Bialik Leads the Way in Hebrew Education

As we come to the end of the Tishrei holiday season, I hope you have had a meaningful and restorative time with family and community. This cycle of holidays, stretching from Rosh HaShanah to Simchat Torah, offers us moments of reflection, joy and renewal, something we can all appreciate before engaging with the stretch of uninterrupted learning that awaits us between now and Winter Break. This transition — from the festive days of Tishrei to our focused academic routine — is always an exciting time, filled with opportunities to deepen learning and engagement in our classrooms.

In this spirit of renewal and progress, I’m pleased to share a professional milestone that aligns beautifully with our goals at Bialik. I recently published an article in the 38th volume of the Canadian Jewish Studies Journal that explores strategies to expand Hebrew education in non-Orthodox Jewish day schools, an endeavour that has been both professionally fulfilling and directly applicable to my work at Bialik. Titled "Expanding Participation in Hebrew Education: Lessons Learned from French Immersion," the article draws on the successes of French Immersion programs in Ontario to identify approaches that can enhance how we teach and promote Hebrew as a second language in day schools.

One key insight from my research on Jewish day schools is that Bialik is a leader in innovative language instruction. Building on this insight, I am proud to share that we have begun implementing findings of successful programming in French Immersion schools this academic year. A key strategy highlighted in the article — integrating language learning into everyday activities — has become central to our initiative to teach the Ontario Gym curriculum in Hebrew for JK to Grade 5 students. This immersive approach has already shown itself to be successful, particularly in Kindergarten where our students are gaining incredible confidence in their spoken Hebrew during play and physical activities. This is progress we have not typically seen as early in the school year among our youngest students.

I invite you to read the full article and explore the research in more detail. It offers valuable insights into how we can continue to innovate and expand our Hebrew education program.

As we enter this important stretch of the academic year, I look forward to building on these early successes and seeing the long-term benefits of immersion-based language learning. This is a time of growth, both for our students and for us as educators, when we take advantage of these upcoming weeks before the Winter Break to strengthen our students’ Hebrew fluency and cognitive development. Let’s make the most of this special, enriching time of learning together.

Adi Barel
Associate Director of Jewish Studies