Hilli and Alon here! With our winter visit to Israel just around the corner, we thought to take a moment to reflect on the last couple weeks at school.
Grade 6
One of our proudest activities recently was with Grade 6, on the subject of the Qumran Caves and the Dead Sea Scrolls. We led the students to our Shinshinim office – which we decorated to look like a cave – and Alon greeted them as Kivsi the Sheep. Within the cave they had to solve a series of hebrew-language riddles and at last were handed the ancient scroll. Sadly, this was our parting activity with grade 6 and we will not continue to teach them when we return. They’re the best and we’ll miss them a lot!!
SK and Jk
Instructing in the Sk and JK classrooms has continued to be a delight as well. We like to begin our lessons with a play – in past lessons we have entered the room as a sock puppet or a rain cloud. It’s easy to sense their enthusiasm for Hebrew and we are so impressed by how fast they learn new words. Ahead of the upcoming holiday, Hilli performed Hanukkah melodies on flute, and the young students enthusiastically joined in song.
Grade 7
Grade 7 students have been hard at work studying the movie Ushpizin, and in January we will be hosting a trivia contest on the subject of that movie. We hope to serve lemonade – a nod to the etrog that plays a central role in the movie.
After school Program – Hug Sayarut
Finally, we are very proud of our new afterschool program – Hug Sayarut. The group meets after school every Tuesday and features outdoor-inspired activities and games. So far, the kids have enjoyed making tea on an outdoor gas stove, and building a DIY water filtration system in a water bottle.
As for our upcoming visit to Israel, Alon is very excited to hike and see the wildflowers in the Galilee region. Hilli is looking forward to meeting up with family and friends and watching sunsets on the beach in Eilat. We will be back with stories and photos.
We can’t believe we’ve only been at Heschel for three months because we already feel like an integral part of the community. Thank you all for making us feel that way. We look forward to more meaningful months together as soon as we return to Toronto.
