Hello, Grade 4 Families,
Here is the video mentioned in my email earlier today. This is a one-stop-shop video to help guide any new( and old,) online learners to be as successful as possible. It goes through the online schedule, how and where to submit work, and the ‘to-do’ list graphic organizer
MissM
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.
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 students also became excited by the possibility of more people reading their blog posts. Dr. Mitzmacher was the first one to read the blogfolios, and guess what? He saw all of our essays about persuading him to have more field trips and more breaks in the school day. They loved reading and replying to his comments.
Students have chosen to write about topics they are passionate about and they are using their blog folios to share their voice with a greater audience. The amount of writing has increased and the quality has improved too. It is so interesting to read about the different topics the students are passionate about. Morah Yardena has them writing blog posts in Hebrew too. Some of the students have also started to publish some French work as well.
I think the writing will continue throughout the summer and hopefully for the years to come. I couldn’t be happier!
Oh, how time flies! It is hard to believe we have been learning online for two and a half months. We thought it would be fun to take a little trip back in time to highlight some of the activities and holidays that have taken place.
Israel Connection
We connected with a Grade 4 class in Tel Aviv a few times. Here is a little piece Sarah wrote on how we got ready for our first meet:
Hello, I am going to be talking about our ‘special Google Meet.’ (it’s a Zoom, though);) so for this, we are going to be meeting another country. We have no idea what country yet, but we will be asking questions to them. They will give us clues, and soon we will be able to find out. Some of the questions were: Do you live in a small or big country? Do you live on an island? After we got all the questions answered, we figured out they lived/came from Israel! for our first meet.
We loved talking with each other about learning Hebrew and English and about our favourite Jewish holidays. We also talked about how we learn from home, and how Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations would be different this year. During a follow-up meeting, we played a special Kahoot game to learn about our countries. We ended our sessions by saying, even though our countries are so far apart, we are connected by our hearts. Gali Ben Avri, the English teacher, also invited us to meet the mayor of Tel Aviv: we were so excited. Unfortunately, our meeting was canceled when businesses and schools were opened up again in Israel.
Yom Hazikaron
The Grade 4 classes had a special guest visit our virtual class for Yom Hazikaron. Tobin Kaiman talked of his firsthand experiences as a former lone soldier in the I.D.F. The students were engaged throughout the talk and asked meaningful questions. They were very surprised to learn that our special guest was also Morah Yardena’s husband. Tobin was also my student in first and second grade
Yom Ha’atzmaut
We celebrated in seven minutes and 20 seconds with Dr. Marcovitz. We also created some poems and songs about why we love Israel. The day ended beautifully with Yom Ha’aztmaut celebrations streamed in from Israel.
By: Eden
Your flag is blue and white,
You shine a very bright light.
The people are strong,
We sing your song,
The land of milk and honey.
Israel Haikus
by Emet
Israel’s awesome
Duh obviously
I like falafel
Magen David and
Tallit stripes blow in the wind
Flag of Israel
ישראל הייקו
5.מגן דוד ו-
7.תליית פס נשוף רוח
5.דגל ישראל
Grandparents’ Day
It was special welcoming all of our grandparents into our virtual classroom. We had grandparents from Israel, Vancouver, Montreal, and Ottawa come and spend time with us. We had a chance to share a special video about the kind and caring activities we did this year. Time was also spent discussing mitzvahs our grandparents did as children and making a plan to show kindness in the future.
I
Public Speaking
This had to be the event that most of the students were waiting for in 4th grade. We started to prepare ourselves for this event in 3rd grade by holding our own in-class public speaking day. The students knew that by the time they hit the 4th grade the speeches they wrote and presented could get them into the finals to compete against the 5th-grade students. All I can say is each and every speech was terrific. Morah Yardena and I learned about endangered animals, dogs, cats, the heart, viruses, stress, keeping Canadian waters clean, and nature. We wish our top six finalists good luck as they head to the Public Speaking finals next week.
Maccabiah Games
It was a day full of fun and ruach. Students, parents, teachers, all took part and had so much fun. The missions were terrific and creative. The captains taught us dances and songs. Special thanks go out to Mrs. Bertrand and the whole organizing team.
