Tag: Leah Kinarthy

Groundbreaking May 26

Kineret Tamim Academy founders Dr. Elior and Leah Kinarthy. Kineret Tamim is Victoria’s first Jewish day school. (photo from Chabad)

Kineret Tamim Academy, just steps from the Chabad of Vancouver Island’s Centre for Jewish Life and Learning, is now officially an independent school.

Easily reaching the 10-student minimum before any classes could be taught, Kineret Tamim is looking forward to enrolling more students when it opens in September. The school will be kindergarten to Grade 2 at the start, but hopes to expand to more grades in the future.

For many local Jewish parents and grandparents, the need for a day school has been pressing. Victoria is the fastest-growing Jewish community in Canada, with a population of 4,385, according to the 2021 census (up from 2,630 a decade earlier). 

“The fact that, for the first time in the 160 years of Jewish history in Victoria, the first Jewish day school is opening is a testimony to the growth of Jewish life on Vancouver Island,” said Rabbi Meir Kaplan, the director of Chabad of Vancouver Island. 

“Victoria is now a destination for families who would like to raise their children in a community with robust Jewish education,” he said. 

Chabad of Vancouver Island was established in September 2003 when Kaplan and his wife, Chani, arrived in Victoria. At first, the living room of their home was used as the shul and children’s play area. Their programs, and the interest they drew, expanded over the years and more space was needed to accommodate the community. On Aug. 24, 2016, the Verrier Family Chabad Centre for Jewish Life and Learning was opened. 

“Rabbi Kaplan has been a mover and shaker, and his wife, Chani, has also been a major reason the school is happening,” said Leah Kinarthy, an active member of the local Jewish community and president of Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island. “The preschool she runs is incredible. Having a successful preschool is a major requirement for the Tamim Academies to support a new school opening.”

Kinarthy and her husband, Elior, were instrumental in enabling the school to become a reality and Leah Kinarthy will serve on the school’s board. Cathy Lowenstein, who was head of Vancouver Talmud Torah for 17 years, is now a professional advisor who helps launch private schools and works to establish them as certified independent schools in the province – she was also pivotal in bringing Kineret Tamim into being.

Principal Kristen Lundgren, who holds a bachelor’s of education specializing in French immersion and French second language instruction, has 27 years of experience in childhood education. Hebrew and Judaic studies will be taught by Viviana Finkelstein, who has taught elementary Hebrew for more than 30 years.

“The school has an incredible headteacher/principal and a Judaic/Hebrew teacher,” said Kinarthy. “It’s a community school that will be a unifying force for quality Jewish education for our children and grandchildren. Opening a Jewish day school was our lifelong dream; now is the time to make our legacy a reality.”

Kineret Tamim will offer secular education, with both French and Hebrew immersion, along with Judaic studies. The organizers of the school stress their objective is to facilitate the “unbounded potential” and “innate desire to learn” within every child.

Further, they aim to “prioritize long-term social-emotional and spiritual health in order to fulfil our mission of developing kindness, self-efficacy and purpose in each student.” This approach, they believe, will enable students to make their own positive imprint on the world.

photo - Kineret Tamim Academy is run under the auspices of Chabad of Vancouver Island, which is led by Rabbi Meir and Chani Kaplan
Kineret Tamim Academy is run under the auspices of Chabad of Vancouver Island, which is led by Rabbi Meir and Chani Kaplan. (photo from Chabad)

The school will be inclusive. Every Jewish child, regardless of background, affiliation or level of observance, will be able to attend. No Jewish child, their website states, will be denied a Jewish education due to financial circumstances. All students must wear a uniform. Kineret Tamim has partnered with a security company to ensure the safety of children and staff. 

The school is part of Tamim Academies, an international organization of schools, and is one of many located around the world. The name stems from Tomchei Temimim, the first formal yeshivah system of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which was founded in 1897 in Russia by Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson. Each student was referred to as “tamim,” pure, perfect or complete – the assumption being that each child is inherently holy and good, with “wholeness” being the foundation of the education model.

For several years, Chabad of Vancouver Island has been operating CTots, a licensed early childcare centre, situated on the upper level of the Centre of Jewish Life and Learning on Glasgow Street. Kineret Tamim Academy will be located on Quadra Street.

