Category: Teaching & Learning

The Transparency Files: CAT*4 Results Part 1 (of 3)

[Note from Jon: If you have either read this post annually or simply want to jump to the results without my excessive background and contextualizing, just scroll straight to the graph.  Spoiler alert: we did great!]

Each year I fret about how to best facilitate an appropriate conversation about why our school engages in standardized testing (which for us, like many independent schools in Canada, is the CAT*4, but may soon become the CAT*5), what the results mean (and what they don’t mean), how it impacts the way in which we think about “curriculum” and, ultimately, what the connection is between a student’s individual results and our school’s personalized learning plan for that student.  It is not news that education is a field in which pendulums tend to wildly swing back and forth as new research is brought to light.  We are always living in that moment and it has always been my preference to aim towards pragmatism.  Everything new isn’t always better and, yet, sometimes it is.  Sometimes you know right away and sometimes it takes years.

The last few years, I have taken a blog post that I used to push out in one giant sea of words, and broke it into two, and now three parts, because even I don’t want to read a 3,000 word post.  But, truthfully, it still doesn’t seem enough.  I continue to worry that I have not done a thorough enough job providing background, research and context to justify a public-facing sharing of standardized test scores.  Probably because I haven’t.

And yet.

With the forthcoming launch of Annual Grades 9 & 12 Alumni Surveys and the opening of the admissions season for the 2025-2026 school year, it feels fair and appropriate to be as transparent as we can about how well we are (or aren’t) succeeding academically against an external set of benchmarks, regardless of what is happening in the wider world.  That’s what “transparency” as both a value and a verb looks like.  We commit to sharing the data and our analysis regardless of outcome.  We also do it because we know that for the overwhelming majority of our parents, excellence in secular academics is a non-negotiable, and that in a competitive marketplace with both well-regarded public schools and secular private schools, our parents deserve to see the school’s value proposition validated beyond anecdotes.

Now for the annual litany of caveats and preemptive statements…

We have not yet shared out individual reports to our parents.  First our teachers have to have a chance to review the data to identify which test results fully resemble their children well enough to simply pass on, and which results require contextualization in private conversation.  Those contextualizing conversations will take place in the next few weeks and, thereafter, we should be able to return all results at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

There are  two big ideas to keep in mind:

  • The goal is to track data across all grades to allow us to see if…
    • The same grade scores as well or better each year.
    • The same cohort grows at least a year’s worth of growth.
  • It is super important to have the proper understanding and perspective of what a “grade equivalent score” really is.

Grade-equivalent scores attempt to show at what grade level and month your child is functioning.  However, grade-equivalent scores are not able to show this.  Let me use an example to illustrate this.  In reading comprehension, your son in Grade 5 scored a 7.3 grade equivalent on his Grade 5 test. The 7 represents the grade level while the 3 represents the month. 7.3 would represent the seventh grade, third month, which is December.  The reason it is the third month is because September is zero, October is one, etc.  It is not true though that your son is functioning at the seventh grade level since he was never tested on seventh grade material.  He was only tested on fifth grade material.  He performed like a seventh grader on fifth grade material.  That’s why the grade-equivalent scores should not be used to decide at what grade level a student is functioning.

Let me finish this section by being very clear: We do not believe that standardized test scores represent the only, nor surely the best, evidence for academic success.  Our goal continues to be providing each student with a “floor, but no ceiling” representing each student’s maximum success.  Our best outcome is still producing students who become lifelong learners.

But I also don’t want to undersell the objective evidence that shows that the work we are doing here does in fact lead to tangible success.  That’s the headline, but let’s look more closely at the story.  (You may wish to zoom in a bit on whatever device you are reading this on…)

A few tips on how to read this:

  • Historically we would take this at the “.2” of each grade-level year, but the last two years we have taken it at the “.1”.  [This may have a slight impact on the comparative data.]  That means that “at grade-level” [again, please refer above to a more precise definition of “grade equivalent scores”] for any grade we are looking at would be 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, etc.  For example, if you are looking at Grade 6, anything below 6.1 would constitute “below grade-level” and anything above 6.1 would constitute “above grade-level.”
  • The maximum score for any grade is “.9” of the next year’s grade.  If, for example, you are looking at Grade 8 and see a score of 9.9, on our forms it actually reads “9.9+” – the maximum score that can be recorded.
  • Because of when we take this test – approximately one-two months into the school year – it is reasonable to assume a significant responsibility for results is attributable to the prior year’s teachers and experiences.  But, of course, it is very hard to tease it out exactly, of course.

What are the key takeaways from these snapshots of the entire school?

