Local News
Gray Academy shows marked increase in retention of students in comparison with same period in previous years
By BERNIE BELLAN Every February, Gray Academy opens up priority re-enrollment for current families for the next school year. In 2019, the percentage of parents who re-enrolled at this point in the year was 62%. In 2020, it was 70.61%.
This year, as of February 10, the percentage topped 90% – almost 30% higher than the same period just two years ago.
That was one of the facts I was able to learn during a phone conversation I had with Gray Academy Head of School Lori Binder on February 10. Also participating in the conversation were Director of Admissions Judi Price-Rosen and Director of Marketing and Communications Andrea Ritter.
My interest in speaking with Lori at this particular time was actually prompted by a remark that one of our subscribers had made to me during the course of a totally unrelated conversation when that subscriber suggestd that Gray Academy had attracted a large number of non-Jewish students this current school year.
I was somewhat surprised to hear that, so I contacted Lori Binder for a response to what that subscriber had told me.
Lori said that, in fact, there was nothing exceptional about the number of non-Jewish students who are enrolled this current year.
“On average, between two and four percent of our students come from families with no Jewish background ,” Lori said.
Doing the math, it would mean that, of a current student body of 484 students, somewhere between 10-20 students do not have a Jewish parent.
I remarked that when I was a student at Talmud Torah in the 1960s I do not recall there ever being a non-Jewish student in the school. Lori said, however, that the school has seen a slight increase in non-Jewish students enrolling over the past decades.
I asked whether there was anything in particular that might have led to an increase in the number of non-Jewish parents wanting to send their children to a Jewish school in recent years?
Lori suggested that there are probably a number of factors, including “word of mouth from Jewish families” to their non-Jewish friends about their positive experiences at Gray Academy. Judi Price-Rosen also noted there is positive word of mouth from non-Jewish families to other non-Jewish families making the same observation.
Yet, notwithstanding that a student may not be Jewish, no student is exempted from Judaic studies. “All students have Hebrew and Judaic studies” as part of their curriculum, Lori noted. “All students take part in milestone events, such as Chaggigat HaSiddur and Chaggigat HaTorah.”
Other factors that have no doubt contributed to the attraction that Gray Academy holds for some non-Jewish families, Lori added, include the “small class sizes”, the “high educational standards”, and the “values” that the school holds.
While already 90.3% of current parents have re-enrolled their children for next fall, the application process for new students has opened, as of February 8 and, while it may be more difficult to gain admission to the school, that should not preclude any parent from applying.
As I noted in an earlier article in this paper, while the total 2020-2021 enrolment at Gray Academy was down somewhat from the prior year (from 494 to 484), that is almost entirely a result of the pandemic.
With a minimum distance of two metres required to be maintained between students in all classes, some grades were capped once enrolments reached the maximum allowable number of students, thus preventing some parents from being able to send their children to Gray Academy.
Of course, without knowing what the situation will be vis-à-vis social distancing requirements in the fall, it is impossible to know whether Gray Academy will be able for certain to accommodate larger class sizes, but the probability is that will be the case.
One other fact that has certainly impressed a great many parents, Andrea Ritter noted, is that “we’ve had our kids at school every single day.”
Unlike so many other schools where actual cases of COVID or possible cases forced either total closures of schools or closures of portions of schools, aside from one instance in January, when one cohort missed one day of school, all classes that were being held in Gray Academy have continued without disruption. (Of course, when the province ordered students in Grades 7 and up to take their classes online for two weeks following winter break in January, Gray Academy was no exception.)
I wondered whether prospective new families are still offered the opportunity to visit the school during class hours to actually get a sense of how the school operates.
While that would have been the case in previous years, Lori explained, of course, with the current COVID restrictions in place those in-person visits are simply not allowed.
As well, new parents would normally have been able to meet teachers – and other parents, one on one.
Still, prospective “parents are introduced to other parents (online), and kids meet other kids”, she noted, so, as much as it’s possible, both parents and students are given a solid taste of what Gray Academy life is like before a student actually attends.
What we have for new parents is a “virtual open house”, Lori explained.
If you’re reading this and you may know of non-Jewish parents who have children enrolled in Gray Academy, I would very much like to speak to them, to get a sense of how their children are enjoying their experience there.
