31 Nadolny Sachs Pr.
613-722-0020
www.hillelacademy.ca
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November 27, 2009
Volume 2, Issue 41
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In this issue ...
- Truda Rosenberg.
- Parent/Teacher Interview information.
- Teacher Profile.
- Recycling comes to Hillel.
- Cookbook Contest.
- Award Winners.
- Bulletin Subscription offer.
- Pajama Day.
- We are looking for...
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Coming Up ...
- Grade 6, 7 and 8 Stock Market week begins Nov. 30.
- Charles H. Hulse will visit on Dec. 1.
- December early dismissal is 2 pm.
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From the Administration
We want to share with you the remarkable little gem we have in the lower level of our school. The library is hopping with activity these days. Each day, different
grades are allowed to spend recesses in the library. Each recess, there are dozens of students in the library - socializing, reading or helping out. The Library Squad - a group of dedicated volunteer students -
is busy shelving books and organizing with Mrs. Mackintosh. And the
Silver Birch Books have arrived.
This
week, the Library Technician students from Algonquin College visited
Hillel, as they tour through different Ottawa libraries. They commented that we have a very high rate of books checked out and found the Hebrew
versions of our picture books fascinating.
The students told us they
were impressed with the level of technology we have in our library. We have 4 computers for students to do research, as well as our videoconferencing equipment that Mrs. Mackintosh, our teacher-librarian, loves to use to take advantage of long-distance learning opportunities. The students get to see authors reading their own books, for example. We love that the library is an important part of our students' daily lives.
Have a good weekend, and Shabbat Shalom,
- Donna Palmer-Dodds and Wendy Waxman
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Parent/Teacher Interviews
Parent-Teacher
interviews will be taking place on Wednesday, Dec. 9th (3-5 pm, 6-9 pm) and
Thursday, Dec. 10th (6:30-9 pm).
If you would like an interview with your child(ren)'s
teacher(s) please fill out the request form and return it as soon as possible
to the school office. To download the request form and the teachers' hours, go to the website here. Forms must be in to Ellie by Wednesday, December 2.
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Grade 8s Meets Dr. Truda Rosenberg
The grade 8 students received a fascinating visitor this past Tuesday. Psychologist Truda Rosenberg (right, who still practices at the age of 87) came in to read from her recently-released book of Holocaust memoirs, Unmasked. Dr. Rosenberg also talked to the students and answered their many questions. The students found her very interesting and took her up on her offer to bring their lunches to the chapel and continue to talk over the lunch hour.
More information on Dr. Rosenberg's book can be found here. (Below, Sabrina, Dayna, Alexa, Eliana, Racheli, Elana and Allec, pose with Dr. Rosenberg.)
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Students from 3D show off their new etrog plants before taking them home. After Sukkot, the students discovered that one etrog contains dozens of seeds and decided to see if they would grow. They were delighted with the result!
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Teacher Profile - Deanna Coghlin
Deanna Coghlin hasn't let being new to our school get in the
way of making a big impact. Deanna, who teaches grade 4, has brought
environmental awareness to the forefront here at Hillel. She runs an
Environmental Club, is spearheading the 4th grade's Tikkun
Olam project on recyclable art and has organized a recycling program for the
whole school.
Deanna was part of the Global Education Cohort at the University of
Ottawa, where she learned how to incorporate global issues into an elementary
classroom. This, she explained, "helps teach students important critical
thinking skills, allows them to become global thinkers, and how to connect
material to their everyday lives." (See below for more information on the
environmental initiatives Deanna has brought to Hillel.)
Deanna agrees that environmental issues are a big passion for her, but
she also loves to travel and learn about other cultures. She recently spent
time at Pond Inlet, Nunavut, learning about the Inuit culture. Teaching is her biggest passion, one she finds very rewarding. "It's those moments when you see a
child's eyes light up and you know you've made a real connection."
