100th day is Wednesday!

100th day of school is this coming Wednesday, March 1st!

Please send in your child’s “100 items” tomorrow so we can prepare to kick off the celebrations in the morning. The items have to be 100 of something (like buttons, stickers, etc), fit in your child’s backpack, and it cannot be food. If you need ideas or want to share what your child has chosen, please reach out or comment on this post. Thank you for your help!

École Enchantée – Winter Fun Day Edition!

Today JK and SK explored snow through the lens of a snow sculptor. They gathered piles of snow, transported it with shovels and sleds, and used tools like branches and popsicle sticks to carve out forms. Once their masterpieces were completed, they used washable tempra paint to add some beautiful colour. Please feel free to tour their outdoor gallery at pick up this afternoon, or peruse our photos from today!

Bonnes vacances!

M. Ebbs et Mme. Suzanne

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

Monday, Feb. 20 – Friday, Feb. 24 – Family Day/Reading Week (NO SCHOOL)
Monday, Feb. 27 – School Resumes
Wednesday, Mar. 1 – 100th Day
Friday, Mar. 3 – 3:00 pm Dismissal begins

100th day is coming…

The 100th day of school is on Wednesday, March 1st!

As part of our 100th day celebration, we will be doing all kinds of STEAM challenges. One of those challenges is about sorting and grouping. Please discuss with your child what “100 of something” they would like to bring in (we talked about it this morning at our circle) and send in by Tuesday, February 28th. This should be 100 of one item – for example 100 paper clips, 100 buttons, 100 stickers, etc. The only rules are that your “100 of something” cannot be food and it should (preferably) fit inside your child’s backpack. Be creative! You can always reply to this post or send a message if you’re not sure, or if you have any questions.

Winter fun day!

This Thursday, February 16th is Winter Fun Day at OJCS!

A few important things for you to know:

  • Morning drop-off will be on the playground as usual.

  • Students do not need to wear uniforms, but please dress appropriately for the weather! Layers and cozy clothing encouraged!

  • Please send an extra set of clothes, especially socks, pants, and waterproof gloves/mittens. Some of you already have a set in the class – if you’re not sure, let us know and we will check!

  • We will be having our École Enchantée (French Forest school) experience Thursday instead of Wednesday.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Introducing École Enchantée!

This year, we are excited to introduce an outdoor education component to the Kindergarten French program – called École Enchantée. Rooted in land-based learning practices, like Forest School, this bi-weekly class (every other Wednesday) combines play-based learning, self-directed exploration, and collaboration to help students develop critical inquiry, self-confidence, and the ability to navigate risk. Bringing learning outside the classroom is an excellent opportunity for students to connect with themselves and create healthy relationships with their peers.   

A few weeks ago, JK and SK students had their inaugural École Enchantée class as a soft launch of the program. Students were challenged to find something “joli” in nature and frame it, as if it were art… To see photos, click here!

Yesterday afternoon, we held our first official outdoor class and went on a nature walk to explore “les arbres en hiver”. Students examined tree shapes, forms, and characteristics. They were then challenged to draw “un arbre en hiver”. To see photos, click here!

Your children are really enjoying this component to our Kindergarten French program and we are excited for the next experience! Please ensure that your child packs an extra set of dry clothes (especially socks and gloves/mittens!). Thank you for your support, and if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to reach out!

À la prochaine,

M. Ebbs et Mme Suzanne

 

Today we celebrated the birthday of the trees, and the birthday of one of our friends in class!

We kicked off the celebrations by planting the beans and lentils that we germinated last week. They will stay in our class all this week, to be taken home on Friday, so we can see and track their growth. We reviewed the life cycle of a plant (seed – root – sprout – plant) and talked about how trees are good for people, animals, and the environment.

Next, we had our favourite fruit show and tell, with kiwi, mango, pear, figs, grapes, pomegranate, cherries, and a pomelo! Everyone was excited to talk about their fruit and we used our five senses to examine them.

Then, we had a Tu Bi’shevat seder with our reading buddies in grade 4. We learned about the 7 minim (species), and enjoyed eating them! We made grass heads together, which were sent home today. They need a nice sunny spot and water every day. Please comment and/or send pics when the grass grows!

Then we celebrated our friend’s birthday and had some yummy cupcakes. A BIG thank you to his family for giving our class an awesome tug-of-war rope! We are SO excited to play with it!

All in all it was a very busy day. We hope they all sleep well tonight!

 

Tu Bi’shevat higiya! Tu Bi’shevat is coming!

JK has been very busy getting ready to celebrate Tu Bi’shevat on Monday! We talked about the importance of trees to people, animals, and the environment, and created some beautiful handprint tree art. We also started to germinate some beans and lentils, and learned about the life cycle of a seed: seed – sprout – root – plant. On Monday, we will join our grade 4 reading buddies and have a Tu Bi’shevat seder and a little surprise project!
Stay tuned!