At Kavod Charter School (Kavod), developing global citizens starts early. From the young age of our Transitional Kindergarten (TK) students, we begin educating explorers about their own personal community and quickly expand to our greater global community as explorers age through our program. We do this through the teaching of modern Hebrew, celebration and acceptance of diverse cultures, and opportunities for in-depth study of culture at our tuition-free charter school.
By the time our explorers have reached 8th grade, they have been immersed in the study of the Hebrew language as well as the culture of Israel for many years. As a celebration of this achievement, and an opportunity to put their skills to the test, 8th grade explorers at Kavod are invited to participate in a capstone trip to Israel.
Hebrew Public Capstone Trip
With the support of Hebrew Public, Kavod explorers recently traveled to Israel as a part of a larger Hebrew Public capstone trip. After student-led fundraising efforts and months of planning, 10 Kavod 8th grade explorers, who have been at Kavod Charter Academy since kindergarten, journeyed from San Diego to Israel for 10 days.
The opportunity to immerse their senses in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a country that they have learned about from the classroom for years created the experience of a lifetime for these explorers. As explorer Mitra puts it:
“Learning about the beautiful country of Israel for the past few years in school was nothing compared to actually being there and seeing it firsthand. Encountering famous historical landmarks such as Masada, the Old City of Jerusalem, the Ayalon Institute, etc., becoming a part of the culture, tasting new, delicious foods, and meeting the wonderful people there was such an honoring experience and I’m so grateful to have been a part of it. This journey is what truly defines the meaning of a trip of a lifetime.“
Kavod explorers visited Israel’s top sites and learned from locals, taking in new foods and new experiences, all while practicing the Hebrew language skills they have gained at Kavod. As explorer Sophia highlights,
“It was an experience beyond compare, and I will never forget it. Not only was I able to float in the Dead Sea, view the underwater grottoes of Rosh HaNikra, and tour the Old City in Jerusalem, but I got to do all of these amazing activities with my friends – old and new.”
There was no shortage of new sights to behold for our explorers. Some of the explorers favorite activities included visiting the Negev desert, Masada, camel riding, and sleeping in the Bedouin tents. Most notably was the chance to take their understanding deeper than the visible signs of culture and participate in cultural customs that can only be fully experienced when visiting Israel. As Milo described,
“It was so incredible to see the difference in culture between America and Israel. One prominent example of this was on Friday afternoon. Everyone was preparing for Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest), but after about 6:00 PM, no one was out. All the shops were closed; the people had gone home to their families. It was calming. In America, we don’t even have one day a year where we do that, but in Israel, it happens once a week! It was just magical to see this happen, and even if you don’t see it through a religious lens, it is still amazing to see.“
Experiential Learning
At Kavod, we believe in the power of stepping outside of the classroom and textbooks to deepen our understanding and experience the world first-hand. Diving deep into a culture commits learning to memory and shapes and broadens one’s perspective.
With the Hebrew language and global citizenship at the heart of our mission, Kavod is committed to developing bilingual leaders of tomorrow who enter the world with a mind to learn and a heart to serve. If you are interested in enrolling your TK-8 student in our tuition-free dual language charter school, visit our enrollment page. We’re enrolling for Fall 2023 now.
ABOUT KAVOD
Kavod is a non-religious, tuition-free public school that teaches the modern Hebrew language to TK-8th grade explorers in San Diego. We value rigor, bilingualism and international education as a means to develop compassionate global citizens. Kavod means “Respect” in Hebrew- and our vision is for every explorer to respect themselves, each other, their community, and other cultures. Enroll with Kavod today!
