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The Calgary Jewish Academy (formerly the Calgary Hebrew School, and I.L. Peretz School) is a historic
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
independent school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
in Calgary, Alberta
Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...
.
History
The Calgary Jewish Academy (CJA) can trace its very beginnings to 1910, when nineteen students were enrolled in classes in the precursor to the CJA, The Talmud Torah, which operated in a single room and was associated with the localSynagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
. In 1913 the school became a separate entity from the synagogue and marked its true opening. At the close of the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, in 1920, the Talmud Torah acquired its own building located at 4th Avenue (between 2nd and 3rd Streets SE). The next ten years marked a time of steady growth for the school and in 1930 the school relocated to a new community building, becoming the Calgary Hebrew School. It was also around this time that the I.L. Peretz School was founded in 1927, primarily focusing on a Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
-Zionist
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
based education. In 1987 the Calgary Jewish Academy was founded as a result of the amalgamation of the Calgary Hebrew School and the I.L. Peretz School. In May 2013, the Calgary Jewish Academy celebrated 100 years of Jewish education in Calgary. On 16 April 2019, Albertan Premier, Jason Kenney
Jason Thomas Kenney (born May 30, 1968) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member o ...
announced his new education platform at the CJA.
Educational divisions
*Pre-School: Composed of Nursery, Junior Kindergarten & Kindergarten *Elementary School: Composed of Grade 1 through Grade 6. *Junior High: Composed of Grade 7 through Grade 9.GAIN and Alberta curriculum
The CJA employs the GAIN program, which attempts to work with individual students based on their needs and strengths by providing various supports and strategies such as individualized program planning, learning support and enriched learning, English as a Second Language (ESL) and guidance. The GAIN team has impacted almost 50% of students during the 2017/18 school year. The CJA follows a dual curriculum with anywhere from 68% of the class time being devoted to the Alberta curriculum and between 32% of their time on Judaic studies. However, throughout the year, teachers attempt to integrate the Alberta and Judaic curricula. The CJA uses ''Tal Am'' and ''Bishvil HaIvrit'' for the Hebrew language curriculum, and teaches about Israel through the program ''Israel Throughout the Year,'' developed by Israel'sBar Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
. Other Judaic subject areas have been developed by the CJA Judaic faculty, such as holidays, Jewish Social Studies and Bible curricula.
Student life
Grade 7 trips: In grade 7, students spend a week inSalt Spring Island, British Columbia
Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island.
The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled b ...
Grade 8 trips: In grade 8, students spend a week in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Grade 9 trips: In grade 9, students spend two weeks in Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
Notable Attendees
Ezra Levant
Ezra Isaac Levant (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, the'' Western Standard''. He is als ...
- Canadian media personality.
Robert Cohen - Comedy writer and director.
Joel H. Cohen - Comedy writer and director.
References