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This week marks the first that Hillel Academy's new recycling program has gone into effect (above - Ms. Coghlin with 4 members of the Environmental Club, Shoshana, Ben, Ethan and Michael). Hillel now recycles paper and plastics! The Environmental Club also held a contest to design a sticker to go under every light switch to remind people to turn off the lights. Michael's design won, and we'll soon see his stickers up around the school. Finally, grade 4 is picking up the initiative started by ADK last year and encouraging litterless lunches. More on that when they begin next month.
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Morah Ruthie decorates the windows in the front lobby for our Chanukah celebration (don't forget - December 16th at 7 pm) with help from her grade 3 students. Above, Dalia paints a chanukiah.
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From Socks to Food
Rabbi Simes is delighted to report that Hillel surpassed our goal for socks donated to our
Sock Drive for the Ottawa Mission. The count isn't yet finished, but we already made it to 400 pairs of socks.
The Food Bank and the Kosher Food Bank have asked our help to collect food for their Family Food Drive. This time of year, the need is particularly high. Boxes will be in the front lobby and you can find a list of most need items on our website here. We are asking that you bring one can to our Chanukah celebration.
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Award Winners
We had a lot of P.R.O. (People Respecting
Others) Award winners this week. Right, Mrs. Graham and Ms. Coghlin were nominated by their students. Below, back: Zachary, Adam, Meredith and Rachel. Front: Talia, Chloe, Ma'ayan, Josh, and Noa. (Absent - Lucy from ADK)
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Great Bulletin Subscription Offer
The Ottawa Jewish
Bulletin has offered Hillel a great deal. Our parents can subscribe through the school and for every new subscription we provide, the Bulletin will give our school a
percentage.
Subscribing to the
Bulletin is a great idea not only because it now also benefits our school, but
because the Bulletin has always  been a great supporter of Hillel Academy. We frequently have articles in the newspaper about new initiatives at Hillel, allowing us to reach the larger community and let them know about the wonderful things that have been going on here.
Hillel is not the only local Jewish institution that reaches a wider audience through the Bulletin. For $30 a year, you can keep up on what is going on in Ottawa's Jewish community. Just email us if you are interested in a new subscription and we will pass your contact information on to the Bulletin.
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Congratulations to our grade 5&6 girls soccer team. They placed 1st in group B. But more importantly, they have great spirit! Above, they pose with proud coach Darren Morenstein.
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 PTA Cookbook Contest
The PTA needs your help! They
launched an initiative to sell the Hillel Cookbooks. These are great cookbooks, with all the old
favourites from the original edition, plus many new recipies
by Hillel parents for the revised 2009 edition.
We have
reduced the price of the book to an unbeatable $20! The money
raised selling these books will help the PTA to continue to
pay for busing for field trips.
As an exciting
enticement, the class that sells the most cookbooks will win a
lunchtime pizza party and the 2nd and 3rd highest will get a
cupcake party. Each student will be receiving an order form,
and extra ones can be downloaded from the website.
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 Pajama Fun
Grades 2 and 3 really know how to take Dress-Down Day to its farthest extremes! They turned it into Pajama Day, complete with chocolate chip pancakes. The kids all wore their jammies and brought a stuffed animal along for the fun. Thanks to Maya and Justin's moms for all the help with the pancakes!
Right, Brandon pauses for a photo before attacking his pancakes (As always, more photos on our website's photo gallery). Below, Morah Batya helps David, Sasha, Justin and Maya cut up their pancakes.
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We Are Looking For
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Old CDs/DVDs and Cases
Morah Ruthie has another art project on the go!
Winter Clothing
We are collecting both adult's and children's clothing for the Snowsuit Fund and the JFS Streetsmarts program. The items are starting to trickle in, so look for the coat rack in the front hall and please add what you have to it.
Items from the 1930s
Brighton Beach Memoirs, YRHS's school play (also starring grade 8's Mirren and Racheli!), is set in the 1930s. They will
need to furnish a set with a couch and chair, a dining room table and chairs,
an old sewing machine, a china cabinet, and an old radio. They will also need
single beds, china and décor of the era. If you anything you can lend, please contact Lynda at YRHS.
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