  • Looking at six different grades through six different dimensions there are only two instances out of thirty-six of scoring below grade-level: Grades 3 (2.8) and 5 (5.0) Spelling.  This is honestly the best we have ever scored!  Every other grade and every other subject is either at or above or way above.
  • For those parents focused on high school readiness, our students in Grades 7 & 8 got the maximum score that can be recorded for each and every academic category except for Grade 8 Computation & Estimation (still 9.4).  Again, our Grade 7s maxxed out at 8.9 across the board and our Grades 8s maxxed out at 9.9 across the board save one 9.4.  Again, this is – by far – the best we have ever scored.

It does not require a sophisticated analysis to see how exceedingly well each and every grade has done in just about each and every section.  In almost all cases, each and every grade is performing significantly above grade-level.  This is a very encouraging set of data points.

Stay tuned next week when we begin to dive into the comparative data.  “Part II” will look at the same cohort (the same group of students) over time.  “Part III” will look at the same grade over time and conclude this series of posts with some additional summarizing thoughts.

Goal-Setting Conferences 2.0

The weather may have just finally turned, although still unseasonably warm for Ottawa, and we had a noon dismissal followed by a pupil-free day.  That could only mean one thing here at the Ottawa Jewish Community School, it was time for Goal-Setting Conferences 2.0!

We have spent the last day-and-a-half welcoming parents and students to the second iteration of our Goal-Setting Conferences.  What are “Goal-Setting Conferences” you ask?

North Star alert!  At OJCS, our students own their own learning, which means learning to goal-set is of paramount importance to their growth and development – now and throughout their lives.  Our conferencing opportunity to sit together with you and your child to discuss personalised goals is swiftly approaching on Thursday, November 7th & Friday, November 8th, and so we are sending along some much needed information to support you and your child through this growth process.

[We launched this last year as a pilot and you can revisit this post if you want all the possible background and context.]

What’s new this year?

We iterated a new process for this year that comes in response to student, parent and teacher feedback.  We believe strongly that it helped everyone more easily connect the dots with regard to what was prioritised for each child, with their voice and their parents a part of the conversation.   One major change that took place prior to the conferences themselves, was that with the transition back to semesters and with Goal-Setting Conferences sitting on the calendar where first trimester Parent-Teacher Conferences used to live, we decided to add first and third quarter Progress Reports so that parents could be in the know on all matters academic and otherwise.  First quarter reports went out earlier this week and teachers facilitated any related conversations so that the deck was cleared to focus on goal-setting.

Here’s how we prepped:

  • A grade-level appropriate lesson was taught to help children understand the benefits of setting personal goals (whether academic, social skills-related, social-emotional and/or spiritual).
  • Our teachers met individually with each student to help them think about what goals would be most beneficial for them at this time.
  • We encouraged parents to discuss their own goals for their child(ren) with them, or to bring those ideas with them to Goal-Setting Conferences to add with the teacher.
  • Parents booked Goal-Setting Conferences to meet with the classroom teachers to have meaningful discussions about the goals selected and to make a plan to help invite success.

For those who are curious, here is how we templated the different kinds of goals students, teacher and parents could be reaching towards:

And for our older students, we focused on helping them create SMART Goals:

We worked really hard this year to upgrade the preparation and the experience, and the view from the lobby as families have come in and out these last two days seems to validate that the hard work paid off.  From here, we have a responsibility to be explicit about how and where these goals will live throughout this school year – including meaningful updates on future progress reports, report cards, and parent-teacher conferences.  Additionally, as is true with all pilots and prototypes, we will seek feedback now that this round of conferences is complete so we can further refine things.

Here’s to helping our students get…

Reading the Calendar as Text

There is an idea in Talmudic hermeneutics (which defines the rules and methods for investigation and exact determination of meaning of the scriptures in the Jewish Bible, within the framework of Rabbinic Judaism) that you can unlock meaning by looking at the juxtaposition of biblical texts that don’t appear to be linked or related on the surface.  [For example, the fact that the law of shatnez in Deuteronomy 22:11 (the forbidding of wearing garments of mixed wool and linen) is immediately followed by the law of tzitzit in Deuteronomy 22:12 leads the rabbis to deduce through the juxtaposition of sections that you can wear a garment bearing tzitzit that is a mix of wool and linen.  Don’t worry if none of what I just wrote makes sense to you.]

But what if we applied this rule of “juxtaposition of sections” to the calendar?

Over the next few days at OJCS, we have an “only in a Canadian Jewish day school” convergence of events: today’s annual Terry Fox Run, Monday’s National Truth & Reconciliation Day, and then we head into Rosh Hashanah.  While each occasion is distinct in purpose and history, there is something deeply powerful about experiencing them in close proximity.  For children and families in a Canadian Jewish K-8 day school, these moments offer profound lessons that transcend individual contexts and connect us in shared values of courage, reflection, and responsibility.