Overall, the significant rise in re-enrollment, as well as new applications for the 2021-2022 academic year demonstrate that Gray Academy is sought after by both current and prospective parents.
Local News
The Jewish Post Ltd. launches new website for food lovers
By BERNIE BELLAN Three months ago I wrote a story about something my daughter, Shira, had started doing on social media that had proved to be wildly successful – much to her own surprise. That story was titled: Local foodie finds fame by trying foods on Facebook Marketplace
What Shira was doing was going on to Facebook Marketplace and trying different foods that she was able to buy from local vendors. She often didn’t know what the heck it was she was ordering, but each time she would get a new food she would film herself reacting to that food.
The results have been consistently entertaining – often hilarious, to the point where Shira now has over 10,300 followers on Instagram, as well as on Facebook, TikTok, and Youtube. (You can find her Instagram page at Winnipeg Marketplace Food Finds.)
I suggested to Shira that she ought to parlay the success she’s found by posting on social media into a further venture: creating a website that would give wider exposure to the food vendors whose food Shira liked the most.
As a result, Shira and I teamed up with the marvellous web designer whose name is Mario Lacunza who is responsible for the design of jewishpostandnews.ca -to create a brand new website called Winnipeg Marketplace Food Finds.
On that website you will find pictures of some of the most popular foods Shira has tried from Marketplace, along with links to the original Instagram posts where she reviewed those foods – and links that will take you directly to the vendors’ Facebook pages.
There are so many brilliantly creative people selling food on Marketplace and Shira’s social media posts have brought many of them a lot of new business. Our hope is that our new website will bring them even more business.
The website will also offer stories about food from a variety of sources. So, take a look at the new site and be amazed at the originality of the foods being produced on Facebook Marketplace.
Local News
UNVEILING for the headstone of Dr. Velimir Kon (Sept. 18, 1950-June 27, 2025)
A true mensch and person of many talents and profoundness, Dr. Velimir (Shlomo) Kon is deeply missed and loved by his family and friends.
Known for his warmth, kindness, integrity and love of learning and teaching, Velimir continues to inspire all who knew him and his memory warms our hearts and souls. Velimir is deeply missed.
You are invited to helps us remember and honour our beloved husband and father who passed away almost a year ago.
We, Branka, Deborah and Lea Kon, wish to inform our relatives and friends of the unveiling of a headstone dedicated to his loving memory on FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2026 at 11:00am at the HEBREW SICK CEMETERY (2605 McPhillips Street) followed by lunch at the Chabad Lubavitch of Winnipeg – Jewish Learning Centre (1845 Mathers Avenue). Please come say a l’chaim in his honour.
In Memoriam
1st Yahrzeit
In loving memory of Dr. Velimir (Shlomo) Kon who passed away June 27, 2025, 12 Days in Tammuz.
⁃ Forever and deeply loved and missed by his wife of over 50 years, Branka, and daughters Deborah and Lea Kon. Velimir brought joy to our lives with his boundless kindness and gentleness, irrepressible humour, great intellect and love of people, tikun olam and Judaism.
Not a day goes by that we do not mention Velimir and feel his presence with us. Our lives are not the same without him and we deeply miss and cherish him. We can never forget his presence that was larger than life, yet also his humility and thoughtfulness.
A gentleman to the very core, Velimir was respected as a scientist, academic, professor, researcher, and later as a teacher and mentor. He always endeavoured to make every place he worked and lived at better and was able to bridge many cultures. He was Abraham of his generation and made many personal sacrifices; giving up status, position and privilege in order for his family to have a better and peaceful future.
May his memory always be a blessing. He left us at only 74 years young and we wish we had had more time together. Indeed, to know him was to love him.
Local News
Younger Jewish talents continue to shine in their respective categories at annual Winnipeg Music Festival
By MYRON LOVE A number of younger members of our community were repeat stars at the most recent (108th annual) Winnipeg Music Festival – which takes place annually in March. Among the repeat Jewish singers and musicians in the ranks of high achievers this year were” Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, Gregory Hyman, Alex Schaeffer, Juliet Eskin, Noah Kravetsky, and Lyla Chisick.
