|
|
August 22, 2008
New option for girls
School keeps Orthodox teens close to home.
RON FRIEDMAN
When Rivka Abramchick moved to Vancouver from New York five years ago, it was to accompany her husband who is the dean of Pacific Torah Institute (PTI), a local yeshivah for teenage boys. Little did she know that within a few years, she would be called upon to be a principal of a new school of her own.
Shalhevet Girl's High School opened in 2007 as a result of the need in the community to accommodate high school-aged Orthodox girls with an appropriate setting. Until then, girls had the option to either go out of town to schools in the United States or in Eastern Canada, or to take classes at Vancouver Hebrew Academy (VHA), an Orthodox Jewish day school that serves primarily elementary school-aged students. "Most of the girls ended up leaving because they wanted a regular high school," said Abramchick.
Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt of Schara Tzedeck Synagogue, who teaches Jewish history at the school, reiterated why he believes that a separate girls school in Vancouver is necessary. "Number 1 is that we live in a world where the sexual pressure on adolescent and post-adolescent young women is unlike any time that we have lived before. I think that the level of sexual discrimination that is out there, and the crumbling of boundaries is risky, not only on a religious level but also on an emotional level. That scares me as a parent, it scares me as a rabbi and, to the extent that it's possible to create an educational arena that can be a safe space we created, is to me a first priority.
Additionally, I think it was important to many of us to find a school environment that advanced the educational, ethical and social development of our children in a way that we wish for them and – with no disrespect to the other schools – that simply wasn't being provided here in Vancouver."
A group of concerned parents decided to raise the idea of a local girls high school to accommodate the needs. They approached Abramchik because of her background in education. "They came to me basically saying, 'We need this to happen,' and asked me to help administratively," recalled Abramchick. "With the help of VHA, PTI, Rabbi Rosenblatt and Schara Tzedeck, we put together a program." Employing teachers from PTI and using two rooms in Schara Tzedeck, Shalhevet Girls High School was born, with six students grades 8-11.
With half a day of general studies and half a day of Judaic studies, students receive a complete education, one that prepares them well for meeting the challenges of either a university degree or continued religious studies at a midrashah (Hebrew junior college). "And yes," said Abramchick with a laugh "We have more teachers than students." But Abramchick said this wouldn't be the case for long. Already, six new girls are joining in September, and she hopes the school will eventually cater to 25-30 students.
When asked if she felt she was losing out on anything by attending such a small school, Shalhevet student Shevi Wosk said, "A lot of people would, they think that they'd want to go to a bigger high school, but me personally, not really. You still do get a high school experience, it's just a different experience."
Aside from formal education, students in Shalhevet take part in a variety of enriching activities. "We very much believe that kids today have to realize that they can give back to the community," said Abramchick. Every Friday, after school finishes, the girls participate in two hours of chesed (kindness) activities. These range from helping needy families prepare for Shabbat by assisting in the cleaning and cooking, to visiting with the elderly, to making mishloach manot (gift parcels) for Purim. The girls also participate in fundraising activities; a bake-off they organized last year enabled them to go on a field trip to New York City.
While you might think that in a school so small, social issues would be the least of the worries, Abramchick said that they made sure to pay attention to that aspect too. A student council was formed headed by Shira Bloom, who takes care of planning and implementing social events. "It takes constant effort to make this work, because the girls all have very different personalities," said Abramchick.
Funding for the new school comes from several sources, including tuition fees, assistance from the Vancouver Jewish Federation, government funding and private donations from local as well as Toronto-based sources.
To learn more about Shalhevet, contact Abramchick at 604-618-1274.
^TOP
|
|