The Legacy of Terry Fox: Courage and Collective Action

Terry Fox is a national hero whose story resonates far beyond Canadian borders.  His Marathon of Hope is more than just a symbol of endurance; it reflects the courage to pursue what seems impossible.  For our students, participating in a Terry Fox Run is about more than running. It’s an opportunity to connect with the value of mesirut nefesh—the Jewish concept of self-sacrifice for a higher cause.  When children run in Terry’s name, they aren’t just contributing to cancer research; they are internalizing the idea that each of us can make a difference, no matter our limitations.  We teach them that Terry’s story is about turning personal adversity into global activism—a message that resonates deeply with our school’s North Stars.

National Truth & Reconciliation Day: Reflection and Responsibility

Our commitment to holding space for National Truth & Reconciliation Day into our school calendar has become an essential part of how we engage our students with Canada’s complex history.  The day is set aside to remember and honour the survivors of residential schools, acknowledging the pain and trauma inflicted upon Indigenous communities.  For a Jewish day school, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the intersections between our own historical experiences and those of Indigenous peoples.  Our students learn that justice, tzedek, isn’t just a concept confined to Jewish history but is a universal human responsibility.  We want our children to understand that reconciliation isn’t a one-time event but an ongoing commitment to learning, listening, and acting in solidarity.

Rosh Hashanah: A Time for Renewal and Change

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, offers a moment of spiritual reflection that echoes the themes of both Terry Fox and National Truth & Reconciliation Day.  As we enter the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe, we emphasize personal growth, repentance, and renewal.  We teach our students that while this holiday is about introspection, it is also about action—about making changes in our lives that positively impact those around us.  Much like Terry Fox’s unyielding dedication to his cause, and much like the ongoing process of reconciliation, Rosh Hashanah calls us to pursue tikkun olam—the repair of the world.  Whether in the context of family, community, or society at large, Rosh Hashanah reminds us that we have the power and responsibility to create meaningful change.

A Unique Canadian Jewish Experience

What makes these three juxtaposed events especially meaningful is the way they intersect within the unique fabric of our Canadian Jewish identity.  Terry Fox’s legacy, Truth & Reconciliation Day, and Rosh Hashanah each stand on their own, but together, they represent a powerful triad of courage, responsibility, and renewal.  In a Jewish day school like ours, we aim to provide students with the tools to engage fully as young Jewish Canadians, understanding that their identities are shaped by both their heritage and their broader Canadian context.  We want our students to ask big questions: How do we honour the past while building a better future? What does it mean to live as a proud Jew and a responsible citizen?

As this extraordinary week unfolds, I am eager to see the questions and discussions that arise among our students and families. How can we live with courage like Terry Fox?  What does it mean to actively participate in reconciliation efforts?  How can the reflection and renewal of Rosh Hashanah guide us in the year to come?  These are the kinds of questions that define the educational journey at OJCS.  While the answers may not come easily—or at all—the process of engaging with them is where the real learning happens.  As always, I’m excited to see how our students navigate the intersection of these significant moments, and I look forward to the lessons they will teach all of us in the process.

As the eve of a new Jewish Year approaches, it is my most sincerest hope that this is the year we’ve been waiting for.  To all the teachers, staff, parents, students, donors, supporters, and friends in this special school- thank you for your enthusiasm and your hard work.  5785 is shaping up to be a quite an amazing year!

From our family to yours, “Shanah tovah!”

The Transparency Files: How We Grow Our Teachers

When you have been doing this as long as I (somehow) have been doing this, it is natural to wind up with some sayings and “-isms” that help explain your “why” and core beliefs.  Here is one of mine: “We should treat our teachers at least as well as we do our students”.  There are lots of ways that can apply, but here I want to take a peek behind the curtain and share how we think about the critical work of growing our teachers.  There are three OJCS North Stars that we aspire to for our students that apply at least as well to our teachers: 1) We own our learning, 2) We learn better together, and 3) There is a floor, but no ceiling.

Just as we want our students to take responsibility for their own learning as they develop in school, we empower our teachers to take ownership of their professional growth.  The administration are not detectives looking to catch our teachers making mistakes, but partners in helping teachers become their best selves.  Just as we know that learning is not done best alone, we encourage our teachers to grow themselves in cohorts, in community and in partnerships.  And just as no two students are the same, we do not offer our teachers cookie-cutter PD; rather, we work with our teachers to co-create differentiated and personalized growth opportunities that meet them where they are and take them the next steps forward.  [This does not mean that the administration never proscribes or requires particular growth experiences if that is what is called for; but we do try to start with the teacher’s passions and preferences.]

