The Jewish Federation of Ottawa has begun a new initiative where we invite community beneficiary agencies to write a special Shabbat greeting once a quarter to help share the amazing work being undertaken in the community. We are pleased to share this message from Dr. Jon Mitzmacher, the Head of School for the Ottawa Jewish Community School, an all-day, trilingual elementary school that aims to develop academic and personal excellence in our students in an inclusive, caring, and pluralistic environment that is based on Jewish religion, culture, and values. This year, Federation granted OJCS over $700,000, in addition to other supports.
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Dear friends
This is among the most magical times of the year. We are coming out of the joy of Purim and headed full steam toward the spring holidays that occupy this part of the Jewish calendar. For those of us who run Jewish day schools, however, the true magic of this period is that we are in the process of filling up our school with returning and new Jewish families. Here at the Ottawa Jewish Community School, this is a time filled with immense gratitude. We have gratitude for the families who continue to choose OJCS as their school of choice – and we are hopeful that our trend of five consecutive years of increased enrollment will continue into a sixth. We are grateful to our teachers whose passion, talent, and care remain the most critical variable to our success.
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Dr. Jon Mitzmacher
Head of School
Ottawa Jewish Community School
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We are grateful to our donors whose generosity permits our capacity to ensure that any family who wishes to provide their child(ren) with a Jewish day school education is able to regardless of finances. We are grateful to our community whose many partnerships amplify our programming and our reach. We are most especially grateful to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, our most important partner, our biggest donor, our generous landlord, and our strongest ally. And we say that without even factoring in the role Federation is playing in shepherding and stewarding the Generations Trust endowment, which will secure the future of Jewish Ottawa.
With this opportunity to speak to our community more broadly, allow me to catch you up on what continues to make OJCS an exciting place for students to learn and a warm community for families to share.
Here are just a few of the programs and projects we are working on:
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• OJCS is now a “Candidate School” with the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), the gold standard for independent school accreditation in Canada. When we finish our accreditation journey, we will be the third school in Ottawa to reach this milestone along with the Elmwood School and Ashbury College.
• We have launched an exciting new program in our Middle School, Yad B’Yad, where our students have an opportunity to take what they are learning in Jewish Studies on Mondays - Thursdays and then going out into our community on Friday to put it into practice. We are building relationships with both secular and Jewish partners in Ottawa and our students have a chance each and every week to make the world a better place.
• We will begin administering the DELF – an internationally recognized certification of French proficiency – to our highest level of French students this spring.
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• We are working with the Jewish Federation of Ottawa to bring seminars to both parents and students in Grade 8 about how to navigate antisemitism and anti-Zionism to be better prepared for high school.
• OJCS has worked with the Soloway JCC to offer French-language after-school courses.
• OJCS has taken one important step towards French immersion (for those parents who prefer) by transitioning Physical Education to French-language PE.
• Thanks to Federation’s Fund for Innovative Capacity Building, we have ramped up programming our OJCS Makerspace (generously funded by the Congregation Beth Shalom Legacy Fund) making it a true hub for innovation across all grades and subjects.
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What’s next at OJCS? Again, here are just a few things we have in the works: |
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• We look forward to launching a consultancy to lead the school in a multiyear “curriculum mapping” that yields deliverable,clear benchmarks/standards for both teachers and parents.
• Deepen our relationship with Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa to increase the ruach at OJCS and to build on our shared foundation.
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• Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of an anonymous donor we will – this summer! – begin a $1.5 million renovation of our classrooms. Look for new renderings onsite and online.
• OJCS will begin celebrating its 75th anniversary beginning in 2023 - 2024!
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This Shabbat, my heart beats with optimism when I think about the ongoing vitality of Jewish Ottawa and the community we share.
Shabbat Shalom,
Dr. Jon Mitzmacher
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P.S. Ten Yad needs volunteers to deliver Passover packages to long-term care facilities and senior residence homes, Monday, April 3.
Pick-up is at Machzikei Hadas, which is partnering with Ten Yad on this initiative.
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