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New goals for future high school
Project chair says it's up to parents to support their children's community.
KYLEBERGER STAFF REPORTER
The sign outside the small school house on Baillie Street in Vancouver won't read "Maimonides Secondary School" come September.
. Instead, current plans are to have it read "Jewish Community High School of Greater Vancouver," the name of the new educational institution that many people say the community needs in order to continue to grow.
In early January, a meeting of more than 200 members of the community was held to discuss the idea of a more-developed Jewish high school program to take over where Maimonides leaves off. Maimonides has declared it won't continue after the current school year.
Some ideas for the new program include an excursion to Israel for the Grade 10 class and a curriculum that hopes to attract Jews of all affiliations.
As well, a new Jewish high school would be hiring new staff as well as hiring back some of those who had been working at Maimonides.
Under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, a task force was created to begin work on the project, which includes the search for a location to build a new facility eventually. The plan was to have a building that could hold up to 150 students, 90 more than Maimonides' current enrolment.
If the program begins this fall, classes will be temporarily held in the Maimonides building.
At the January meeting, committees were formed that began working toward a March 31
Demonstrators, many originally from the Balkans, displayed placards and shouted slogans against the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia outside the U.S. embassy in Tel-Aviv March 30. For more on Israeli involvement in Kosovo, please see page 20.
deadline, a date by wliidi the task force felt certain goals needed to be met in order for the plans to go ahead.
Of the objectives that were set, the key one was the perceived need for a Grade 8 class of 30 students and a total enrolment of no less than 150.
However, the deadline was recently pushed to April 27, as many of the goals set by the task force .were deemed to be unreachable in the short term.
In an interview with the Bulletin, Judy Mandelman, chair of the Jewish community high school project, said that, altliough many ideas have had to be revamped, things are looking positive for the project and its September launch.
"Things are going extremely well in some areas and in others we could use some help," she said. "I think some of the goals that were set for us by the task force
where set in error because they based it on a larger number of kids at Maimonides than is currently tliere, plus they didn't take into consideration those who would be graduating this year, as well as the ones who would be leaving tlie city and going back to Israel where they come from."
Mandelman said that they have been successful with the re-enrolment of current Maimonides students, noting that only four students that were expected to return to the school next year have not yet said yes.
Although a goal of 30 students for next fall's Grade 8 class was set, Mandelman said their current enrolment for this fall of 16, higher than this year's 13, is a more realistic number. She explained that most students make tJieir liigh school plans when tliey are in Grade 5 or 6 and convincing families to change their plans only seven months before the
school year begins is difficult.
"Hopefully, when we have it up and running next year, it will be much easier to attract new students and the years after that will be easy," she said. "Really oiu-marketing now should be focused on students in Grade 5 and 6 for Grades."
With that said, Mandelman acknowledged that the decision date was pushed to April 27 because it was felt that students who are applying to schools outside of the jurisdiction in which they live, may have those applications turned down.
Please see EDUCATION on page 2
Yom Hashoah gains official status as B.C. memorial day
BAILA LAZARUS
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
The government of British Columbia has declared April 13 Holocaust Memorial Day in remembrance of the persecution and annihilation of European Jews between 1933 and 1945. Ujjal Dosanjh, attorney general and minister for multiculturalism, immigration and human rights made the announcement March 30.
"The important proclamation calls attention to the atrocities of the Holocaust towards Jews, others targeted for racial and religious reasons, people with physical and mental disabilities and those targeted because of their sexual orientation," Dosanjh said.
Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Memorial Day recognized by Jews around the world, is determined by the Jewish calendar and falls on the 27th of Nisan. This year, that date corresponds with April 13.
Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region, reacted favorably to the announcement.
"The Holocaust is a unique event in human history; its enduring lessons are universal," said Zena Siinces, cliair of CJC, Pacific Region.
"Canadian Jewish Congress is particularly pleased that the proclamation reaffirms the government's commitment to protect British Columbia from hate, racism and discrimination and provides an opportunity to educate about the enduring lessons of the Holocaust."
British Columbia and Ontario are now tlie only two areas outside Israel to proclaim a Holocaust Memorial Day. □
JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETV #206-950 W£S- 41ST AVE. VANCOUVER BC V5Z 2N7