If you look up you will see our school’s Learning Target, which I have blogged about in the past.  A quick reminder that,

This “Learning Target” is the instrument of alignment – meaning we can now make big and small decisions based on whether they bring our school closer to the target or not.  If our “North Stars” represent unchanging aspirational endpoints of our educational journey, our “Learning Target” functions as a map and a compass.

Our teachers measure themselves – and we measure them – against a detailed rubric that describes varying degrees of excellence across these five domains and seventeen sub-domains.  Each year we expect our teachers to demonstrate growth in (at least) one category.  That season starts now.  I am currently meeting with each teacher in our school to decide on a Professional Growth Project (PGP) that is intended to formally move that growth forward.  Once I meet with each teacher and determine their PGP, they are shared with the full administration so we can build a calendar of professional growth opportunities aligned with this year’s needs.

If you are an OJCS Parent and not interested in more detail, feel free to skip the next section…

Because this blog does attract a broader audience than current families at OJCS (sorry if that reads like a bit of a humblebrag), I am going to tack on a few more technical pieces of the hows and whats of what we call our Annual Performance Review Process or APReP…

For transparency sake, here is the same graphic we provide our teachers as an overview:

Things to know…

…anyone in the field who would like samples of all the documents that are (not) hyperlinked in the above JPEG, just put your email address in a comment or email me directly ([email protected]) and it will be my pleasure.

…this has been an iterative process over the years.  We have added features, taken away features, etc.  We currently distinguish between first-year teachers at OJCS, non-tenured teachers at OJCS, and tenured teachers at OJCS.  [For my non-union friends, at our school, teachers become tenured if they are asked back for their fourth consecutive year of service.]

…”ELT” is our Educational Leadership Team.

…first-year teachers do not have a PGP as it is enough to acclimate yourself to a new school.

…new this year, veteran teachers may volunteer to sit on committees in lieu of PGPs upon request and agreeance from the administration.

…the APReP process is how we determine who our teachers are each year and which portfolios they are given.  It is not intended to be a high-pressure or high-stakes process, but it does lead to meaningful outcomes.  It is rigourous and it is serious.

Our teachers are our most important variable in school success.  The more skilled, able, prepared and motivated our teachers…the greater the odds for all the outcomes we aspire towards.  We are looking forward to great year of learning at OJCS this year…not just for our students, but for our teachers as well!

OJCS Faculty Pre-Planning 2024: Disconnect to Reconnect

This is normally the post where we provide a peek behind the curtain of what happens at school the week before students arrive; the week that teachers return, engage in meaningful professional growth opportunities, plan together for the start of school, organize their rooms and spaces, etc.  This year, of course, with a renovation racing at breakneck speed towards the first day of school, we shifted the balance of Pre-Planning Week towards that last task – giving all the time needed to open these brand-new classrooms on the first day of school.

One advantage to a nearly 100% returning faculty and staff is that we can seamlessly move forward on work we have been doing these last few years to help OJCS reach ever-closer towards our North Stars.  And with enrollment still coming in (classic Ottawa), we are on track for a seventh consecutive year of growth.  As we prepare to (literally) open our doors next week to house students in classrooms which are now as excellent as the quality of teaching and learning contained therein, and as you prepare to enjoy the last holiday weekend marking the end of summer, let me paint a little picture of how we are preparing to make 2024-2025 the best year yet.

Here’s a curated selection from our activities…

The “Learned Helplessness”  Cafe

Each year (17 years, 8 at OJCS and counting!), I begin “Pre-Planning Week” with an updated version of the “World Café”.  It is a collaborative brainstorming activity centered on a key question.  Each year’s question is designed to encapsulate that year’s “big idea”.  This year’s big idea?  Disconnect to Reconnect!

As a segue to this one big idea, we started the World Café by exploring the notion of “learned helplessness” and whether or not our use of technology in school contributes to it.

