School Happenings & Events

Transcription

1 School Happenings & Events Second Annual Grandfriends Day!!! Huge Success!! New JDOHSS LIBRARY!!! On Tuesday, February 24 th we honoured the Grandfriends of our students in a special and unique way. A welcome breakfast was prepared by one of our parents; Boaz Revivo prepared a delicious breakfast. Our Grade 7/8 Girls served decorated the Social Hall and helped serve breakfast. Our Grade 7/8 Boys helped to set up the Gym for the Science Fair. Our successful program last year for Grandfriend Day resulted in the beautiful Anita and Danny Chai Giving Tree mural that was artistically rendered and now graces the windows of our second floor lunchroom. Money raised from our program was put into technology for our student s use. This year s initiative was introduced by members of our Library committee, Vanessa Benarroch and Vered Lerner. They spoke about the importance of a school library and how it is a catalyst for literacy and reading. Libraries exist as places for learners to find information, resources, services, instruction and relaxation. A school library is central to learning and plays a key role as a place for encouraging innovation, curiosity and problem solving. School libraries are a central point for engagement with all kinds of reading, cultural activities, access to information, knowledge building and lively discussion. Danny Chai, one of our grandparents, and part of our IT Advisory Commitee, also addressed the crowd. He spoke of being an immigrant and how important it was to be able to gain knowledge through the local libraries; How it inspired him to learn and how key this is to a child. Mrs. Wasserman asked the question: If one thing would make a difference would you do it? She appealed to all the Grandfriends that it is up to them to make that difference for their grandchildren. Also, she mentioned that in the 30 plus years that she has been at JDOHSS, the school has never had a library. Now with the 40 th anniversary of JDOHSS looming this is the time to make a lasting and tangible change to make the difference by giving generously to the building of the new library. A power point was presented showing the different pledge amounts and a video showcased the JDOHSS students welcoming their grandfriends. It was very heartwarming to see the response from the audience. Continued on page 2.. Friday 8, Adar Feb. 27th 2015 Perashat Tetzaveh Candle Lighting: 5:45 p.m. Mazal Tov Mazal Tov to the Bendelac family on the Bar Mitzvah of their son Yehushua Mazal Tov to Rabbi Kamenetzky and family on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Moshe Mazal Tov to the Arrobas Family on the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Devora Mazal Tov to Michelle Nacson and family on their son s engagement Mazal Tov to the Kachani family on the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter Michali. Inside this issue: GrandPal Day 2,3 Brachot Bee 5 Science Fair 8 Rosh Hodesh 10 Dates to Remember 20

2 After breakfast, the Grandfriends were escorted into the Gym where the Grades 5 to 8 Boys and Girls presented their projects from the Science Fair to them. Then the Grandfriends went to the Banquet Hall where they were welcomed by their grandchildren. Jana Cohen introduced the agenda for the day s events. The JDOHSS teachers and assistants hosted the grandfriends and students at each table and took their table on a tour of the Media/Library Centre, Book Fair and Second floor mural, photo opportunity and art activities that were provided by the Moms Association at their table. A special thanks to Rivka Caro for decorating the Book Fair in the Ocean Theme. Mercedes Bendayan, Jana Cohen, Shulamit Elmaleh, Michelle Nacson, Myriam Troyna, Ruchama Gellis, Sandy Hyams, our IT Team and all of the JDOHSS teachers and assistants for all of their hard work towards making Grandfriend Day a success. We could not be successful without your participation!

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5 After intense grade level competitions, candidates were chosen to represent their classes in the school Berachot Bee. All participants demonstrated great knowledge in the Berchot topic. We are very proud of our students achievements! Grade Winner Runner up JG1-1 Emma Benarroch Shayna Mammon 2,3 G, 4 G Mia Benarroch Eva Aminof 3,4 Boys Dovid Kark Marcus Cohen 5-8 Girls Ora Cashman-Lacob Naomi Riaboy 5-8 Boys Yirmiyahu Shumunov Yishi Caro

6 Congratulations to the winners of the Sefer Torah Letters contest. First Prize was a $100, 2nd prize was a $50 and 3rd prize was a $25 Toys R US Gift Card. The Mirlas Family raised almost $1900. The Azulay Family raised almost $1300. The Elmaleh Family raised almost $600. Congratulations to all of our winners. Thanks to all the other students who participated in the contest. The Grade 3 girls honoured our J.k., S.K. and J.G.1 weekly Shabbat Party by singing and performing for Rosh Chodesh Adar. Their voices were like the sweet sound of nightingales. They performed so beautifully and we look forward to future performances in the future. Kol Hakavod! We are so proud! In Rabbi Kestenbaum's Gemara class, the Grade Five boys learned about the different formations of coins that, if lost, would need to be returned to their rightful owner. The boys used plastic coins to create formations, label and trace them out.

