News from Kol Ami

“Hebrew is more than the language of Israel—it is in many ways one of the core threads of Jewish peoplehood, connecting the Jewish people through time and space…If some of the deepest human connections are forged through language, then it follows that if we want to create a strong sense of Jewish belonging and peoplehood, Jews must own our shared language, Hebrew.” – Lori Sagarin – 

We want to create that strong sense of Jewish belonging for our students at Kol Ami by introducing Hebrew from the very start of their educational journey. Every Saturday all our students are experiencing both Modern and Siddur Hebrew in a variety of ways matched to their own learning styles and levels.

Our youngest students in Gan are introduced to the Hebrew letters and simple vocabulary through song, art and Hebrew Through Movement*. In Grades 1 and 2, they work their way through a Hebrew primer, learning the sounds and shapes of the Alef-Bet in small groups. They increase their understanding Hebrew vocabulary as they continue to participate in Hebrew Through Movement.

SFT brings all our students together at the end of the school day to sing and pray alongside their parents, with the Hebrew prayers displayed on the screen.

By the time they enter our Hebrew school program on Wednesday afternoons as Grade 3 students, our students have a solid grasp of the Hebrew Alef-Bet, some vowel sounds, are familiar with Shabbat prayers and melodies and are ready to start in the individual reading level program.

It is a wonderful start to their Hebrew learning and prepares them for the more advanced experience we offer on Wednesday afternoons. I’m looking forward to sharing some of the great changes we have made to our Hebrew program on Wednesday evenings in the next Voice! If you can’t wait until then, feel free to come and take a peek at what׳s going on at our Hebrew School every week, but be prepared to speak a little bit of עִבְרִית and eat a little פִּיצָה!

*Hebrew through Movement is a language acquisition strategy in which students learn Hebrew by hearing and responding to Hebrew commands.

Visit: https://www.hebrewthroughmovement.org/