Zichronot/Memories, Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni Association Newsletter Winter 2010 Letter from David Bogoch, Chair, Talmud Torah Alumni Association Where is the Class of 1958? The Alumni Committee has been working for the past six years trying to find every student who attended Talmud Torah since the its early days. We have concentrated our efforts on the students in the classes of 1955 to the present. So far, we have identified over 2300 students! Of those, we have current contact information for 2014 of them, leaving just a few left to find. Many of the missing left town years ago, mostly back to Israel. Some of the missing still live in town, but nobody involved in the committee knows how to find them. Additionally, as soon as we think we have one class completed, someone brings up a new name we have not heard of, or a name we completely forgot about, and then there are more people to find. It is an ongoing job, not to mention having to account for moves and changes of address and email addresses. However, there is one class for which we have absolutely no information. The class of 1958 is a complete mystery. We have not been able to identify even one student who went to the school in that grade. Now, we know there was a class of 1958. There was a class of 1957 and a class of 1959, but nobody from those classes can remember who was at school either one year ahead of them or one year behind them. The class of 1957 includes Sheila Balshine, Esther Blumenfeld, Barnie Eskin, Judy Garfin, Tom Gelmon, Michael Gurvin, Lani Harowitz, Tammy Kagna, Marshall Letcher, Stan Levy, Martin Lipsky, Seema Sasloff, Estelle Schecter, Danny Weinstein, Ruth Weinstein, Brian Wener, and Marsha White. And the class of 1958 includes???? The class of 1959 includes Richard Ames, Jerry Apfelbaum, Leslie Blond, Valerie Blumes, Eileen Buchwald, Fred Curtis, Felicia Folk, David Goldenberg, Danny Goodman, Marjorie Goodman, Pearl Grunfeld, Beth Kagna, Leo Kron, Brian Lercher, Dianne Mann, Sydney Nesbitt, Eva Rosenstrauch, Phyllis Rosenstrauch, Audrey Rosenthal, Jeffrey Samuels, Corrine Solman, George Weiss, Milton Yacht, and Harold Yacowar. The missing class was made up of children born in 1945, would have finished grade 6 at Vancouver Talmud Torah in 1957, and would have graduated from a public school, in grade 7 in 1958. At that time, Talmud Torah did not go up to grade seven. To standardize the class categories, we use the June year they would have finished grade 7. If anyone knows of people in the missing class, we would welcome the leads. Start asking people, spread the word, and I am guessing, before long, a list of names will start to emerge and we will solve this nagging mystery. While we’re on the subject of missing alumni, do you know anyone who attended TT in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s? We are moving into the real old history of the school and would love to have a class reunion for the class of 1949, or the class of 1939, or if we have anyone left, the class of 1929 (born in 1916). At least for the school archives, we would love to gather this missing information. Please forward any information to [email protected]or by phone at 604.269.9085. Many thanks and best wishes! VANCOUVER TALMUD TORAH ALUMNI NEWSLETTER Do you recognize anyone in this class photo? Email your best guesses to [email protected]
Transcript
Zichronot/Memories, Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni Association Newsletter Winter 2010
Letter from David Bogoch, Chair, Talmud Torah Alumni Association
Where is the Class of 1958?
