Hebrew Immersion
Unique to Wise, our curriculum emphasizes Hebrew as a modern language aligning with studies that prove becoming bilingual has a positive effect on students’ intellectual growth in all subject areas. Students are immersed in the beauty, tradition and sophistication of the language, while learning to speak, read and write with natural fluency.
Designed for Jewish students in the Diaspora, our program will always feel relevant to children’s lives and cultural backgrounds. Hebrew is introduced in a nurturing, creative environment fostering basic skills through fun and engaging activities. As fluency increases, students experience hands-on projects to gain a deeper foundation. In upper grades, our program expands communication skills building on listening, speaking, reading and writing proficiency.
“I studied Hebrew as a kid but can’t speak a word and remember almost nothing, but ever since my daughter stared Hebrew Immersion she has been coming home with Hebrew words and now even calls me Ima. As she acts out the words or translates them for me she is teaching me little by little and slowly what I learned as a kid is coming back.”
“I understand and speak Hebrew pretty well, so I was pleasantly surprised the other day when my son came home and taught me a Hebrew word I didn’t know! He learns new words every day, and I now learn from him.”
“Olivia pointed to her shirt and said par-par. My husband and I thought it was another of her many made-up words until she said it again and I realized she was wearing a butterfly shirt. It occurred to me to look up the Hebrew word for butterfly and sure enough, it’s par-par. A few weeks later, while walking on a grassy area, she picked up a giant leaf and declared, in a deep voice, that it was gadol. A moment later, she picked up a tiny leaf and, in a high pitched voice, declared it was katan. Both of these instances were quite early on in the program.”
“Whenever we pass people in the mall or anywhere that are speaking Hebrew, she [Lielle] eavesdrops! She says, ‘Mommy, they are talking Hebrew.’ So she recognizes it out of context.”