to our DigCit Summit reading session we did with Noa Daniel.The DigCit Summit is a global event that focuses on positive digital citizenship and using technology for good. The classes in the video are from Scotland, Kenya, and New York. We had wanted to do the session altogether; the different time zones did not align that week. I wish we had the original recording of the session with did with Noa. All the students loved taking part in the discussion of the book. We seem pretty quiet in the edited session in the link. 

Dr. Marialice Curran, the founder of the Digital Citizenship Institute, surprised us by buying a copy of the book Strum and the Wild Turkeys for our classes. Noa Daniel, the author, even inscribed the book for us. It was such a terrific surprise when we received the book in the mail. Our classes sent a thank you video to both Noa Daniel and Dr. Marialice Curran.




The students took part in the schoolwide initiative Postcards for Peace. The students heard a story about the war and Remembrance Day. They took time to have a meaningful discussion about the sacrifices veterans made so we can enjoy freedom and peace in Canada. Each child then took the time to write a postcard to veterans. Re’em made an iMovie of our postcards below.

 

 Journalist of the Week- Livia

Hi everyone I’m Livia. I’m one of your new class journalists for this week in 3B. Today our class was working on our second post for our blogfolio. The class was buzzing with excitement about what they were writing. Our class is also very excited about our class jobs such as supply kid, teacher helper, journalist, line leader, pencil sharpener, clean up crew and much more.  All the kids love doing their jobs to help around the classroom and even outside if they have to. We’re really lucky to have a class librarian because all our books are falling apart and lots of them are the books the kids love. Even though some kids weren’t that pleased about their jobs they know that there are so many more weeks in the year. Our teacher helper is really helpful any time a teacher calls, you know he is there. We each get a different time for different job changes on Friday every week.

Photo by Nate

This is the full list of class jobs: Teacher helper, clean up crew, organizer, supply kid, photographer, brachot leader, journalist, time keeper, peer support, pencil sharpener, scientist, line leader, tech helper, librarian, repair kid. Since we brainstormed so many great ideas we had two jobs left which were: messenger, recycler. Ms.Bennett was the recycler so sort of one left, but you know what I mean. I’m going to tell you what some jobs mean and the idea of them so peer support is about helping students with any subject and if they forget something in a different class, repair kid is about fixing things, time keeper is about making sure we’re on time. As we put aside that to the remembrance day assembly, we learned about people who served in the army, people who passed away, people who came home who were wounded and people who had to go to hospital. 

Special thanks to Re’em for creating the Class Job Spinner wheel for Grade 3.

Grade 3 Elections for Class Representatives

jbennett31 / / General Studies

This Friday, October 29th, will be Elections Day for class representatives to the school Knesset. We are keeping it low-key this year in Grade Three. Students interested in running for the class representative will have time to make a poster in class tomorrow. They will also have the opportunity to tell their classmates why they would make a good class rep.

We have had some good discussions about class representatives and the responsibility that comes with the position. I am pleased that quite a few students in each class are putting their names forth. It seems we have good leaders in Grade 3 already. It should be an exciting week!

 

Global Maker Day 2021

jbennett31 / / General Studies

This past Tuesday was Global Maker Day 2021. The students in third grade loved taking part in a day full of collaboration and creativity with schools from around the world. 

3A and 3B loved using their design thinking skills on Global Maker Day. There were four different STEM challenges to choose from: make a ramp, a math board game, an egg drop protective device, and an artifact that students could use for social and emotional learning. 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.

I was 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.

 

 

We ended the day by making Flipgrid videos of our work and sharing them with other students. We tweeted out some pictures and received lots of attention from the Global Maker Day organizers.

Global Maker Day was a success. We were inspired to be innovators, problem-solvers and share our work globally. Perhaps we should start researching patents soon.

 

Blogging in Grade 3

jbennett31 / / French, General Studies, Jewish Studies, Math

Dear Grade 3 Families, 

The Grade 3 classes are excited to continue their journey of becoming good digital citizens by launching personal blogfolios. Blogfolios are a combination of a blog and a portfolio. The students will learn various ways of capturing their learning and reflecting on their process. 

