Dear grade 2 parents!

Joyeux Yom Kippur!

 

Another 2 weeks of fun and educational activities for our kiddos.The focus during these 2 weeks was le son composé OM-ON and school vocabulary.We also talked about Rosh Hashanah and learnt some words associated with this important celebration as well as Yom Kippur.The students made beautiful paintings and they were excited to read small texts and say sorry to each other practicing the word “pardon”.Here are some of  the videos of the presentation for Rosh Hashanah.

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Hello OJCS parents and welcome to grade 2!

 

Can you believe another school year is upon us?If you don’t already know me, my name is Madame Efi Mouchou.This is my 2nd year at OJCS and I look forward to forming relationships with the new kids and continuing teaching your kiddos. It has been a pleasure working with your children and I have seen so much growth and learning already in the short amount of time we have had together. Last week we spent time getting to know our new friends,making them feel welcomed and establishing the classroom rules.We revised some of the things we learnt last year like sounds and various vocabulary,we read a lot and of course I insisted on their speaking french as much as possible.I look forward to meeting you all at back-to-school night on the 19th.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me through email or a phone call.

 

Salut mes amis,

Here is the blog with many fun activities and games for the kids to do over the summer to revise everything they have learnt this year.I hope they enjoy the games.

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A journey to Ithaca never ends………..

 

My dear parents and students,

 

Our educational journey is almost coming to a close for this school year, with lots of positive moments and maybe a few challenging ones, at times. Speaking for myself, one of the greatest moments was when I joined the OJCS school, meeting such beautiful people and appreciating the Jews values and heritage that are celebrated. Being a diplomat’s wife, I am certainly used to developing an appreciation for different cultures and traditions and making lifelong friendships, but teaching in a school with a trilingual curriculum is unique. Shifting from “Good morning” to “Bonjour” and “Shalom” daily, opens a door to a whole new world not only for our kiddos but for us, the teachers as well. I don’t want to start listing the advantages of such education because; I am sure you all know them very well, and you can see the results everyday. However, I would like to stress  that as we all try to achieve our goals, it is important not to lose sight of the journey. Ithaca, in Homer’s Odyssey, symbolizes this idea of a destination as a long and winding journey, where the supreme aim is to find fulfillment, such as changing careers, getting a new job, passing an exam, coping with a serious health problem, moving to another country, or school, going through the loss of a parent, and so forth. Constantine Cavafy (one of the most renowned Greek poets) wrote the poem “Ithaca” in 1911, inspired by Odysseus’ journey home after the end of the Trojan War. Cavafy describes Odysseus seeing amazing things, without caring for the destination as he is, advised: “Do not hurry your trip in any way.” That’s what we should all pray for dear friends and students, a long trip full of adventures, difficulties that grow us, and numerous learning opportunities so that when we reach our destination, we will be rich in maturity, knowledge, and wisdom. No matter the hardships, never give up!

Now I would like you all to listen to the poem recited by the amazing Sean Connery and set to the music of Vangelis Papathanassiou. 

 

Sean Connery reads ITHAKA | Powerful Life Poem by C.P.Cavafy

 

The school is buzzing right now! There has been so much activity lately at the school, and students are shining. Kids enjoyed spending a morning with their grandparents doing fun activities in all three languages, and they proudly showed them their work.In french they wrote a list poem about their favorite animal.For Mother’s Day, they wrote a recipe for a delicious smoothie. They love practicing their reading and writing skills through reading buddies and playing games so that they can review all the new and old vocabulary. We are currently learning about the different food categories such as poultry,red meat and seafood and this week they will be creating their own menus.. As the end of the school year is getting closer, I insist on them reading the Je lis books daily so they can finish Grade 2 positively and successfully.

 

           

La beauté de la langue française!!!

Alors les amis, why celebrate la Francophonie? I can think of thousands of reasons why but it comes down to one thing: we love the french language because it is smooth, rich, and flowing: we love speaking french because, with its nasal vowels and melodious intonation, it sounds very musical to a non-native ear. We want to learn French because it is also called the language of love, cooking, fashion, theater, visual arts, dance, and architecture.

During la francofête at our school, we had the pleasure to admire all the students from JK-grade 8 sing, dance, act, and recite poems in french!!!! All the teachers worked hard to make that happen. The students were proud of themselves, and their energy and passion were evident throughout the afternoon. During the week of the francophonie, they read books, heard stories, watched movies, played games, learned the ten magic words, and tasted french treats. Alors mes amis as the legendary teacher Dorothy Grace Boyajian once said, “Let us keep the flame of knowledge alive so we can light the candle of our children.”

A très bientôt!  

 

     

 

Salut les parents!

Our kiddos are looking forward to the break. They have every reason to be excited since they have been working hard in class. Students are trying to master the French language in every possible way.

The results of the quizzes are mind-blowing. Not only do they know the vocabulary, but their confidence has increased considerably, since they have been challenging themselves (writing a story using some of the vocabulary). Confidence is the number one predictor of academic achievement.  We will continue with  two quizzes per month( one every second week) and two presentations after the break. It’s time they put all this knowledge (vocabulary, verbs like êre,avoir, and more to come)into practice. As far as reading is concerned, we have finished with the complex sounds. The kids need to practice “Je lis” regularly to remember the sounds and improve their fluency. The point is to move to a different level, but only once they have read the books correctly. That’s why you should advise them to listen to the story many times before recording especially when it comes to some tricky or new words. During the break, try to expose them to the French language as much as possible, visit museums, watch their favorite show like Minecraft, Pokémon, Barbapapa, Scooby-Doo, Ben 10 in french, listen to french songs, and use free online Apps like Duolingo, Hello- World French Children’s Activities can all make this journey for the kids educational and fun. Below you can see the amazing mazes and masks they made after being inspired by the story of The Minotaur as well as the song they sang.

MINOTAURESONG

    

Have a wonderful and exciting break.