Vocalist Yale Rayburn-Vander Hout, the oldest of this year’s group of Jewish repeat winners, was competing in his fifth straight festival, where he continued to build on his accomplishments in previous festivals. This year, the 20-year-old son of Samantha and Peter finished first in two musical theatre categories – songs from musical theatre productions between 1965 and 1999, and shows from the past 26 years. Yale sang “I’m Allergic to Cats,” from the 2016 musical “The Theory of Relativity,” and “Suppertime,” from the 1967 musical, “You’re a Good man, Charlie Brown.”
The former Gray Academy student is currently enrolled at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music in the Choral program. Yale says that he is hoping to get into the performance track in the fall with the goal of earning a degree in Classical Voice Performance en route to pursuing a career in musical theatre.
As reported previously, Gregory Hyman is a multi-faceted artist who can do it all. The 18-year-old son of Hartley and Rishona Hyman is a singer/songwriter/musician (guitar) who records and performs under the stage name, GMH. His versatility shone through once again in his eighth Music Festival, in which he registered first-place finishes for vocal performances in both “Popular and Contemporary Music” and “TV and Movie Music “categories.
Gregory notes that he was also recommended to compete in the provincial finals in June. The St. John’s-Ravenscourt student (and soon-to be) graduate continues to be busy on stage. In January, he headlined a sold out solo show at Sidestage on Osborne featuring some of his new material. In March, he released an album of his newest songs. Readers can check out his latest compositions on any of the music streaming platforms as well as his own social media (thegmh) on Instagram.
Gregory also continues to host his own podcast: “Talk and Rock with GMH – now in its fifth season – in which he interviews various people in the music business across Canada.
While Gregory says that a musical career is his “dream,” he reports that he is hedging his bets and considering different potential career opportunities. Come September, he will be enrolled at the University of Manitoba in a University One program, which will allow him to select from a variety of courses that can count toward a degree.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Schaeffer won first place this year in the “Musicals Prior to 1965, 16 Years and Under” category with “Try Me” from “She Loves Me,” and was runner-up in the “Musicals 1965 to 1999, 16 Years and Under” category with “On My Own,” from “Les Misérables.” For the son of Marc Schaeffer and Kae Sasaki, this was his fifth year competing in the festival.
The Grant Park High School student made his big stage debut three years ago as Kurt von Trapp in “The Sound of Music,” followed by playing Michael Hobbs in “Elf the Musical” this past winter at the Royal MTC.
Alex recently performed in Grant Park High School’s production of “Something Rotten!” This summer Schaeffer can be seen again at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, where he will be appearing in a production staged by Rem Lezar Theatre.
Rounding out the voice winners is Lyla Chisick. The daughter of Daniel and Baillee was competing in her second music festival. This year, she scored Gold performances in the “Vocal Solo,” “Manitoba Composers,” and “TV/Movie Musical, 12 and under” categories.
Lyla reports that she began taking voice lessons from Jessica Kos-Whicher three years ago. She says she regularly takes part in the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue Family Service and has sung at several community events. Lyla adds that she is already looking forward to next year’s music festival.
Nate Kravetsky and Juliet Eskin competed in the festival as musicians rather than singers. Juliet, 16, plays the viola, and is also is the violist in the Assiniboine String Quartet. In this, her fifth go-round at the festival, Juliet, the daughter of the musically talented Kelly Robinon and Josh Eskin, had first place finishes in the “Viola Solo, level 8,” “Baroque or Classical Concerto,” and “Romantic Composers” categories.
Juliet originally took up the violin – adding the viola a couple of years after. She also just finished performing in the Grant Park High School production of “Something Rotten!”
Nate Kravetsky is currently in Grade 5 level piano. He studies with Erica Schultz and has been taking lessons from her since age 5.
Nate competed in three categories at the Winnipeg music festival: “Baroque,” “Sonata,” and “Contemporary/own choice.”
His own choice selection was the theme from his favourite video game, “Hollow Knight.”
Nate, who is in Grade 7 at Gray Academy, is also preoccupied preparing for his upcoming bar mitzvah.
We look forward to the continued musical success off Yale, Gregory, Alex, Nate, Juliet and Lyla, and what new talent may be unveiled at next year’s Winnipeg Music festival.
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