Here’s what connected collaboration looks like…

The Anxious Generation

Beginning with last year’s prototype of a “Middle School Cell Phone Detox,” we are building upon this key idea:

It is always the right time to do what is necessary to ensure the wellbeing of our students.  A number of us on our Educational Leadership Team (beginning with Vice Principal Melissa Thompson) have been reading The Anxious Generation and following the discussion on one of its big ideas, “Wait Until 8th“.  Both deal with the negative impacts of constant and chronic use of smartphones, in particular, on young and developing minds.
This will be the ONE BIG IDEA for 2024-2025.  Parents will have an opportunity  to learn more at this year’s “Back to School Night”, as well as through parent education sessions and a series of cohorted book groups.  It will also be the theme of this year’s Middle School Retreat.  We are looking forward to sharing more…once we launch the start of school.
Behaviour Support @ OJCS 2.0
We took significant strides last year in the way in which we navigate behaviour, evidence of which can be found in our parent and faculty feedback data.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t continue to refine and revise our framework.   We do and we did.
Here is a reminder about the big idea that underpins our approach:
Here is our framework-at-a-glance:
Again, it cannot be understated how helpful it is having almost 100% returning faculty when it comes to these matters.  We can spend all our bandwidth on growing and improving.  We saw the impact of the framework last year; we look forward to greater impact with a second year under our collective parent-school collaborative belts.

Did we take a Shehekhiyanu Moment when we (finally!) were able to show our teachers their new classrooms?

Did I do one of my spiritual check-ins on the topic of the “Discomforting Comfort”?  Sure did!

Did Moreh David inject some ruach (North Star Alert!) into Pre-Planning Week with some all-staff shirah?  Yup!

Did Ms. Gordon go over all the guidelines and protocols and procedures and rules and mandates to keep us all in the know?  No doubt!

Did Josh Max train all our teachers on how to use our amazing new interactive whiteboards installed in all our classrooms and prepare our Lower School Teachers to use our 60 new iPads?  Yessiree!

Did our teachers have lots of time to meet and prepare and collaborate and organize and do all the things needed to open up school on Tuesday?  And then some!

All that and much more took place during this week of planning.  We are prepared to provide a rigorous, creative, innovative, personalised, and ruach-filled learning experience for each and every one of our precious students who we cannot wait to greet in person on the first day of school!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday weekend and a successful launch to the 2024-2025 school year…

A Middle School Cell Phone Detox

[NOTE: This is an extended version of an email sent this week to all parents in Grades 6-8.  I share it here as it likely will be of interest to our full OJCS community and possibly some of our fellow-travelers on the journey of schools.]

These are busy times indeed and with the rush of special events and the end of year coming into focus, this may seem like an odd time to launch yet another new initiative.  However, for us, it is always the right time to do what is necessary to ensure the wellbeing of our students.  A number of us on our Educational Leadership Team (beginning with Acting Vice Principal Melissa Thompson) have been reading The Anxious Generation and following the discussion on one of its big ideas, “Wait Until 8th“.  Both deal with the negative impacts of constant and chronic use of smartphones, in particular, on young and developing minds.  For those OJCS families continuing into 2024-2025, you can almost guarantee that will be the ONE BIG IDEA for next year – a leading theme of “Back to School Night”, the subject of parent education sessions, and a series of cohorted book groups focused on Grades 2-4.
But even right now, with just weeks left in the school year, our teachers in the Middle School are reporting an uptick in cell phone usage during school hours with resulting negative behaviours and a negative impact on social interactions.  Now, in theory, this should not be a thing.  Our school’s existing policy on cell phones is clear.  No OJCS student is permitted to possess a cell phone during school hours on campus property.  Yes, for those parents who wish for their children to have cell phones to use to safely navigate before or after school activities, they are permitted to have them, but they are supposed to remain in backpacks for the entire length of the school day.
Needless to say, we have not found complete success with enforcement, and both to calm the currents, and to learn for the future, we have moved forward with a full cell phone detox for middle school students at OJCS from May 15-24th.  Here is what it means: All cell phones that find their way to campus are being collected first period, stored in the office during the day, and returned to students last period.  (Any parent who does not want the school collecting their child(ren)’s cell phone(s), are keeping them home during these days.)  For local folk who follow the conversations with the public board or the Ministry of Education, you will notice that they, too, are shifting their policies in a way that is much more closely aligned with our proposed new direction.
Additionally, we have asked parents for their support in two areas: 1) Any student who wears an AppleWatch or any other kind of Smart Watch is being asked to either leave it at home, have it collected along with the cell phones, or have its connectivity disabled while at school.  We are checking on those students to ensure appropriate use.  2) Even with this detox, students still have their laptops/tablets.  Students are not supposed to be texting, emailing, or messaging with their parents during the school day.  This is impossible to 100% oversee, so even as we ramp up our supervision, we have asked for parent partnership in reminding their child(ren) by either not answering messages that come during school hours or – if parents are truly concerned by a message – to please redirect them to their teachers who are there to help them.
We are only a day or two into this experiment and we are grateful to our parents for their partnership in helping us to better enforce our existing policies.  At OJCS, we want children to be free from distraction and distress while they should be safe at school to learn and to engage with their peers in real life.  We’ll see what happens and will report back our findings and recommendations about next steps.
Thanks to all OJCS Parents who took the time to fill out this year’s Annual Parent Survey!  Although there has been a slight uptick in reponses, we are still far shy of a plurality of students/families.  I am going to keep the survey open until May 21st hoping that the holiday weekend provides you with the additional bandwidth to contribute your feedback.  These results do matter and directly impact programmatic choices, so please take the small amount of time it requires and make your voice heard.