They will also become more comfortable with documenting OF learning, documenting FOR learning, and documenting AS learning. Our goal is to introduce students to blogfolios, where they will continue practicing the skill of documentation OF, FOR, and AS learning on a platform that will follow them from year to year. 

Documenting OF learning focuses on the product. It answers the questions: 

  • What did the learner do? 
  • What did they learn? 

These questions can often be answered by looking at a final project or video recording of a student doing something. This is the most common type of documentation. 

Documenting FOR learning requires a little more thought and purposeful selection. Students think about what they are capturing and why. This is an area we’d like to focus on more. It’s not just about the final product, but the journey of how they got there. The questions now become:

  • How does what I’ve learned relate to something I’ve learned before? 
  • What can I learn about myself as a learner? 
  • What would be the best artifact to show that I’ve learned this?

Documenting AS learning goes even deeper, where students not only interpret their findings but also think about how they can share their learning. They are even more planful before, during, and after documenting. 

  • What is the best way for me to capture this and share it?

With blogfolios, students can archive, reflect on, and reactivate what they’ve learned from previous years to help them in their current learning and beyond! Blogfolios mean connections can be made from around the world, offering opportunities for richer dialogue, feedback, and of course, revision. As Silvia Tolisano explains, “The writing process used to end with the last period in the last paragraph. Hitting ‘publish’ on a blog might just be the beginning.” Blogfolios also serve as a meaningful platform to teach students about appropriate online safety and behaviour. 

 There are a few things you should know: 

  • Blogfolio URLs (addresses) will follow the formula: firstnamelastinitialojcs.edublogs.org (ex: juliebojcs.edublogs.org);
  • All posts and comments will have to be approved by the teacher before they get published;
  • Students (with the consent of their parents) may choose to post pictures and videos of themselves and their work online;
  • Personal information (address, last name, birthday, etc.) WILL NEVER be posted on the blogfolio;
  • Students will be encouraged to comment on each other’s posts.

Understanding that this may feel new and uncomfortable to some of you and our students, there are a few privacy settings to choose from:

  • Public Blogfolio – URL will include the student’s first name and last initial. It will be public, meaning anyone would have access to seeing the content and comments. It adds tremendous value to the work students are doing, in that their audience extends past teachers and peers, and they’ll see that others care to read what they say. For example, connecting directly with scientists, subject matter experts, authors, other students from around the world, etc.;
  • Public Avatar Blogfolio – URL is made up of an alias. Students do not post their real names on their Blogfolio. However, the site is still public, and anyone will be able to access the content and comment.
  • Password Protected Blogfolio – URL will include the student’s first name and last initial. A password will be needed to access the posts on the blogfolio. Students and parents would control who knows the password.
  • Private Blogfolio – URL will include the student’s first name and last initial. Only people with an edublogs account (parents would need to create one to have access) who have been granted permission to the blog will be able to view the content. 

Please ensure you have carefully read through all the information above. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Bennett. We ask that you complete and return the permission letter that was sent home today in your child’s note tote.

Sincerely, 

The Grade 3 Team

 

 

 

 

Grade Three News

jbennett31 / / General Studies, Jewish Studies

We have been busy with all kinds of meaningful events and activities during the last week and a half. The Terry Fox Run had us running all around the school field and getting our hearts and muscles pumping. I wish we had a track team at school because we have many fast runners in Grade Three.

Our Sukkah hop had us visiting many stations to learn about Sukkot. We even made edible sukkahs out of pretzels, celery, cucumbers, carrots, and olives. The consensus was that the sukkahs were delicious! The Grade Seven and Eight students were excellent leaders, and we all enjoyed the Sukkah hopping.

Dr. Mitzmacher had us all shaking lulavs and etrogs in the chapel. We were able to answer some questions about the parts of the lulav and etrog. We enjoyed learning how to hold and shake everything properly. It was also lots of fun!

 

We were lucky to have Noa Daniel visit our classes virtually last week. She read us her new book, Strum and the Wild Turkeys. It is a story about finding your voice and being yourself. She even taught us a song that goes along with the book. We loved spending time with Noa. She even spoke Hebrew to us as well.