SPIRIT WEEK IN GRADE 4
Spirit Week was full of Ruach, costumes, and laughter. It was also our last four days in school together, and boy what a week it was.
Our classes enjoyed Crazy Hair Day, Purim, Dress like a Teacher/Student Day, and finally a Book or Movie Character Day.
Our favourite day had to be Dress like a Teacher/Student Day. Morah Yardena and I dressed like students and a few students dressed like each of us. It was uncanny to see how the students know us and could even act like us as well. One of the students dressed up like Dr. Mitzmacher our Head of School. He had the chance to visit the office and even sit in Dr. Mitzmacher’s chair.
Morah Yardena and I decided to take all the teachers to the staffroom so our new Dr. Mitzmacher could conduct a staff meeting.
We had so much fun during the week that we will always remember the last physical week in school with fondness
Today was a very special day for the Grade 4 students. Morah Yardena arranged for the students to bake hamentashen for the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank this morning. The students read the recipes and made the hamentashen all on their own, they turned out beautifully. They had fun collaborating, working on their chesed-kindness project. The Ruach in the class was amazing. We really do work better together!
Tu Bishvat
Tu Bishvat is a holiday where we celebrate the birthday of the trees and the fruit that grow in Israel. The fruits are
Wheat
Barley
Grapes
Pomegranate
Olives
Dates
We had a Seder where we said the different blessings and ate these fruits. We had lots of fun here are some pictures. I liked celebrating Tu Bishvat in my class.
By Noah
JDAIM2020 Door Decorating Challenge
February is Jewish Disability Awareness Acceptance &Inclusion month. The Knesset brought forth the idea to have all classroom doors decorated to showcase how important we feel about acceptance and inclusion for everyone of all abilities. Morah Yardena and I had fun working with the children to decorate our classroom doors. Two of our North Stars at the school are We learn better together, and Each person is responsible for the other.
והדרת פני זקן Vehadarta P’nei Zaken Project
This past Wednesday the grade 4 class is started a special program called והדרת פני זקן Vehadarta P’nei Zaken: Respect the Elderly. It is an intergenerational program that will links the children with residents at Hillel Lodge. The goal of Vehadarta P’nei Zaken is to provide the children with an enriching opportunity to establish a relationship with an elderly person and learn about his/her lifetime achievements. In return, the Hillel residents will have the opportunity to make a connection with our students.
On Wednesday the students had the opportunity to meet their residents and get to know them and start the interview process. It was wonderful to see the interaction between the students and the residents. The students were very sweet, polite and great interviewers. One student was lucky to be paired up with her Zaidy for the interview. Marilyn who runs the program was touched when she saw a resident smile for the first time in a very long while. I have to admit I teared up when I saw Marilyn get emotinal. It is such a beautiful program.We will conduct our second round of interviews after the February Break.
In addition to the interview, we will have other opportunities to share time together, (such as Shabbat, Passover Seder, lunchtime chat/games, etc…) build a rapport with the residents and thus enhance the students’ appreciation of the elderly while engaging in this worthwhile activity.
The students will then work on writing narratives about the residents’ lives. A final presentation will be prepared and to be presented to the residents and their families.
We are very excited to share the news that we will be launching student blogfolios in Grade Four. The students are very excited to take greater ownership of their learning and have a platform to share their thinking and learning with others. Your child will be bringing home a letter regarding student blogfolios (it should be in their note tote)
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Public Blogfolio – This student has been blogging since Kindergarten. It’s wonderful to see how her learning has grown and developed over time.
Public Avatar Blogfolio – This student has just begun her blogging journey and has chosen to keep her name and identity private. We are still able to see her growth and interact with her on her journey. Notice how students have learned to respect her privacy by using the alias in the comments as well.
Password Protected Blogfolio – This student has shared her name and is open to leaving some posts public, however when she shares pictures or videos, she has password protected the post. Only those who have been approved by her or her parents are allowed to know the password.
Private Blogfolio – This blog is completely private. Unless you have an Edublogs account and have been granted access to this blog, you will not be able to see the content.
If you could please sign and return the permission form by Thursday, that would be greatly appreciated!
The students and I are ready to take our learning to the next level. This past summer I even started my own blog so that I would be ready to help them on their own blogging journeys.
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