Teacher Appreciation Week 2024

It feels like each year there is something from the outside world that warrants an explanation as to why this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week is worthy of your added attention.  Whether it was COVID in prior years or October 7th in this one, the job of being a teacher has only gotten more complicated…and more important.  And, of course, here at OJCS what with the relocation and the renovation underway, this year all the more so…

Teachers are not infallible.  Teachers make mistakes.  Teachers can do the wrong thing.  A hopeful return to giving teachers the benefit of the doubt won’t mean blind faith.  Giving teachers the benefit of the doubt doesn’t mean parents shouldn’t advocate for their children.  Giving teachers the benefit of the doubt doesn’t meant that sometimes parents don’t have a better solution to an issue than their teachers.  The best of schools foster healthy parent-teacher relationships explicitly because of these truths.  Both partners are required to produce the best results.  But somewhere in between my time as a student to my time as an educator, the culture changed.  Respect for teachers went from being automatic to being earned to being ignored.

How about this year, let’s assume the best of our teachers – even when they have difficult truths to share.  Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt – even when they don’t communicate as well as they could.  Let’s treat them as partners – even when they make mistakes.  Let’s not simply tell our teachers that we appreciate them; let’s actually appreciate them.

Looking for ideas?

Here is what we will be doing for our teachers as a school:

How about you?

Pump up this great “Teacher Appreciation Week” playlist, pick an item from below (aggregated from lots of blog posts) and make a teacher’s day:

  • A personalized note or email
  • A homemade craft
  • Caffeine
  • A hot meal
  • Gift cards
  • Plants
  • A personalized thank-you sign
  • Small treasures
  • Something special that reminds a teacher of his/her student(s)
  • Alcohol (but check first!)
  • Show up for school!
  • Spa treatment
  • Experiential gifts (like a remote yoga or dance class)
  • Donations to a dream project
  • Year-Round Advocacy

I look forward to sharing results from the Annual Parent Survey later this month.  If you have NOT yet contributed and you want your results included, please fill yours out by Monday, May 15th.  Please and thank you!

A Winter’s April Trip Around the OJCS Student Blogfolio-Sphere

Yes, it is April and, yes, it is snowing.

If you can’t call a snow day and cuddle up with a good book in front of the fire, you could do the next best thing…cuddle up with a great set of student blogfolios and let the fire of their inspiration warm your soul.

I have not done this is a while, but because blogs and blogfolios do makeup the spine of which much else is built around; and because they are outward facing – available for you and the general public to read, respond and engage with – I do want to make sure that I keep them top of mind by seasonally (even when the seasons are all mixed up!) putting them back in front of parents, community and fellow travelers on the road of education.

For a significant portion of my professional life, I had two children in (my) schools where they maintained blogfolios.  I subscribed to them, of course, but I am not going to pretend that I read each and every posting, and certainly not at the time of publication.  So whenever I do this, please know that it is never about shaming parents or relatives whose incredibly busy lives makes it difficult to read each and every post.  As the head of a school where blogfolios are part of the currency, I try to set aside time to browse through and make comments – knowing that each comment gives each student a little dose of recognition and a little boost of motivation.  But I am certainly not capable of reading each and every post from each and every student and teacher!

When I am able to scroll through, what I enjoy seeing the most is the range of creativity and personalization that expresses itself through their aesthetic design, the features they choose to include (and leave out), and the voluntary writing.  This is what we mean when we talk about “owning our own learning” and having a “floor, but not a ceiling” for each student.  [North Star Alert!]

It is also a great example of finding ways to give our students the ability to create meaningful and authentic work.  But, it isn’t just about motivation – that we can imagine more easily.  When you look more closely, however, it is really about students doing their best work and reflecting about it.  Look at how much time they spend editing.  Look at how they share peer feedback, revise, collaborate, publish and reflect.

Our classroom blogs and student blogfolios are important virtual windows into the innovative and exciting work happening at OJCS.  In addition to encouraging families, friends and relatives to check it out, I also work hard to inspire other schools and thought-leaders who may visit my blog from time to time to visit our school’s blogosphere so as to forge connections between our work and other fellow-innovators because we really do “learn better together” [North Star Alert!]