The Alumni Committee has been working for the past six years trying to find every student who attended Talmud Torah since the its early days. We have concentrated our efforts on the students in the classes of 1955 to the present. So far, we have identified over 2300 students! Of those, we have current contact information for 2014 of them, leaving just a few left to find. Many of the missing left town years ago, mostly back to Israel. Some of the missing still live in town, but nobody involved in the committee knows how to find them. Additionally, as soon as we think we have one class completed, someone brings up a new name we have not heard of, or a name we completely forgot about, and then there are more people to find. It is an ongoing job, not to mention having to account for moves and changes of address and email addresses. However, there is one class for which we have absolutely no information. The class of 1958 is a complete mystery. We have not been able to identify even one student who went to the school in that grade. Now, we know there was a class of 1958. There was a class of 1957 and a class of 1959, but nobody from those classes can remember who was at school either one year ahead of them or one year behind them. The class of 1957 includes Sheila Balshine, Esther Blumenfeld, Barnie Eskin, Judy Garfin, Tom Gelmon, Michael Gurvin, Lani Harowitz, Tammy Kagna, Marshall Letcher, Stan Levy, Martin Lipsky, Seema Sasloff, Estelle Schecter, Danny Weinstein, Ruth Weinstein, Brian Wener, and Marsha White. And the class of 1958 includes???? The class of 1959 includes Richard Ames, Jerry Apfelbaum, Leslie Blond, Valerie Blumes, Eileen Buchwald, Fred Curtis,
Felicia Folk, David Goldenberg, Danny Goodman, Marjorie Goodman, Pearl Grunfeld, Beth Kagna, Leo Kron, Brian Lercher, Dianne Mann, Sydney Nesbitt, Eva Rosenstrauch, Phyllis Rosenstrauch, Audrey Rosenthal, Jeffrey Samuels, Corrine Solman, George Weiss, Milton Yacht, and Harold Yacowar.
The missing class was made up of children born in 1945, would have finished grade 6 at Vancouver Talmud Torah in 1957, and would have graduated from a public school, in grade 7 in 1958. At that time, Talmud Torah did not go up to grade seven. To standardize the class categories, we use the June year they would have finished grade 7. If anyone knows of people in the missing class, we would welcome the leads. Start asking people, spread the word, and I am guessing, before long, a list of names will start to emerge and we will solve this nagging mystery. While we’re on the subject of missing alumni, do you know anyone who attended TT in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s? We are moving into the real old history of the school and would love to have a class reunion for the class of 1949, or the class of 1939, or if we have anyone left, the class of 1929 (born in 1916). At least for the school archives, we would love to gather this missing information. Please forward any information to [email protected] or by phone at 604.269.9085. Many thanks and best wishes!
V A N C O U V E R T A L M U D T O R A H A L U M N I N E W S L E T T E R
Do you recognize anyone in this class photo? Email your best guesses to [email protected]
Zichronot/Memories, Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni Association Newsletter Winter 2010
Message from Cathy Lowenstein, Principal of Vancouver Talmud Torah Moving Towards 21st Century Learning
As Principal of Vancouver Talmud Torah, it is my job to ensure our students receive the requisite skills and knowledge to become well-educated and active contributors of both the Jewish community and society at large. Though no one will dispute the importance of the 3 “Rs,” the advent of the digital age forces us to think about education with a new lens. Due to the widespread availability of--and accessibility to--information, we are in an era where the teacher no longer owns the learning. This requires a radical rethinking of how teachers teach and how students learn. For the last several years, we have implemented significant fundraising initiatives to equip our school with the latest hardware (iMacs and Apple laptops, digital cameras, SmartBoards, wireless hubs) to give our students and teachers the best available access to technology. However, equipment is not enough to effect change. Though there is no substitute for excellent pedagogy, as a school we must confront the reality that today’s generation of learners, known as “digital residents,” require multiple multi-sensory inputs to absorb and process material. Since the summer of 2009, we have been supporting our faculty to integrate technology into their teaching. In addition to hiring an Information Technology Manager, we have a consultant on site once or twice a week to help teachers familiarize themselves with various tools and develop ways to meaningfully integrate them into their lessons plans. One of our most successful achievements was offering no-interest loans to anyone who wanted to purchase a laptop. Having teachers own their own computers transformed what was initially perceived as threatening to something fun and challenging. Putting tools directly into teachers’ hands facilitated a paradigm shift more than any professional development or encouragement from administration. In the school’s first-term alone it has been amazing to witness so many transformations to teachers’ professional practice. Many are now communicating with students and families through blogs and wikis; student digital images and videos are finding their way into the curriculum to demonstrate progress; and collaborative documents are allowing students (and other stakeholders) to not only read students’ work, but comment on it as well. One unforeseen outcome of this journey has been the strong teacher-leadership that has emerged. Teachers have gained confidence and have a renewed sense of pride in their craft. The impact on student learning is immeasurable. Many on our team are joining with their students to learn together. This indeed is a giant leap toward 21st century learning.
