Hagit Bar-On – Head of Hebrew K-6

Teaching Hebrew online during COVID-19 was an amazing experience for all Hebrew teachers. From uncertainty and confusion emerged a positive, encouraging and hopeful attitude. Yes, it was overwhelming at first to teach via Zoom and sometimes have 20 students staring at you through the screen. It was wonderful to watch students in their home environments and sometimes in their parents’ offices, trying to remain formal. At times, we could hear the comments and the conversations at home debating a Hebrew word or sentences which made it an enlightening experience.

In terms of the language, I feel that COVID-19 revived the Hebrew language amongst the Emanuel community. It was used and discussed in every Emanuel household since we started teaching online. We received emails from parents saying how thrilled they were to listen to their children speaking Hebrew at home. We also watched parents participate in Hebrew lessons with their children and helping them with their Hebrew activities. Families became engaged and created a bond with the Hebrew language in many ways.

I hope you had a chance to watch a few of the Hebrew movies students and their families created, previously posted in Ma Nishma. The whole family performed in these iMovies and sometimes it also involved the pets. In some Year levels, the activities involved cooking and baking in Hebrew, together with the whole family. The cooking and baking process needed to be reported in Hebrew and videoed while doing it –  some amazing recipes were revealed!

The Hebrew language games we played online were so fun and engaging. We played Quizlet Live where students were divided into groups and competed against each other in Hebrew Bingo, a Hebrew Scavenger Hunt and many more games.

Teaching online was an experience we will never forget and maybe it is a beginning of a different era of teaching. Some of our teachers and students felt more confident than others to teach online but everyone adjusted to the situation and did a fantastic job.

I am sure you join with me in expressing gratitude to the teachers for the efforts they put into educating and managing their students day after day.

I wish everyone a smooth and safe return to school in the coming weeks.

Chag Sameach for Shavu’ot (the festival of receiving the Torah and the Harvest)

Hagit Bar-On and the Primary Hebrew staff