Here is the song we learned.

Our session was recorded and will be part of the Digcit Summit in October. The Digcit Summit is a global event that focuses on positive digital citizenship and using technology for good. Last year 48 countries took part in the event. We will be sure to share the link with everyone when it is ready.

Thursday marked the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The students learned about the significance of Orange Shirt Day and watched an age-appropriate video that discussed indigenous children and residential schools. A meaningful discussion ensued about children needing to be with their families and be able to learn and celebrate their culture. The students talked about the importance of children needing love, respect, and equitable treatment. They wrote their messages on orange hearts and designed orange shirts. Livia made beautiful orange ribbon pins for all her classmates and teachers to wear as well. It was a moving and significant day.

                                                                       

Every child no matter where 

they are from should be 

treated equally, fairly, 

and with respect.  

We are ready for our first whole week of school. I think everyone is ready to settle into a good routine. Homework will begin this week. The children will be so happy as they have been asking to have it. I just hope all the parents will be just as happy.

 

Starting the New Year in Grade Three

jbennett31 / / General Studies, Jewish Studies

The Grade Three classes have had a great start to the school year. All the students and teachers are so happy to be back in the classroom! Everyone is settling into a school routine and is working hard at developing their learning and leadership skills.

Kindness is something we take very seriously in Grade Three. We started the new year off right by making special cards for the residents of Hillel Lodge, wishing them a sweet new year.

 

We spent some time reflecting on some behaviours we would like to work on this year. We discussed the importance of saying sorry when we say or do something hurtful to our family and friends. We wrote heartfelt letters before Yom Kippur.

 

 

To get into the Sukkot spirit we drew cartoon four species and had lots of fun while being creative. We cannot wait to shake the lulav and etrog with Dr. Mitzmacher in our school Sukkah. Our Sukkah hop on Friday afternoon will be filled with Ruach as we end our third short week of school. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Terry Fox Run & Cleaning the Capital

jbennett31 / / French, General Studies, Jewish Studies

Friday, September 24th, will be our first Dress Down Day! It also happens to be our annual Terry Fox Run. Therefore, all funds collected from the day will be donated to the Terry Fox Foundation. Please remember to bring in your donation.

 

OJCS has partnered with JNF Ottawa to ‘Clean the Capital’.  On Sunday, October 3rd from 1-3 PM OJCS families are encouraged to sign up to help clean our OJCS and JCC campuses. This is a great way to give back and help make a difference in our own community.

Sign up is limited to 25 people so sign up quickly at the link below:

https://jnf.ca/ottawa/cleaning-the-capital/cleaning-the-capital-tickets/ 

OJCS Maccabiah Games 2021- Friday June 11th

jbennett31 / / French, General Studies, Jewish Studies

Maccabiah Header HARRY POTTER 2021.png

 

 

The teams have been announced for the upcoming 2021 Maccabiah Games! There was excitement in the air when our Knesset representatives, Coby, and Jonah, let the Grade 3 classes know that Team Gryffindor/Red Team would our team. Should you wish to learn more about the 2021 OJCS Maccabiah Games, you read all about it on our Student Life blog.

We will be working our magic over the next two weeks to get ready for this momentous day at OJCS. The link to the fundraising page can be found here: http://bit.ly/maccabiah2021

I even felt the need to start the competition a little early with Morah Lianna and Doc who happen to be on Team Ravenclaw/Blue Team.

Screen Shot 2021-05-25 at 4.09.05 PM.png

Innovation Day Wednesday March 24th

jbennett31 / / Uncategorized

You are invited to Innovation Day next Wednesday, March 24th at 2 pm. Please join in virtually to learn about Structures and Forces. We will be playing a game of Are You Smarter Than a Grade 3 Scientist!? Individual projects will be posted on your child’s blogfolio on Innovation Day.

If you are unable to join us at 2 pm please don’t worry. We will be recording the presentation and posting it to the class blog later in the day. All of the projects will be posted on your child’s blogfolio on Innovation Day. You can then enjoy visiting the blogs at night and discussing the projects in the evening.