Vision
Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School offers an integrated approach to learning in a vibrant Jewish environment, where critical thinking and creative expression are nurtured. Our vision of educational excellence encompasses a solid foundation in core academic skills, social justice, and the arts. Our teachers cultivate curiosity and a love of learning in a dynamic and supportive environment. We bring together children from a wide range of Jewish observance and backgrounds and from diverse family compositions, in mutual respect, to promote understanding and love of Jewish tradition, values, and culture. Our religious practice is egalitarian and grounded in both traditional and modern sources of inspiration. Students are encouraged to question and explore, in order to develop their own authentic relationship to Judaism and the Jewish people. We enable our students to become active, independent learners who will grow to be responsible citizens and compassionate, confident members of the community.
Our Commitment:
Academic Excellence
- Fostering critical thinking and the desire to seek a deeper understanding in all aspects of learning
- Building upon and surpassing the core skills outlined in the Ontario Ministry of Education guidelines
- Addressing a broad spectrum of learning styles, encouraging each child to realize their full potential
- Creating dynamic classrooms that incorporate individual, partner and small group learning models
- Providing opportunities for enrichment and remediation
- Supporting staff in their ongoing commitment to learning and professional development
Integrated Learning
- Using in-depth exploration of unit themes to make learning more meaningful.
- Making connections across subject areas through a multidisciplinary, arts enhanced approach
- Extending learning through hands-on experience and creative field trips
- Building a strong and informed Jewish identity
- Teaching Jewish tradition from a meaningful, relevant and pluralistic perspective
- Developing Jewish literacy, including knowledge of rituals and prayer, Hebrew language, and Jewish history and culture
- Fostering a love for Israel by studying its modern and biblical history, geography, culture, political and ethnic diversity, and relevance to Canadian and world Jewish identity
Commitment to Social Justice and Community
- Creating a classroom environment of mutual respect and support
- Teaching values that encourage students to take an active role in building a just society (Tzedakah) and repairing the world (Tikkun Olam), both within the Jewish and the broader community
- Welcoming parents and family members to be part of our inclusive school community through social and educational events
- Encouraging parents to participate in school committees and other volunteer activities
- Embracing and celebrating diversity within the school and broader community
