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February 11, 2005
PTI: new home and team
Yeshivah is more a part of the community, says dean.
KYLE BERGER
Although they have only been in operation in Vancouver for a school
year and a half, the Pacific Torah Institute (PTI) has undergone
some significant developments.
Tuition has grown, from 16 to 19 students, and the students and
teachers moved into a new facility in September – one they
can finally call home. Sitting on the fourth floor, right above
the Lubavitch Centre on the corner of 41st Avenue and Oak Street,
the PTI is enjoying their fully renovated premises.
"It's a day and night difference between last year's building
and this building," said Rabbi Noam Abramchik, who shares the
role of school dean with Rabbi Dovid Davidowitz. "For one,
we know that everything here is ours and we have a five-year lease.
"We leased it totally unfurnished and everything we've done
has been done to our specifications," he continued. "Last
year, we worked around what we had. This year, we have everything
we could use to run a school."
More importantly, Abramchik suggested, the move to the new school
shows the community that the PTI is settling in Greater Vancouver;
a gesture that the rabbis feel will go a long way in increasing
support.
"We are really able to show the community that we are here
to stay," he said. "In the last couple of months, several
things have happened that allow us to see ourselves as being a part
of the community, rather than being outsiders looking in. We owe
a lot to community leaders like Yosef Wosk and Arnold Silber, who
have really made sure that we are a part of the community."
The yeshivah, which includes students from around North America
– as far east as Winnipeg – has also grown with the added
services of Sandy Wohl, who, this year, has been serving as the
school's general studies principal.
"Even though he works in the public school system in the morning,
he dedicates full-time hours to us after that and he really is making
it his life ambition to put the general studies program together
and develop it into a program of academic excellence," said
Davidowitz. "The general studies program has improved greatly
since Sandy joined us."
One of the more noticeable developments in the yeshivah's youthful
existence is the progress of their basketball team.
Placed in the same division as the King David high school team,
the PTI athletes have put themselves in a position to battle for
first place with their religious rivals. Their games at the Jewish
Community Centre of Greater Vancouver usually draw a boisterous
crowd that can be heard throughout the building.
"The advantage of having a basketball team is that we feel
that this is something that develops the camaraderie among the students,"
Abramchik said. "It fosters school spirit because everyone
wants to be a part of it and, when the guys on the floor win, everybody
wins."
The school dedicated their new building in early December with a
special ceremony attended by more than 150 people. Next year will
be the first time the school offers classes for grades 8 through
12. They expect their enrolment to jump significantly, with several
new students coming from Seattle. For more information about the
PTI, call 604-261-1502.
Kyle Berger is a freelance journalist and graphic designer
living in Richmond.
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