I am looking out my window to an empty and sunny courtyard that will soon be filled with teachers, students and parents (all socially distanced of course!) in the days and weeks ahead. As I prepare to start my fifth year as Head of OJCS, I look back in awe and gratitude at what we have accomplished thus far and – more importantly – look forward with enthusiasm and joy at all we are going to accomplish together in the years ahead, starting with the one right in front of us.
Thanks to all the parents who replied, asked questions, shared concerns, etc., after last week’s list of FAQs! Your feedback has been really helpful and clarifying. Hopefully you read the update on HEPA filtration in your parent email and you can track new questions and answers about all things COVID by checking the COVID FAQ page of our school’s website.
Back in June, we decided to go ahead and share out our annual “Transparency Files” post announcing the “2021-2022 OJCS Faculty” even though we knew (and stated) that it was (more than normally) subject to change. And we were right! We are living in complicated times and they have indeed required us to be more creative and strategic in our staffing. Before proceeding directly to the list, let me make some exciting introductions…
It is our pleasure to introduce the newest members of our team!
- Oriana Laderoute and Wendy MacPhee are well known to our OJCS students and parents. This dynamic duo will be partnering to lead our Junior and Intermediate Resource Program, alongside Ashley Beswick, our Primary Special Education Lead, and Sharon Reichstein, our Director of Special Education. Both Wendy and Oriana have formidable credentials, including their Special Education Specialist qualifications, as well as both having over three decades of teaching experience with local school boards, and internationally. We feel extremely blessed to be welcoming them back to the OJCS family. They both hold a deep respect for students and a passion for working with students supported by IEPs and Support Plans.
- And speaking of worldly educators, our new Grade 5 General Studies teacher, Abby Whitteker, has just returned from several years of teaching internationally in Taiwan and Vietnam as a Lead General Studies teacher. Ms. Whitteker, a fitness enthusiast, will also be teaching Physical Education to Grades 2B, 3, 5 & 6. She can’t wait to meet her new students and join us in following our North Stars!
- Another new addition to OJCS, with a bright and sunny disposition is Liat Levy, who will be leading the Hebrew Aleph class at the Grade 6 level for those students who are learning above grade-level Hebrew. She will work closely with Morah Ruthie, who will continue to teach Grade 7 & 8 Hebrew Aleph. Liat, an educator with a decade of teaching experience, recently relocated from Israel with her family. She will also be supporting with Jewish Studies learning in our Lookstein classes for Grades 6-8. Liat is looking forward to meeting everyone soon. She’s also hoping to share her passion for yoga and mindfulness as a Middle School elective.
- We are also poised to welcome Dana Doron, another Israeli educator permanently relocating her family to Ottawa soon to join our faculty. Dana is a celebrated teacher who found success at many varied schools for over two decades. She specializes in Special Education. Morah Dana looks forward to leading our Grade 4 Jewish Studies program.
- Joining our French faculty at the Grade One level is Evie Cohen. Evie began her career at OJCS as an Occasional Teacher before moving on to teach French for many years at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Evie specializes in teaching in French in the primary grades and we welcome her to the OJCS fold. Evie will be collaborating closely with Madame Stephanie, who taught Grade One French last year, until she leaves for her maternity leave in October. Bienvenue, Madame Evie!
- We are thrilled to introduce our extraordinarily talented Arts specialist, Tashi Farmilo-Marouf, who will be leading our visual arts and drama classes. Tashi is a published children’s writer and illustrator, as well as professional visual artist. You can peek at her work here: https://www.tashisart.com. Tashi is beyond excited to lead our students on a creative journey this school year. She has a passion for teaching children art and some of you may already know her from her role teaching through the Sheltoons program here in Ottawa.
With these amazing newcomers joining our already phenomenal returning cast, let’s take another look at the big picture:
The 2021-2022 OJCS Faculty & Staff
Lower School General Studies Faculty
- Junior Kindergarten: Susan Wollock (plus French) & Mushki Kurtz (EA)
- Kindergarten: Andréa Black, Sophie Pellerin (French) & Taylor Smith (EA)
- Grade One: Ann-Lynn Rapoport & Evie Cohen (French) [TWO Classes]
- Grade Two: Lianna Krantzberg & Sophie Pellerin (French) [TWO Classes]
- Grade Three: Julie Bennett & Aaron Polowin (French) [TWO Classes]
- Grade Four: Faye Mellenthin, Aaron Polowin (Core) & Sophie Pellerin (Extended) [TWO Classes]
- Grade Five: Abby Whitteker, Aaron Polowin (Core) & Dr. Sylvie Raymond (Extended)
Lower School Jewish Studies Faculty
- Kitah JK: Susan Wollock
- Kitah Gan: Andréa Black
- Kitah Alef: Ada Aizenberg [TWO Classes]
- Kitah Bet: Bethany Goldstein [TWO Classes]
- Kitah Gimmel: Sigal Baray [TWO Classes]
- Kitah Dalet: Dana Doron [TWO Classes]
- Kitah Hay: Marina Riklin
Middle School Faculty
- Science: Josh Ray
- Mathematics: Chelsea Cleveland
- Grade Six Language Arts: Mike Washerstein
- Grades Seven & Eight Language Arts: Melissa Thompson
- Social Studies: Deanna Bertrend
- Extended French: Wanda Canaan
- Core French: Dr. Sylvie Raymond
- Hebrew: Ruthie Lebovich (Hebrew Alef for 7 & 8), Liat Levy (Hebrew Alef for 6), and Marina Riklin (Hebrew Bet)
- Jewish Studies: Mike Washerstein
- Rabbinics: Lookstein Virtual Jewish Academy (supervised by Liat Levy)
Specialists
- Art: Tashi Farmilo-Merouf
- Drama: Tashi Farmilo-Merouf
- PE: Susan Wollock (JK), Andréa Black (SK), Andréa Black & TBD (Grade 1), Abby Whitteker (Grades 2B, 3, 5 and 6), TBD (Grades 2A & 4) Josh Ray & Abby Whitteker (Grade 6) & Josh Ray (Grades 7 & 8)
- Library: Brigitte Ruel
Department of Special Education
- Keren Gordon, Vice Principal
- Sharon Reichstein, Director of Special Needs
- Ashley Beswick, Resource Teacher & Behavior Support Coordinator
- Wendy MacPhee/Oriana Laderoute, (Job-Shared) Resource Teachers
- Chelsea Cleveland, Math Resource
Education Leadership Team
- Melissa Thompson, Teaching & Learning Coordinator
- Deanna Bertrend, Student Life Coordinator
Administration
- Josh Max – Director of Technology
- Ellie Kamil – Executive Assistant to the Head of School
- Staci Zemlak-Kenter – Director of Development
- Emily Jiang – Chief Accountant
- Jennifer Greenberg – Director of Recruitment
- Keren Gordon – Vice-Principal
- Dr. Jon Mitzmacher – Head of School
As you can see, we have a lot to be enthusiastic about heading into this year. Wishing you a wonderful weekend as you soak up the last rays of summer.
It is going to be a GREAT Year.
#BeExcited
