Welcome from the Director of Admissions

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to learn more about The Toronto Heschel School!

Heschel is a multifaceted gem of a school, gleaming from numerous directions as you examine it from various angles. Many aspects of our school are distinct from other Jewish day schools. We offer an arts-based, interdisciplinary curriculum; immersive Hebrew within a warm multidenominational Jewish community; deep social-emotional learning; and an emphasis on social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

Our overall approach also differs from Jewish day schools of old. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said:

One of the goals of the Jewish way of living [is] to experience commonplace deeds as spiritual adventures, to feel the hidden love and wisdom in all things.

We aim to inspire a sense of awe and wonder in our students. In turn, they are full of curiosity and a love of learning, becoming independent, creative and critical thinkers who eventually succeed in a multitude of fields.

I invite you to explore and discover what The Toronto Heschel School is all about. This website is full of different ways to delve into Heschel! You may want to start by:

Visiting our Heschel FAQs blog post: How do we teach and learn at The Toronto Heschel School?
Reading the How We Teach section of the website, especially Teaching in the Disciplines and The Arts as Pedagogy pages, and taking a look at The Dramatized Haggadah as an example of integrated learning;
Sampling articles in THINK Magazine, such as Education for the Next Generation, A Thoughtful Jewish School, and more; and
Taking a 360° virtual tour of the building, allowing you to meet some of our teachers by playing videos shot in each classroom.

All of these avenues are great ways to build your understanding and appreciation of what Heschel has to offer. There are so many excellent resources to explore (and so little time!), but choosing your children’s school is one of the most important decisions you will make as a parent. Families that have chosen Heschel embrace the community and are very passionate about the school. I would be very happy to introduce you to some of them if you would like to get the parent perspective.

I also encourage you to visit the school to see our space and feel the magic in the air. I am currently offering personal tours while school is in session, or tours by Zoom are available for those not able to come in person during the school day.

Finally, if you would just like to chat about whether Heschel might be a good fit for your children, please contact me by phone at 416-635-1876 x.334 or by email at admissions@torontoheschel.org and I will be delighted to assist!

Happy exploring!

Galit Ben-Ary

Director of Admissions