A Day of Remembering

melissathompson / / Grade 6 - Mr. Washerstein, Grade 7 - Mr. Washerstein, Grade 8 - Mr. Washerstein, Jewish Studies

Yesterday, our Grade 7 students led a powerful and deeply moving Yom HaShoah assembly. Their maturity, thoughtfulness, and reverence for the day’s significance were evident to all who attended.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of World War II—an especially poignant reminder of the importance of remembering and sharing the stories of those who endured the unimaginable. As we say: Never Forget. Never Again.

Following the assembly, students showcased their reflections, analyses, and personal connections to the Holocaust through a powerful independent novel study. Each student created an impressive presentation, thoughtfully paired with creative and artistic interpretations of their chosen books. Students in Grades 5–8 toured the exhibits and were visibly moved, inspired to learn more about the individual stories of survival, resilience, and hope.

To conclude the day, we were honoured to welcome Harry and Mina Cohn from The Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship—who are also proud OJCS grandparents. Mr. Cohn shared his family’s powerful story as the child of Holocaust survivors, reinforcing the message that each of us carries a history, and it is our responsibility to remember, to share, and to learn from the past.

Rabbi Simes Yom Iyun

dkogut / / Grade 6 - Moreh David, Grade 7 - Moreh David, Grade 8 - Moreh David, Uncategorised

Today was a particularly good one for the Middle School students at OJCS. We had our annual Rabbi Simes Yom Iyun/Day of Learning. We welcomed Rabbi Mikelberg of Temple Israel, who spoke about “Modern day plagues and emerging from our own slavery.” Rabbi Polansky of KBI spoke about “The CJLS (Committee on Jewish Law and Standards) position on kitniyot.” And finally, we welcomed Rabbi Blum from the Ottawa Torah center, who spoke about ” The 15 steps to becoming free”. 

Prior to the presentations, we also were honoured to have a short D’var Torah from one of our students, Lily, who spoke to the whole Middle school and our visiting Rabbis about the effects of the 10 plagues, as well as modern day feminism and her pride in how women are empowered to take active roles on Judaism.

We also welcomed Oren Baray, the brother of OJCS teacher, Morah Corinne and son of Morah Sigal. He was a student of the late Rabbi Simes and he gave a heartfelt testimonial of all of the good that Rabbis Simes did for both his students and the greater community.

After the introductions, students were split up into three groups and rotated through the session with each of our honoured visiting Rabbis.

The day went well, students were engaged and learned some new insights into the meaning and traditions of Pesach/Passover.

Rabbi Simes Yom Iyun – Day of learning

dkogut / / Grade 6 - Moreh David, Grade 7 - Moreh David, Grade 8 - Moreh David

Hello Middle School students and families,

We are proud to announce that we will be hosting our annual Rabbi Simes Yom Iyun/day of learning at OJCS, next Wednesday, April 9th. We will be welcoming former students of Rabbi Simes to join us, as well as several community Rabbis, who will lead breakout sessions for our Middle School students.

Rabbi Polansky of KBI, Rabbi Blum of the Ottawa Torah Center and Rabbi Mikelberg of Temple Israel will be joining us to teach about various Pesach topics.

This event will take place in our chapel next Wednesday at 9am, before splitting into breakout sessions in our classrooms.

We look forward to continuing this honoured tradition in our school.

Moreh David Kogut

Middle School Model Seders

dkogut / / Grade 6 - Moreh David, Grade 7 - Moreh David, Grade 8 - Moreh David

We will be having model Seders for all Middle School classes on the week of April 7th during class time. Each class will have their own Seder, where students will be responsible for introducing one element of the Seder in a prepared paragraph. We will also be going through the Haggadah, learning some insights into the traditions and stories of the Seder, as well as singing the festive songs together. And of course, there will be traditional Pesach foods provided for us.

Instructions for student preparation, as well as a list of student assignments can be found at this link.

Here is the schedule of seders:

Grade 6A – Tuesday, April 8 – 12:05-1:05
Grade 6B – Monday, April 7 – 11:05-12:05
Grade 7 – Monday, April 7 – 9-10am
Grade 8 – Thursday, April 10 – 9-10am
Thank you,
Moreh David Kogut & Mr. Washerstein.

Pesach Prep Journals

dkogut / / Grade 6 - Moreh David, Grade 7 - Moreh David, Grade 8 - Moreh David

Hello Middle school families. In preparation for Pesach this year, we are learning about how to prepare for the Pesach holiday. We are learning about the nuances of how to properly prepare our houses, as well as the mitzvot that we practice in advance of the holiday. We are backing this up with some connected rabbinic texts and making sure that students know how to properly prepare, if they are to keep the strict laws of Passover, including the mitzvot and minhagim (traditions) leading up to the holiday. While teaching this, we are sure to explain that each family prepares differently and that your family traditions may vary. We are learning how to prepare if you want to be as strict as possible, but not preaching that this is the only way you should be doing it.

In order to internalize these lessons, I have asked students to write a journal (can be fiction) of all the steps they have done to prepare. The assignment requirements, as well as a full journal example can be found at this link.

Have a wonderful and kosher Pesach!

Moreh David

Grade 8 Mishkan Project – Rabbinics

dkogut / / Grade 8 - Moreh David

Hello Grade 8 students and families. We have been learning about the laws of Shabbat in Rabbinics class. We have learned how the restrictions on Shabbat come from the 39 actions used to build and transport the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the desert. We will now be working on a project to reflect our learning on Shabbat. For this project, students will work in small groups to create a model mishkan, as well as exploring sources from the Torah and Mishnah about Shabbat. Models can be created with a physical model or with a 3D model created online.

At the link below, is the description of the project, including a rubric for success and links to important information.

The project is due on Monday, March 10. Students will begin presenting their project on that day to the class. We will then create a display for other students to come visit.

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JGpXtSDaZQDt37ADSL_2e7l9pkuzMcUprCI3Em9LPUg/edit?usp=sharing