The Chabad centre in Victoria is one of two on Vancouver Island. There is also Chabad Nanaimo and Central Vancouver Island, which launched in January 2015.

On Lag b’Omer (May 26) at 4:30 p.m., there will be a groundbreaking for Kineret Tamimn Academy, coinciding with a community barbecue. The event will take place at the CTots Adventure Park. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. Sponsorship is $180.

For more information, or to apply, visit tamimvictoria.org. 

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Visit green market in Saanich

(photo from jfsvi.ca)

Jewish Family Services of Vancouver Island (JFSVI) will launch a green market at the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria on June 12, thanks largely to a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver.

The grant has allowed JFSVI to hire Ora Stefanic, a former director at University of Victoria Hillel, as the market’s coordinator. “It is a privilege for me to be a part of such an important cause and I hope that people will not only benefit from this opportunity to purchase great quality produce at a low cost, but that it will also help support local farms,” Stefanic told the Independent.

“Ora brings a tremendous amount of experience, energy and enthusiasm to this project,” said Leah Kinarthy, head of JFSVI.

The market is not a handout of free processed food or items nearing their expiration date. Rather, according to JFSVI, purchasing fresh produce at close to wholesale prices will both allow people to preserve their dignity and reduce food waste.

“We believe that the Saanich Green Market would be the only fresh produce market offering wholesale prices on Vancouver Island,” Kinarthy said.

JFSVI expanded its programs in 2022. In March and April, the organization distributed gift cards for Thrifty Foods, a subsidiary of Sobeys, to individuals in need through a grant from Community Food Centres Canada, a group that addresses food insecurity across the country.

JFSVI received a $10,000 grant from CFCC for the gift cards and the Jewish Community Foundation grant to hire a part-time market coordinator was also $10,000.

“With shortages, inflation and higher prices, basic food staples are becoming increasingly difficult to afford for families with children and seniors and many others on fixed or reduced incomes,” Kinarthy said. “We have had very positive and grateful, and some happy but surprised, reactions from people who received this unexpected bonus funding. Some people were overcome with emotion and cried over the phone, as their situation was desperate and this helped them a lot.”

Kinarthy got the idea for a green market after pondering how to use JFSVI revenues to assist the greatest number of people with the finances available.

While on the CFCC website, Kinarthy discovered a section promoting fresh produce markets. “I read all of their extensive materials and realized that this was doable for our community. I am especially drawn to the premise of people receiving assistance through very low costs to buy farm-fresh produce rather than free food that is about to expire.”

Following the June 12 grand opening, the Saanich Green Market will run every other week for a full year, though there will also be a market on June 19.

Kinarthy emphasized that it is a 12-month pilot project. She and her board are currently applying for a grant from the Victoria Foundation to help fund the purchase of tents and other equipment to ease the burden of initial expenses. If successful, JFSVI plans to put more money into purchasing fresh food, particularly if demand exceeds expectations. Should enough funding arrive through donations and grants, they hope to hold a weekly market the following year.

JFSVI was recently accepted into the Good Food Organizations program offered by CFCC. The program, which includes more than 270 charities across the country, works to eradicate poverty, food insecurity and improve the health and well-being of low-income Canadians.

JFSVI also distributes grocery gift cards for four Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Purim and Passover. In April, they delivered grocery gift cards for Passover via post, email and in-person to 36 households – or roughly 80 people – on Vancouver Island.

The organization budgeted additional funds for the Passover cards. Due in significant part to the largesse of the Fernwood General Store (formerly Aubergines), JFSVI was able to purchase them for kosher food at a discount.

Fairway Market, another Island-based grocery chain that consistently offers kosher products, offered gift cards at Passover to residents outside of Greater Victoria, as well.

Serving members of the community throughout the Island, JFSVI was started as a grassroots organization in the mid-1990s. It became a registered charity in 1996, when it was called the Jewish Assistance Association. Aside from food support, JFSVI has worked with clients on several other concerns, including housing, home support care and the prevention of social isolation. Anyone wishing to donate to the Saanich Green Market or JFSVI can send an etransfer to reachout@jfsvi.ca or visit the JFSVI website, jfsvi.ca.

The JCC of Victoria is located at 3636 Shelbourne St., and the Sunday markets run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.