So please go visit our landing page for OJCS Student Blogfolios.  [Please note that due to privacy controls that some OJCS students opt for avatars instead of utilizing their first names / last initials which is our standard setting.  That may explain some of the creative titles.  Others opt for password protected accounts and a small number remain entirely private.]

Seriously go!  I’ll wait…

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English, French and Hebrew; Language Arts, Science, Math, Social Studies, Jewish Studies; Art, Music, PE, and Student Life and so much more…our students are doing some pretty fantastic things, eh?

I will continue to encourage you to not only check out all the blogs on The OJCS Blogosphere, but I strongly encourage you to offer a quality comment of your own – especially to our students.  Getting feedback and commentary from the universe is highly motivating…

I was happy to be a guest on a colleague’s podcast last week and it just so happened that blogs and blogfolios became a big part of the conversation!  If you are interested…check it out:

OJCS Celebrates Innovation Day 2024

Yes, if you are a current parent in our school, you know that we celebrated “Innovation Day” before we celebrated Purim, but my blog has flipped the order.  (I really wanted to get my Purim post out before Purim.)  That does not mean that we didn’t have an AMAZING “Innovation Day” worth sharing more broadly with our community.  The opposite…we had a GREAT day.

I want to be super clear and name that not only did I have virtually nothing to do with the planning and facilitation of this day, I also had virtually nothing to do with the documentation of this day as well.  It is my pleasure to use my blog to showcase the work of those who did.

The primary drivers of Innovation Day at OJCS were Josh Ray, who serves as our Makerspace Lead and Middle School Science Teacher, and our Lower School Science Teachers.  Everything that you are going to see below is the fruit of their labours – with photo collages captured by Lianna Krantzberg, who dabbles in social while serving as our Student Life Lead.   Together with other special events such as Global Maker Day, the JNF Hackathon, the Global Student Showcase, along with regularly scheduled lessons in our Makerspace, Innovation Day shows how OJCS serves as an incubator of innovation for it students (and teachers!).

So.  What was this day all about?

Grade 8 – Simple Machines Project

We often say that doing something with a machine requires less work. In this design challenge, you will be responsible for helping design a new sled for students at OJCS to use. Using as many of the six simple machines you learned about in class, your task is to use the design thinking process to design, test, and build a simple machine sled prototype that students can safely use. You will give your innovative sled a name and create a pitch to market your sled to potential investors. May the best sled win!

Your Goal: Working on your own or with a partner, decide which simple machines will be part of your sled design. After researching the six different types of simple machines and realistic DIY sled builds, create a plan for your prototype. Determine what materials you will need and the size and quantity of materials. You may use any materials from home and supplement any other necessary materials from Home Depot. Then, plan how you will proceed. All sections will be presented as part of a 5-minute product pitch that must include the following 5 sections (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test). The pitch will include all information displayed on a tri-fold board presented in front of investors (judges) and will be graded based on the judging rubric.

Grade 7 – Animal Structures Project

All animals, like people, require shelter to protect them from the harsh elements of nature as well as predators. In this design challenge, you will take on the role of an engineer and be responsible for helping design an innovative structure for an animal of your choosing. Using the information about stability, forces, symmetry, and structure types you learned about in class, your task is to use the design thinking process to design a new shelter prototype that animals can safely use using the CoSpaces VR program. You will give your innovative shelter a name and create a pitch to market your structure to potential investors. May the best structure win!

Your Goal: Working on your own or with a partner, decide which animal you would like to build a house/shelter for. After researching stability, forces, symmetry, and structure types as well as the current animal shelters for your chosen animal on the market, you will create a plan for your prototype. Using the Five Freedoms as a guide, determine what structure type you are going to construct, what materials your structure will need, and what strategies you will use to provide stability. You will also need to determine what forces (internal/external) your structure will need to withstand and describe what techniques you used to provide strength and avoid structural failure. You will include this information in your structure design using the virtual reality CoSpaces program for potential investors to see. All sections of the Design Thinking Process will be presented as part of a 5-minute product pitch that must include the following 5 sections (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test). The pitch will include all information displayed on a tri-fold board presented in front of investors (judges) and will be graded based on the judging rubric.

Grade 6 – Electricity Project

Your Goal: In this project, you will build a series circuit that lights a bulb using a power source and conducting wires. Then predict what will happen to the brightness of your bulb if you add more bulbs or batteries to your series circuit, and test your prediction.

All sections will be presented as part of a Google Slides (or equivalent) presentation with each slide representing each step in the Scientific Method.