7 On February 18, 2015, JDOHSS was honoured to have an author's visit by Canadian best-selling writer Ms. J.L. Witterick. My Mother's Secret, based on the true story of Franciszka Halamajowa is a story of a non-jew who risked her life to save the lives of Jews during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem in Yerushalayim recognizes people like Ms. Halamajowa as "the Righteous among the Nations". Grade 6, 7 and 8 students have been studying My Mother's Secret for the past month and were excited to have the opportunity to partake in a book talk with the author. Ms. Witterick explained her publishing journey, as it was a personal tale of challenge and ultimate success in self-publishing. In addition to the delight of her novel, this experience proved to be a source of inspiration for many of the students as we have many talented and creative writers within our student body. Ms. Witterick is a champion of perseverance and tenacity - qualities we encourage in our students on a daily basis. Ms. Witterick generously answered student questions about her novel and it was pleasure to hear intelligent, insightful and meaningful questions from our students. My Mother's Secret has proven to be popular book amongst the students (event amongst our most reluctant readers!) and it has made a positive and impactful contribution to our students' understanding of the Holocaust and literature.

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9 Book Fair 2015: Thank you to our parents who generously donated their time to assist at our Annual Book Fair. We could not have successful programs such as these without your kind consideration. Our students had a wonderful time going into our second floor lunchroom and seeing it transformed into a Undersea theme. Our thanks and gratitude goes to our dedicated, artistic teacher, Rivka Caro, for working so diligently on our theme this year. She did a stellar job! Reading Day 2015: Students paired, guided, and did silent reading throughout the day. They also enjoyed joining other classes for reading buddies. All of our students came ready with their pillows, blankets and stuffed toys to enjoy the special day!!

10 For this month's Rosh Hodesh program the girls got to express their talent and creativity by painting their very own chamsas on blank canvasses. The girls were shown a step by step presentation on how to create their beautiful paintings. The program concluded with an article about how Hashem is watching over us with divine providencewhich is symbolized by the chamsa. This program was led by Mrs. Jana Cohen, Mrs. Mercedes Bendayan, and Mrs. Ilana Arrobas who also generously sponsered the day's events in honor of her daughter Devorah's Bat Mitzva.

11 On Wednesday, January 28th, the entire Grade 1 Boys, and the Grade 3 and 4 girls classes had the opportunity to go to the Bernard Betel Centre to see a critter show. The show offered a unique and hands-on experience for the students to learn about a variety of exotic animals. Marty Cummings, an expert with over 25 years of experience working with animals, provided the children with extensive knowledge and insights about mammals, reptiles and insects. The children were able to pet and hold animals such as a tarantula, a corn snake, a blue-tongued skink and a red foot tortoise. They also saw a Colombian Red Tail Boa Constrictor and Madagascar cockroaches. The children really enjoyed this experience! Mrs. Sommer, and Mrs. Dina Frisch-Israel and Ms. Amy Harari

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21 Parking Please adhere to the parking regulations posted outside and in the underground garage. Please show courtesy to other parents and building staff by obeying all posted signs and marking. Secretaries Myriam Troyna 0 Ruchama Gellis (attendance/lateness) 5 Ruchama.Gellis@jdohss.org Menahel Rabbi Kamenetzky, Extension 1 Rabbi.Kamenetzky@jdohss.org Principal Mrs. Sarah Wasserman, Extension 2 Sarah.wassermanj@jdohss.org Vice Principal Mrs. Sara Cohen, Extension 3 Sara.Cohen@jdohss.org Office Manager Jana Cohen, Extension 6 Jana.Cohen@jdohss.org Financial Administrator Inna Krukovsky, Extension 4 Inna.Krukovsky@jdohss.org ISP Department Renne Herzog, Extension 5 Renee.Herzog@jdohss.org Dates to Remember for 2015 Fast of Esther Wed. March 4th 2PM Early Dismissal for 7/8B and 6-8G Purim and Shushan Purim Thursday and Friday March 5th and 6th School Closed PLEASE NOTE!! 2:00 PM FRIDAY DISMISSAL Mid-Term Report Cards Friday March 13th Parent Teacher Interviews Monday, March 16th Volume 2, Issue 4 Page 10