A season of learning and connection at Brock Corydon School

Each fall, students at Brock Corydon School come together to explore Sukkot, a weeklong Jewish fall festival celebrating the harvest, community, and gratitude. Through the school’s sukkah, students in the Hebrew and English programs learn about Jewish culture and traditions while sharing knowledge and building connections with their peers.

Connecting Language and Culture

Launched in 1991, Brock Corydon School’s Hebrew Bilingual program connects language learning with cultural experiences that help students explore their Jewish heritage. During the fall festivities some of this learning takes place around the school’s sukkah. A sukkah is a temporary structure inspired by the shelters Jewish people built during their journey through the desert. Each year, it becomes a gathering space where students explore the history and traditions associated with Sukkot and share their knowledge with classmates. The sukkah also welcomes community members after school hours, extending the experience beyond the classroom.

Inside Brock Corydon’s Sukkah

The sukkah itself tells a story. Three years ago, every class received a panel and a topic related to Sukkot to illustrate. When assembled, the 12 panels tell the story of the holiday, creating a colourful space filled with student artwork. During this year’s visit, Grade 6 students admired drawings they had created in previous years, revisiting their contributions and the meaning behind the symbols. 

Inside the sukkah, students also took part in activities designed to strengthen connections with their classmates. Older students played a ‘Find someone who…’ question game, moving around the space to find peers who matched different descriptions, such as someone who speaks more than one language or whose favourite colour is green.

Conversations About Community and Belonging

For Learning Support Teacher Sherry Wolfe Elazar, these experiences help make cultural learning relevant to every student. The themes explored during Sukkot include welcoming others, appreciating the harvest, and being grateful for our homes. “We raise awareness about the issue of people facing housing insecurity and our responsibility as a society to help and support people in our communities” she shares.

Through conversations and demonstrations, students share what they know about their culture and review the meaning of symbols associated with Sukkot, including the lulav (a palm branch), etrog (citron fruit), and plant species traditionally used during the holiday. These experiences give students opportunities to learn from one another while building an understanding of traditions that may be new to them.

Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom

Younger students approach the sukkah with enthusiasm, enjoying games, treats and the chance to explore its colourful displays. Older students build on these experiences by making connections between their identities and those of their classmates.

“The themes of the holiday, with its emphasis on hospitality, being grateful for our food, and appreciating our homes, are universal themes that resonate with all,” says Wolfe. At Brock Corydon, the sukkah is more than a seasonal gathering space. It brings language, culture and traditions together through immersive learning experiences that deepen students’ understanding of their heritage and the world around them.