Grade 5

Using the design thinking framework, the students answered the question: How can we provide electricity to community outdoor spaces in an energy efficient way that still maintains the safety and “fun” aesthetic of the space?

Grade 4

Grade 3

We have jumped right into our Strong and Stable Structures unit in preparation for Innovation Day: 1.) Assess effects on society and the environment of strong and stable structures. 2.) Assess the environmental impact of structures built by various animals, including structures built by humans.

  • We worked with Marshmallows and Toothpicks to learn about strong shapes and building strong structures!
  • We have taken the information we learned from this activity and applied it to the designing and building of newspaper bridges!

Will the bridges be able to hold up THREE heavy textbooks!?

Grade 2

Grade One

Students are keeping busy with their projects for Innovation Day. They are really putting in the effort, collaborating and designing their projects to make them the best they can be. Building something from scratch can be a real challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity to learn new skills and collaborate with others.

Kindergarten

Thank you so much to everyone who was able to join us for Innovation Day in KA and KB on Wednesday!!  The students worked so hard to create their flying machines and to learn about the 4 forces of flight.   They were so proud to share what they had learned and created with you.  You can watch and listen to the “What Makes Airplanes Fly?” song here and check out the pictures of the process of creating and testing their bamboo helicopters, hovercrafts, and hoop gliders…

Junior Kindergarten

A huge ‘kol ha’kavod’ to JK for their first innovation day! What a fun morning! Thank you to all of our guests for popping in to experiment with us!

Leading up to this morning, JK was heavily invested in learning about what makes objects sink or float. They learned about density, and even conducted an eggsperiment – no, wait, an experiment – to change the density of water so that an object that sank (an egg haha) was now able to float! Check out the booklets your children brought home in their backpacks to re-create the experiment at home! Their main challenge was to build a popsicle stick raft to get their dinosaur across the water table. As the joke goes… Why did the dinosaur cross the river? To get to the other side.

   

Did our students have an amazing day putting all their passion, talent, knowledge and creativity to good use?

I’d say “yes” – this was a great day of learning at OJCS!

La célébration de la semaine de la Francophonie 2024

We are back after February Break and are in that special sprint towards Passover Break – with a calendar chock full of ruach.  Let’s take a peek forward in anticipation of what should be a very exciting week at the Ottawa Jewish Community School.  Let me welcome you to the Second Annual La célébration de la semaine de la Francophonie, featuring our third annual Francofête.  [For a bit of background, you are welcome to revisit last year’s post.]

We are so pleased to let you know that next week (March 4-8) will be “La célébration de la semaine de la Francophonie 2024”!  The goals are simple – to spend a week marinating in French, celebrating the work of our students and teachers, highlighting the strides our French program has taken in the last few years, and elevating French beyond the boundaries of French class, into the broader OJCS culture.  The highlight will be Francofête on Thursday, March 7th at 6:30 PM in the OJCS Gym.

So…what to expect from “La célébration de la semaine de la Francophonie 2024”?

  • To set the ambience, we will have a customized French music playlist to greet our students each day upon entry and announcements and anthems en français.
  • On Monday, students will experience special activities and programs during their French classes.  This will include the dix mots de la francophonie (the ten words for this year’s francophonie).  What are they?  Glad you asked!  Learn along with our students and see if you can guess the theme!
    • Adrénaline
    • Prouesse
    • Échappée
    • Faux départ
    • Mental
    • S’encorder
    • Collectif
    • Hors-jeu
    • Champion
    • Aller aux oranges
  •  Students will learn about l’Organisation Mondiale de la Francophonie dans le monde (World Organization of La Francophonie) and Canada’s role therein.  They will also take virtual tours of museums from Francophonie locations.
  • On Tuesday, we will hold a major dress rehearsal for the Francofête.
  • On Wednesday, our students will participate in French-language sports and activities that celebrate the “Diversity of Sports” as well as visit our very own pop-up OJCS French Café where they will enjoy authentic (kosher) French treats.
  • Thursday brings us the Francofête!  Parents will be welcome to join us at 6:30 PM and each of our grades will share songs, dances, knowledge and the joie d’apprendre that comes with French learning at OJCS.
  • We’ll finish the week with a special viewing of age-appropriate French films.

And many more surprises…

So there you go…voilà!

Parents at OJCS will hopefully look forward to lots of opportunities to peek in and/or to see pictures and videos during this year’s celebration and to join us for the Francofête.  We’ll look forward to building on this in future years as we continue to showcase French in our trilingual school.

Great appreciation to our entire French Faculty, and to Madame Wanda in particular, who has led this year’s celebration.  This should be a week filled with ruach – errr…joie de vivre! [North Star Alert!  En Français!]