Club Israel

Club Israel Impacts Classrooms Across Chicago-Area

Posted Wed, 01/04/2012 - 15:52 by Sharna Marcus

Who do you call if you need to teach your students about Israeli culture? Who do you contact if you want to schedule an Israeli cultural performance? Where can you find the best programs related to Israel? Club Israel! Ask the 57 classes that Shorashim has visited this semester and they will share with you the highlights of our programming. 

Chicago area students have attended excursion days at the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema, experienced hours of Israeli culture, learned about Israeli pop music, debated about democracy and freedom of speech in Israel, watched presentations on Israeli hi tech inventions, and much much more thanks to our staff in Chicago and visitors from Israel. 

Our second semester calendar is filling up fast, but we still have dates available to bring Israel to your classroom. Contact Director of Education Sharna Marcus for more information at sharna@shorashim.org or 312-239-8428. 

Welcome to Our New Israeli Educator: Lior Chacham!

Posted Wed, 01/04/2012 - 15:49 by Adam Stewart

Shorashim welcomes Lior Chacham to Chicago where he will begin his special educational role in late January.  Lior is no stranger to the Chicago area and has visited several times. He also has led the high school summer programs in 2009 and 2010 as well as countless Alternative Spring Breaks, Alternative Winter Breaks and Taglit-Birthright Israel trips.

Lior is from Kiryat Gat, Israel and is known for his uncanny knowlege of American culture, the English language and, of course, the history and people of Israel. His purpose in Chicago will be to deliver engaging and authentic Israel programmimg in schools, synangogues, and other youth settings.

If you would like Lior to speak or run a program at your synagogue, youth group, or school, contact the Shorashim office. 

Hebrew in Public Schools

Posted Fri, 01/15/2010 - 10:07 by Adam Stewart

Shalom, and welcome to another update from Shorashim.

These past few months, Shorashim - along with a number of partners in Chicago, including parents and students - have been dedicated to expanding and preserving Hebrew learning in the public schools in the Chicago-area. We are proud to say that last Monday, the Glenbrook High School District voted to add Hebrew to their course offerings and the Niles High School District elected to preserve the program that was considered for reduction. At the Niles High School District Board meeting, we were proud to see over a hundred community members - parents and students - come out to support the program (see video on our facebook page and the article in the Pioneer Press).

The new addition gives Chicago its seventh public-high school Hebrew program, and along with the offerings at jewish day schools and camp programs such as Chalutzim at OSRUI, makes Chicago the largest community of teen Hebrew learners in the world outside of Israel. For Shorashim's Club Israel, public high school Hebrew classes are where we are able to do some of our most creative work and we we continue to engage hundreds of students a month in Israeli culture and Hebrew language.

Syndicate content