Our OJCS middle school students love to read, and their taste in books ranges from crime to romance to true-to-life graphic novels. I’ve tried to include a slice of all of our most popular middle school genres here to keep your tweens and teens busy at home or at camp. Inbetweens by Faith Erin … Continue reading Awesome Summer Reads 2026 – Middle School
For our voracious grade 4 and 5 readers, I’ve created a list that includes a good chunk of very interesting non-fiction that will broaden their knowledge and even improve well-being. I’ve also included lots of hilarious graphic novels and suspenseful chapter books that will get them hooked from the first sentence, as well as a … Continue reading Awesome Summer Reads 2026 – Grades 4 and 5
Our grade 2 and 3 students absolutely love books that are either in graphic novel format or chapter books packed with illustrations and this collection delivers exactly that. These engaging, highly visual stories help build confidence and excitement around reading while offering something for every kind of reader. From action-packed adventures and laugh-out-loud humour to … Continue reading Awesome Summer Reads 2026 – For Grades 2 and 3
This reading list is full of fun and silly surprises for our youngest OJCS readers. The best kinds of picture books are the ones that make the grown-ups laugh too, and this list is full of those. I also included a section of graphic novels and chapter books for early readers, so that if your … Continue reading Awesome Summer Reads 2026 – SK to Gr 1
Participation in the OJCS Summer Reading Challenge is growing every year. Kids love returning to school in the fall and claiming fun prizes and awesome new books. One thing I heard from many OJCS students was that they wanted the reading challenge to be more open-ended to allow for reading of any kind, so this … Continue reading The OJCS Summer Reading Challenge
At the end of our grade 8s OJCS journey, I am always curious as to which books had the biggest impact on the young adults they have become. Each year I ask them which book made the biggest impression, and that doesn’t mean it is necessarily their favourite book. This year’s 8s are such avid … Continue reading The Books that Shaped Our Graduating Class 2026
Here is a link to our story and activity for our K-2s. Here is a link to our grades 3 and 4 non-fiction story about a Torah that goes to space.
The OJCS was very fortunate to welcome author Sheila Baslaw for another visit this school year. She was the recipient of last year’s Canadian Jewish Literary Award for her book ‘The Light Keeper’, and it was also an Indigo ‘Heather’s Pick’ book. Our grade 2s and 3s were delighted by her reading which included getting … Continue reading Award Winning Author Sheila Baslaw Returns to the OJCS
One of our grade 8 fundraiser raffle prizes was an ‘Escape to the Library’ in which one lucky student and a friend could spend the day relaxing in the library, running storytimes, creating book displays, and checking-in/shelving library book returns. Our winner, Talia, and her friend-pick Ruby, were so excited to have the opportunity to … Continue reading Talia and Ruby Escape to the Library
On Monday, our OJCS middle school students had the privilege of welcoming acclaimed Canadian author Kathy Kacer, in a visit generously sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. Widely recognized as Canada’s leading author of Holocaust literature for young readers, Kacer has made an extraordinary and unmatched contribution to Holocaust education both nationally and around … Continue reading Author Kathy Kacer Visits the OJCS for Yom HaShoah