Netivot HaTorah Day School ( he, נתיבות התורה) is a private,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

elementary school in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. As of 2008, it enrolls 600 students from Junior

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

to Grade 8. The school is affiliated wit
Mercaz
(formerly known as the Board of Jewish Education), the educational pillar of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

History

The school was founded in 1984 by Thornhill parents who sought a more religious atmosphere than that found at the decades-old Associated Hebrew Day School in North Toronto. Enrollment increased from 42 students in its first year to 160 students in its second year to nearly 600 students by 2003. The school moved to its present location in 1993. It is now located on the same block as a newer building for the Associated school, as well as the north campus of the

Leo Baeck Leo Baeck (23 May 1873 – 2 November 1956) was a 20th-century German rabbi, scholar, and theologian. He served as leader of Reform Judaism in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi er ...

Day School. In 2008 the school opened a

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

branch on the premises of Shaarei Shomayim Congregation in midtown Toronto.

Curriculum

In addition to the regular Ontario curriculum, the school teaches the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

subjects, and various other Jewish-related topics. The curriculum is characterized by its

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

and

Religious Zionist Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religious"), and in Israel, the ...

approach, with an emphasis on ''"Ivrit b'Ivrit"'' (Hebrew subjects taught in Hebrew) and teachers who are ''shlichim'' (Israeli emissaries living in Canada on short, three- to five-year terms). This gives students an authentic taste of modern Israeli language and culture. Upon completing grade 8, students mostly feed into either Bnei Akiva Schools or Tanenbaum CHAT. Congregation Ayin L'Tzion Zichron Yisroel, a Modern Orthodox, Zionist minyan, is housed in the school.

Cookbook

In 2003 the Netivot HaTorah parents' organization published a fund-raising cookbook titled ''Gatherings''. Sales of the cookbook netted over $120,000 for the school in its first year of publication.

References

External links

*
"Eighth graders interview survivors for film"
Canadian Jewish News, June 2012 {{Authority control Thornhill, Ontario Elementary schools in the Regional Municipality of York Private schools in Toronto Elementary schools in Toronto Jews and Judaism in Ontario Orthodox Judaism in Ontario Orthodox Jewish educational institutions Educational institutions established in 1984 1984 establishments in Ontario Jewish schools in Canada