COVID cases have kept rising at Jewish schools in York Region during November 2021
COVID cases continue to pop up in Jewish schools in York Region, just north of Toronto—but no day schools have been closed. As of Nov. 11, Netivot HaTorah Day School had 19 cases among students. Eitz Chaim School recorded three cases among students and one among staff. The outbreak at Joe Dwek Ohr HaEmet Sephardic […]
Winnipeg long-term care home residents who died of COVID are remembered in a ceremony
Gwen Nelko Esther Shuster Mary D. Turner The rain had stopped the morning of Oct. 27, as one by one the names of those who had died of COVID while residents of the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre in Winnipeg were read. Lena Parisien Sheila Strieffler Luba Zalkind Irene Fonseth There were 11 elderly people […]
COVID cases have been reported at Jewish day schools in York Region during October 2021
Jewish day schools and preschools in York Region, north of Toronto, are reporting several cases of COVID, according to the region’s public health department. As of Oct. 21, Joe Dwek Ohr HaEmet Sephardic School reported 15 cases among students and three cases among staff. Netivot HaTorah Day School reported eight cases among its students. Eitz […]
Montreal researchers are studying the high COVID rates among haredim
A study supported by the federal government will investigate the incidence of COVID among the haredi Jewish community in Montreal, which is said to have been “disproportionately affected” by the coronavirus. The multidisciplinary study is being conducted by the government’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), in collaboration with a research team from McGill University and […]
Toronto novelist Bev Katz Rosenbaum explores the impact of COVID on teens
Toronto author Bev Katz Rosenbaum’s young adult novel, I’m Good and Other Lies gives a voice to older teens whose mental health has been affected by the uncertainty, isolation, and lost routines and friendships over the course of the pandemic. “It’s the book of my heart and it’s really important to me,” said Katz Rosenbaum. […]
Toronto-area day schools start the year with COVID precautions
Jewish day schools in Toronto and Hamilton have opened their classrooms again after a year of struggling to educate students online. It’s not a return to any kind of normal, however as the struggle against a new wave of the COVID virus continues. “We are thrilled to be welcoming our students back, but we are […]
Queen’s University Chabad is facing questions over apparent lack of COVID safety measures
A Chabad emissary at Queen’s University is being criticized by another rabbi in Kingston, Ont., for holding outdoor events without masking and social distancing requirements. In a letter to university principal Patrick Deane, Beth Israel Congregation’s Rabbi Erin Polansky says the Chabad events put the health of students and the entire community at risk. Rabbi […]
Winnipeg’s Gray Academy sets vaccination policy for students and staff
Winnipeg’s Gray Academy of Jewish Education, which serves students from kindergarten to grade 12, will require all staff and eligible students to be fully vaccinated against COVID when classes begin next week. Families were required to submit proof of vaccination by Sept. 2 for all children turning 12 by Dec. 31. The policy doesn’t apply to students aged 11 […]
The summer that COVID couldn’t cancel
Reflections on being a Jewish overnight camp counsellor in 2021.
Pandemic-tested Jewish schools in Montreal start the year with a little more confidence
Jewish day schools in Montreal are beginning the year with less trepidation than in 2020-21 despite a fourth wave of COVID driven by the more contagious Delta variant that experts believe will worsen. That confidence is based on rising COVID vaccinations, experience gained in implementing sanitary measures, and no more remote learning—for now. The Quebec […]
