“My heart is in the east though my body is in the West.”

A key component of the Westchester Day School mission statement, is that its students will be “devoted to the State of Israel as a key to the life of the Jewish people and to Hebrew as a spoken language.” With that in mind, two Hebrew teachers spent part of a summer in Israel where they created a unique curriculum about Israel. This curriculum is called Yisrael B’Chayay, Israel in My Life. Students from kindergarten through eighth grade explore a variety of characteristics about the different cities and the topography of Israel throughout each school year. The objective is that by the end of eighth grade, each student will not only have a personal connection to Eretz Yisrael but also an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the history, geography, culture, language and ethnicity of the country.

In May, 2022, each grade designed an artistic representation of their city, which culminated in a mixed media art installation of Israel. A QR code displayed on each city allows visitors to listen to students present facts about their cities.