Do you recognize anyone in this graduation photo? Email your best guesses to
Zichronot/Memories, Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni Association Newsletter Winter 2010
Message from ADAM GELMON, DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION AND School-Wide PROGRAMs Take A Trip Down Memory Lane
Dear Fellow Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni, When I graduated from VTT in 1990, I thought the only time I’d pass through the halls again would be for my 20 or 30-year reunion. When I had the good fortune to return as a teacher eight years ago, it felt like coming home. And now as the school’s new Director of Admission, I am thrilled to be able to speak from a place of knowledge and experience about our school. If you haven’t been back in a while, I invite you to come in for a trip down memory lane to see the blue lights of the Wosk chapel, your old locker or the “small” gym where you may have been a star intramural athlete. It won’t all be familiar, though. If you peek into the classrooms or the “big” gym or the new media lab, you’ll see just how much
we’ve changed and how much we’ve grown--how we are a school of excellence in both Judaic and General Studies. I invite you to get to know Vancouver Talmud Torah as it is today: a school community with a rich history and a dedicated staff committed to the pursuit of academic excellence. We’d love for you to see our wonderful school in action and experience for yourself the many ways in which Vancouver Talmud Torah prepares its students to become proud, caring, responsible global thinkers and dedicated members of the Jewish community and Canadian society. Please feel free to contact me if you’d like to schedule a visit or a tour, or even if you’d like to reminisce about old times. I’m available by phone at 604-736-7307, ext. 3478, or via email at [email protected].
I look forward to welcoming you back to our school.
Save the Dates
Class of 1960 50th ReunionSunday, May 16 for brunch at Talmud Torah; for more info contact David Bogoch at [email protected]
Zichronot/Memories, Vancouver Talmud Torah Alumni Association Newsletter Winter 2010
Have you visited our website lately?Log onto www.talmudtorah.com and click on the ALUMNI link to find dozens of photo albums from
the past. Don’t forget to check out EASE THE SQUEEZE to watch the video that was the introduction to our building campaign. The PUBLICATIONS link has access to our Board’s
STAKEHOLDERS’ REPORT, STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 09-14 and STATEMENT OF NEED for our capital campaign. And if you’re so inclined, you can make a donation through the “Giving to VTT”
link! Feel free to visit many of our teachers’ blogs and websites in the LINKS section.
Did you know that Talmud Torah’s oldest and most successful fundraiser, the Jewish Phone Book, is still going strong? To list your name or to advertise, contact Carol Fader at [email protected]
or go directly to www.talmudtorah.comor call 604.736.7307
Alumni Profile: Elana Jacobson (nee Nep)
It's been a long time since Elana Jacobson was busy m a k i n g C h a n u k k a h d e c o r a t i o n s i n kindergarten, though the memories of spending her early years with veteran teacher Sandy Baker (now retired) were potent enough to bring her back to her alma mater after graduating with a Bachelor of Music from UBC. Although Jacobson began as a volunteer in her former teachers', Sari Weintraub and Colette Leisen, classrooms back in 2004, a music specialist position soon became available for which she was the logical‐‐and natural‐‐fit! It didn't take long for Jacobson to raise the bar of the school's music and performing arts program to earn it consistent accolades and admiration. In recent years, she has joined forces with drama specialist, Keri Smith, also a VTT alum, to co‐produce, co‐direct and co‐write, MACCA‐BIA (based on the music of ABBA, and with creative participation from another VTT alum, Rabbi Matthew Bellas) and MACCA‐BEATLES (based on the legendary tunes of the Beatles). Both shows attracted audiences upwards of 500, and sealed Vancouver Talmud Torah's reputation as a school that values the arts.
Jacobson's ties to VTT extend beyond the professional. In 2007, Elana wed alumnus Brian Jacobson and currently teaches a niece and nephew at VTT. When asked if she would send her own (future) children to Talmud Torah, Jacobson responded with a resounding, "Absolutely!"
We need your help to find the following missing alumni from the Class of 1990:
