Happy Summer!
Even though this is my second summer in Ottawa, my internal clock is still tuned towards a Florida calendar, so it feels like summer should be over any minute! But luckily (for all of us!) we still have plenty of time to recharge and refresh before a full return.
That does not mean that we are not hard at work preparing for what will assuredly be our best year yet in 2018-2019. And it is not just the new colours on the walls (with other surprises yet to come) that is worth being excited about. We are about to take a great leap forward and before we all get caught up in the hullabaloo of workaday life, I want to take a chance to highlight a few things that may have escaped your attention. [If you are only interested in a hiring update…scroll down!]
Website / Google Classroom / Blogs
Please be aware that due to significant and overwhelming feedback from parents, teachers, and students that we are – with the help of the amazing Josh Max – currently transitioning to a new and improved website and transitioning away from Google Classroom to a blogging platform. Our website is about to be a whole lot more accurate and helpful to current and prospective families, as well as to donors, supporters, volunteers and community stakeholders. A new virtual platform is about to make it a whole lot easier for parents and students to know what is happening in their classes and for teachers and students to share pictures, videos, examples and reflections of the incredible work they are doing.
“We learn better together” is one our North Stars and this shift towards a better and more accessible platform will help us expand the concentric circles of “we” to amplify and share the learning. We will likely look for opportunities to provide education for parents who wish for it and all our current privacy policies remain intact. Parents will continue to maintain full control over privacy, even as we take the next step forward. Stay tuned for more information. Feel free to ask any questions.
Meet & Greet / Back to School / First Day / First Day of K / Trimesters
There are a whole lot of bullet points that describe minor, but meaningful changes, so let’s name them clearly:
- We are moving next year to a “trimester year” – dividing the year into three trimesters, no longer into two semesters. What is the impact of that?
- It means that we will issue three report cards (not one progress report and two report cards) and that the schedule for “Parent-Teacher Conferences” (or “Student-Led Conferences” should any grade prototype them this year) will come a bit earlier than in years past (Fall and Winter). What is the impact of that?
- It means that we will not have a “Back to School” evening this year. With more accurate and accessible information available to parents from the beginning and with a first “Parent-Teacher Conference” earlier on the calendar, we believe this evening has been rendered obsolete. What is the impact of that?
- It means that we do want to provide an opportunity for families in the Lower School (K-5) to have an opportunity to meet teachers, see their classrooms, find their desks, etc., before the first day of school. Now that you do not need to schlep all your materials, we have framed this day – Thursday, August 30th – as a K-5 “Meet & Greet” with an open-ended window from 3:00 – 5:00 PM for families to drop on by. [We have timed it that way to flow into the PTA Welcome Back BBQ.] What is the impact of that?
- It means that all our students, including K, will be ready to begin school on its first day. Parents of Kindergartners will be invited to stay for a brief ceremony marking their children’s transition to OJCS and all parents will be invited to stay for a brief PTA Welcome Back to School Breakfast.
Middle School Retreat / Tefillah
We have two Middle School prototypes colliding during the first month of school – the launch of our new daily Middle School minyan, which we unpacked at one of our “town halls” last spring and our inaugural Middle School Retreat at Camp B’nai Brith (CBB) of Ottawa. To help ease our Middle Schoolers into minyan and to take advantage of being away together at camp to set the right tone and to introduce the right habits, we are looking at the beginning of the school year (with regard to tefillah) in three phases:
- Middle School Tefillah Bootcamp: 9/2 – 9/11
- We envision these first days serving as a “Part I” conversation of some of the whys and whats of tefillah, as well as a straight bootcamp of the basic matbeah shel tefillah [literally “formula of prayer”] we intend to use with Middle School.
- These sessions will be non-performative and, thus, can be held as a full Middle School (or any combination we see fit) in either prayer space.
- Tefillah @ Middle School Retreat: 9/12 – 9/14
- We want to take advantage of these 2-3 days (depending on how we schedule out the travel days), with less time pressure, to launch “Part II” of the whys and whats of tefillah as a way of preparing for regular tefillah upon our return.
- Students will be encouraged to bring tallitot and tefillin on the retreat as we will be dividing into minyanim and beginning our work together.
- Tefillah @ Middle School Beginning 9/17
- We return from the Middle School retreat and launch our regular Middle School Tefillah on Monday, September 17th.
- Dr. Mitzmacher will facilitate the Traditional Egal minyan in the Chapel; Rabbi Finkelstein will facilitate the Traditional Non-Egal minyan in the Beit Midrash.
- We are looking at a Monday-Friday template for Middle School Tefillah
- Monday: Regular Minyan (straight davenning using the matbeah)
- Tuesday: Iyunei Tefillah (meeting in small groups for conversation; sort of an ongoing “Part III” of whys and whats)
- Wednesday: Regular Minyan
- Thursday: Torah Reading / Torah Study / Student Divrei Torah
- Friday: Kabbalat Shabbat (using a different matbeah)
Please bear in mind that these are prototypes – which means they are subject to constant tinkering as we learn what works and what doesn’t.
Hiring Update
We are pleased to share with you an update of new hires as we are almost completely staffed up for 2018-2019! We are thrilled that these new teachers will be joining our amazing returning teachers to make next year our best yet!
- Sharon Reichstein will be joining our Administrative Team this fall as our Director of Special Needs. Ms. Reichstein is a specialist who brings decades of experience working with students who have special needs and looks forward to sharing her expertise with our faculty, students and parents. As Director of Special Needs, Ms. Reichstein will be the central hub of ensuring all of our students’ needs are met through personalized plans.
- Michael Washerstein is a passionate and experienced educator coming to us from Philadelphia to be our new Middle School English & Jewish Studies Teacher. In addition to his secular educational experience, Mr. Washerstein’s time as a USY Advisor and experience as a MASA Teaching Fellow in Israel, will serve him well in his dual role at OJCS. Working closely with Rabbi Finkelstein, Mr. Washerstein looks forward to forging a strong connection with our Middle School students.
- Yardena Shainbach has relocated to Ottawa after many years with the English Montreal School Board. Ms. Shainbach is a fluent French speaker and will be taking on the Grades K-2 French position. She is currently working on her Master of Education through the University of Ottawa.
- Sigal Baray will be our new Kitah Gimmel Jewish Studies Teacher. Morah Sigal comes with decades of experience teaching Hebrew in Ottawa and is well known to our students from her time as an Occasional Teacher at OJCS. She is currently engaged in coursework from an internationally recognized university in Israel.
- Lara Vlajkov and Faye Mellenthin are certified teachers who will be Educational Assistants at OJCS next year. Ms. Vlajkov will be part of our Kindergarten team and looks forward to lending her artistic touch to her day-to-day teaching. Ms. Mellenthin will be working as an Educational Assistant with our Grade 3 class this year and comes with extensive teaching experience from the United Kingdom.
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