Back to school or in our case (going 'forward' to school) on any given year can often feel overwhelming for some students. Butterflies flutter in stomachs, sometimes from nerves, often from the unknown, or perhaps due to sheer anticipation of what the year to come has in store. This will certainly be a year like no other. Teachers and administrators are working hard to understand, shape, and create a 'go forward' to the OJCS environment that will be exciting, rich, engaging, and most importantly safe. It will not be perfect but it will be perfectly imperfect because at the OJCS we learn better together and we promote a culture of critique. All of us - students, parents, teachers, admin staff - all of us feel some degree of nervousness and uncertainty this year. We would not be human if we pretended not to feel all the different emotions that come along with this particular going forward to school. It brings with it some important reminders. We will not all agree with everything but we all need to remember that we are all trying our best. When fuelled by anxiety, we sometimes forget to look at another's perspective. Remember that all of us at the OJCS share common goals and common language guided by our North Stars. We must keep lines of communication open and transparent, and to voice our worries and concerns with respect, understanding, and appreciation....

"Your fingers are so cold!" "They aren't that cold." "it's 8:17! I gotta get ready for school! why did you wake me up so late?!"...

I love contortion. I am a professional contortionist, but that doesn't mean I  can't break my back.

My favorite sports are dance and gymnastics. I do both, on Monday I dance and on Wednesday I do gymnastics.

Today I am going to be talking about the milky way. If you don't know what the milky way is then I am going to tell you the milky way is our galaxy and it has our solar system its a bunch of stars that get together but if you were to look and try to see you would not be able to you would need a telescope but if you do see it it's very pretty. In the early 1920s  most of the astronauts thought the milky way had all the stars in the universe. A galaxy is a large group of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The milky way is approximately 100 billion stars. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way because it appears as a milky band of light in the sky when you see it in a really dark area....

For some of you, the beautiful sound of summer evokes a feeling of pure joy and bliss, like reuniting with a dear friend you haven't seen for ages. It's a time to unplug, be free from the confines of schedules and routines, and embrace the freedom that it brings. For others, the beginning of summer, especially this particular summer, elicits feelings of fear, dread, and sorrow at the thought of no routine or predictable structure, much like bumping into an old foe who stirs up all kinds of uncomfortable feelings. Whether you are viewing summer as friend or foe, it will no doubt be a summer like no other. My advice, whether summer feels like friend or foe,  is to try and find a comfortable new normal for you and your family. We often feel most out of sorts when we don't feel like we have control, and when we can't predict what is about to happen. These suggestions are designed to empower children to gain some control in a world that feels out of control right now and to be able to 'see' and predict how their summer will unfold. Work together as a family to come up with a functional and manageable routine. Allow for children's voices and collaborate with them to make a plan. The more your child/ren feel empowered and feel part of the decision-making process, the more buy-in you will get during implementation. Document the planning and visually write/draw all the ideas. Use post-it notes, pictures or lists, but allow the child/ren to "see" and engage with the process. You can choose to use a calendar to mark which weeks you will do what. Maybe they are scheduled for a brief camp experience, or a visit to the cottage, or a week with grandparents. Make sure you visually show when those will be taking place. Then it's time to brainstorm together what you will do on the weeks that are free. Themed ideas are always fun. Some at-home "mommy camp"  themes I created with my kids when they were little, included Mitzvah Camp, Science Camp, Cooking Camp, Games Camp, Water Fun Camp, just to name a few. Each week we would brainstorm a list of activities to do for each theme. We made sure to list ideas that could be done independently, that we could do as a family, or that I could prep ahead and then let the kids do themselves.  Before the Passover Break, in response to requests from families for support, I posted a "Tips for Passover Break" blog which offers the same kind of advice I'm suggesting now....

Happy summer! To maintain and keep your level of Hebrew, it is highly recommended to regularly practice your Hebrew by watching Hebrew TV and videos and by completing worksheets and learning activities at your level. The best way to learn is to find a friend to talk with using Hebrew....

The first person to go was Adam P., he played the piano, it was a very cool sound. Next was Emet, he did karate, he has a blue belt, he recorded himself doing karate and showed us the video. Next went Joel, he made up his own rap, the way he sang it, it looked so easy, but I think it took a lot of work. Then Sam, he showed us a video of him playing basketball, what cool moves! Next Sarah, she showed us her contortionist skills, she touched her head with her feet, she did the splits, and more. Then Sacha, like Sam he did a sport, but unlike Sam he did soccer, he is very good at it, the best in our class. Second, to last went Emmet showing us his amazing art, he really is an artist. Last and least, just kidding, last but not least went Zoe, she did contortions like Sarah. She did a bridge, touching her feet to her head, and a few more things....

Parshah

Check out some of the summer reading recommendations from Brigitte: Summer Reading Recommendations In addition, for those who want to practice their writing skills over the summer, check out these writing prompts: Creative Writing Prompts...

We are so excited to announce that we have blogfolios. For the past two weeks, we have been publishing the work we have done throughout distance learning. It has been wonderful to see the students so motivated and excited about their learning. I have seen such a big difference in the amount of writing that the children have done since they started writing blog posts of their own. We reflected as a class about writing persuasive essays, speeches, and blog posts. I had found it more difficult getting the students to write persuasive essays and speeches. Blog post challenges were different; students chose a topic and kept writing and writing. They asked to write any chance they got. One student said that it was much easier to write about things you like....

The file contains the website and usernames and passwords for online reading. Here  

This file contains French exercises and activities to improve your French and links to reading sites. In addition you can find the usernames and passwords for the reading site frequently used in class. Here  

The year has come to an end and like every year, it is always hard to say goodbye.  It is especially hard to say goodbye after teaching an amazing group of students for so many years. In Hebrew we say "Lehitraot ve Lehishtamea" which means "we will see each other and hear from you" , I hope that this is a Lehitraot and Lehishtamea and that you will keep in touch and come visit us. I am adding a list of excellent resources for you so you can continue to keep your  Hebrew skills fresh in the future. ...

This file contains French exercises and activities to improve your French and links to reading sites. In addition you can find the usernames and passwords for the reading site frequently used in class. Here  

In this blog I will tell you what school in Quarantine is like for me, I will go through all the classes what our class usually does during each one. You will find out if it is easy or hard to do school at home.   English...

In this file you can find French work exercises and activities, online reading websites and usernames and passwords for the site we often used in class.  Here  

This file will provide  French language work exercises and activities and usernames and passwords for an online Reader site and additional sites to access for reading and listening. Here  ...

הספורט האהוב עלי הוא ריקוד והתעמלות. אני עושה את שניהם, ביום שני אני רוקדת וביום רביעי אני עושה התעמלות.  ...

How to make your students very happy!!!!!   Do you want your students to be the happiest students ever? This is how to make your students the happiest students ever. ...

The quote I have chosen is "What I stand for is what I stand on." Wendell Berry. I chose this quote because first, its funny, second it relates to the earth. Currently, the earth is suffering from pollution and global warming because not everybody takes there part in helping the earth which is causing these two things. this quote shows that everybody stands on the same earth, why not advocate for it. It can't be denied that we all live on the same earth, and yet people deny global warming, even though all the signs point to global warming....